Today's other stories in brief
Top seed White has to stay focused
SQUASH: There were no surprises in round one of the Irish Open yesterday as the title contenders booked their places in the quarter-finals. The men's top seed John White beat France's Julian Balbo 3-1 in a tighter than expected match.
Defending champion Alex Gough beat his Welsh counterpart Rob Sutherland 3-1.
In the women's draw, top seed and world number eight Vicky Botwright outclassed Ireland's Aisling Blake in round one. The Galway player put up a good fight in the opening game losing out 9-6 but her English opponent eased through the next two to take the match 3-0.
Defending champion Madeline Perry edged past England's Sarah Kippax in a tight five-set match. Perry won the last two sets.
IRISH RESULTS: Men's first round: A Frankcomb (Aus) (7) bt A Gaskin (Irl) 3-0 (11/7, 11/8, 11/9). Women's first round: V Botwright (Eng) (1) bt A Blake (Irl) 3-0 (9/6, 9/0, 9/3); M P (Irl) (4) bt SKippax (Eng) 3-2 (9/4, 7/9, 4/9, 9/4, 9/3).
Wicklow minors to field a team
HURLING: Wicklow expect to have a minor hurling team for next Sunday's away Leinster championship game against Meath at Dunboyne. Last weekend they could muster only 13 players for the match against Weatmeath and they togged in and went home at half-time, trailing their opponents by 9-22 to nil at that stage.
Arklow's Martin Barnes, who has taken charge of the minor hurlers after the management team resigned en mass three weeks ago, said they had 13 players at training on Tuesday night while another seven players gave reasons why they could not attend. "I am quite happy with the situation and I can say we will have a team for Sunday's clash with Meath," said Barnes. "Whatever happened last weekend, we are going to have to sit down and find ways to ensure that it never happens again."
World Cup set to lose longest-standing sponsor
RUGBY: The World Cup has lost Visa as one of its longest-standing main sponsors, a source close to the deal said yesterday.
"The International Rugby Board (IRB) were informed last night," the source said. "Visa has had a good relationship with the competition but now wants to concentrate on other big events."
The company has backed the last four World Cups dating back to the 1995 edition in South Africa. It is also a major sponsor of the soccer World Cup and the winter and summer Olympics and those deals would continue, the source said.
No figure for the value of the rugby sponsorship was available but the source said it "ran into multi-millions of dollars".
An IRB spokesman said he had not been informed of the decision. "The first meeting of the IRB discussing the next World Cup (in New Zealand in 2011) will be held on the 29th of this month," he said.
Meanwhile, England captain Phil Vickery is likely to be out of action for eight weeks because of a torn knee ligament, his club Wasps said yesterday.
The 32-year-old prop was injured during the English Premiership clash against Sale Sharks on Tuesday and a scan showed a torn medial collateral ligament of his right knee.
He is expected to miss England's tour to New Zealand in June.
McGuigan junior in the spotlight
BOXING: If 18-year-old Shane McGuigan is to scale the heights his famous father Barry did then he is going to have to do it under the harsh glare of the media spotlight.
McGuigan junior won his first competitive bout in Ireland on Tuesday night, recording a convincing 27-5 69kg win over Terry Garland at the Ulster senior championships in a packed-out Dock workers club in Belfast.
Almost every media outlet in Ulster turned out for the fight and they will be back again tonight to see what one reporter described as "the welterweight version of the Clones Cyclone" in action in his 69kg semi-final with James Ferrin.
McGuigan senior was in his son's corner on Tuesday along with Lee Pullen.
Bourdais wrecks new car in test
MOTOR SPORT: Sebastien Bourdais was left red-faced yesterday after wrecking Toro Rosso's new car on its maiden appearance. The team unveiled the STR3, a car they are hoping will make its full debut at next month's Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul. But Bourdais, in his debut season in Formula One, crashed into a barrier on the third day of this week's test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya.
