Issue 300 | April 12 2013

O’Driscoll wants one last shot

at success with the Lions

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Issue 300, April 12 2013

Radar

07 Happy birthday to us A look back at some of the stars to

have graced the front cover of this

very magazine in our 300th issue

08 Bloodgate We look back at a bloody mess in that Harlequins Heineken Cup semi four years ago this week

10 When Chelsea were fun The Blues’ 1997 FA Cup-winning

side played with big smiles. We ask

Gianluca Vialli why they’ve slipped o this coming weekFeatures

20 Brian O’Driscoll Ireland’s greatest ever centre talks

exclusively to us about his hopes of

ending his career with a triumphant

Lions Tour down under

27 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain England’s brightest young thing

(still) reflects on his second

season with the Gunners

34 Gary Cahill The Chelsea and England defender

on a potential double-winning and

World Cup qualifying year

38 Masters Top 10 We bring you Augusta’s biggest,

best and most devastating

climaxes before it all gets

serious again this weekend

Extra Time

56 Grooming Triumph & Disaster, Gillette and

Givenchy teach us how to be gents

– with help from Rudyard Kipling

58 Kit We get all inspired by the Marathon

and pick out the best running tops

in which to pound the pavements

62 Entertainment Ryan Gosling sparkles in The Place

Beyond the Pines and we say ‘yeah

yeah yeah’ to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

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Contents

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| April 12 2013 | 03

Limited availability. Prices are available one-way on Euro Traveller hand baggage only fares from London Gatwick only, and include taxes, fees and charges, correct as of 15/03/13 but are subject to change at any time. Two items of hand luggage means one piece of hand baggage plus a laptop, briefcase or handbag. Departing from London Gatwick to Amsterdam (Schiphol), Turin, Bordeaux (Mérignac), Genoa (Christopher Columbus International), Venice (Marco Polo), Verona (Villafranca), Barcelona (El Prat), Malaga, Alicante (El Altet), Edinburgh and Glasgow for travel between 01/06/13 – 07/07/13. For full terms and conditions go to ba.com/gatwick

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300 Sport mags

| April 12 2013 | 07

he triple ton is a bit of a funny one.

By the time a batsman gets to 300,

the crowd are just looking on in awe

and turning to the record books. Well, we’re

not quite in Brian Lara territory yet, but this

week marks the 300th issue of Sport, so

forgive us if we crack open a couple of bottles

of cheap Cava this morning.

Issue 1 came in September 2006 – the UK’s

first mass-distribution free magazine – and

since then there’s barely a major sportsman in

the world who has not graced our cover. We

live in a different world to the one in which we

first hit the streets (although this week’s cover

star was one of the world’s best back then, too),

but Sport continues to go from strength to

strength. So, thanks – because you’re reading

the magazine, you’re one of the people who

has helped to make it a success. We hope you

continue to enjoy it. Here’s to the next 300...

T

Issue 272 | September 7 2012

29-CARAT GOLD Sport speaks

to Team GB’s Olympicchampions

MAJOR TROPHIES WONISSUE #1 HENRY

FORMULA 1 WORLD TITLESISSUE #4 SCHUMACHER

Radarp08 – This week in sporting history: Bloodgate

p11 – Appoint yourself the Lord of Football

p10 – We ask Gianluca Vialli why Chelsea aren’t fun any more

Issue 257 | May 25 2012

Jess Ennis, the darling of Team GB, talks exclusively to Sport

Cover girl

NEW SQUAD NUMBER AT PSG ISSUE #22 BECKHAM

10-WICKET HAULS IN TESTS ISSUE #50 WARNE

INTERNATIONAL DROP GOALS ISSUE #61 WILKINSON

MAJOR WINS ISSUE #93 WOODS

CAREER HAT-TRICKSISSUE #126 RONALDO

STRIDES TO WIN OLYMPIC 100M ISSUE #180 BOLT

GOALS IN LA LIGA THIS SEASON ISSUE #198 MESSI

GOALS IN THE WORLD CUP ISSUE #232 PELE

OLYMPIC MEDALS ISSUE #130 PHELPS

GRAND SLAM SINGLES TITLES ISSUE #177 FEDERER

OLYMPIC AND WORLD GOLDS ISSUE #257 ENNIS

GB GOLDS AT LONDON 2012 ISSUE #272 OLYMPICS

Radar

08 | April 12 2013 |

hen rugby die-hards assert their

sport’s superiority over football,

the lack of theatrics is one of the

cruxes of their argument. At least it used

to be, until an infamous Heineken Cup

quarter final between Harlequins and

Leinster four years ago today.

Fly-half and kicker Nick Evans had

been forced off with an injury earlier

in the game, but with his team trailing

and his replacement injured, Quins wanted

to get him back on the pitch. The rules

prevented it, except as a blood sub –

and right on cue, winger Tom Williams

appeared to be bleeding from the mouth.

The commentators were immediately

sceptical, but blood is blood – so off came

Williams, and Evans returned to try and

help his side win the game (they lost 6-5,

with Evans missing a late drop-goal

attempt that would have won the game).

Something didn’t quite add up, and

Williams only added to the suspicion by

winking as he left the field. The authorities

investigated, unravelling the details of one

of the most incredible instances of

cheating the sport had ever seen.

A fake blood capsule from a joke shop in

Clapham was the key – Williams had burst

it in his mouth at the opportune moment to

facilitate the substitution. The club quickly

tried to cover up what had happened; team

doctor Wendy Chapman cut the inside of

Williams’ mouth with a razor, and director

of rugby Dean Richards pressured the

player to lie on the team’s behalf.

After an investigation, Williams was

banned for 12 months, but this was

shortened to four after he agreed to

come clean with the full details of the

affair. Richards was banned from rugby

for three years, as it transpired that

Harlequins had successfully pulled off the

same trick on four previous occasions,

while Chapman was suspended by the

General Medical Council for her part in the

cover-up. The legacy is new guidelines on

blood substitutions, and a useful riposte

for any football fans accused of watching

a ‘cheater’s sport’.

WTHIS WEEK IN SPORTING HISTORY

2009A BLOODY BIG MISTAKE

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SportgateOTHER SPORTING SCANDALS GIVEN THE DREADED -GATE SUFFIX INCLUDE:

INDYGATEFormula 1 has a penchant for scandal: we could have gone for Crashgate, Spygate or Buttongate instead of this series of events which turned the 2005 US Grand Prix into a shambles. Only six cars competed in the race after Michelin tyres were found to be unsafe on the steeply banked Indianapolis circuit.

MOGGIGATENamed after Juventus’ general manager Luciano Moggi, and more usually known as Calciopoli, this matchfixing scandal emerged in 2006. Moggi was accused of rigging games by selecting favourable referees. It saw Juventus relegated to Serie B (and deducted nine points) for the following season, with Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio docked points. The Old Lady was also stripped of her 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles. OVALGATEPakistan’s visit to the Oval in 2006 was marred by controversy when umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair accused the team of tampering with the ball on the fourth day of the fourth Test against England. The Pakistanis protested the decision by refusing to return to the field of play after tea, at which point – after a short wait – the umpires removed the bails and declared that they had forfeited the Test. Hair was later banned from umpiring by the ICC for his part in the farce, after an inquiry found no evidence of ball-tampering. In 2008, Hair resigned as an umpire to take up coaching.

10 | April 12 2013 |

Radar

WHY AREN’T CHELSEA FUN ANY MORE?

he Blues’ FA Cup match-up with Man City reminded us of their trophy-

winning exploits in the pre-Abramovich era, and in particular their

likeable 1997 FA Cup final side. Managed by Ruud Gullit, it included the

likes of Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli. We asked the bald Italian why the

club’s reputation has changed so drastically since Abramovich took over...

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WINNING WAYS“I think the club has moved on. It’s a

much bigger club than it was before.

When I was there, winning was

something unexpected. But now it’s a

duty because money has been spent,

and because of the kind of club

Chelsea has become internationally.

When you must win, it’s not so much

fun. The owner is demanding, and

with that some of the fun has gone.

But for the fans it’s fun to watch the

team playing well and winning things.”

FANS’ REVOLT“I think fans should always support

the club and the players no matter

what, as long as the players and

manager try their best. Sometimes

it’s difficult for the fans to be totally

committed because they’ve got their

own ideas. It’s difficult, because once

you win the Champions League the

expectations become incredibly high.

I’ve seen many clubs get to the top

and then struggle for the next couple

of seasons. ”

AN EASY JOB?“Being the manager of Chelsea is an

opportunity, but obviously with that

there are serious responsibilities.

