Monday, October 1, 2007

Hamilton wins in Japan

Lewis Hamilton 'to be UK's richest sportsman'
By Richard Edwards
Last Updated: 8:06am BST 01/10/2007



Lewis Hamilton is on the brink of becoming the youngest ever Formula One world champion after winning the Japanese Grand Prix yesterday.

Hamilton wins in Japan
Lap by lap: As it happened
In pictures: Alonso misses out
The 22-year-old is now within one race of taking the title - which would make him the first driver ever to triumph in his debut season.


Lewis Hamilton is closing in on the F1 title
Commentators have likened Hamilton’s extraordinary year to the emergence of sporting legends such as Muhammed Ali, George Best and Tiger Woods - and he is tipped to become Britain's first ever billionnaire sportsman.

He will secure the championship in China next weekend if he beats his teammate and rival Fernando Alonso, or finishes no worse than one place behind him. Hamilton said it was hard to hide his excitement at the possibility of rewriting the history books.

But he added that he would not be celebrating until the title was certain. “I won’t be going partying,” he said. “At the back of your mind, in the subconscious, you do think about it a little bit but I think the key for me is just focus on the next race and just make sure my preparations are right and take it as it comes. We’ll see after the next race.”

Hamilton, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, is on a £400,000 contract this year, although bonus payments will push that to more than £1 million, especially if he is crowned world champion.

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Keeping Hamilton will cost McLaren a fortune - some estimate as much as £150 million in salary alone for a five-year deal, making him the highest-paid driver ever.

He is already the face of Vodafone and Tag Heuer, and marketing experts predict his commercial appeal could transcend Tiger Woods and David Beckham in the lifetime earning stakes.

Retired seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, who is reported to have netted a total of around £500 million, earned about £17 million a year.

But Hamilton’s appeal will be even greater because he is F1’s first black racer and potential champion rookie.

“It is possible that Hamilton could become the first British sport billionaire. The fact he is black is a unique factor, but also the fact that he is likable and well-adjusted is key,” said Nigel Currie, director of Brand Rapport, a UK company specialising in sponsorship.

Hamilton has had to overcome adversity after a tumultous season for McLaren, who were stripped of all their team points after being found guilty of spying on rivals Ferrari.

He has endured a season of conflict with his teammate Alonso, who has struggled to come to terms with being beaten by his junior partner. And the young sportsman has also found it hard to cope with his worldwide fame, and the demands of the paparrazi.

He has called for and end to the incessant intrusion into his private life - and has warned that he will be driven out of living in the UK if it continues.

He said he was hurt by coverage which falsely portrayed him as a playboy. “They [the press] are all taking about having a British sensation and having a British world champion in Formula 1 - which I am trying my best to do,” he said last month. “I am proud to represent my country, but there is nothing worse than people in the country trying to bring you down and try to ruin your image and your reputation.

“It would just force me out and I would need to go somewhere where I don’t get abused and if that’s the case then it would be a shame.”

Wales & Ireland ~ The view from New Zealand

Six Nations sides Wales and Ireland were on the receiving end of a barrage of criticism from the British press following their early exits from the Rugby World Cup.

Ireland failed to beat Argentina in Paris this morning which saw them finish third in the "Pool of Death", while Wales, grand slam champions in 2005, were upset by Fiji in a scintillating match in Nantes yesterday.

"One of the darkest days in Welsh rugby history," said former Wales captain Iuean Evan in the Daily Telegraph.

"You look at the quality of players we have and the huge amount of experience, especially in the back line, and you wonder how on earth we can be so devoid of leadership, composure and clarity of thought and deed.

"It has been a really bad World Cup for Wales, who have only performed in patches," he said.

Wales on Sunday columnist Barry John also waded into the Welsh performance, expressing disbelief at how they lost to the lowly-ranked Fijians.

"The Welsh team were so static, they don't think on their feet, there's no drive, no mental spark and Wales somehow made a relatively average side looked like world-beaters," he said.


"We must remember yesterday that we were not playing one of the super-powers but one of world rugby's second-tier nations.

"I'm in total shock how Wales lost, won, then lost again a game they should have been able to kill off effectively," he said.

Another former captain, Phill Bennett, called for the Welsh Rugby Union to take action to keep interest in the side.

"We're in a bit of a mess in Wales at the moment. Welsh rugby is at a crossroads and I'm looking for leadership now," he said on the BBC.

"Some of those people on the WRU board - Roger Lewis, David Pickering, Gerald Davies - have got to come up with answers in the next few days to reassure the nation."


Ireland weren't treated much better.

A season which began so promising by winning the Triple Crown ended with the Irish exiting the World Cup in the pool stages for the first time.

"Attitude, that's what has been missing," said Irish legend Willie John McBride in the Belfast Telegrapgh.

"There has been no urgency and that comes from attitude. It's the desire not to be second best.

"We don't have that, we are living in the comfort zone," he said.

The Irish Times said it is time for the Irish to return home and face the music, while also signalling out first-five eighth Ronan O'Gara for his lack of performance throughout the tournament.

"Ireland must return home and analyse where it went wrong for a squad that was billed as one of the most talented ever to don the green jersey, not just by the media and the public, but by themselves and their coaching staff.

"The performance from Ireland was better than the previous three, but that says little considering the standards set.

