Six Nations 2013: George North pitch invader was his dad! EXCLUSIVE

Posted on February 12, 2013 by adminsports

EXCLUSIVE: Look behind you, George – the pitch invader who wants a quick word is your Dad

By
Luke Benedict

PUBLISHED:

22:45 GMT, 11 February 2013

UPDATED:

07:53 GMT, 12 February 2013

When George North scored the match-winning try against France in Paris with only eight minutes to play, one supporter was so caught up in the moment that he simply had to celebrate it with his boy.

North’s father David was sitting only 20 feet from where his 6ft 4in son caught a bouncing ball, bulldozed over Francois Trinh-Duc and stretched over the line to score.

The 12th international try of his career was scored in the corner of the Stade de France where most of the travelling supporters were based.

Look behind you: George North was grabbed after his try against France, but it turned out to be his Dad

David had watched his son’s career every step of the way and, for a moment, lost himself in the excitement.

Speaking to Sportsmail, the 54-year-old said: ‘It was a freezing night and we were sat in that corner, right in front of where George caught the ball. I was just so happy and overwhelmed watching him score.

‘It was such an important game for the team and I know first hand how hard they have been working to get that victory. Before I knew it, I was on the pitch.

‘Thinking back, I know it was a silly thing to do, but I just got caught up in the excitement of it all.’

David revealed that as soon as he explained to the pitchside stewards who he was, he was allowed to return to his seat.

David may have been ecstatic that Wales had ended their eight-match winless streak, but George was too focused to notice his father was on the field next to him, patting him on the back.

North Jnr said: ‘He was in that corner in a big group of Welsh fans. He just lost his head in the excitement.

‘To be honest, I can’t understand why running on to the pitch was the first thing that came into his head!’ he added after the 16-6 win.

Pure delight: The try kick-started Wales' Six Nations campaign and inflicted a second defeat on France

‘My back was turned and I was jogging back to the halfway line for the kick-off. I was oblivious to it. A couple of the boys were saying, “Is that your old man” And everyone was like, “No, it can’t be”.’

While George remained oblivious to his father’s joy, his team-mate on the wing, Alex Cuthbert, spotted David running on to the pitch, recognised him and smiled before jogging over to tell the try-scorer.

North added: ‘It was such a huge match for us and he is such a devoted supporter of Welsh rugby that he just got caught up in the moment.’

Former Wales centre Tom Shanklin joked: ‘It just shows that George’s dad is a mad fan like all Welsh fans really.’

When George was representing Wales at Under 16 level, North Snr drove his son from Anglesey in north Wales to Cardiff for training and matches.

The journey took between four-and-a-half and six hours. The doting father did so twice a week, sometimes more.

George has spoken of his gratitude for the sacrifice that his parents made in helping him turn his favourite sport into a career.

When he was asked who his rugby idols were, he named the recently retired Wales wing Shane Williams first, then his father.

Marouane Fellaini headbutt on Ryan Shawcross will cost him three games

Posted on December 17, 2012 by adminsports

Fellaini to dodge longer ban despite numerous clashes with Shawcross

UPDATED:

00:50 GMT, 17 December 2012

NOW READ MARTIN SAMUEL…

OK, Fellaini was wrong but let’s get to grips with the real problem

Marouane Fellaini will escape with a three-match ban despite headbutting Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross during their running battle at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

Referee Mark Halsey and his assistants missed the incident at a corner in the 59th minute, as well as several others involving the two players during the 1-1 draw.

In two separate clashes between the pair later the Everton midfielder appeared to elbow Shawcross in the face and then swipe at him with his right hand.

Heads, you lose: Fellaini should be banned, according to his manager David Moyes

Heads, you lose: Marouane Fellaini should be banned, according to his manager David Moyes, after he appeared to headbutt Ryan Shawcross

But the FA will concentrate on the
headbutt, basing their punishment on what would have happened if Halsey
had spotted the incident and shown a red card rather than the severity
of the offence.

