The News Review:
- Heineken Cup: Friday night preview
- Scots blow as Lamont ruled out for up to four months
- Why the French Are Not Intoxicated By the Heineken Cup
- Lock Gough targets European glory
- Charteris signs new Dragons deal
- Second child puts Henson on hold
Heineken Cup: Friday night preview
RTE.ie Ireland
The first thing to note is that they will go into this one without their two best performers from last week in the starting XV. Devin Toner got the man of the match gong for some nice aerial work – with Castres very poor in the lineout – but Se?O’Brien and Shane Horgan were Leinster’s most effective players by far. O’Brien was taken to in certain quarters for carrying a little too much ball but the way the game went Leinster had to bash the Castres pack around a bit and short pops and carries turned out to be a pretty effective way of keeping Leinster’s foot on the French side’s collective neck.
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Scots blow as Lamont ruled out for up to four months
Scotsman United Kingdom
The 26-year-old full-back ruptured ligaments in Sale’s Heineken Cup win over Montauban and underwent a complicated operation on Wednesday night to repair the damage. Sale stated he would be out of action for up to four months. Scotland’s Six Nations ADVERTISEMENTcampaign concludes on 21 March away to England around 16 weeks from now. Lamont however admitted the surgeon had told him he could be back within 14 weeks if everything went to plan with his recovery and after spending most of this year in rehabilitation from a smashed face he is not enthusiastic about another extended stay on the sidelines. “I am absolutely gutted” he said “and I have felt terrible this week but I’m determined that I’ll come back stronger from this.
Why the French Are Not Intoxicated By the Heineken Cup
Buzzle CA
com –>French clubs have never been in love with the Heineken Cup or the H Cup as government legislation there forces them to call it. Their national league long and drawn-out as it is comes first and second for most with Europe an often unwelcome diversion. In the early years of the Heineken Cup French sides found refereeing tolerance thresholds much lower than they were used to. Brawls ended up in bans and malpractice such as gouging cost some players their careers. It helped convince Bernard Laporte the France coach from 1999 to 2007 that to succeed on the European and world stage the French needed to become disciplined.
Lock Gough targets European glory
BBC News UK
getEmpEmbeddedParams(“emp_7777893″); Ryan Jones injury ‘not worrying’Ian Gough hopes his 2007 move to the Ospreys will pay off this season in the shape of Heineken Cup success. The Wales lock says one of the reasons he joined from Newport Gwent Dragons at the start of last season was to pursue European glory. Gough said: “I wanted a bite of the big cherry and this team and management as whole unit that’s what their aim is and what my aim is too. He added: “We’ve just got to try and get up that ladder and try to do it. The Ospreys travel to Treviso on Saturday determined to follow through on their 68-8 demolition of the Italian club at Liberty Stadium last weekend.
Charteris signs new Dragons deal
BBC News UK
The 25-year-old lock who won his ninth Welsh cap against New Zealand last month has signed on at the Rodney Parade region until the summer of 2012. Charteris said: “I was delighted to sign for another three years and am confident there’s good times ahead. The 6ft 9ins second rower will make his 89th appearance against Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. Dragons coach Paul Turner is elated Charteris has committed his long-term future to the Gwent region. “We feel we have a nucleus of players that will serve the region in years to come” said Turner.
Second child puts Henson on hold
BBC News UK
The Wales centre had been due to strengthen the Ospreys back-line in the Heineken Cup clash on Saturday. The 26-year-old centre had been named in a 23-man Ospreys squad after recovering from an Achilles problem. But captain Ryan Jones is still out with a foot sprain with prop Paul James leading the side at the Monigo Stadium. The Ospreys romped to a record 10-try 68-8 win over the Italians last week. Back-row ace Jones heads the Ospreys’ lengthy sick-list and missed the bonus-point victory against Treviso at the Liberty Stadium with a inflammatory problem in his right foot picked up on Wales duty this autumn.