If you come first, second or third,

you’ve done your job. But if you’re not

in the top three, then I think anybody

could do the job. You could probably

do the job.” Sadly Roman Abramovich

still hasn’t got back to us.

NO ONE LIKES US, WE DON’T CARE“Chelsea have got 25 top-class

players, and they would be regulars

in every side. I think with the likes of

John Terry, they’ve got top-class

personalities – so sometimes it’s just

a matter of how the press presents

the players. I think it’s something that

happens to all clubs; as soon as you

become particularly successful,

other clubs tend to dislike you a bit.

It’s happened to Manchester United

before, maybe Arsenal – I don’t see

that as being Chelsea’s fault.”

Gianluca Vialli was speaking at

the launch of Lords of Football,

out now on the PC. Visit

lordsoffootball.com

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| 11

Players ex machina

A furious Sir Alex

Ferguson once turned

up at a house party

to forcibly remove some of his

young players who were enjoying

their downtime – and possibly

confiscate a few bottles of red

for himself.

Most managers don’t have

nearly as much control over what

their players get up to outside of

training. But you now can, in new

computer game Lords of Football.

As well as barking instructions

from the sideline, you can

influence players’ lives off the

pitch by organising social events

and training, and even stage

interventions for wayward ones.

It’s a fascinating cross between

The Sims and Football Manager,

and well worth checking out if

you’re bored of the too-well-

media-trained, well-behaved

real modern footballer.

Lords of Football, out now, lordsoffootball.com

In Lords of Football you control every part

of your players’ lives - so stick on some

Phil Collins to stop them getting violent

12 | April 12 2013 |

Radar Editor’s letter

Editor-in-chief

Simon Caney

@simoncaney

Sport magazinePart of UTV Media plc 18 Hatfields, London SE1 8DJTelephone: 020 7959 7800 Fax: 020 7959 7942 Email: firstname.lastname@sport-magazine.co.uk

EditorialEditor-in-chief: Simon Caney (7951)Deputy editor: Tony Hodson (7954) Art editor: John Mahood (7860)Subeditor: Graham Willgoss (7431)Senior writers: Sarah Shephard (7958), Alex Reid (7915)Staff writers: Mark Coughlan (7901), Amit Katwala (7914)Picture editor: Julian Wait (7961)Designer: Matthew Samson (7861)Digital designer: Chris Firth (7952)Production manager: Tara Dixon (7963) Commercial Agency Sales Director: Iain Duffy (7991) Advertising Managers: Steve Hare (7930), Kevin O’Byrne (7832), Aaron Pinto del Rio (7918) Sales Executive: Joe Grant (7904)Distribution Manager: Sian George (7852) Distribution Assistant: Makrum Dudgeon Head of Online: Matt Davis (7825) Head of Communications: Laura Wootton (7913) Managing Director: Calum Macaulay PA to Managing Director: Deborah Dilworth (7826)

Colour reproduction: Rival Colour LtdPrinted by: Wyndeham Group Ltd

© UTV Media plc 2012UTV Media plc takes no responsibility for the content of advertisements placed in Sport magazine

£1 where sold Hearty thanks to: Jonathan Steel at Fasttrack, Marc and Emily at Chase PR and Dan French

Don’t forget: Help keep public transport clean and tidy for everyone by taking your copy of Sport away with you when you leave the bus or train.

LAUNCH OFTHE YEAR

2008

Total Average Distribution:

302,466 Jul-Dec 2012

www.sport-magazine.co.uk

@sportmaguk

facebook.com/sportmagazine

The other Neville-inspired song , chanted by

opposing supporters of teams visiting Old

Tra�ord, went a little bit like this: “If the Nevilles

play for England, so can I.” Over and over.

The enmity towards Gary and Phil was extreme. The former

because, while he was an extremely accomplished right back,

he was outspoken and made it clear which teams he didn’t

like (mainly Liverpool). And the latter, despite being the more

talented footballer of the two, for being seen as little more than

a utility player who made crucial mistakes whenever he put on

an England shirt.

Funny how times change, isn’t it? Gary is now a TV pundit of

such regard that even Liverpool players listen to what he says.

And Phil, having announced this week that he is leaving Everton

at the end of the season, was greeted with nothing but goodwill.

He will surely play another year or two, probably in the top flight,

and then will find plenty of doors open in either management or

the media (would BT sign him and pitch him in direct competition

with his brother?). Just like Gary, he speaks a lot of sense

about the game.

The reason, most likely, is that over the years we’ve come

to realise that the Nevilles just love football.

That’s all there is to it. They have allegiances, but then so

does any right-thinking football fan. Even going back to my

school days, I’ve never trusted those people who say: ‘I don’t

really support anyone, I just support the game.’ What rot.

Phil Neville clearly adores playing and wants to do so for

as long as he can. All football supporters appreciate that.

He’s been a great servant at Manchester United and Everton,

and there’s life left in the old dog yet.

Hurrah! Bravo! Well done the plucky British chaps for

overcoming the might of Russia in the Davis Cup last week.

Quite a result, and achieved with special singles performances

from James Ward and Dan Evans. The problem, sadly, is

that not a soul in this country understands how the Davis Cup

works. The Russia match was a Euro/Africa Group One tie and

now we’re in the World Group Playoffs. Someone wake me up

when we’ve won the thing, eh?

Right, I’m off to get myself comfy in front of the telly in

preparation for the Masters, finishing off the dregs of the

plonk that we got into the office this morning (see page 7).

If this Sunday is half as good as last year, we’re in for a treat.

Servant of the gameHe’s leaving Everton, but to quote an old terrace chant: Neville, Neville – your future’s immense

Cli

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Neville, Neville, you ain’t

half bad. Neville Neville

is the name of your dad

Reader comments of the week

Reading all the golf

features in today’s

@Sportmaguk has made

me rather excited for next

weekend’s Masters!

#returnoftiger #golfboys

@noppo85

Good Justin Rose

interview by @simoncaney

in @sportmaguk today.

Gets you thinking all things

#Masters.

@PLNickN

@tonyhodson1 Good

piece from you on

O’Neill, nice to see

someone dismantling

the usual pundit twaddle

from Coppell, Hansen

etc.

@ftm_paul

@JustinRose99 Just read

the feature on you in the

brilliant @Sportmaguk - all

the best at #TheMasters,

I’ll be backing you to win!

@IGNelson

Fave quote from

@PFNicholls interview w/

@Sportmaguk At home

‘Neptune was always lazy

and bloody slow’! Ha ha!

Made up for it

@NaomiALawson

Free iPad app available on iPad, Kindle and Android devices

Cover of the Year

Sad 2 read

@Sportmaguk think

Premier title is slipping

from Sky Blues’ grasp.

Does standing mid-table

in Div 3 really rule us out?

#ccfc

@earsopen

Get in touch @sportmaguk info@sport-magazine.co.uk

14 | April 12 2013 |

Radar Opinion

As a professional rugby player, one of the main challenges was having to constantly disprove

the lazy assumptions of the masses. In football, mistakes are always met with cockney

cries (in my house, anyway) of ‘Hundred grand a

week?!’ In rugby, meanwhile, a poor performance is

generally met with accusatory snipes surrounding

insufficient time spent training and far too much

time spent sipping lattes and generally smiling.

Of course, in these transparent times, social

media means that very little of what one does

outside the home remains unknown. (As well as

lots that goes on inside it – I have a neighbour who,

when drunk in the local pub, admitted that he often

sits in his bedroom and looks directly at me and my

wife in our lounge. He admitted this after having

tweeted a picture of me in my underpants

watching Match of the Day – this is not a joke.)

Tweets such as “Nice lunch with the lads” go

from being a harmless insight to hard evidence of

arrogance and laziness once a result goes the

wrong way.

But I want to banish these presumptions for

good. Rugby players don’t just drink coffee and eat

protein in their spare time – they play golf, too.

And that’s hard. Around 2007, I was sat in my

favourite armchair at 2pm watching an episode of

The Wire. I was enjoying it hugely – Omar being my

favourite character by a mile – but was hit by a

sudden jolt of uselessness. What was I doing?

I was injured at the time and, as a rule, my

working days tended to finish by about midday.

So I would sulk, close the shutters and wallow in

an almost painfully unproductive state.

Once the body started working a bit better,

I decided to get myself a hobby. I considered,

through a love of the motor car, becoming a

mechanic. But I broke the Dyson and had to buy

a new one. At least the trip to Curry’s was

something to do. I thought about gardening, too,

but couldn’t risk being caught in conversation by

someone in sandals at the local garden centre.

