The Six Nations final day try fest was the exhilarating
highlight of the past two months. The staggered kick-offs & points difference
favoured the running game as the title contenders tried to rack up the score. Will
we see a repeat In November ? The fear factor may induce a return to the
attritional style of power rugby.
In the Davis Cup two stand-out gruelling 5 setters stood out,
and to describe them as marathons seems inadequate. James Ward’s gritty five
hour comeback win over Isner was incredibly surpassed by Mayer v Souza. The 6
hr 43 match was the longest in Davis Cup history, beating Wilander-McEnroe. Although
a great spectacle for the fans, such long matches are perhaps too tough for the
players. Neither Mayer nor Souza have played since their epic rubber.
Nadal lost a match on clay-to Fognini in the Rio semis. Last
year he recovered to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros. I
wonder if one of the young guns like Coric could thwart a 10th title this time.
The Premier league may have the richest TV rights deal in Europe,
but not the playing quality to match. No English teams reached the
Quarter-Finals of European competition for the first time in 22 years. Arsenal
blew a great chance v Monaco & Chelsea couldn’t make an extra man count
against PSG.
Two ex-Soviet boxers excelled. Golovkin has the reputation as the most
fearsome puncher in the world, and Martin Murray was the latest knockout victim
of the Kazak. Kovalev followed up beating Hopkins with a dominant stoppage of
Jean Pascal.
