Day: 17 February 2012

Manchester Men’s Rugby League 1st team dispatched Bradford 1sts with a ruthless and belligerent display at the Armitage last Wednesday. The current champions of the Northern Rugby League Shield underlined their credentials as one of the favourites to go all the way this year by showing that size does not always matter. With a reputation of fielding 13 “Hagrids” in every game, Bradford did not disappoint and produced a side that greatly outsized the Manchester team in almost every position. Having concentrated on an expansive and pacey game-plan during the week, Coach Neil Blackburn unleashed a fired up team who were intent on making the Bradford team realise the deficiency of being too big. With little sunshine and wind, conditions were perfect for rugby and suited the home side.
The first 10 minutes actually saw the expansive strategy being thrown out of the window as the forwards, led by Chris Bower, smashed unscrupulously into the Bradford defence and made good ground with low risk rugby. In defence, the Bradford team showed a depraved level of non-creativity and to their surprise, found themselves going backwards in the tackle as Manchester’s defensive line rushed up and broke them down with some massive hits. With the opening credits going to Manchester, Bradford found a piece of luck off a Manchester kick and scored a try from deep within their own half.
Without panicking, Manchester found another gear and pulled Bradford around the pitch hither and thither, resulting in a very well earned try after 15 minutes. As the Bradford team tried to regroup, Manchester kept the relentless pace and power levels up and continued to pump away at the Bradford defensive line, scoring a further two tries on the half hour mark. Bradford tried in vain to gain the upper hand but fitness levels held them back and by half time, they had been reduced to gasping elephants in the dry season whilst Manchester scored another try which threatened a rout.
What was most pronounced during the first half was the superior skills in the backs between the two teams. Manchester’s handling and ability to throw the ball out wide started to make the difference as Bradford struggled to stretch the Mancunian defence. This created very little gaps for Bradford to run at and allowed Manchester to flood the defence and have at least two people to every tackle. With Bradford going backwards at the breakdown, Manchester found themselves going forward in defence. With half time looming, Manchester remained camped in the Bradford half and gave them very little scope to escape.
After a quick refreshment, Bradford came out fired up after the second half and managed to gain a foothold on the game by taking advantage of a poor 20 minute spell from Manchester. With ball going to ground and passes being incomplete, the home side conceded two tries to bring them within touching distance of the lead. Chris Bates managed to regain parity for Manchester by scoring his second and third try and celebrated by performing his own version of the swan dive- a “rhino leap”. Realising the game was very much for the losing, Manchester’s backs picked up the pace again and showed some real skill by offloading out of the tackle and making threatening half breaks to keep the go forward momentum.
Bradford, to their credit, did well to contain a Manchester side who were desperate to score more tries and only some very fine defending and a few studs kept Manchester at bay. With time running out for Bradford, Manchester continued to control the game and maintained their high energy levels to ensure that they would progress through to the next round of the cup.
Coach Neil Blackburn said after the game, “This is our cup with our name on it and we dominated a big Bradford side at their own physical game. The forwards were magnificent and when it came to skill levels, there was only going to be one team that would win. Having said that we need to keep raising our performances and work harder in training. Against a fitter side our poor twenty minutes could have cost us the game so we need to improve our concentration and maintain a high level of discipline, no matter what the score is.”
Captain Chris Bower said, “I’m really pleased for the boys. We were pretty apprehensive before this game because we knew we were up against a very physical team who have won some huge games this season. The forwards fronted up and did better than I expected in contact considering we were so much smaller. We’ve got a few injuries from this game but it was to be expected in a clash like this.”
Manchester Men’s Rugby League Club would like to thank Walkabout for their continued support of the club.

Not many university clubs inspire such hatred as that expressed of SKUM (the ski and snowboard club). They make the loudest noise at the Welcome Week AU fair year on year, attracting hundreds and hundreds of members, more than any other university society or club.

Traditionally, the club has been more interested in heavy drinking, self-congratulatory ‘banter’ and acting disreputably than in actual sport. This is perhaps best seen in the Christmas and Easter trips to the French and Austrian Alps which are remembered as the best university memories of those who undertake the nine days of debauchery and alpine life. However, their weekly activities and members are best avoided in normal campus life for fear of being assimilated into their ranks of douche-baggery, so their reputation stands.

However this is a flawed perception, held by students and staff alike. Here are some of the real facts about SKUM:

The snowboard race team have won the regional British university indoor championships (BUISC) three years in a row. They also won the BUISC Finals last year and the British university dry slope championships, making them the best snowboard university race team in the country, on snow and artificial slopes. The ski race team won the regional dry slope league last year and came second his year, as well as third at the BUISC regionals. In team snow sports racing SKUM are national level champions.

