Other sports stories in brief
Taylor marches to quarter-final
BOXING:Katie Taylor, the World and European lightweight champion, marched into the quarter-finals of the Ahmet Comert Cup in Turkey yesterday by outclassing the European light-welterweight champion Lucie Bertaud.
The 20-year-old from Bray, who has moved up from lightweight (60kg) to light-welter (63kg) for the tournament, stopped the French woman on the 15-point rule (19-4) in the second round in Istanbul.
Taylor is using the Turkish tournament as part of her build up toward her 60kg world title defence in Ningbo City, China, in November.
Ranked number one in the world at lightweight for the last 16 months, she will meet the world 63kg silver medallist Klara Svenson of Sweden in today's quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Anthony Cacace, of the Oliver Plunkett club, Belfast, was agonisingly edged out (10-9) in the preliminary rounds of the men's Ahmet Comert Cup by Ervel Kesen of Turkey, yesterday.
Power boosted by fine ride
CYCLING:Ciarán Power lined out in the Tour de Beauce in Canada yesterday with confidence high after a fine 10th in the 1.HC Philadelphia International, won on Sunday by CSC's Matti Breschel.
Power and his Pezula Racing team-mates David O'Loughlin and Cameron Jennings finished in the same time. The latter two were 51st and 53rd respectively.
England ring changes
RUGBY:Anyone who watched England in the World Cup final eight months ago will barely recognise the team in white at Eden Park on Saturday. Only the prop Andrew Sheridan remains from the starting XV beaten by South Africa. The new manager, Martin Johnson, is not in New Zealand but England are revving up for a new era.
Only three members of the 22 are over 30, and Sheridan, Lee Mears, Steve Borthwick and Richard Wigglesworth, who all featured against Ireland in the last match of the Six Nations, have been rejoined by the flankers James Haskell and Tom Rees, with Olly Barkley back as centre and first-choice goal-kicker.
Topsy Ojo wins a first cap in a back three that also features Mike Brown and David Strettle.
"They've got a number of talented youngsters coming through," said the All Blacks' coach, Graham Henry, yesterday. "I think they will produce a quality side."
Henry has largely kept faith with the men who beat Ireland 21-11 in Wellington last Saturday, Greg Somerville replacing the injured John Afoa in the front row and Sione Lauaki coming into the 22.
NEW ZEALAND:Muliaina; Tuitavake, Smith, Nonu, Sivivatu; Carter, Ellis; Tialata, Hore, Somerville; Thorn, Williams; So'oialo, McCaw (capt), Kaino. Replacements: Mealamu, Schwalger, Boric, Lauaki, Cowan, Donald, MacDonald.
ENGLAND:Brown; Ojo, Tindall, Barkley, Strettle; Hodgson, Wigglesworth; Sheridan, Mears, Stevens; Palmer, Borthwick (capt); Haskell, Rees, Narraway. Replacements: Paice, Payne, Kay, Worsley, Care, Noon, Tait.
Griffey hits 600th home run
BASEBALL:Ken Griffey jr became the sixth major league player to hit 600 career home runs when he went deep in the first inning of the Cincinnati Reds' 9-4 win over the Florida Marlins yesterday.
Griffey (38) slammed a 3-1 pitch from the Florida left-hander Mark Hendrickson into the right-field seats with one out in the first inning for the milestone home run, putting him among some of the sport's all-time greats.
Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660) and Sammy Sosa (609) are the other players to re'ach 600 homers.
