Rugby: Barbarians hammered by Australia

The Barbarians have been hammered 60-11 by Australia at Twickenham this morning in a record breaking score.

Australia scored eight tries to the Barbarians one, Wigan league star Sam Tomkins the only player to score for the Baa Baas in the 79th minute.

James Horwill, Lachie Turner and Digby Ioane all scored doubles for the Australians who looked devestating at times against a hapless Barbarians defence. Five-eighth James O'Connor had a great day with the boot for Australia kicking seven of eight conversions, a penalty goal and a dropped goal in his first game in the pivot role.

AUSTRALIA 60 (James Horwill 2, Digby Ioane 2, Lachlan Turner 2, Robert Horne, Radike Samo tries; James O'Connor 7 cons, pen, dropped goal)
BARBARIANS 11 (Sam Tomkins try; Danny Cipriani 2 pens)

- Rhys Chamberlain

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BREAKING NEWS: NBA lockout over

The lockout is over, Wade and James will suit up on Christmas Day.

After 148 days, the National Basketball Association player lockout is over and the rescheduled 66 game season will start on Christmas day with a triple header.

It was announced today in New York City that league officials and lawyers representing the players had reached a deal that would see owners and players split basketball related revenue 50-50 costing the players $300 million in salary cuts. All that was left to do was for the players to officially withdraw its lawsuit.

The deal reached was a 10 year deal, the longest in NBA history but teams have the option to pull out of the deal after six years of the contract.

Training camps and free agency will open on December 9th with teams having about three weeks to prepare after collective bargaining is completed in 10 days time.

The opening matches on December 25th will remain as per the original schedule with Boston hosting the New York Knicks followed by Miami at Dallas and Chicago in Los Angeles.

- Rhys Chamberlain

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NBA: The Lockout Explained

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Rugby: Australia vs. Barbarians Match Preview

By Rhys Chamberlain

Australia vs. Barbarians

Twickenham, England

Kick off: 3.30am (NZ time)

Referee: Romain Poite (France)

The inclusion of Wigan rugby league star Sam Tomkins on the wing for the Barbarians in Sunday mornings clash with Australia at Twickenham is just one of the intriguing match ups in what should be an entertaining encounter.

Tomkins (22) sparked controversy when he accepted the offer to play for the Barbarians just a week after he signed an extended contract with Wigan and it has some league fans outraged and calling it a publicity stunt. But whatever his reasons, Tomkins sure can play. He scored five tries on debut for Wigan in 2008 and has played 15 times at fullback for England including in the recent Four Nations final loss to Australia.

He is not the only star lining up for the Barbarians however. South African lock Victor Matfield will captain the side which includes five World Cup winning All Blacks in Isaia Toeava, Adam Thomson, Jerome Kaino, Keven Mealamu and Richard Kahui. It also features uncapped Crusaders centre Robbie Fruean. Former Australian captain Stirling Mortlock will start at second five-eighth. The side will be coached by All Blacks coaches Graham Henry and Steve Hansen.

For Australia, David Pocock will captain his country for the first time from openside flanker while wonder kid James O'Connor will test his  nerve at first five-eighth in another first.

Head to head Australia has beaten the Barbarians on eight of the 12 occasions the two teams have met including a 55-7 thumping in Sydney in 2009.

Barbarians: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Sam Tomkins, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Stirling Mortlock, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Adam Thomson, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Eusebio Guinazu.
Reserves: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Jason White, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Nemia Kenatale, 21 Richard Kahui, 22 Seru Rabeni.

Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock (c), 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 James Horwill, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Matt Hodgson, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Ben Tapuai. 

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Rugby: Here's an idea...leave Zac Guildford alone

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Rugby League: Aussies beat England, win Four Nations title

Australia has beaten England 30-8 at Elland Road to win the Four Nations title in front of 35,000.

It scored five tries to one in the romp and continued its unbeaten title match record over England which dates back to 1972.

Sam Thaiday, Jharal Yow Yeh, Johnathan Thurston Greg Inglis and captain Darren Lockyer all touched down in the final while a penalty try was the only try England scored after a high shot from Thurston on Ryan Hall early in the first half.

It was a fairytale finish to an illustrious career for Lockyer who touched down under the sticks right on full time. The rugby league great finishes his career having played 59 tests, 36 State of Origin matches for Queensland and 355 NRL games.


Australia 30: (Sam Thaiday, Jharal Yow Yeh, Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis, Darren Lockyer tries; Thurston 4 conversions, penalty goal).
England 8: (penalty try; Kevin Sinfield conversion, penalty). HT: 8-6.

