Compiled by JOHN O'SULLIVAN
History suggests call by Brookes is unwise
NEWCASTLE TIGHTHEAD prop-cum-hooker Kieran Brookes boasted dual qualification that permitted him to play for both Ireland and England. Last Sunday he effectively ended any argument about where his international future lay when coming on as a replacement for England in the defeat to the Barbarians at Twickenham.
He has been included in the England Saxons squad for the upcoming Churchill Cup. In rugby terms it confirms him as an England player.
Born in Stoke, the former Kirkham Grammar School pupil lined out for Ireland at under-18, under-19 and under-20 levels and during that period was invited to join the Leinster academy.
However, Newcastle offered the then 18-year-old a senior development contract and also pointed to the fact he would receive specialist tutelage from All Black colossus Carl Hayman, who played for the Falcons in those days. An illustration of just how highly regarded the young Brookes was can be gleaned from the fact he played two Amlin Challenge Cup matches in the frontrow at 18.
There’s little doubt that Newcastle encouraged him to explore his English qualifications and after three years in the Irish underage set-up he accepted an invitation to join the England Under 20 team. He wasn’t first choice. This wasn’t done on a whim; Brookes was no plastic-paddy.
At the time he listed his favourite player as Keith Wood and the best moment in his rugby career as “beating England in the European Under-18 championships.” It is difficult to escape the feeling the English RFU, while hoping he blossoms career-wise, want to bolt the door against him returning to the Ireland set-up. It is not the first time and certainly won’t be the last. It would be instructive to ascertain if anyone sat down and spoke to Brookes about what happened to players like Declan Danaher, Shane Geraghty and Nick Kennedy who had similar Irish/English options.
London Irish flanker Danaher – born to Irish parents, played Gaelic football in London – represented Ireland at underage level but at 22 opted to play for England Saxons and although he went on a senior tour of Argentina, he was never capped.
Geraghty, still just 24, has six England caps to his name, and despite starting with Ireland virtually his entire underage Test career, right up through the age-grades, was with England. Although conjecture, the likelihood is he would have won more caps with Ireland – it was the pre-Jonathan Sexton days and Geraghty would have been disputing the Irish jersey with Ronan O’Gara – than he has with England.
London Irish secondrow Kennedy is different in that his Irish ancestry is not parental but relates to his grandmother on his father’s side, who hails from Limerick. Although invited by the then Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan to join the Irish set-up, Kennedy had little choice in discerning his national identity. A prodigious talent, he has only seven English caps to show for it.
Brookes may go on to win many England caps but recent history suggests otherwise. First there is the small matter of edging past Dan Cole, Joe Marler, Paul Doran Jones, Mako Vunipola, Alex Corbisiero, to name just five.
Nicklaus lauds reclamation of 'Lake Muirfield'
THE greenkeeping staff at Muirfield Village Golf Club, home to this week’s Memorial Tournament, have been trying to keep their heads above water, literally, right up to the tournament start. Seven inches of rain fell in April, another seven in May and then last Thursday week an additional 0.7 inches soaked the venue in a quarter of an hour, turning the layout into what course designer and tournament host Jack Nicklaus described as “Lake Muirfield.”
Superintendent Pat Latshaw’s crew were out on the course rebuilding bunkers, restoring stream beds and cleaning up debris. Nicklaus was impressed: “I think the golf course, considering the spring you’ve had and the rain you had last week, couldn’t be better.” Nicklaus also is looking forward to seeing how the rebuilt 16th hole plays, introducing a lake to the left of the green. “One of the things that pushed (the redesign) was probably the Presidents Cup.” It will be played at the venue in 2013 and he explained: “The reason for that is when you go to matchplay, many matches finish around the 16th, 17th hole and I didn’t like to see those matches finish on a weak-ish hole.”
Recalling Rose's Lively voyage
ON THIS day, June 4th, 1968, fruit merchant and nursery owner Alec Rose sailed into Portsmouth to complete a 354-day, single-handed-round-the-world-voyage.
The 59-year-old Englishman was accompanied by a large flotilla of small craft as he sailed his 36-foot ketch Lively Lady into the harbour after his 28,500 mile solo trip – a gun was fired as he crossed the finishing line at 11.52am – and was greeted by a crowd estimated at 250,000.
