Comfortable England beat Exiles (From York Press) - The Press in York
Comfortable England beat Exiles
8:54pm Saturday 16th June 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2011
England drew first blood in the opening game of this year's international Origin series with a comfortable 18-10 victory over a patched-up Exiles team.
England dominated from the kick-off to avenge last year's defeat in the inaugural game but the Exiles will have their chance to level the two-match programme when the teams meet again at Huddersfield on July 4.
However, the overseas team look likely to be without their captain Thomas Leuluai, who was carried off on a stretcher with suspected ankle ligament damage on the hour.
The Exiles had earlier been hit by the late withdrawal of four front-line players which undoubtedly reduced their effectiveness and made England's task that much easier.
The big plus for coach Steve McNamara was the performance of second rower Gareth Hock, who marked the end of his three-year exile from the England scene with an impressive display as well as the game's opening try.
There were also encouraging efforts from England regulars James Roby and Sean O'Loughlin while Danny Tickle justified his call-up with an industrious display. But was hardly a classic and, in conditions made hazardous by torrential rain, it was no surprise that all England's three tries stemmed from kicks.
In a scrappy opening handling errors from Saints duo Tony Puletua and Sia Soliola put the Exiles under early pressure but knock-ons from Sam Tomkins let them off the hook. Another fumble gave England the position to score through Hock, who regathered possession after Exiles half-back Scott Dureau got a hand to Rangi Chase's grubber.
And it was a towering kick from Chase that created a try for Tickle, with Carl Ablett palming the ball back for Kevin Sinfield to provide the final pass. Sinfield converted both tries to make it 12-0 but the Exiles pulled a try back on 31 minutes when half-backs Leuluai and Dureau worked the ball out wide for St Helens winger Francis Meli to cross at the corner.
Conditions eased in the second half but Australian winger Joel Monaghan fumbled the ball from Sinfield's "bomb" and Tomkins was on hand to gather and scoot over for his side's third try, to which Sinfield added a touchline conversion.
A disallowed England try was a let-off for the Exiles and, although they lost their captain in the process, they recovered from the blow to register a second try. A sustained spell of pressure on the England line eventually paid dividends when centre Daryl Millard raced onto Dureau's pinpoint grubber kick and Dureau kicked his first goal.
Golf-Woods bogeys first hole in U.S. Open third round - Reuters UK
SAN FRANCISCO, June 16 |
SAN FRANCISCO, June 16 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods made a shaky start to the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday, bogeying the tricky opening hole at the Olympic Club.
The former world number one, bidding to end a four-year title drought in major championships, started the day tied for the lead at one under par with fellow Americans Jim Furyk and David Toms.
But the pacesetting trio all bogeyed the 509-yard first hole to drop back to even.
That left them one stroke clear of a group of four players - Americans Michael Thompson and John Peterson, 2010 champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts.
McDowell, Peterson and Colsaerts all safely parred the first two holes while Thompson, who led after the first round, made a birdie at the first to join the leaders but handed the shot back when he bogeyed the par-three third.
Conditions on the notoriously difficult course were slightly easier in the morning, allowing a handful of early starters to break par, but were expected to get harder in the afternoon once the winds picked up and the greens began to quicken.
American Casey Wittenberg, who teed off five hours before Woods, made an eagle at the seventh hole, then birdied the last two to sign for a three-under 67 to move to five over.
"By the time Tiger and those guys tee off, I think it's going to be a brick," Wittenberg told reporters of the firm and fast-running layout at the Olympic Club.
"There are a lot of front pin placements out there and it's hard to get to those front pin placements when it gets a little crusty in the afternoon.
"I'm sure with the sun being out and everybody walking on those greens it's going to be a challenge." (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)
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