The FA will be free to act when
Halsey’s report arrives today and they are almost certain to charge
Fellaini retrospectively with violent conduct and ban him for three
games.

They seem certain to ignore the later clashes, at least one of which could also have resulted in a red card.

The Belgium star is also facing a
club fine of two weeks’ wages — up to 150,000 — from furious Everton
manager David Moyes who was said to be incandescent in the visitors’
dressing-room after Fellaini was clearly caught on camera thrusting his
head into Shawcross’s face.

Moyes is known to despise such acts
of thuggery and feels let down by one of his most important players who
is now likely to miss the Christmas fixtures against West Ham, Wigan and
Chelsea.

To his credit, after the match the
Scot immediately admitted that Fellaini deserves the punishment coming
his way, describing the headbutt as ‘a terrible thing to do’.

On Sunday night the 25-year-old was
said to be distraught he had let his team-mates down and that his
actions could harm their chances of staying in the top four.

He was the first Everton player off the pitch and later issued a public apology.

Grounded: Shawcross was left in a heap clutching his face after the clash

‘I apologise completely to Ryan
Shawcross, my team-mates and to our fans at the game,’ said Fellaini. ‘I
lost my temper and it was unprofessional.’

Everton’s only issue is that they
feel Shawcross was allowed to get away with holding their player at
set-pieces, even though Fellaini was penalised by Lee Probert for a
similar offence at Manchester City against Edin Dzeko two weeks ago.

Fellaini said: ‘There was a lot of
pushing and pulling going on inside the Stoke penalty area and I didn’t
feel I was getting any protection from the officials.

‘Nevertheless I know I shouldn’t have
done what I did. I have also apologised to the manager and the staff — I
have no excuses.’

Shawcross’s team-mates praised him for not retaliating.

Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was
particularly outraged by what he had seen and was booked by Halsey when
he complained furiously to the referee.

Retrospective action: Fellaini could face an FA charge after this incident

‘I was a little bit unhappy with what
was going on, and the holding and the shirt pulling and everything
else that wasn’t really being dealt with,’ said Begovic.

‘Ryan’s got good composure. Sometimes
it’s easy to retaliate but then he would have only hurt himself. He
did really well to control himself.

‘Fellaini is a great player but it’s
just an unfortunate thing and I’m sure it will be dealt with properly.
People know they have to come here and compete with us, and sometimes
they can go a little bit overboard.’

Stoke defender Andy Wilkinson was
punished retrospectively with a three-game ban in September when he was
found guilty of violent conduct towards Manchester City striker Mario
Balotelli.

He said: ‘I thought Ryan dealt with
it really well. If it was out of order then you hold your hands up and
take your punishment. It happened to me this season.’

Shawcross was at the centre of everything in this typically hard-fought game between these two teams.

He headed into his own goal to give
Everton the lead and then supplied the pass for Kenwyne Jones to
equalise and preserve Stoke’s 15-game unbeaten home run.

Lay off Neil Lennon – Celtic"s Efe Ambrose

Posted on November 26, 2012 by adminsports

Lay off Lennon, says Efe as Celtic boss threatens to quit after fans showdown

UPDATED:

00:57 GMT, 26 November 2012

Efe Ambrose has urged disgruntled Celtic fans to cut Neil Lennon some slack after the Parkhead boss issued a shock threat to quit.

The 1-0 defeat suffered by the SPL champions at home to Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday prompted a verbal flare-up between the Parkhead manager and a handful of spectators near his technical area.

The Irishman, who has Celtic in contention for a place in the last-16 of the Champions League, even went as far as to warn he would exit his post if that’s what his detractors really wanted.

Row: Neil Lennon argues with a Celtic fan seated near the dugout

‘If they’re not happy with what I’m doing and they want me to go, then I will,’ said Lennon. ‘If fans make it clear they’re not happy and want me out, then that’s OK. I’ll do the honourable thing.’