In individual competitions SKUM riders have also been exceptionally successful. At BUISC regionals at Xscape in Castleford this month, Sophie Myles finished first in the female snowboard slalom, Jeni Thomas second in female ski slalom, while Sam Davis finished third in men’s snowboard slalom. Consistently achieving good results, SKUM’s reputation at other university snow sports clubs is of a strong competitive force, albeit it as well as other connotations attached to their off-slope activities. In this competitive spirit SKUM arranged the first ever snow sports Varsity competition at Chill Factore (local snow dome) with a men’s and ladies individual head-to-head slalom knockout competition and a freestyle open jam for Manchester, MMU and Salford. SKUM came out on top in this competition as well.

A second Varsity event and the Christie Cup are upcoming competitions that have been put together by the students involved in SKUM and their counterparts at other universities.

This year for the first time in five years, SKUM are taking part in the BUSC Main Event, in Austria. The pinnacle of university snow sports, SKUM intend to take 225 students for a week to Saalbach Hinterglemm to experience a festival of student snow sports and the SKUM holiday experience amped up to new levels. World Class DJs, incredible snow conditions and plush accommodation, anyone who’s been on a student ski holiday to France will be surprised by the change in atmosphere in Austria and the sheer scale of Main Event.
SKUM are a competitive sports club, a holiday club and a social club. They strive to achieve the best in all three of these areas and create incredible memories along the way.

How does the competitive side of SKUM work?
Sam: We race on dry slope and indoor. The first term we did a lot more dry slope as we compete in the King’s league which is a dry slope competition. There are four rounds split over the two semesters with seven teams from the north qualifying. SKUM snowboard team came third in the league; the mixed ski team came a narrow second, missing out by just a point. We had four teams qualify for finals out of six which was a great achievement.
Does this involve a lot of intense training and is there a difference in the type of training done for different surfaces?
Sam: We try and do race training once a week but it often depends on finances, we get most of our income from memberships and our holidays.”, we train on a Wednesday at either chill factor or Rosendale dry slope where we were for the first semester in preparation for the dry slope competitions
Jeni: The training is very similar although the skiing is very different.
Sam: We go about it in the same way but there is a slightly different technique. Obviously we much prefer racing on snow but interestingly at the start of the year as we trained more on dry slope, I actually felt like I was better on dry slope than I was snow, just because you practice more on one, it might not be as fun but it is definitely a more challenging discipline.
Are you excited for the Main Event in Austria and what are your expectations?
Sam – I can’t wait, It’s a week of competitions and parties with 50 universities and 1,500 students. It’s the pinnacle of university skiing, It’s on proper snow and it’s in Alps! I honestly I feel like we have some serious contenders this year for doing very well in the competition Our main competitors out there will be Sophie and Jeni alongside Gus Nisbet who qualified for the BUIS finals finishing fifth.
Jeni: From what I’ve seen the standard is really high and there is also great freestyle skiing to go and watch so it should be an awesome week.
Jeni, having skied with the Welsh National setup how does SKUM compare?
Jeni: Welsh national skiing is obviously a lot more competitive and intense. But SKUM takes it seriously too and we’re a really competitive squad so it’s still the same feeling. When I was looking at universities I checked SKUM out as it has such a good reputation on the university ski circuit and it was one of the main reasons I chose to study at Manchester.
Who is the person you looked up to in snow sports?
Jeni: For me it would be skier Lindsey Vonn, she’s amazing. I love watching her slalom videos.
Sam: There aren’t many snowboard slalom racers, it isn’t as watched as ski racing, so personally it’s not really someone I look up to but someone I want to do as well as which for me is Miles Mcneilly who was in the club last year and is now on the Great Britain development squad for board course, he had an amazing season last year and if anything I’d like to try and get somewhere that good, that’s the dream.
Sophie: I don’t watch many slalom videos as there aren’t many well known female snow boarders, I prefer it when it they head off into the woods! And also like watching freestyle but I can’t do it!
Do the race team play a big part in the social scene of the Club?
Sophie: If I’ve got a race the next day I won’t go as hard, but it’s still a really important part of the club
Sam: The competitors are very much the core of SKUM, it’s not a case of they compete and the social side is a separate part of the club, the competitors are massively integrated into the club. I think it helps because we do team racing so it’s really important to get on and be able to get it each other motivated, we’ll always have a few drinks together.