- Rhys Chamberlain

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Rugby: Here's an idea...leave Zac Guildford alone

By Rhys Chamberlain

Photo: hurricanes.co.nz

Has no one in the media or, in fact, in New Zealand been a 22 year old before? Has no one gone out drinking and embarrassed themselves before? From everybody up on the moral high ground, it seems not.

From a common sense point of view and from what I can tell, Zac Guildford is not an alcoholic, nor does he have an alcohol problem. He is a 22 year old male. 22 year old males drink and sometimes drink heavily. The only difference here is, Guildford is a high profile citizen. He is an All Black and role model...blah blah blah.

I am sick to death of hearing about the fact that Guildford, and before him Cowan, and before him Umaga, all have "drinking problems". They don't. They never have. They are normal human beings and things like this happen. Now I'm not excusing Guildford for what he did. It was wrong for him to assault two men in a Rarotonga bar and I'm also not condoning drinking until you can hardly walk but it's a matter for the police and no one else. It's not even a matter for the All Blacks or any other rugby entity in my opinion. He is not on tour. It sounds to me like he was on his mates stag do before the wedding which would make sense.

The real sad thing is it sounds like he is even buying into saying today in the New Zealand Herald that, "It's obvious that I need help and I want to get home and to get that help as soon as I can. I need to sort myself out." 

What he really means is that, "I need to keep my drinking and partying out of the public eye from now on." Hopefully the NZRU means the same thing when they say that they will get him the help he needs.

"Zac, we're going to teach you how to drink without causing a public stir."

So give the guy a break I say.

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Rugby League: Kiwis embarrassed by England

Kiwis captain Benji Marshall in action.

New Zealand has been beaten by England 28-6 in Hull in a sudden death match to find out who will play Australia in the Four Nations final.

The first half was a tight affair but going into the break the home side led 8 nil thanks to a try to Tom Briscoe. The Kiwis seemingly had no answer to the stout England defence and were unable to break the line. Just before halftime a dangerous tackles saw a penalty goal for England kicked by Kevin Sinfield.

The same problems continued into the second half when England scored again through Ryan Hall and then Sam Tomkins with Sinfield putting both conversions over. New Zealand winger Jason Nightingale finally got his side on the board after multiple possessions and an impressive try in the corner. Kiwis captain Benji Marshall converted from the sideline to give his team some hope with 15 minutes to play.

However, England then got possession of the ball from the resulting kick off after Issac Luke gave a loose pass. From  there the Kiwis gave away a penalty and it was kicked by Sinfield A try to James Graham following a 50 metre run by Briscoe ensured the win and that England will play Australia in the Four Nation final.

England 28 (Tom Briscoe, Ryan Hall, Sam Tomkins, James Graham tries; Kevin Sinfield 2 pens, 4 cons)
New Zealand 6 (Jason Nightingale try; Benji Marshall con)

- Rhys Chamberlain

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Cricket: South Africa cruises to 8 wicket win

After bowling Australia out for just 47 on day two, its lowest score in 109 years, South Africa continued its dominance of the Cape Town test on day three by cruising to an eight wicket win.

South Africa needed just 155 runs to win the match starting day two chasing a target of 236 to win the match. The win came on the back of two 100's, one to first drop Hashim Amla who scored 112 off 134 balls and the other to captain Graeme Smith who finished not out on 101. Amla was dropped by Mike Hussey on the last ball of day two adding to Australia's woes.

Australia made 284 in its first innings on the back of 151 from captain Michael Clarke who later described the second innings collapse as "disgraceful". South Africa was then all out for just 96 in its opening turn at bat but a five wicket bag on debut to Vernon Philander ensured South Africa would have three days to score 236 and win the match.

- Rhys Chamberlain

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NBA: The Lockout Explained

*BREAKING NEWS: LOCKOUT OVER* 

By Rhys Chamberlain

With all of the pre-season and the opening weeks of the NBA regular season having been cancelled, players and fans alike are anxious to get the season underway and get thoughts of 1998-1999 out of their minds. 1998-1999 was the season of the most recent lockout which caused the season to be reduced to just 50 games per team with another 30 shelved because the players union and the NBA could not work out a deal.

NBA Commissioner David Stern.

It's essentially the same problem this season with the current players union, headed by Billy Hunter and Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher, not being able to reach a deal with Commissioner David Stern and the NBA head office on salary issues. But just what are those issues holding the players and fans back from what was building up to be a very exciting season?

With Stern announcing that the NBA lost $300 million last season and that only eight out of 30 teams made a profit, the negotiations ensued and the points that each side cannot agree upon are:

• Distribution of NBA revenue to players

The current split for seasons past was 57% of the revenue to the players, the other 43% going to the NBA and its owners. The players proposed to have 54% of the revenue while the NBA offered 47%. Negotiations led Stern and his team to offer the players a 50-50 split to which the players refused.