So I turned to golf. “What do you do?” asked the

man in the club shop and, upon hearing my answer,

proclaimed: “You’ll have no problem, then; your

hand-eye must be awesome.” I could barely hit a

single ball. It was a moment of stark realisation

and a lightning bolt of self-awareness shot

through my unprepared soul. I was crap at most

things, so the search for something constructive

to do with my midweek downtime had to continue.

Eventually I stumbled into writing, and you

might argue that I’m no better at that than I was

at golf, but a refusal to stop sending in words –

despite tearful pleas from the staff at Sport –

seems to be keeping things going.

So, when you assume the position and tune into

the Masters this weekend, think how hard these

guys actually work to be where they are. I do

wonder what – horrid Santander TV adverts aside

– these chaps do when they’re not practising,

though. I heard some of them play computer games.

Computer games? This lot just don’t know

they’re born.

@davidflatman

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Flats on Friday

Because everybody needs a hobby...

Is there anything more dispiriting than finding out your favourite player or sportsman is from the other side of the fence,

politically? Not if you’ve got a pulse. It’s a fact that Gary

Lineker, the kind of man who goes to the effort of voting

‘don’t know’ in internet polls, understands perfectly.

“Very few divide opinion like Baroness Thatcher,” he

tweeted this week. “Loved and loathed in equal measure,

but remembered by all.” Thanks, Gary. Incisive, politically

acute and – more importantly – as neutral as your BBC

paymasters would like you to be. Why bother, man?

Jenson Button was slightly less cautious, tweeting

David Cameron’s belief that “we’ve lost a great leader

and a great Briton”.

The notoriously media

and popularity-averse

Will Carling, playing to the

rugby union demographic,

went with: “Sad to hear

Margaret Thatcher died

this am. Not into politics,

but she was a leader,

unlike many who’s only

concern is media & popularity.”

Stan Collymore was impassioned and informed, but

you can only imagine how frustrated the predictably

splenetic Joey Barton was to be in a country where

nobody gave a toss what he thought (he was back in

England at the time). The thoughts of Peter Odemwingie

are, fortuitously, unavailable anywhere – and that

includes inside his head.

But, wafting away all the Twitter methane, it was a

picture from a different era that really grabbed my

attention. It was a press call outside 10 Downing Street,

and it featured Margaret Thatcher – the woman who,

lest we forget, hand in hand with the police, created

the circumstances that led to Hillsborough.

Surrounding her were four Liverpool or ex-Liverpool

players on England duty: Kevin Keegan (then at

Hamburg), Terry McDermott, Phil Thompson and Emlyn

Hughes. This was well before the tragic events of April

15 1989, and I don’t presume to know the politics of the

players concerned – I can guess, although I could be

wrong – but can you imagine being a Liverpool fan and

having to deal with that image?

I never thought I’d say this, but perhaps Lineker has

a point. On certain occasions, sportsmen are better

sitting on the fence than climbing over it.

@billborrows

Plank of the weekAudley Harrison, London

Another comeback? Really? Against renowned US

heavyweight puncher Deontay Wilder? “I have a lot of

respect for him, so it’s not personal, but this is the door

I must walk through,” said the former Olympic super-

heavyweight gold-medallist. I think he means: “This is

a door I’m about to walk into.”

It’s like this…Bill Borrows

“I never thought I’d say this, but perhaps Gary Lineker has a point”

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16 | April 12 2013 |

Frozen in time

| 17

Flag dayWe’re not sure that British football crowds would

respond in quite the same way as their American

cousins if asked to sing the National Anthem

before the first match of the season. But across

the pond, that sort of thing goes down well:

enormous flag, everyone on their feet and a

raucous rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner

before the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles

Dodgers did battle. Call it an American thing. Ste

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Sport has made it only as far as the taxi

outside Dublin airport, and the Lions chat has

started already. While Chris Robshaw and

Sam Warburton continue to battle it out for

the captaincy in Lions sides being selected in

pubs and clubhouses up and down Great

Britain, there’s only one man on the lips of

those in the Emerald Isle: Brian O’Driscoll.

“Why would you not pick him?” continues

our cabbie, seemingly unaware that we’re

not actually selecting the team. But he

has a point. O’Driscoll, a veteran of 131

international caps, is the only player to have

started Test matches in all three of the

previous Lions tours, even leading them into

the intimidating cauldron that is New Zealand

in 2005. With age catching up with him,

though, the man they call BOD has readily

admitted that thoughts of retirement are

creeping into that genius of a rugby brain.

His wife Amy gave birth to their first child as

recently as February, so he’d be forgiven for

wanting to hang up the boots one last time.

Does the Lions hold enough appeal to keep

him going, though? You bet.

“Of course I’d love to go, but I wouldn’t

want to go and not win the series,” says

O’Driscoll in our exclusive interview. “I’ve

done a few of those tours now; they’re great

fun and all, but I’m done with the fun thing.

I just want to be successful, play some good

rugby and be part of something special that

people will remember. For those reasons, I’d

love to go on another one.”

We’re sitting with the face of Irish rugby

to talk all things Lions, Ireland and Brian.

An HSBC ambassador, O’Driscoll has been

doing some filming with a local chef. When we

finally sit down, the smile remains firmly set

in place, a twinkle in the eye. First things

first, though: how’s the body?

“Pretty good, actually,” he smiles. “I have

had a self-imposed sabbatical for the last

couple of weeks, so I’ve had a chance to rest

up, get to the gym a bit and just get off my

feet. It’s been like a mini pre-season, but

without doing too much of a workload and

understanding how much is in the tank

already at this stage of the season.”

So that’s 100 per cent fit, then? O’Driscoll

laughs: “I haven’t been there for a very, very

long time. Probably the first day ever I went

out playing, and thereafter there’s been…

nah, maybe seven or eight years ago, but

yeah – there’s definitely been lots of knocks.

There’s always something: some stiffness or

some tight muscle or a collision that hasn’t

quite healed. That’s just part and parcel of

playing the game for so long. That’s okay,

though. I’ve learned to deal with being ‘fit’ at

85 or 90 per cent. Sometimes it’s even as

high as 96 or 97.”

After watching him leave the pitch to a

standing ovation in Ireland’s final home game

of this year’s Six Nations against France,

only to re-emerge moments later and retake

the field for the dying minutes, we have to

ask: where on the fitness scale was he?

“Not at 96 or 97 per cent, that’s for sure,”

he says. “With the French game, I wasn’t

sure whether that was going to be my last

game at home, and I wanted that end to be on

my terms. We’ll have to wait and see as to

whether that’s the case or not.”

IRELAND’S CALLWhether he calls it a day or not, the manner

in which Ireland finished the Six Nations

must, we venture, leave an underlying sense

of regret. O’Driscoll readily admits to not

being sure where it all went so wrong.

“If you’d called it after the first half in

Cardiff that Wales were going to win the

competition, and that we’d finish second last

and be very lucky not to pick up the Wooden

Spoon, people would have laughed at you,” he

says. “But that’s the way it goes, and credit

to Wales for turning it round the way they

did. I think we deserved a bit more than we

got in this Six Nations. We should have

beaten Scotland and we should have beaten

France. The other two results... well, England

deserved their win, and we didn’t get too

much lady luck against Italy. We probably

should have finished third, maybe. And that

might have been more favourable towards

how I felt. I don’t think it was as catastrophic

as people suggested, though.”

This is a man who should know. The

tournament’s all-time leading try-scorer

(with 26), O’Driscoll has also started a

record number of matches (60) and has led

Ireland to three Triple Crowns and a Grand

Slam during his 14-year career. In fact, this

year’s fifth place was Ireland’s worst Six

Nations finish. For their iconic centre,

though, there was another strange factor

underlining this year’s championship. Having

captained Ireland in every match since the

2003 World Cup, leadership duties were

handed to Jamie Heaslip, leaving O’Driscoll as

simply one of the boys. Does he think that

had an effect? >

20 | April 12 2013 |

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ALL THE TALK MIGHT BE OF RETIREMENT, BUT BRIAN O’DRISCOLL IS FOCUSED ON THE HERE AND NOW... AND GETTING ON THE LIONS TOUR IS NEXT ON HIS AGENDA

THE LION KING

“I’D DEFINITELY TAKE HIM ON THE TOUR, AND AS CAPTAIN. HE’S A LEGEND.”

Brian O’Driscoll

Brian O’Driscoll

22 | April 12 2013 | Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

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“On the reason we came fifth or on my

game?” he asks. “Either way, not at all.

Irrespective of whether I’m captain or not,

I’d like to think I’m still vocal, and I still try to

lead by example. There is one individual as a

captain, yeah, but a group of core leaders is

key in any effective team, and that’s what

Jamie had around him. But it was strange

not being captain.