Gerald McClellan’s story is one of perhaps the most tragic in modern day boxing, with his infamous bout with Nigel Benn back in 1995 ending in tragedy and becoming one of the darkest days in modern boxing history.
The fight was arguably the most eagerly anticipated of the decade, and 13 million viewers tuned in to watch two fighters at their peak go toe to toe for the heavyweight title of the world. Having comfortably controlled the fight for large parts, McClellan began to display some strange behaviour in the later rounds, most notably being unable to keep his mouth guard in and seemingly be struggling for breath. In the 10th round, McClellan took a mandatory 8 count, despite not having actually having been hit with any great force. Disaster soon followed as McClellan once again took a knee in the middle of the ring, this time he did not get up, handing Benn what appeared to be an incredible victory. However, after collapsing in his corner and being rushed to hospital, it was revealed that McClellan had suffered a severe blood clot in his brain, and subsequently lost the use of his legs, eyesight and 80 percent of his hearing.
Boxing was rocked, and sweeping changes in the way the sport was supervised by medical staff came into force, with authorities keen to ensure such a tragedy did not occur again. For McClellan however, stories surrounding his private life, specifically accusations of being involved with illegal dog fighting prior to his injury, have seen sympathy for the fighter limited and his reputation ultimately tarnished.
Nowadays, McClellan relies on a trust fund set up by his family which pays for his various medical expenses as he gradually recovers his lost senses. A recent ITV documentary ‘The Fight of Our Lives’ captured the meeting of Benn and McClellan for the first time since the fight, and how the boxing world still has great respect for McClellan the fighter and warrior, raising over £200,000 for his charity. Ultimately however, his story remains one which many are keen to forget, and has been swept under the carpet by the boxing world in an attempt to erase this perilous aspect of the sport. Whilst McClellan now has regained his ability to walk and to speak, his life remains one fraught with difficulty, and he still stands as the main example of the real danger fighters face when they lace up the gloves and step into the ring.

The look of disbelief on Andy Robinson’s face was one to behold as he had watched his side yet again press the self destruct button last weekend in their Six Nations clash with Wales they could so easily have won. The Scots had showed themselves to be more than capable of competing and arguably had the better of a tight first period just as they had done against England the previous week. Yet in the first 15 minutes of the second half they had two men sin binned to leave themselves perilously short in the face of a powerful Welsh side who took full advantage. Their backline wreaked havoc, cutting through the obvious gaps now appearing to score 24 points in 20 minutes. The culprits, Nick de Luca and Rory Lamont must hang their heads after giving away needless infringements.
The Scottish camp should however look for the positives. The pack matched their opponents with Ross Rennie providing the heartbeat alongside the young David Denton who built upon his man of the match display against England to again impress, especially with the ball in hand. Lock Richie Gray meanwhile charged around with his usual full-blooded vigour and looks more like a potential Lions starter the more games he plays at this level.
The backs however must take criticism for both the sin bins and their profligacy in front of the white line. What can be said in their defence is that in the final 20 minutes when victory was beyond them, the Scottish backline played with a freedom not seen since the days of Gregor Townsend. The performance of Greig Laidlaw at fly half was particularly promising with his distribution skills looking to finally galvanize the men outside him in the games later stages. The converted scrum half must however improve his defence if he is to have a future in the international game. Sean Lamont was an effective battering ram inside him although it remains to be seen whether the expansive game forwarded by Laidlaw requires a more ball playing inside centre.
Young players such as Stuart Hogg and Lee Jones also showed flashes of speed and guile that could bear fruit by the end of the tournament and beyond. Yet the likes of De Luca, who has always flattered to deceive on the international stage despite excellent club form, must now step up or be replaced. Young players such as Edinburgh’s Matt Scott and Clermont Auvergne’s Mark Bennett are two men who could potentially provide a creative spark in Scotland’s midfield in his place.
Scotland must for now refocus as picking up the wooden spoon in this year’s tournament is still very much a reality. Their main rivals for the unwanted crown are perennial last place finishers Italy, yet the Azzuri have shown much promise in their opening games and are arguably just a quality half back combination away from being a genuine force in world rugby. Cut out the unforced errors however and it could just be that this group of Scottish players finally fulfil their undoubted potential.

“When everything seems to be going against you remember that aeroplanes take off against the wind, not with it”. Now, Chris Hughton is not, as far as I am aware, an aviation expert. Hughton though, like Henry Ford, is astutely conscious that overcoming adversity is an essential component of becoming successful. The Birmingham City manager is unquestionably well-acquainted with the concept, having flourished in the football-hotbed of the North East, despite inexplicably being relieved of his duties by the querulous Mike Ashley.