The latest reversal means Celtic have spilled 17 points in the SPL this season and taken just one point from their last three home games.

Ambrose, however, believes any unhappy fans should give the manager a break.

‘I believe these things come out of desperation,’ said the Nigerian defender, when asked about Saturday’s confrontation.

‘The fans want us to win but, when we cannot win, you see the other side of them. The ugly side, but this is football.

‘I believe that with patience, everything works out better than they think.
‘The team is just building up and the injuries coming along do not help.
‘It’s affecting the team a bit.

‘When the injured players are back, you are going to see a better Celtic team.

‘The fans should stay behind us and stick with us.

Gutted: Celtic crashed to a shock defeat at home to Inverness

‘The supporters are here to see what this team can do, but we are just starting out, we have not even reached the second level.’

Ambrose knows the players must also raise their performances and fire up the crowd and he has vowed that Saturday’s defeat will be a watershed in Celtic’s domestic season.

‘I now believe that will be the end of it,’ he said. ‘From now on, we will make sure this never happens again at Celtic Park.

‘It’s not been good here as we have been losing and drawing games in the SPL.

‘Our away record is better than at home and that is not good, so we are going to work harder to balance that.

‘From now on, we will be winning games at home.’

Despite defeating Barcelona in an impressive Champions League campaign, Celtic are only one point ahead of Aberdeen in the SPL ahead of a visit to Tynecastle on Wednesday night.

Party time: Inverness manager Terry Butcher celebrates

Ambrose, however, vehemently denied that there was an attitude problem with players facing domestic games after the high of European nights.

‘I wouldn’t say that,’ he added. ‘It’s difficult. I’d say that every team that comes here to face us wants to be like we were against Barcelona and do what we did.

‘To defeat Celtic at home is a great achievement for them.

‘But we will learn from our mistakes.

‘In the past three games at home in the SPL, we have only taken one point and that is not good enough.

‘We need to make sure things go right from now on.

‘We have a couple of injuries in the squad, but we have the players to come into the first XI.

‘I do believe that, when we have a fully-fit squad and everyone is back, there will be a lot of difference.

‘But, as for now, we have to try and see how we play together when missing some key men.

‘I don’t believe tiredness is an excuse, but, when we have a full squad, we’ll do better than we are just now.’

Alastair Cook admits England selection was wrong

Posted on November 20, 2012 by adminsports

We know we got it wrong! Cook admits England need to improve selection

UPDATED:

22:53 GMT, 19 November 2012

Alastair Cook admitted England might have picked the wrong side after they lost the first Test to India by nine wickets in Ahmedabad.

The second game starts on Friday in Mumbai, leaving Cook and Andy Flower only three more days to produce a team capable of coming from 1-0 down with three to play.

‘Clearly we’re going to have to look at our selection,’ said the England captain, whose superb 176 proved futile. ‘There are some good people making decisions, and we thought we were doing the right thing. The result showed that we might have got it wrong. There will be a lot to ponder.

Admission: Alastair Cook said England got their selection wrong

‘We showed a lot of character in that second half of the game. But when you get bowled out for 190 in that first innings, on a good wicket, that is where we lost. If we’re going to win a series out here, everyone has to contribute. ‘I’m bitterly disappointed. We had an outside chance in the (final) morning. It was a very small chance, but one we could have taken.’

Perhaps hoping for another seam-heavy English attack on a Wankhede Stadium pitch that is likely to help the spinners, India’s captain MS Dhoni insisted: ‘Seam bowling is their strength. They need to back their strength. I think it was the right decision.’

Pepe Reina "likes" Brendan Rodgers" mind games

Posted on October 13, 2012 by adminsports

Reina backs Rodgers' envelope mind games and says Reds boss just needs time to bring success

UPDATED:

16:30 GMT, 12 October 2012

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has supported manager Brendan Rodgers’ motivational techniques at Anfield.

The documentary Being: Liverpool shows Rodgers in an eve of season team talk using a psychological ploy involving three envelopes.