“I found myself going out of the dressing

room for the Wales game and I thought:

‘Where do I go out here?’ The last time I

hadn’t captained Ireland was the World Cup

in 2003 and I found myself wondering where

to line up for the anthems. Not having to look

after the mascots, it was quite strange –

but you just get on with it. I was never one

for superstition.”

With a new Ireland coach set to arrive

following Declan Kidney’s departure last

week, the captaincy seems to have gone for

good for the man from Clontarf – but that’s

not all bad news.

“Oh, there’s plenty of stuff Jamie’s

welcome to,” he says. “I never loved the

media Tuesdays in international week, doing

all the TV stuff, because it just became a bit

Groundhog Day by the end – and I used to get

nervous about public speaking and having

to address people on behalf of the team.

“It’s the small things. I won’t miss having

to ask a grown guy why he’s not wearing the

right T-shirt at a certain time, or tell him

what time we’re meeting for a bus and all

that stuff. You just come across as Mr Bad

Guy most of the time, so I’m happy to just be

one of the lads on that front. I can even turn

up wearing the wrong stuff now.”

Indeed he can. In fact, such is his standing

in these parts, O’Driscoll could probably

stroll down O’Connell Street with not a

thread of clothing on and the city would

stand and applaud. Brian loves Dublin,

and Dublin loves Brian. And, after 167

appearances for Leinster, the three

Heineken Cups the province has won in the

past four seasons are just reward for the

work put in by O’Driscoll (and the players

around him) in the past 14 years.

It’s hard to believe, but this one-club man

admits that, yes, there was a time when he

almost left.

“Yeah, I came close in 2006, after Michael

Cheika came in,” he reveals. “I was a bit

disillusioned with the change of coaches four

times in four years, and I just asked myself

where we were going. I said to myself that

I’d give Cheika a year and see how things

went, and if we didn’t look like we were

going to turn things around, I was going to

have to go to a club with a bit more ambition

or organisation.

“Then we got to the semi finals in Europe

that year, and that was it. I realised we had

potential, so that reinvigorated me. Thankfully,

I stayed put, and we went on to win three

Heineken Cups. I couldn’t be happier with that

decision, because I genuinely feel it’s felt way

better to have won them with my club than

with a club I had to buy into.”

And, we remind him, he got to score a drop

goal in a Heineken Cup final. “Yeah, that’s

true,” he smiles again. “Sexto [Jonathan

Sexton] kicked the last penalty in that game

against Leicester, but I like to think my drop

goal was the difference between the sides.”

THREE TIMES A LIONSo what of the Lions? O’Driscoll’s career

with Leinster and Ireland has seen success

and silverware, but in three Lions Tours the

Irishman is yet to taste a series victory.

His love for the whole concept, however,

shines through when we ask him about it.

“The Lions is unique, and I don’t think I

really appreciated that until 2009,” he says.

“It was comfortably the best tour, albeit we

lost the series again. I really enjoyed it, and I

understood what all the players from the >

“THE LIONS IS UNIQUE, AND I DON’T THINK I APPRECIATED THAT UNTIL 2009”

Looking back: O’Driscoll

against the Springboks

in 2009, on what he

says was ‘comfortably

the best tour’

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Brian O’Driscoll

24 | April 12 2013 |

1960s and ‘70s were talking about when

they mentioned making friends for life and

the group’s camaraderie. We had really good

fun on that tour, played some good rugby and

struck up some great partnerships. And that

renewed my faith in what Lions rugby was all

about after the disappointment of 2005.”

It’s been some Lions journey for O’Driscoll

since he shot on to the world stage with a

superb individual try in Australia in 2001.

“I’ve been lucky to do three very different

tours,” he muses. “I was frightened in 2001

because I didn’t know anyone, and all these

people were older than me – I was worried

about who I was going to hang around with.

But I grew into the tour and learned what

was needed at the top of the professional

game. I also love Australia, so it was a great

tour for me at such a young age.”

Fast-forward four years, and O’Driscoll

embarked on his second Lions tour as

captain. “Yeah, that was nerve-racking,” he

admits. “It’s one thing being captain of your

own country with guys who know you, but it’s

another captaining a big squad where it’s

difficult to get to know everyone. It was

difficult to get the tightness I think is

important for the Lions, because a lot of us

were working on different schedules and

there were basically two separate teams.

New Zealand were just awesome, though.

If we had been on the very top of our game

and everyone had put in world-class

performances, we’d still have struggled to

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have beaten them. Dan Carter’s performance

in that second Test is still the best individual

performance I’ve ever seen.”

So, to the big question: would he take the

captaincy if it was offered again this year?

“If I was asked, then 100 per cent, yeah.

It’s the highest honour in the game, so I’d

love to do it again. I’m just concentrating

on getting on the plane first, though.”

UNFINISHED BUSINESSMost people would have O’Driscoll on that

plane at the drop of a hat, but he is not

getting ahead of himself. If he does get the

call, it’s clear he would relish the chance to

pull on that red jersey one final time –

assuming this would be his last tour.

“I think it’s fair to say it’ll be my last,” he

laughs. “There’s a bit of unfinished business

with the Lions, sure, but it’s more just a

chance to play with some incredible players,

and I think that’s the real joy. Every time you

go out training, it’s exciting because of the

quality of players who can make a show of

you – but you’re playing with guys who can

make you look good, too. That’s a nice feeling,

playing with that calibre of player every day.

“As for Australia, it’s just such a great

country. There’s a lot of beauty, and the

people are passionate about their sport

while being respectful of good teams. I’ve

just always enjoyed my time in Australia.”

And the Wallabies themselves? “They’re

such a clever team, with clever players,” he

continues. “It’s always nice to pitch yourself

against them. Taking on big, physical players,

you know what you’re getting – but

sometimes you have a chess game against

Australia. You have to outthink them.

“Playing the Aussies, being out there and

experiencing the whole country in a tour

– from Perth to Melbourne to Sydney to

Brisbane, which all have their own kooky

things about them... all of that makes a Lions

Tour down there very special.”

All that remains, then, is for us to ask

whether the great centre has any regrets

from a stellar career.

“There are always regrets about games

that haven’t gone your way, or a few things

you might have done that you wish you

hadn’t,” says O’Driscoll, twinkle still very

much in his eye. “But it’s hard to be regretful

about much, because I’ve been so lucky to

achieve what I have done.

“It would be absolutely lovely to be part of

a winning Lions series – it really would. And

it’d be difficult to continue playing if you were

able to sign off on something like that. If you

could promise me being on a tour and winning

a series today, I’d gladly leave it at that.”

And on that note, so will we.

Mark Coughlan @coffers83

Brian O’Driscoll is an HSBC ambassador. HSBC is

proud Principal Partner to The 2013 British & Irish

Lions Tour to Australia. To get your message of

support to the Lions via HSBC’s digital Lions shirt,

visit www.lionsrugby.com/jointhejourney

“IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO CONTINUE PLAYING IF YOU WERE ABLE TO SIGN OFF ON A WINNING LIONS SERIES”

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

| April 12 2013 | 27

With his second season as an Arsenal player drawing to a close, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain takes stock of life at the Emirates...

“I guess it has been a bit frustrating. But I’m only 19 years old, and any lad playing for a club like Arsenal and for England at 19 would be very happy”

HIGH HOPES

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How do you like to be described?

For Arsenal’s teenage winger, the

answer is simple: “I like it when I’m

described as being fearless on the pitch;

when people say or report that I run at

people with a fearless approach. Because

that’s what I try to do, regardless of who

the defender is. I just try to believe in myself

and believe that I can take them on.

“It’s also good when people realise that I

like playing in central positions. I feel that I’ve

got a bit to offer in more of a central role

because I’ve grown up naturally being more

of a central midfielder – so when I read that

people are noticing that I can play inside as

well as on the wing, that’s really nice.”

He is in only his second season as an

Arsenal player, having followed the same path

as Theo Walcott from Southampton to north

London in August 2011, but Chamberlain

has a clear view of the type of Arsenal

player he wants to be – he just needs more

opportunities to prove he can turn that into

performances on the pitch.

The 19-year-old has 19 Premier League

appearances to his name so far this season,

eight of them as a substitute. When you

consider that he made a total of 16 league

appearances in the whole of his debut season

– 10 of which were off the bench – this one is

already an improvement on the last. But for

a player whose career progressed at such

a lightning pace last term, ending with a

starting place for England at the European

Championships, he could be forgiven for being

a bit disappointed with the speed restrictions

inflicted on his development this time around.