At his current employers, he has operated admirably under greater boardroom uncertainty, with owner Carson Yeung’s money-laundering trial in November meaning loan signings and free transfers are the only viable options in the transfer market. Moreover, it is worth stressing that the Blues have lost twenty first-team players in the last twelve months in a significant cost-cutting exercise. Many fans were desperate to retain the services of their star assets, and were disappointed to see the likes of Sebastian Larsson, Roger Johnson and most recently Liam Ridgewell return to the top echelon of English football.

This mass exodus and complete overhaul at St Andrews has resulted in Birmingham possessing one of the leanest squads in the Championship. European commitments mean 41 fixtures have been completed already and inevitably concern over the impact of burn-out, injuries and suspensions on such a small squad has been mentioned. However, one gets the impression that this will not deter Hughton and his devoted group of players who managed to juggle European fixtures with important League matches without great difficulty.

Birmingham’s European adventure-contrary to what many pundits predicted-appeared to have a positive outcome on the squad with away trips to Belgium, Portugal, and Slovenia helping to develop a tight-knit group. In addition, the squad is arguably one of the fittest in the division with the players used to the habit of both midweek and weekend fixtures. Hughton’s well-documented tactical nous and enjoyable coaching sessions were undoubtedly factors in Birmingham’s European success. Despite failing to qualify, a very respectable 10 points was accrued in a particularly challenging group.

Domestically, the Brummies have recovered in recent months and are now unbeaten in their last 12 games in all competitions. Home is certainly where the heart is for Hughton whose team are unbeaten at St Andrews this season, in contrast to predecessor Alex McLeish, down the road at Aston Villa, who are without a home victory since November. Their success can partly be put down to their strong defence with Steven Caldwell and Curtis Davies helping the team become the best defensive unit in the division; the latter being awarded January’s Championship player of the month.

Hughton’s contribution to the club is all the more impressive considering the absence of household names in the squad with the players buying into the notion that the team comes first. Hughton’s squad does not contain the level of quality that was in his Newcastle United outfit that deservedly claimed the Championship title in 2009/10. During that triumphant campaign Hughton had at his disposal. If Hughton were to achieve promotion with this flying Birmingham City side it would undoubtedly be a more significant achievement than his exploits on Tyneside.

For all the enduring memories that the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations has given us, there is one moment which stands out above any other. The sight of Kalusha Bwalya, captain of the tragic Zambian team of 1993, holding the trophy aloft on Sunday night provided a poignant reminder as to the enormity of his country’s triumph.
Zambia’s final victory over Ivory Coast ranks as perhaps the greatest upset in the history of African football. The Elephants were almost unanimously regarded as favourites for the competition, and while all but one of the Ivory Coast squad feature in Europe’s top leagues, most of the Zambians have yet to play outside of Africa.Ivory Coast boast the likes of Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Cheick Tiote in their starting line-up. The most ‘famous’ player in the Zambia team is centre forward Christopher Katongo, who plays his football for Chinese Super League outfit Henan Construction FC.
As a footballing triumph, it is arguably unparalleled, but there is an added significance to their victory. In 1993, almost the entire Zambian team were killed in a plane crash directly off the coast of Libreville, Gabon, the city in which this year’s final was held. As the one surviving member of that side, Captain Kashula Bwalya was left with the task of building a new team in time for 1994 Africa Cup of Nations. After quite remarkably reaching the final of that tournament, Bwalya continued his involvement with the national side, which included a stint as manager and as a boardroom member, before moving on to become president of the Zambian FA.
For current manager Hervé Renard and his team, his influence is inescapable. Renard was largely omitted from the celebrations as Stopila Sunzu converted the winning penalty, the players instead rushing in the direction of Bwalya, their victory a lasting monument to the team he had lost. The coach went on to dedicate their success to Bwalya, a triumph which he described as ‘destiny’. The joy was unconfined, but it is difficult to imagine how Bwalya must have felt as he stood atop the winner’s podium, trophy in hand, surrounded by a group of young players who should perhaps rightfully have been his teammates.
The Zambian team returned to a hero’s welcome, but they are perhaps not the only minnows who may be afforded such gratitude. In the absence of such heavyweight nations as South Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon, many of the smaller countries prospered at this year’s tournament, not least tournament co-hosts Equitorial Guinea, who stunned Senegal en route to the last eight, where they were unfortunately outclassed by Ivory Coast. Likewise, their fellow co-hosts Gabon, who were widely praised for their mode of efficient, yet attacking football as they came within a penalty shootout of reaching the semi-finals. The tournament was also something of a success for a post-Gaddafi Libya, who won a match at the finals for the first time in 30 years.
This will, however, be remembered as Zambia’s tournament. Kalusha Bwalya never learned whether his promising team would become champions of Africa. 19 years later, his country can finally boast a team, and more importantly a trophy, that is a fitting testament to those tragic young men.