In an attempt to motivate his players, he tells them the envelopes contain three names of players who will let the side down this season.

Backing: Pepe Reina, who was preparing with the Spain squad this week, says he liked Brendan Rodgers' mind games

Reina, who has struggled to retain his own high standards of form, said: ‘I never feared being in the envelope. No one can ever put my name in an envelope because of a lack of attitude or commitment.

‘It was a motivational speech designed to make sure we were focused and tuned in all year,’ Reina told Spanish radio station Onda Cero.

‘I never feared being in the envelope. No one can ever put my name in an envelope because of a lack of attitude or commitment.

‘It’s the first time I have seen a manager do that and, personally, I liked it. It stands out.

‘It was a speech designed to motivate.’

Reina added: ‘In terms of the way we have played, there have been moments that have been very good.

Not me: Rodgers told Liverpool players he had three names in separate envelopes of those he believed would let the club down this year

Many talents: Reina tried his hand at volleying towards goal in training with the Spanish national team

'We are trying to impose a new style with a new manager and that takes time.

‘There are mistakes at times because it’s not easy, but I prefer to make mistakes trying to do what the manager wants and trying to do the right thing.

‘We’re optimistic that sooner or later we’ll be fighting near the top again.’

Mind games: Rodgers (left) was filmed holding the envelopes in a behind-the-scenes documentary: Being: Liverpool

Marvin Sordell claims Lee Chung-yong, Darren Pratley and Benik Afobe racially abused at Millwall

Posted on October 8, 2012 by adminsports

Police probe race claim after Sordell says Millwall fans abused Bolton players

UPDATED:

21:29 GMT, 7 October 2012

Police have launched an investigation into Marvin Sordell’s claims that Bolton players were racially abused by Millwall supporters on Saturday.

Via Twitter, Sordell — who played for Team GB during London 2012 — accused Millwall fans of making racist jibes towards Lee Chung-yong, Darren Pratley, Benik Afobe and himself during Owen Coyle’s side’s 2-1 defeat at The Den.

And police chiefs are probing the allegations after Sordell also claimed officers did not intervene despite hearing the taunts.

Claim: Marvin Sordell says he and other Bolton players received racist abuse at Millwall

Sordell tweeted: ‘It’s 2012 in
England and people are still shouting racial abuse at a football game!
Chungy, Pratts, Benik and I had all sorts of things said to us. The
police were standing yards away and did nothing.

‘Funniest thing is, if I had come on and scored and gave them some back, I would be the one who got fined.’

Millwall have already started an
internal investigation into the alleged incident, examining CCTV
pictures and identifying possible witnesses as they look to get to the
bottom of the allegations.

Him too: Sordell also said team-mate Benik Afobe (pictured) had been targeted too

The south London club will hand lifetime bans to anyone found guilty of making racial slurs.

The FA are also investigating the
matter and a Lions statement read: ‘Millwall and Bolton Wanderers are
investigating allegations made by Bolton player Marvin Sordell that he
was subjected to racial abuse by an individual whilst warming up as a
substitute during Saturday’s Championship clash at The Den.

Sordell also said Lee Chung-Yong (left) was subjected to abuse at The Den

‘The two clubs remain determined to do everything in their power to ensure that racist behaviour will not be tolerated.

‘We will be speaking to the police and match officials on this matter.’

Southampton"s Premier League seasons starts now after Arsenal thrashing

Posted on September 17, 2012 by adminsports

Pointless Southampton's season starts now after tough beginning to Premier League life

UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 16 September 2012

Pointless in the Premier League. That's the working title Southampton are playing to at the moment.

Of course, facing Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal in three of their opening four games has not helped matters. Nor has a home defeat against Wigan squeezed in between that deadly trio of fixtures.

So, in essence, the Saints' season starts now. Nigel Adkins' side face Fulham, West Ham, West Bromwich, Swansea and QPR in five of their next six league games.