WAITING IN THE WINGS“I guess it has been a little bit frustrating,”

says Chamberlain of the time he’s spent

waiting for Arsène Wenger to give him the

nod this season. “But at the same time, I’m

still only 19 years old, and any lad playing

football for a club like Arsenal and for England

at 19 would be very happy. This season hasn’t

gone badly, and I realise there are a lot of

talented and experienced players in the squad.

There’s Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla who

can play out wide, and you’ve got Theo

[Walcott], Andre Arshavin, Gervinho...

so there’s a lot of competition.

“I’ve played more than I did last year

already, and there’s still seven games to go.

Obviously I always want to play football, but

sometimes you have to understand that

you’re not going to be playing every game.

So, the season could have gone better for

me, but the most important thing is that it will

be a really good one if we can achieve what

we want to by the end of the season.”

Which is finishing above Tottenham, right?

Chamberlain chuckles before offering a

response of which his artfully diplomatic

club manager would be rightly proud: >

28 | April 12 2013 |

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

“The manager is always very positive, even in tough times. He keeps us focused and keeps faith in us”

“We can’t worry too much about what they’re

doing. We can just worry about trying to win

as many of the games we have left as we can,

and then see what happens. But I don’t see

why we can’t catch them up. Just look at the

way the league ended up last year, between

Man Utd and Man City – it went right down

to the wire, and that’s the Premier League.

Anything can happen. Last year we were 10

points behind Spurs at one stage [in the

middle of February] and we managed to catch

them. So anything is possible.

“The ultimate aim now, though, is to finish

as high as we can in the league. A Champions

League spot is what we want to be achieving,

so we’re working towards that, but if you

start looking too intensely at the final goal you

can slip up along the way. We know we have

seven hard games to go, and each one is very

important. So we just target winning the next

game, and eventually that should get us to

where we want to be.”

Chamberlain’s focus on a place in the top

four makes it impossible to ignore the sorest

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“There have been tough patches when people have stopped believing in us”

of points for anyone associated with Arsenal:

that famously empty trophy cabinet. One by

one this season, the Gunners have once again

spurned every opportunity to end their

barren run. For Chamberlain, it’s his side’s

performances in both domestic cups that

he rues the most.

“It was tough getting knocked out of

the Carling Cup away at Bradford [3-2 on

penalties in their quarter final] and in the

FA Cup as well against Blackburn [0-1, in

the fifth round], because they’re great

competitions that you want to go far in,”

he explains.

“It’s always disappointing, and sometimes

you can’t put your finger on what happened

on the day or why it went wrong. But that’s

football. You lose a game and that’s the

toughest time, but then the next week you

can win again – football is all about the

ups and downs, and you’re always learning

from them.”

KEEPING FAITHArsenal’s most recent down came at the

beginning of last month at White Hart Lane,

where two expensive defensive mistakes cost

them the game and left them trailing Spurs by

seven points. In that sort of situation, who in

the Arsenal dressing room is the motivator?

“You don’t have to look beyond the manager

for that,” says Chamberlain. “He’s always

very positive, even in tough times. He keeps

us focused and positive and keeps his

belief and faith in us – and I think that’s

really important.

“When everyone loses faith in you,

the most important thing is that you keep

faith within the dressing room and within

yourselves. That’s what will get you back

on track, and we’ve found that this season.

There have been some tough patches when

people have stopped believing in us, but then

we went to Bayern Munich and got a result

like we did.”

That 2-0 victory in Germany couldn’t

prevent Arsenal’s Champions League exit, but

it had a galvanising effect nonetheless – the

Gunner have won three from three since. “It’s

hard not to take confidence and momentum

from a result like that, with Bayern in the

form they’ve been in this year,” says

Chamberlain. “But even at Spurs I think we

played some good stuff – we just made some

errors that proved fatal on the day.

“Now we want to cut out as many losses as

possible and concentrate on trying to win

matches. It’s going well for us at the moment,

but it will be hard to keep that going. We’ve

got the desire, the focus in the team and the

ability to keep it going, though.”

However he might describe himself,

Arsenal’s cause can only be furthered by a

player who is surely one of England’s finest

young talents. His fearless nature ensures

he has a bright future ahead of him – Arsenal

fans will hope the same applies to his team.

Sarah Shephard @sarahsportmag

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| April 12 2013 | 33

FA Cup Semi Finals

Final before the finalThe league champions meet the cup holders

in what is essentially the FA Cup final, with

the remaining opposition (see below) unlikely

to trouble whoever makes it through from

this half of the draw.

Chelsea are FA Cup specialists – they’ve

won four of the past six competitions with

four different managers, and Rafa Benitez

certainly seems focused on picking up a

trophy or two so he can look back on his time

at Chelsea with some fondness. It is also

Roberto Mancini’s only realistic remaining

chance of silverware this season, with

Man City well off the pace in the league.

Wembley has already hosted these teams

this season – back in August, when City beat

10-man Chelsea 3-2 in the Community Shield

thanks to play-him-or-punch-him playmaker

Samir Nasri’s decisive strike.

The London side have failed to score in

the two subsequent meetings: a 0-0 draw at

Stamford Bridge in November, and a 2-0

defeat at the Etihad in February, with goals

from Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez. The

Argentine seems revitalised by the prospect

of helping the community – he has scored

seven in his last seven games – while in the

opposing dressing room, after his two goals

against Rubin Kazan last week, Fernando

Torres is back. Again. Maybe.

Turn the page for our exclusive interview

with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill >

Did you cheer along with the TV pundits

as giant after giant crashed out of this

season’s FA Cup? Well, this is the result. It’s

Millwall v Wigan: the semi final you deserve.

Roberto Martinez’s team are carrying

out something of a juggling act. Still in the

Premier League relegation zone, going out

at this stage to Championship Millwall could

deal a fatal blow to team morale. They are

unbeaten in four games for the first time in

a year, though, and will be favourites here.

Millwall – five points from the drop

with two games in hand – have hauled

themselves to relative safety. Goals have

been Kenny Jackett’s side’s problem

– only three teams have scored fewer

in the Championship. On the plus side,

the Lions have conceded just one

in their past six in all competitions

(at the time of writing).

But Wigan should have enough to

reach the final, where they would

likely need yet another of their

famous late-season

miracles.

Giant aspirations

SUNDAY FA CUP SEMI FINAL | CHELSEA v MANCHESTER CITY | WEMBLEY STADIUM | ITV 4PM

SATURDAY FA CUP SEMI FINAL | MILLWALL v WIGAN | WEMBLEY STADIUM | ESPN 5.15PM

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Gary Cahill

34 | April 12 2013 |

Great Expectations

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He might be sidelined for Sunday’s FA Cup semi final, but

that’s not prevented Gary Cahill dreaming of silverware

this season. And he’s not planning on stopping there

A knee injury is keeping you out of the FA Cup tie

with Manchester City. How hard is it to have to sit

out matches like this one?

“Yeah, it’s difficult. I’ve not had many injuries since

I’ve been here – the last one was the hamstring

leading up to the Champions League final, so maybe

I’m just timing them badly – but it’s not like there’s a

good time to get injured because you’ve always got

some crucial games coming up. If you’re out for a

period of two to three weeks, though, you usually

only miss two or three games. At Chelsea, it seems

like you miss seven or eight. Luckily, the injury’s not

too too bad, so I’ll hopefully be able to play a big part

in the end of the season.”

It must be frustrating picking up an injury after

establishing yourself as a first-choice centre back

at Chelsea?

“I try not to dwell on it too much, because there’s

nothing I can do about it. I’ve been pleased that I’ve

played a lot more games this year, and I hope that I

can continue to do that. We have a great squad

and the flexibility to rotate. But yeah, of course it’s

disappointing getting injured when there are big

games to play in, because you want to be a part

of them.”

How is the team coping with the fixture congestion?

“This year has been a bit crazy on that front. You

want to go into games feeling as close to 100 per

cent as you can, and when you play every few days,

you’re sometimes going in at 50 to 60 per cent fresh

– so it can be a real struggle. Luckily, we have the

squad to rotate, so we just get on with it as best as

we can, and we don’t want to use it as an excuse.

It’s better than having no fixtures, I guess. Yeah,

that’s the flip side, because it means we’re still

involved in all these competitions – so we can’t

complain too much.”

How have you enjoyed the madness that has been

your first 15 months at Chelsea?

“It has been a bit mad, actually, because I went from

Bolton in January to suddenly being involved in runs

to the Champions League and FA Cup finals. I moved

here because I wanted to play in big games, though,

so I knew they would be coming up. It was just a

matter of me trying to fight my way into the team for

those games. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, and

I’ve signed for a long time. So hopefully I can be here

for many more years.”

