Today's other stories in brief
Exiles to face Leinster and Munster
BOTH LEINSTER and Munster will play London Irish on consecutive weekends in August as part of their 2009-10 pre-season preparation. The Exiles will play Munster, at Musgrave Park on Friday, August 21st at 7.30pm and meet Leinster at Donnybrook the following Friday, again in an evening kick-off.
London Irish begin their 2009-10 Guinness Premiership campaign on September 5th when the four London clubs, London Irish, Saracens, Wasps and Harlequins play in a double header in Twickenham.
Robinson vows to transform Scots into winning machine
ANDY ROBINSON returned to the cauldron of Test rugby yesterday vowing to transform Scotland into a winning machine.
Robinson was unveiled as the country’s head coach more than two and a half years since his disastrous reign as England boss came to an end.
The 45-year-old insists he is now “a better coach, a better leader and a better manager” and is the right man to lift Scotland out of the doldrums.
He succeeds Frank Hadden, whose four years in charge ended two months ago.
“One of the key things for me is developing that winning mindset, not necessarily at times how we play,” said Robinson, who leaves his role at Edinburgh after more than a year and a half in charge.
Lobbe puts in a word for Tevez
JUAN MARTIN Fernandez Lobbe will captain Argentina against England at Old Trafford tomorrow, but wishes Carlos Tevez was playing alongside him.
Lobbe, 27, is preparing to embark on a new challenge at affluent French Top 14 outfit Toulon after three outstanding years in the Guinness Premiership at Sale.
A fervent Liverpool supporter, Lobbe is relishing the opportunity to play at Manchester United, where compatriot Tevez has earned cult status during a two-year loan spell.
“I love football and although I’m a Liverpool fan I have been to Old Trafford before to watch United in Champions League games,” said the formidable number eight.
“Carlos Tevez is a great player because every time he plays he gives 100 per cent. He has that fiery Latino temperament that I have myself, whereas a lot of my English team-mates at Sale were a lot more reserved.”
Jack reckons European game 'easy'
FORMER NEW Zealand Test lock Chris Jack has poked fun at the standard of European club rugby, calling it “easy”.
Jack, who has spent the last two seasons with English club Saracens, said he was returning home to New Zealand because he wanted to play a higher level of rugby.
“I’m not going back just to muck around. If I wanted to muck around I would have stayed up there,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“I want to come back and I want to play well. If I wanted to play easy rugby I would have stayed up in the Northern Hemisphere.”
Jack said he hoped his return to New Zealand would rekindle his international career.
Marshall calls for ANZAC side
FORMER ALL Black Justin Marshall has called for an ANZAC representative side to come together and tour every four years in a similar vein to the British and Irish Lions. Speaking in Sydney ahead of the Barbarians match against the Wallabies in which he will play, Marshall suggested an ANZAC team could be the Southern Hemisphere equivalent of the Lions and just as attractive.
Argentina first up for Ireland juniors
PETER O’MAHONY of Cork Constitution captains the Ireland Under-20 side which plays Argentina in their RB Junior World Championships opening round encounter in Nagoya, Japan today. The opening Pool A clash kicks-off at 5pm local time (9am Irish time).
Fifteen teams are bidding to deny New Zealand, who Ireland play in four days’ time, a successful defence of their title.
The restructurìng of the event will see the top 12 teams at this year’s tournament qualifying automatically for the 2010 event in Argentina, while the bottom four will participate in regional qualifying structures for the second-tier IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy.
IRELAND U20: I Madigan (Leinster); D Kearney (Leinster), N Spence (Ulster), J Sheils (Ulster), M Keating (Leinster); I McKinley (Leinster), M Healy (Leinster); P McAllister (Ulster), T Sexton (Leinster), J McGrath (Leinster), C Ruddock (Exiles), M Flanagan (Leinster), D Ryan (Leinster), B O’Hara (Munster), P O’Mahony (Munster (capt). Replacements: D McGregor (Ulster), A Macklin (Ulster), J Moran (Connacht), D O’Callaghan (Munster), C Murray (Munster), A Burke (Munster), E Sheridan (Leinster) Pool A: Today – Argentina v Ireland; June 9th – New Zealand v Ireland; June 13th – Uruguay v Ireland.