Tough day at the office: Southampton were taught a harsh lesson

Bad day at the office: Southampton were taught a harsh lesson

Should the Saints remain without a point after that sequence then Adkins will be looking nervously over his shoulder, given chairman Nicola Cortese has never shown any qualms about sacking managers.

For the time being, the Liverpudlian is focused on finally getting his side's season up and running.

Tough start: Adkins has had three hard fixtures

Speaking after the Saints' 6-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, Adkins said: 'The reality of it all has been highlighted. All the media have written about the fixture list.

'It was a tough start and it has proven to be that way but it has given us that belief we are doing the right thing.

'And we have learned a lot about people's characters. It is about keeping going.'

Uruguay striker Gaston Ramirez made his debut against the Gunners.

'We trained with Gaston for the first time on Friday night and you could see the eyes of all the lads lighting up at the ability he has got,' added Adkins.

'He has already got a few shots in and he can pick a pass. I am sure he is going to bring a new dimension to our team.'

Brian McDermott: I don"t want to inflict pain on Andre Villas-Boas

Posted on September 14, 2012 by adminsports

I'm not here to inflict pain on AVB, insists McDermott ahead of Spurs showdown

UPDATED:

13:57 GMT, 14 September 2012

Reading boss Brian McDermott insists he will not be motivated by the opportunity to heap pressure on Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas when the clubs meet on Sunday.

Spurs travel to the Madejski Stadium without a league victory after three games under Villas-Boas, and the team were jeered from the pitch following their 1-1 draw with Norwich at White Hart Lane before the international break.

Under fire: Spurs have taken two points from a possible nine under AVB

Reading have also still yet to taste victory in the Barclays Premier League this season but have only played twice so far.

McDermott is concentrating on getting his own team firing and said: 'I don't want to inflict pain on anyone, I just want to do the right thing for us.

'What we have to do is prepare ourselves and get a good performance from our team and that is the only thing that I'm looking to do.

'We are playing against Spurs – a fantastic side – and I know Andre quite well so I'm not looking to inflict pain, we are just looking to play our game and put on a performance for our fans.'

Rained off: McDermott's Reading haven't played for over three weeks

Reading opened the season with a 1-1 draw against Stoke before falling to a 4-2 defeat at Chelsea.

Their fixture at Sunderland was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch and they have now gone three-and-a-half weeks without a league fixture.

McDermott has revealed his squad are champing at the bit to kick-start their league campaign.

He said: 'I can just sense that the lads are desperate to get back and I've got all the internationals back today, we will train today, prepare the team tomorrow and be right for Sunday and be ready.

'Obviously we had the Peterborough game (in the Capital One Cup) in between and we had to find a game which we went to Dublin and played against Bray, which we were very grateful to have, and now we play Sunday so by the time everyone else has played four games we have played only two.'

Several other Premier League managers have issues with the international breaks during the season but McDermott accepts them and has also benefited from a lot of his players getting a run-out in competitive games.

'They have World Cup qualifiers and they have to play them so there is nothing we can do about that,' he said.

'The one that really gets to me is before we even kick off, in the week leading up to the start of the season. Apart from that I have got no real problems with it.

'Some of my players have played games, Alex Pearce played the other night, Kaspars Gorkss, Adrian Mariappa has played some games, Churchy (Simon Church), (Hal) Robson-Kanu and Chris Gunter too, so we are fine and happy enough with it.'

Kevin Pietersen must say sorry to Andrew Strauss in person – Nasser Hussain

Posted on August 22, 2012 by adminsports

Pietersen needs to say sorry to Strauss properly – and in person

UPDATED:

22:00 GMT, 21 August 2012

I've heard both sides of the story now – from Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss at Lord's, and now from Kevin Pietersen.

The buzzword has been trust. And if I had to trust anyone, it would be Flower and Strauss to do the right thing.