Has this year been disappointing after the highs of

last year?

“I think the expectation level from what we did at the

end of last season was always going to be high – and

being at Chelsea, you always want to win trophies.

It’s been a kind of stop-start type of season in some

ways, and consistency has probably been the main

thing that’s let us down. We’ve had some great

victories this year and then maybe slipped up

against a few teams where we would be looking to

take three points. We’re still going for two trophies,

though, and it’s really important we try to pick up

some silverware.”

Do you get frustrated with people saying the team is

having a bad season when you’re still in the mix for

trophies and a top-four finish?

“Sometimes, yeah, but the expectation levels are

just so high at a club like Chelsea, so you’ve just got

to be aware that that’s the situation. Like you said,

we’re not in the worst position ever – we’re third in

the league, we have an FA Cup semi final and we’re

still in the Europa League. There are still a lot of ifs

and maybes to come, but I think we’re doing alright.

We have some big games coming up to make sure

this season ends well.”

You’ve been here under three managers [Andre

Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafa Benitez]

in 15 months. How do the trio compare?

“It was strange for me, because I came in under AVB

and he obviously saw something in me and brought

me to the club. But on the flip side, I worked under

him for only a matter of weeks before he went.

Tactically, he was really involved on little things on

the training field and so on, and I thought training

was decent. When Robbie then took over, he’d been

a part of the training staff up to then, so I don’t

think things changed too much. Obviously there

were different team talks and opinions, but around

the place, everyone knew him and he knew the lads.

So I don’t think too much changed. Obviously the

new gaffer’s come in now, and again his attention to

detail and tactics on the training ground is one of

his big strengths, so not much has massively

changed again. He’s here to the end of the season,

so hopefully we can do well under him.”

As a player, how do you react when the fans turn

against the manager?

“The fans always have an opinion, whether it’s about

the manager or about a particular player. Everyone

is entitled to their opinion. So, as players, you just

look to go out there and do what you’re there to do

– and that’s play football. Whatever changes around

you, you have to stay focused on what you’re there

for. And, at a club like Chelsea, there are always

changes and media speculation, so you’re always

in the spotlight.”

Away from club football, how confident are you that

England will make the World Cup?

“Yeah, we have three home games out of our last

four now, so we’re pretty confident. When I’m with

the squad, though, the lads are always confident

that we’re going to do well. The media might not

always agree... but as a squad, there’s no more

confident group than us when we’re together.

You’re playing with some fantastic players and you

expect to go out and win games, and with those

three home games I think we will do it. There’s

always fantastic support at Wembley as well,

which helps, and hopefully we’ll get the job done.”

How much would it mean to you after missing out on

Euro 2012 with injury?

“From a selfish point of view, it’d be massive because

I’m desperate to be involved in a tournament with my

country. And now that I’m getting more games with

England, it’d be great to go. I’d love to go to the

World Cup, so I definitely want to help the side

qualify – and then I need to get myself on that plane.”

Back to Chelsea, and this season’s aims. Is it more

important to finish in the top four than it is to win

some silverware?

“From the club point of view, people always talk

about how important it is to finish in the Champions

League spots. That’s massive, of course, but you

want to finish the season at a club like Chelsea

picking up a trophy. So the FA Cup is massively

important to us as well. I’m afraid I can’t choose

one, because I want to be greedy and have both!”

Mark Coughlan @coffers83

Gary Cahill is the brand ambassador for Paul Costelloe

Man. For more information on the brand, head to

www.paulcostelloeman.co.uk

“I went from Bolton last January to being involved in runs to the Champions League and FA Cup finals”

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 35

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38 | April 12 2013 |

MASTERS FINISHES

1987 | The miracle of Larry MizeIn 1987, nobody expected Greg Norman to lose in sudden death

to Larry Mize – especially when the now-forgotten third man in the

playoff was Seve Ballesteros. Mize was recognised as a talented

but flaky golfer with a reputation for blowing winning chances –

so, when Seve three-putted the first playoff hole to bow out, it

seemed as if Norman was surely destined to win. His chance

increased at the next hole, the 11th, when his approach found the

fringe while Mize, true to form, missed the green by more than 100

feet. What happened next has gone down in Masters folklore: taking

his sand wedge, Mize chipped directly into the hole for birdie, to

Norman‘s disbelief. The Great White Shark still had an unlikely putt

to equal Mize – but, unsurprisingly, he did not make it. It would not

be the last time that Augusta National broke Norman‘s heart.

1935 | The shot heard around the worldIn 1935, the Masters was just another golf tournament – albeit one

played in rather nice surroundings. That it gained such repute, and

ultimately became a Major, owes much to one shot: the one that fizzed

off the face of Gene Sarazen’s 4-wood in the final round in 1935.

From 235 yards at the 15th hole, it dropped for what we call an

albatross, but what the Americans prefer to term a ‘double eagle’.

It became known as the Shot Heard Around The World and propelled

the diminutive Sarazen (left) into a 36-hole playoff with Craig Wood,

which he won for his seventh Major title. If on the million-to-one

chance you find yourself playing Augusta National, you can still walk

over Sarazen Bridge as you head towards the 15th green.

1968 | Roberto de Vicenzo can‘t count“What a stupid I am!” wailed Roberto De Vicenzo (above, left) as he

emerged from the scorer‘s hut after finishing his round in 1968.

The reigning Open champion, on his 45th birthday, had done the hard

work, shooting a closing 65 that should have dragged him into a

playoff with Bob Goalby. However, playing partner Tommy Aaron (right),

who went on to the win the Masters himself in 1973, marked the

Argentinian‘s card incorrectly, putting him down for a four on the

17th hole instead of the birdie three that he actually took. De Vicenzo

signed it without looking – the whole world knew what he‘d scored, so

his playing partner did too, right? But rules are rules. The higher score,

as signed for, had to stand, and de Vicenzo was relegated to second

place. As a postscript, he went out and won his next tournament – the

Houston Open. And checked his scorecard meticulously, we presume.

1978 | What a PlayerSeventeen years after his first Masters win, Gary Player hit the

round of his life for his ninth and final Major. In a career that saw a

total of 44 top-10 Major finishes, Player never produced golf like he

did on the back nine in 1978. Starting the day seven shots behind

leader Hubert Green, Player produced seven birdies in his final 10

holes as he closed with a 64 to win by one from Green, Tom Watson

and, ahem, Rod Funseth. Under the circumstances, this was perhaps

the greatest back nine this famous course has ever witnessed.

Nobody has ever shot a lower final-round score, and to produce it

to win ranks as one of the game‘s finest achievements.07

10

The Masters

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 39

They say the Masters doesn‘t really start until the back nine on Sunday. We look back at the best climaxes the year‘s first Major has ever seen

2004 | Phil, finallyNowadays, we recognise Phil Mickelson as the Master at

the Masters. But nine years ago we were wondering if he‘d

ever make the Major grade. His talent had never been in

question since he won a PGA Tour event as an amateur in

1991, but the expected glut of Majors didn‘t come. He had

the game for Augusta, though, especially around the

greens. And, on the final day in 2004, he at last came out on

top, after an epic duel with Ernie Els. Leftie began the day

tied for the lead with Chris DiMarco, three clear of Els, but

the South African eagled the 8th and 13th holes, and

collected a further birdie at the 15th as he closed with

a 67. Mickelson, in the last group, struggled to find any

rhythm on the front nine and knew he had to catch fire on

the closing holes with Els safely in the clubhouse. Birdies at

12, 13, 14, 16 and the final hole would do nicely.

061995 | Ben does it for PenWidely regarded as one of the nicest men in golf, Ben Crenshaw

was even known as Gentle Ben. He called his putter Little Ben, too.

Anyway, his win in 1995 was mainly about someone not called Ben, but

Harvey. Harvey Penick, who had been Crenshaw‘s longtime coach and

mentor, died shortly before the Masters. Indeed, Crenshaw was a

pallbearer at his funeral on the Monday before the tournament.

The strain of Penick‘s death, along with Crenshaw‘s own ordinary play

at the time, meant he was not considered as a contender. But he knew

his way around Augusta – he had won the Masters in 1984 and

enjoyed 10 top-10s there between 1976 and 1991 – and was one of

the all-time great putters. Operating on autopilot, he somehow

contrived to close with a 68 and pip Davis Love III by a shot.051988 | Sandy from the sandSandy Lyle was a golfer of rare talent, but things

did not look good for him as he wandered into the

fairway bunker on the 72nd hole in 1988. He held

a four-shot lead on the final day, but had seen it

disappear as Mark Calcavecchia overhauled him.