• Reduction of the salary cap and player salaries

Currently each NBA team is allowed to spend $58 million on player salaries and the NBA wants to reduce it to $45 million. Players salaries would essentially be reduced by 40% to which the players association disagreed with. The NBA came back with a $62 million salary cap deal to which the players again declined. The players association proposed to cut $500 million of their salaries over five years. The NBA's counter offer was a reduction of $2 billion over 10 years.

As a result of the stalemate, its estimated that players will lose $350 million in salary collectively for each month of the lockout. The cancellation of just the pre-season matches has reportedly cost $200 million already and it's estimated to be more now that regular season matches have been cancelled.

As a result, NBA stars are looking to play overseas while the lockout is in effect. Australian NBA star Patrick Mills is currently with the Melbourne Tigers in the ANBL while guys like Utah's Deron Williams, Denver's JR Smith and Charlotte's Boris Diaw have all secured contracts in Europe and China. Most of the NBA's international players have returned home to play in their home country's respective professional competitions. Nearly a quarter of the NBA's 400+ players have signed to play overseas while the lockout is in effect.

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Rugby: 2012 Super 15 Squads announced

2012 Super 15 squads are as follows:

BLUES :
Gareth Anscombe, Anthony Boric, Daniel Braid, Luke Braid, Charlie Faumuina, Michael Hobbs, Jerome Kaino, Chris Lowrey, Tevita Mailau, Pauliasi Manu, Alby Mathewson, Tom McCartney, Keven Mealamu, Brad Mika, George Moala, Liaki Moli,Lachie Munro, Ma'a Nonu, Filo Paulo, David Raikuna, Rene Ranger, Peter Saili, Benson Stanley, Sherwin Stowers, Angus Ta'avao, Isaia Toeava, Piri Weepu, Ali Williams, Tony Woodcock, Rudi Wulf

CHIEFS:
Ben Afeaki, Alex Bradley, Sam Cane, Craig Clarke, Shane Cleaver, Aaron Cruden, Hika Elliot, Mike Fitzgerald, Romana Graham, Andrew Horrell, Richard Kahui, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Tanerau Latimer,Fritz Lee, Brendon Leonard, Lelia Masaga, Liam Messam, Tim Nanai-Williams, Maritino Nemani, Declan O'Donnell, Brodie Retallick, Robbie Robinson, Mahonri Schwalger, Toby Smith, Ben Tameifuna, Sona Taumalolo, Kane Thompson, Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Scott Waldrom, Sonny Bill Williams, Jackson Willison

CRUSADERS:
Nicholas Barrett, Tyler Bleyendaal, Daniel Carter, Wyatt Crockett, Ryan Crotty, Israel Dagg, Tom Donnelly, Andy Ellis, Corey Flynn, Ben Franks, Owen Franks, Robbie Fruean, Ben Funnell, Zac Guildford, Willi Heinz, Ross Kennedy, Quentin MacDonald, Sean Maitland, Tom Marshall, Richie McCaw, Patrick Osborne, Kieran Read, Luke Romano, Tom Taylor, Matt Todd, Joe Wheeler, Sam Whitelock, George Whitelock, Adam Whitelock, Luke Whitelock

HIGHLANDERS:
Kurt Baker, Josh Bekhuis, Jimmy Cowan, Nick Crosswell, Elliot Dixon, Tamati Ellison, Ma'afu Fia, Hosea Gear, John Hardie, James Haskell, Jarrad Hoeata, Andrew Hore, Chris King, Kendrick Lynn, Jamie Mackintosh, Nasi Manu, Bronson Murray, Chris Noakes, Siale Piutau, Kade Poki, Culum Retallick, Jason Rutledge, Colin Slade, Aaron Smith, Ben Smith, Lima Sopoaga, Adam Thomson, Doug Tietjens, Shaun Treeby, Telusa Veainu

HURRICANES:
Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Beauden Barrett, Tim Bateman, Michael Bent, James Broadhurst, Richard Buckman, Dane Coles, Jason Eaton, Chris Eaton, Reggie Goodes, David Hall, Jayden Hayward, Cory Jane, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Jack Lam, Alapati Leiua, Faifili Levave, Karl Lowe, Motu Matu'u, Ben May,Tristan Moran, Charlie Ngatai, TJ Perenara, Tusi Pisi, Mark Reddish, Julian Savea, Brad Shields, Conrad Smith, Chris Smylie, Andre Taylor, Jeremy Thrush, Victor Vito


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Time for the NZRU to rid themselves of Sonny Bill Williams

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