"Ronan O'Gara, heralded by some as the second best outhalf in the world, again fell drastically short of the level required to compete on this stage."

- NZ HERALD STAFF

Sad Sad Wales

Gareth fails to deliver
Sep 30 2007




by Simon Roberts, Wales On Sunday


GARETH JENKINS couldn’t even keep his appointment with judgement day after Wales’ humiliating exit from the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.

The Wales coach asked to be judged on this World Cup, setting himself a minimum requirement of a quarter-final place.

But the former Scarlets supremo didn’t even make it that far as Fiji joined their Pacific Islands neighbours Samoa in claiming the scalp of Wales in the competition.

Jenkins became the third Wales coach to fail to reach the knockout stages of rugby’s showpiece event.

He joins Alan Davies in 1991 and Alex Evans four years later in an unwanted select band, but neither of them had the time Jenkins has had in charge.




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That pair were effectively caretaker coaches, handed mission impossibles on the eve of the tournaments.


By contrast, Jenkins has had 16 months to build a record of played 20, won six, lost 13 and drawn one.


Those statistics show how much Wales have stagnated with him in charge.


And for that reason alone, his position as national coach is now untenable.


He is a passionate and decent man, but it’s time for him resign and acknowledge that Test match rugby came too late in his coaching career.


Wales were clueless for much of this match and didn’t deserve to reach the quarter-finals.


Jenkins accepted his part in this desperate afternoon for Welsh rugby with dignity and deep down he knows his future as national coach is probably over.


But he isn’t the only one culpable for this sorry state of affairs – this has been coming for a long, long time.


Grand Slam-winning coach Mike Ruddock has to take his share of the responsibility.


His decision to walk away from the job, with 16 months to go until the World Cup, forced the need for a new coach when they should have been in the middle of planning for the tournament.


The Welsh Rugby Union Board, who bowed to the public clamour for Jenkins’ appointment, are also culpable.


They made a decision to ease the public pressure on their own positions, rather than on who could do the job. This was a mess of their own creation.


The Welsh players have to take their share of the responsibility for what happens on the field.


They didn’t even look like a team against Fiji and were embarrassed by the collective spirit of the men in white.


There is something rotten to the core of a team when you see the sight of Dwayne Peel being replaced by Mike Phillips and they don’t even acknowledge each other as they pass on the park.


One of the admirable qualities of this Wales squad was their tightness as a group. It evaporated in Nantes yesterday.


After the game, Jenkins quite rightly pointed to the unrealistic expectation heaped on the Wales national side and the lack of respect for what other rugby nations around the world are capable of doing.


But the finances and the so-called professionalism in Welsh rugby deserves better than the sorry shambles on this French field.


Wales are a better rugby nation than this – but one that has been struck by a real malaise and a lack of leadership.


Jenkins must have seen this defeat coming. The standards, on and off the field, have simply not been good enough.


The benchmark of any professional coach is whether he improves on what went before. Jenkins has not done that.


Graham Henry and Steve Hansen, two former Wales coaches now with New Zealand, both reached the last eight of the World Cup with less talented and less experienced squads than Jenkins has had at his disposal.


Four years ago, at the same stage of the tournament, Wales lit up the 2003 World Cup in Australia with a breathtaking performance against the All Blacks which breathed life back into our national game.


Four years on, a stronger and more experienced Wales squad have failed to realise their full potential, stuttered their way through and flattered to deceive throughout France 2007.


Wales did start with real purpose and were unlucky not to take the lead after only the first minute.


Stephen Jones spun out of a few tackle to launch a counter-attack, only for Shane Williams to be tackled into touch just short of the corner flag.


Fly-half Jones converted and missed a penalty before Wales were rocked by an incredible salvo of three tries in nine minutes by Fiji, which left the men in red reeling at 25-3 midway through the first half.


Wales only had themselves to blame after some of the dumbest rugby you will have ever seen on a rugby field.


They appeared to have taken the sting out of the Fijians, but then the Welsh players decided to throw the ball around.


The Welsh pack had been dominant in the scrum, but Gloucester-bound flanker Akapusa Qera, who was the most influential player on the field, started the ball rolling with his side’s first try.


Vilimoni Delasau then notched a superb opportunist score after he kicked his way around and over the Welsh defence, beating Gareth Thomas and Mark Jones to the bounce, before giant lock Kele Leawere crashed over from short-range to stun Wales.


Wales finally woke up and shunned some easy penalty shots at goal to apply the pressure through the scrum and after a handful attempts, No 8 Alix Popham crossed and they went in 25-10 behind.


After the break, they managed to reply, while flanker Qera was in the sin-bin, with a superb solo try by wing Shane Williams before Thomas celebrated his 100th cap with his 40th try for his country.


Wing Mark Jones added another, only for ex-Pontypridd outside-half Nicky Little to edge Fiji ahead.


Wales finally looked to have it won when Martyn Williams scored from a late interception. But the Fijians roared into attack and Graham Deves crawled over from short-range to send Wales home from the World Cup.


Sadly, it was all they deserved for such a disappointing tournament.


Wales Tries: A Popham, S Williams, G Thomas, M Jones, M Williams; Cons: S Jones (2), J Hook; Pens: J Hook


Fiji Tries: A Qera, V Delasau, K Leaware, G Deves; Cons: N Little (3); Pens: N Little (4)