Lyle‘s woes were summed up at the short par-3

12th hole, where he found the water and took

double-bogey – and when he failed to birdie either

of the par-5s on the back nine, it looked as if he had

thrown his chances away. Indeed, he had to make

par on the tough closing hole just to force a playoff.

But Lyle had one thing in his favour: an absolute

inability to think about what might have been.

So when his errant tee shot found sand on the last

hole, he calmly strolled up to it and thumped it out

with a 7-iron that bounced past the hole before

rolling back to six feet from the flag. The putt

dropped and only then did Lyle lose his cool, with

a terrible little jig. >

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40 | April 12 2013 |

The Masters

0302

1986 | Jack‘s last hurrahNobody has a record around Augusta quite like Jack Nicklaus, and

it was only fitting that his final victory there should be the most

memorable. Eleven years after his previous Masters win, and

six after a Major of any kind (the 1980 US PGA), the 46-year-old

produced a back-nine charge to get to the top of a leaderboard that

had seen the likes of Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard

Langer, Nick Price and Tom Watson ahead of him at the start of the

round. Nicklaus eagled 15 and birdied 16 and 17 en route to a 65.

Loser on the day was Ballesteros, who held a three-shot lead

midway through the back nine, only to find the water at the 15th

and three-putt the 17th. There wasn‘t a dry eye in the house

when Jack picked up his sixth Green Jacket, though. >

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1997 | Tiger wows the worldThere wasn‘t a shred of tension about the final day of the 1997

Masters. Indeed, the notion that it all happens on the back nine

was a complete nonsense, as Tiger Woods had long since put the

tournament to bed by then. Instead of excitement, however, there

was awe. In his first major tournament as a professional, the

21-year-old Woods careered to a 12-shot victory – the biggest

margin in major history – and a Masters record of 18-under

270. It was all the more remarkable given that, on the first day,

Woods was 4-over through nine holes, having gone out in 40.

He somehow found his swing to play the back nine that day in 10

strokes fewer, and followed up with rounds of 66, 65 and 69 to

leave the field in his wake.

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OUT NOWWWW.EASPORTS.COM/UK/TIGER-WOODS

42 | April 12 2013 |

The Masters

02

011996 | Faldo jumps the SharkEveryone recalls Greg Norman‘s final-round

collapse in 1996. Few people remember the

majesty of Nick Faldo‘s golf that day – the

most remarkable day that Augusta National

has ever seen. At the start of the day, it

seemed a formality that Norman, with a

six-shot lead on the field, was finally going to

get his hands on a Green Jacket. But, as

we‘ve seen already, nothing was ever a

formality for Norman – a man who was world

number one (on and off) for a total of 331

weeks between 1986 and 1997 – at Augusta

National. Despite his dominance in the game,

he had previous for losing Majors he should

have won, and capitulated here as Faldo

applied the pressure. At the first sign of

weakness in his opponent, Faldo, with ice

coursing through his veins, realised the

game was not over and, simply, Norman

panicked. His 78 was difficult to watch for

everyone except Faldo, who carded a 67 to

turn a six-shot deficit into a five-shot win.

Simon Caney @simoncaney

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Simon had a normal life – hanging out with mates and planning holidays. Then came Macmillan’s Longest Day Golf Challenge.

Suddenly – faced with playing 72 holes in one day – he became The MoTivaTor, inspiring his team to superhuman efforts.

This year, just like him, we want you to be a superhero for people affected by cancer.

Your powers could even help win your team a trip to a top European course. So do something extra-ordinary for people affected by cancer and soar over to macmillan.org.uk/longestdaygolf

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44 | April 12 2013 |

WHERE THE GREEN JACKET WILL BE WON...

10th: Camellia

This 495-yard par-4 starts the

back nine of Augusta National,

but plays shorter than the

yardage because it’s severely

downhill. At about 270 yards

you can catch a slope down the

left-hand side of the fairway, and

it’ll give you an extra 50 yards

of roll. From there you play a

second shot that’s uphill to a

narrow green, which slopes

severely from back to front and

right to left. One of the most

difficult holes on the golf course.

11th: White Dogwood

The world famous ‘Amen Corner’

starts here, at the 505-yard

par-4 11th. A drive to the top

of the hill gives you one of the

prettiest views at Augusta,

looking right down at the green.

The left side of the green is

guarded by water – most players

will miss to the right if they’re

going to miss. It was here in

1987 that Larry Mize holed from

the right-hand side of the green

to win the playoff with Greg

Norman – a shot I’ll never forget.

14th: Chinese Fir

A 440-yard par-4 dogleg from

right to left, and unusual in that

there‘s not a bunker on this hole

anywhere. Players must draw

the ball off the tee; a good drive

leaves a short iron to the green,

but it‘s one of the most severely

sloped greens in golf. This is

truly a great hole, and very

difficult to get your second

shot close.

12th: Golden Bell

One of the most famous par-3s

in the world, 155 yards long to a

very narrow green. The difficulty

here is that the wind swirls

around over Rae’s Creek. It’s

seen a hole in one three times

[Claude Harmon in 1947, William

Hyndman in 1959 and, most

recently, Curtis Strange in

1988], while four-time runner-up

Tom Weiskopf once made 13

[in the first round in 1980].

13th: Azalea

Azalea is one of the prettiest

par-5s in the world. It’s a short

par-5, but the fairway slopes

severely from right to left. If you

hit a good drive and get in this

area, you leave only 185 to 175

yards to the green. The green is

18 yards longer on the right side

and you are hitting from the ball

above your feet. It’s a great

chance for an eagle, but there’s

also disaster waiting for you if

you don’t get it to the green.

11th

12th 14th

13th

10th

The Masters

.. Over the next three days, the back nine holes at Augusta National will play host to a compelling combination of drama, despair and, eventually, the unbridled joy of a single golfer. Here, Sky Sports analyst Butch Harmon takes a look at the most famous stretch of holes in golf

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

15th: Firethorn

A 530-yard par-5. Drives have

to be at the right side of the

fairway because the trees stick

out on the left. It’s here in 1935

that Gene Sarazen holed a

4-wood for a double-eagle two to

win the Masters. Second shot

plays downhill; if you can’t go for

the green, you want to lay up to

the left side of the fairway, which

will give you a better angle to

pitch to. A great par-5 on which

we see eagles, birdies and

all sorts.

16th: Redbud

The 16th hole is a beautiful

par-3 at 170 yards, with a very

demanding green sloping from

right to left. We can never forget

Jack Nicklaus’ great shot in

1986, when he hit it in close and

made two before going on to win;

nor Tiger Woods pitching in from

the left side of the green in 2005.

17th: Nandina

A 440-yard uphill par-4 that

features the famous Ike’s tree

on the left-hand side, which

President Eisenhower had the

hardest time hitting it over.

There are very narrow landing

areas, with most drives leaving

a 150 to 165-yard second shot.

The green is guarded by a big

bunker in the front, with

beautiful pin placements in the

back right-hand corner and

up top. A wonderful par-4,

and difficult to make a birdie.

18th: Holly

The wonderful finishing hole at

Augusta, a 465-yard par-4 uphill

dogleg from left to right. It’s 290

yards to the front part of that

bunker on the left, or 320 to

carry it. A drive to the right

leaves an uphill second shot

about 15 yards longer than the

yardage because it’s so steep.

A double-level green makes it

important to get the second

shot on the same level as the pin.

A fantastic finishing hole.

Images supplied by

Perfect Parallel, who will

be providing course

graphics for Sky Sports'

live coverage of the

Masters

15th

16th

17th

18th

| 45

46 | April 12 2013 | Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Pa

ul G

ilha

m/G

ett

y Im

ag

es

7 DaysAPR 12-APR 18

HIGHLIGHTS

» Football: Premier League Preview » p48 » Rugby Union: Harlequins v Bath » p50

» Tennis: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters » p50» Baseball: Chicago Cubs v San Francisco Giants » p52

» World Superbikes: Round 2, Aragon » p52OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD

SUNDAY FORMULA 1 | CHINESE GRAND PRIX | SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT | SKY SPORTS F1 AND BBC ONE 8AM

It's safe to say that Mark Webber and Sebastian

Vettel probably didn't share a cab to the airport

after the Malaysian Grand Prix. The German ignored

team orders so that he could steal victory from

his Australian teammate, and although Red Bull

boss Helmut Marko insists their row is “settled”,

expect a sharp intake of breath from crowd and

commentators alike should the two cars be

anywhere near each other in China this weekend.

Tension between teammates is bubbling under

the surface in other garages, too – Nico Rosberg at

least followed team orders in Malaysia, sacrificing his

shot at a place on the podium for Lewis Hamilton,

while at Ferrari Felipe Massa has outqualified

undisputed number one driver Fernando Alonso

in the first two meetings this season.

