The News Review:
- Blood scandal shouldn’t tarnish Quins’ feats says Kingston
- Quins squad backs banned Williams
- Flood has November return in mind
- Telegraph: Crowd violence mars West Ham-Millwall match
- ‘Connell fears double Welsh threat to Munster title
- Booth: This is the best London Irish squad ever
- Quinlan talks of ‘massive regret’
Blood scandal shouldn’t tarnish Quins’ feats says Kingston
AFP
Quins were hit with a 260000 pounds (295000 euros) fine while director of rugby Dean Richards was forced to resign after being banned from rugby for three years. Williams was also given a four-month ban but the threat of further sanctions in response to the subsequent cover-up that implicated Quins’ board was raised on Wednesday when it was revealed they could be expelled from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the European Cup. ERC organisers of the Heineken Cup want to review the punishment handed down to Quins but Kingston was bullish over their continued participation in the tournament. “Talk that we could be thrown out of the European Cup is totally hypothetical because we’ve earned the right to be in the Heineken Cup” Kingston said. “We’ve qualified for the European Cup and are playing in it. Last season we showed ourselves to be highly competitive in the European Cup losing by a point to the winners. We flew the flag for England.
Quins squad backs banned Williams
BBC Sport
loadEmp(“emp_8224908″); });AdvertisementQuins ‘blood’ scandal not uncommon – SkinnerHarlequins captain Will Skinner has said wing Tom Williams has the total support of his team-mates despite his central role in the ‘Bloodgate’ affair. Williams was banned for 12 months reduced to four on appeal for faking a blood injury in a Heineken Cup game. Skinner said: "We’re really sympathetic to the position he is in. We are united and togetherness is second to none. "He is training with the squad and Tom like all of us is just hoping we can move on and become stronger from this. " Williams has claimed he was offered a new four-year contract and other benefits by club officials if he kept quiet about the involvement of others in the incident which took place during the quarter-final against Leinster at The Stoop on 12 April.
Related from Inkfeenz: Quins prepare to learn cup fate
Flood has November return in mind
BBC Sport
Flood suffered the lower leg injury in the Heineken Cup semi-final win over Cardiff Blues in early May. The 24-year-old told BBC Radio Leicester: "The timescale is about six months and I’m inside that bracket and so we’re working towards that. "The rehab’s gone well but the guys are in pre-season now and to watch that from the sidelines is difficult. " Leicester play their latest pre-season game against Munster at Welford Road on Friday and Flood admits it has been tough watching from the sidelines. Please turn on JavaScript.
Telegraph: Crowd violence mars West Ham-Millwall match
The Times
Guardian: Williams points finger at Evans as ’Bloodgate’ details seep outTom Williams was offered a series of sweeteners by Harlequins including a job after he had retired from playing in return for keeping quiet about what really happened in the fake blood incident in last season’s Heineken Cup. The Times: Everton Villa and Spurs make their movesSylvain Distin Richard Dunne and Sandro are among the names linked with Premier League clubs as transfer deadline looms. New York Times: Federer and Safina Are Top SeedsIt’s no surprise Roger Federer gets the top seed for the US pen while Dinara Safina despite never having won a Grand Slam title earns the No. 1 spot over defending champion Serena Willliams. USA Today: Vick will make Eagles debut tomorrow Though Michael Vick is to appear at a bankruptcy court hearing Thursday morning in Virginia he is scheduled to make his return to the NFL playing field tomorrow night in a preseason game with the Philadelphia Eagles.
‘Connell fears double Welsh threat to Munster title
Walesnline
’Connell led his province to the Celtic crown last term with fellow Irish outfit Leinster – the reigning Heineken Cup champions – winning the title the previous year. But speaking at the official Magners League launch at Thomond Park in Limerick yesterday ’Connell outlined just why he thinks there will be a stronger Welsh challenge in 2009-10. And he believes the two leading Welsh regions could break the Irish monopoly when the tournament gets under way in nine days’ time. “The Blues and the spreys will probably lead the Welsh challenge” predicted ’Connell. “If you look at Cardiff last year they probably did not reproduce their Heineken Cup form in the Magners League.
Booth: This is the best London Irish squad ever
Reading Post
The Exiles coach insists for the first time there is the strength in depth to compete seriously for both the Guinness Premiership Championship and the Heineken Cup. Booth said: ?In the past our seasons in the Premiership have wavered when we have had Heineken Cup success. ?But players love testing themselves against the best in the world and we believe we have the squad to fight on two fronts. ?We will give the Heineken Cup a massive part of our focus but we will not let it shift our concentration away from the Premiership and what we want to achieve there. ?As Irish prepare to face European champions Leinster in Dublin on Friday in their final warm-up game of the season Booth declared: ?In my opinion the squad is the most competitive the club has had in the professional era. ?The Exiles boss is well aware that his star-studded side will be hit harder by international call-ups than ever before.
Quinlan talks of ‘massive regret’
BBC Sport
He was found guilty of making contact with the eye area of Leinster’s Leo Cullen in the teams’ Heineken Cup semi-final and was handed a 12-week ban. "It was reckless it was contact in the eye area and that was my own fault" Quinlan told Irish broadcaster RTE. "It’s not something I intentionally tried to do. " The Munster flanker acknowledged that the incident "certainly looked bad". "It’s something that has had a bad effect on me my family and friends and people that are close to me.