“He was a pretty important figure on that tour in terms of the game we wanted to play, and if he’d come right, things might have been different It’s the same thing with Wilkinson. Parrise had been cited for the incident, but claimed it was unintentional.The South Africa centre Robbie Fleck, who is still recovering from a calf operation, has agreed a new two-year contract with Bath.. He has a problem with his troublesome right thigh and has been omitted from the Biarritz team to face Agen this weekend.However, there was good news for Italy’s coach, John Kirwan, who learned yesterday that his dynamic No 8 Sergio Parisse had been cleared of stamping on the Wales fly-half Stephen Jones during last Saturday’s Six Nations match. White has still not recovered from the neck problem that kept him out for the France game.France’s ferocious flanker Serge Betsen is another to miss out this weekend. The prop Julian White, who missed last weekend’s defeat at Twickenham against France, was not considered for selection by Leicester for their Zurich Premiership match against Newcastle at Welford Road on Saturday. He is suing their former club, Melbourne.Saints scrum-half Sean Long will wait until the end of the season before deciding whether to retire from international rugby.. Sir Clive Woodward yesterday dropped the broadest of hints that Brian O’Driscoll is the man he wants as captain of this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.

The neighbouring clubs have not met in a competitive match since 1995, after which Cas were included in Super League and Featherstone were left out.Almost 10 years later and following Castleford’s relegation, they are to meet in the Northern Rail Cup, for lower division clubs, with a 7,000 capacity crowd expected at Post Office Road.Hull’s Stephen Kearney and Marcus Bai, of Leeds, have given evidence via video link to a court in Australia, denying being responsible for ending the career of Jarrod McCracken with a spear tackle in 2000. “It’s a very good offer and one that Sonny may need to consider,” said his agent, Gavin Orr. Wigan and Leeds had both denied being the club making the offer, although both have admitted an interest in the best young player in the world.Featherstone are hoping for a full house for the resumption of their local rivalry with Castleford on Sunday. St Helens have been revealed as the British club leading the chase for the Kiwi prodigy Sonny Bill Williams. “London’s ambition is not just to be a good Olympic Games, it is to be the best.”The serious business of assessing a Games blueprint is a world away from the excitement and glamour of the event itself. Improvements have been made and it is these that are emphasised during the pitches.How well such innovations, including the proposal to build four collapsible venues and move them to the provinces after the Games, have gone down with the inspectors is difficult to say at this stage as the meetings were held behind closed doors.London 2012, not wanting to hand an advantage to its arch-rival Paris which awaits the inspectors, has declined to discuss the points on which the plans were scrutinised.. But they opened with their trump card, a bold statement from Lord Coe, the bid leader, on how the “golden games” would play to packed houses and be the best ever.”I’ve seen many wonderful Games, seen them and taken part in them, but I am an athlete and I don’t run to come second” said Lord Coe, typically incorporating his own success story in the bid pitch.

Instead, the assembled athletes told of their emotional commitment to staging the best Games ever. “During the presentation the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up and I was thinking that I wish I was 20 or 30 years younger and would be able to compete in a London Olympics,” said Sir Steve Redgrave, who as bid ambassador observed the opening exchanges on the subject of Britain’s sporting traditions and its venue proposals. “I think we got the message across very strongly.”In his enthusiasm he may have contravened IOC rules that ban negative comments about other bid cities when asked about the priority London gave the Paralympics – saying the event was an integral part of the presentation, unlike Madrid, which demoted that part of its programme at the IOC inspection.The first working day of the evaluation commission had not begun well as the furore surrounding London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone, proved increasingly problematic. No one is doing anything to find solutions to this problem.”Racist abuse from fans has become an increasing problem in Spain, with black players regularly greeted with monkey chants and insults when they touch the ball. The Spanish Football Federation does not take action against the clubs involved unless incidents are mentioned in the referee’s match report.The toughest punishment the Federation has imposed so far has been a fine of 600 euros (£415) on Atletico Madrid and Albacete after visiting black players were abused by home fans.

Albacete’s fine was halved on appeal.Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o was abused in his side’s league game at Real Zaragoza at the weekend, but the referee Fernando Carmona Mendez noted that the behaviour of the fans was “normal” in his report.. For such Olympic heroes as Dame Kelly Holmes, Sir Steve Redgrave and Amir Khan, the scenario must have seemed familiar as they took their places in front of a hungry media. A leading Spanish referee has attacked the failure of the country’s football authorities to deal with racist abuse and pledged his support to any black players who decide to walk off the pitch in protest.
“Those people who should be facing up to this problem are not doing so and it is a big problem,” the Primera Liga referee, Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, was quoted as saying in Spanish sports daily Marca yesterday.”Of course I notice it when I am on the pitch You hear everything there. And I’ll tell you one thing, the day a black player decides to walk off the pitch I’ll go with him. Players are going down far too easily and it seems to be getting worse.”Two of Keane’s own team-mates – Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo – have in the past been accused of diving, while Wayne Rooney earned United a penalty against the Gunners at Old Trafford this season when he fell over Sol Campbell’s outstretched leg.Ronaldo, in particular, was warned by team-mates earlier this season that he was falling over too much and to stop it..