The first matter of business for Rose was to be presented with a telegram from Queen Elizabeth II. It read: “Congratulations on your magnificent voyage. Welcome home – Elizabeth and Philip.” He received a knighthood the following day. The then English Prime Minster Harold Wilson also sent his best wishes. He was given the freedom of Portsmouth (1968) and made a freeman of the City of London (1969).
Rose had hoped to set out about the same time as Francis Chichester in 1966 – the latter became the first person to sail around the world single-handed by clipper route in Gypsy Moth IV – but had to put into Plymouth a matter of days after his August 7th departure because of damage to the boat.
He watched Chichester sail on August 27th, 1966 and it wasn’t until July 17th, 1967 that Rose began his global circumnavigation. It was far from plain sailing as the Englishman recalled in his book My Lively Lady, recounting how he lay unconscious for two hours after being overcome by fumes as he tried to repair an exhaust pipe.
“I said my prayers quite often on this trip. I felt there wasn’t much difference between me and eternity. At times my prayers were answered and the yacht and I got through.”
In June, 1968 Robin Knox-Johnston set sail to become the first person to circumnavigate the world non-stop and single handed, taking part in the Sunday Times Golden Globe race. It was an event that would gain notoriety that year when one of the competitors, Donald Crowhurst, committed suicide during the race, have falsified logs and lied about his progress as he gradually become mentally unstable.
Knox-Johnston completed the race in April, 1969 and gave his £5,000 prize to Crowhurst’s widow.
As for Rose, he remained a popular figure until his death, aged 82 in 1991.
Watch this . . . is Vedran a proper Charlie?
IT’S A dog-eared tale, the one about the elite Premier League player and his penchant for exuberant purchases that signify wealth rather than taste. The word understated isn’t part of his vocabulary. After all what’s wrong with a Bentley convertible; well nothing unless it’s pink and has a diamond-studded interior. Why, oh why?
It’s a generalisation but the examples are far more prevalent at the opposite end of the spectrum where a player displays a modicum of propriety in his expenditure. There are times though when the lines between the two can become slightly blurred and that seems to be the case in terms of Spurs’ 6ft 4in defender Vedran Corluka, who according to a British newspaper “shocked a nightclub waiter by swapping his £36,000 (€41,000) diamond watch for the man’s £150 (€171) timepiece.”
The waiter in question complimented Corluka on his Hublot watch – it’s a Swiss firm, whose products come under the tagline “representing the art of fusion in watches” – while at London’s Whisky Mist nightclub. The 25-year-old Croatian promptly exchanged his £36,000 timepiece for a Seiko. A source who claimed to have seen the swap added that Corluka handed the waiter his Hublot to examine, spotted the Seiko and suggested the exchange.
The Croatian’s generosity is striking but the less charitable amongst you might point to the nickname with which he is known at both the club and amongst the supporters: Charlie. In this case it seems appropriate to suggest that Vedran is a proper Charlie.
Badminton body gets a dressing down
THERE IS an old adage that a paragraph should be like a lady’s skirt: long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to keep it interesting. It’s a suggestion that may be applied to sundry other situations, one of which it seems is the dress code in female sporting endeavour, or so the Badminton World Federation (BWF) would seem to believe, following a recent edict demanding a change of dress code, literally, to “glamorise” the sport. Under the proposed new rule the BWF wanted women players to wear skirts or dresses during competitions as opposed to shorts or tracksuit bottoms.
Deputy president of the federation Paisan Rangsikitpho pleaded: “We’re not trying to use sex to promote the sport. We just want them to look feminine and have a nice presentation so women will be more popular.”
Scottish international Imogen Bankier described the plan as “sexist”, adding: “I understand what they are trying to do; make it more appealing to spectators and the media. I don’t think women wearing skirts is going to make it more aesthetically pleasing. If people want to see women in skirts they will go elsewhere; they won’t go to watch badminton.”
The rule was to have come into effect this week but the sport’s governing body was forced to backtrack and will not implement the alteration until a general review into the subject has been undertaken. The proposed change to playing attire was virulently opposed in Muslim countries.