Telling it like it is: Nasser Hussain talks to Kevin Pietersen before Surrey's CB40 game at The Oval on Tuesday

Brian McDermott says late Reading equaliser was vital

Posted on August 19, 2012 by adminsports

We needed that! McDermott believes Reading's last-gasp equaliser was vital

UPDATED:

21:20 GMT, 18 August 2012

Fantasy football 2012

Brian McDermott admitted it was vital Reading snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat on their Barclays Premier League return against Stoke.

The Royals looked destined for a 1-0 loss at the Madejski Stadium before Adam Le Fondre's last-minute penalty rescued a point.

With trips to Chelsea and Sunderland next up before the international break, McDermott was delighted to avoid the prospect of going into the next home game in a month's time yet to get off the mark.

Cool head: Adam Le Fondre tucks home the penalty

'It's a strange thing to say but, psychologically, it's important that we got that result today,' he said.

'We know we can compete. We've done that today – there's no doubt about that. So it's important to get a result and we have got a result today.'

McDermott insisted a draw was 'the least' his side deserved.

'We'd have been disappointed to have lost the game over the 90 minutes.

'Those of you who have seen Reading play over the last three years know that they keep going. We have scored a few late goals in our time.'

Vital: Brian McDermott acknowledged how important the equaliser was

In truth, Reading showed little sign of bouncing back from conceding an awful opener until Gareth McCleary entered the fray, the new signing changing the game and winning the penalty.

McDermott said: 'We had this conversation yesterday about the group. It's always going to be about 20-odd players.

'We have two players for each position and, over 38 games, we're going to need every one and I'm convinced every single one of them can play in this league.'

That includes goalkeeper Adam Federici, who gifted Stoke the lead when he embarrassingly spilt debutant Michael Kightly's deflected shot into his own net.

McDermott said: 'We all make errors. I make errors most days. He's a great character, he works really, really hard each and every day. He's a top professional and he's saved us many, many times, and he will do in the future.

'He was upset but that's part of life. You have to overcome your disappointments quickly and he'll do that.'

After equalising, npower Championship
winners Reading almost completed a comeback to rival that in their first
ever Premier League game six years ago when they recovered from 2-0
down to beat Middlesbrough.

Rough and tumble: Alex Pearce of Reading and Ryan Shawcross of Stoke come together

McDermott, who was chief scout back then, said: “I was in Switzerland at the time and I watched the game.

'I got a text to say we were were 2-0 down and the next text said that we were 3-2 up.
'So, it did enter my head.'

He added of his first match as a Premier League boss: 'I'm not sure 'enjoy' is the word that you'd use being a manager. There is a word but I'm not sure what it is.'

He added: 'I'm pleased it's out the way in a way. There's always a lot of hype for the first game of the season but we can all move on now.'

Stoke boss Tony Pulis was left fuming at referee Kevin Friend's penalty decision.

Pulis felt the verdict itself – which also saw midfielder Dean Whitehead shown a second yellow card – could have gone 'either way'. But he was more angry about Friend's decision to play advantage, allowing Reading a shot at goal, before deciding to pull it back.

He added: 'I'll speak to [referees' chief] Mike Riley on Monday and find out how long they're going to give.

'They either play on or they call it back. It gives the advantage to the attacking team, so it's a good rule.

'It's just being consistent. Where does it start Where does it end'

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Tag Archives: thing

Six Nations 2013: George North pitch invader was his dad! EXCLUSIVE

Marouane Fellaini headbutt on Ryan Shawcross will cost him three games

Lay off Neil Lennon – Celtic"s Efe Ambrose

Alastair Cook admits England selection was wrong

Pepe Reina "likes" Brendan Rodgers" mind games

Marvin Sordell claims Lee Chung-yong, Darren Pratley and Benik Afobe racially abused at Millwall

Southampton"s Premier League seasons starts now after Arsenal thrashing

Brian McDermott: I don"t want to inflict pain on Andre Villas-Boas

Kevin Pietersen must say sorry to Andrew Strauss in person – Nasser Hussain

Brian McDermott says late Reading equaliser was vital