Rosberg was the winner in China last year, with

Mercedes' unique double DRS system dominant on

the long straights, enabling the German to finish a

full 20 seconds ahead of the two McLarens in second

and third. A considerable margin, but what Jenson

Button wouldn't do to be that close this time.

His team is struggling to put together a drivable

package, and if they haven't managed to close the

gap after a three-week break in the schedule, there

will be real concern for their season.

McLaren are in danger of being shunted out of

the top three in the Constructors' Championship

by Lotus, who have taken a step forwards while

Button and co have slid the other way. Kimi

Räikkönen won the first race of the year, of course;

and Romain Grosjean seems to have matured,

collecting points (nine in total) in the first two

races, when last year he crashed out of both.

Frosty relationships off the track have always

made for fascinating racing on it. Don't miss it.

Raging Bulls

THE TASTE OF crAnbErry, limE Or bluEbErry.

THE EFFEcT OF rEd bull.

WingS FOr All TASTES.

48 | April 12 2013 |

7 Days

SUNDAY NEWCASTLE v SUNDERLAND | ST JAMES’ PARK | SKY SPORTS 1 12PM

His second game as Sunderland manager offers a

golden opportunity for Paolo Di Canio to endear

himself to the club’s supporters and possibly

(though this is in no way guaranteed) earn a

temporary reprieve from fielding questions about

his political leanings. That is, if they win.

Sunderland’s defeat to Chelsea last weekend

was their ninth game without a win, and they have

emerged victorious from the Tyne-Wear derby just

once in their last 16 meetings with Newcastle

(although seven of those have been draws). There

were, however, signs in Sunderland’s performance

at Stamford Bridge that the arrival of a new man in

charge was having some impact upon a team

that had previously looked less than interested

in fighting a relegation battle.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will hope those

signs were merely a result of the initial ‘bounce’

period that often follows a managerial change and

that, by Sunday afternoon, Di Canio’s infamous

temper will have left the Sunderland squad pining

for their former leader.

Pardew said his side’s last-minute victory

against Fulham last time was “like winning the cup

final”, such was his fear that the Magpies were

being sucked into the relegation battle royale.

Papiss Cisse’s 96th-minute strike was the third

late winner Newcastle have scored in their last

four league games at home (and to that he can

add Cisse’s injury-time winner against Anzhi

Makhachkala). But Pardew will also have been

relieved to see a first clean sheet for his side in the

league since January, ending a run of nine games

in which they’ve conceded 17 goals.

Sunderland have won once on the road this year,

courtesy of a Steven Fletcher brace at Wigan. With

their top scorer ruled out for the season, though, Di

Canio must find another route to goal. Otherwise

the Italian could be facing more awkward questions.

It’s hotting up at the bottom of the league and in the northeast, where Paolo Di Canio is thrown in at the deepest of ends: a Tyne-Wear derby

Premier League

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 49

Matthew Lowton’s 87th minute wonder-volley last weekend lifted Aston Villa

out of the relegation zone, earning it the label of the “$50m goal” from the

New York Times. It was also, they claimed, volleyed in “from miles outside the

penalty area”, so it seems they’re no strangers to exaggeration. But Villa’s third

win in four games – against a Stoke side that had only previously lost twice at

home in the league this season – did feel like a big one. That feeling could easily

be extinguished this weekend, should they suffer what would be their first ever

defeat at home to Fulham in the Premier League. The previous two clashes

between these sides have been decided by single goals that have come in the

last 10 minutes of the game. Another tight, tense clash beckons.

The Royals have conceded the first

goal more times than any other

team in the league this term (19) and

have the worst shooting accuracy

(39.8 per cent) – both of which are

major factors in their position at

the bottom. Their opponents on

Saturday scored a narrow 1-0 win

over them at Anfield in October – a

result that left then manager Brian

McDermott insisting “Reading will

be okay.” He’s since been sacked.

And Reading aren’t okay.

SATURDAY READING v LIVERPOOL | MADEJSKI STADIUM | 3PM

Saints have lost just three times

since Mauricio Pochettino took

charge in January and, after last

weekend’s dismissal of Reading, are

almost a mid-table side. Liverpool

and Chelsea have succumbed to

Southampton’s impressive attacking

play since they were beaten by QPR

at the beginning of March. But after

keeping Luis Suárez and co out at

Anfield last weekend, Sam Allardyce

will be confident of doing the same

at St Mary’s on Saturday.

SATURDAY SOUTHAMPTON v WEST HAM ST MARY’S STADIUM | 3PM

Norwich are the only British side

to boast an unbeaten record at the

Emirates. That has to change if

Arsenal are to stay in the hunt for

Champions League football, though.

It’s three wins on the bounce for the

Gunners; with Tottenham sitting out

this weekend, they could be seven

points ahead of their london rivals

by the time Spurs play again.

Goodison Park was the site of

QPR’s first win in the Premier

League since 1996, when they nailed

a 1-0 win there in 2011. In fact, the

Toffees haven’t beaten QPR in

four meetings now, offering Harry

Redknapp a glimmer of hope for a

positive result. With winnable ties

against Stoke and Reading next up,

the R’s could yet survive. Maybe.

P W D L F A Pts

PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE

There has been a higher proportion

of own goals this term than in any

other Premier League season

4.7%

Man Utd 31 25 2 4 71 33 77

Man City 31 19 8 4 57 27 65

Chelsea 31 17 7 7 61 33 58

Tottenham 32 17 7 8 55 40 58

Arsenal 31 16 8 7 61 34 56

Everton 31 13 13 5 49 37 52

Liverpool 32 13 10 9 59 40 49

West Brom 32 13 5 14 42 43 44

Swansea 32 10 11 11 43 42 41

Fulham 31 10 9 12 43 47 39

Southampton 32 9 10 13 46 53 37

West Ham 31 10 7 14 35 44 37

Newcastle 32 10 6 16 42 56 36

Norwich 32 7 14 11 30 49 35

Stoke 32 7 13 12 28 39 34

Aston Villa 32 8 9 15 35 59 33

Sunderland 32 7 10 15 34 45 31

Wigan 31 8 7 16 37 57 31

QPR 32 4 12 16 29 52 24

Reading 32 5 8 19 36 63 23

1

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SATURDAY ASTON VILLA v FULHAM | VILLA PARK | 3PM

Stoke have picked up just five

points in 2013 so far – fewer than

any other side in the top flight.

In their fifth Premier League

campaign, Tony Pulis’ side are in

their most precarious position since

their promotion in 2008. A point

a game is Pulis’ target for the

remainder of the season, starting

against the champions elect. Stoke

have lost only three at home this

season, so it’s perhaps not as

unlikely as it sounds.

SUNDAY STOKE v MANCHESTER UNITED | BRITANNIA STADIUM SKY SPORTS 1 2.05PM

SATURDAY ARSENAL v NORWICH | EMIRATES STADIUM | 3PM SATURDAY EVERTON v QPR | GOODISON PARK | 3PM

SATURDAY RUGBY UNION | AVIVA PREMIERSHIP: HARLEQUINS v BATH | THE STOOP | ESPN 2.15PM

7 Days

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

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Whether it’s just the fickle state of rugby, or a sign

of the quality of player available to Warren Gatland

this summer, one fact remains – Chris Robshaw is

in serious danger of missing out on the Lions tour.

After the hammering his England team took in

Cardiff, Robshaw (pictured, centre) has seen his club

side lose two consecutive Premiership games and get

steamrollered out of the Heineken Cup by Munster.

With three games to go in the league season, then,

it’s time to stop the rot, and give Mr Gatland a timely

reminder of what he can bring to a Lions squad.

After their European exit, the Premiership now

represents Harlequins’ sole remaining interest in a

season in which they have admittedly already won

the LV= Cup. But three straight league defeats have

left Quins precariously close to dropping out of the

playoff places, and another home loss here would

allow both Gloucester and Northampton a shot at

leapfrogging the Londoners.

Robshaw needs to rally his troops quickly, and get

them back to the free-flowing game that saw them

blow so many sides away before Christmas. They have

looked tired at the worst possible time of the season,

so the England captain and the other big names –

Danny Care, Nick Easter, Joe Marler and Nick Evans,

to name just four – need to stand up and be counted.

For the visitors, the season is all about finishing in

the top six and securing a Heineken Cup berth for

next year. Bath currently occupy the final spot but,

with both Wasps and Exeter within two points, they

need to take at least a losing bonus point from their

visit to London. Scrum half Peter Stringer has been

in fine form for the men from the West Country; he

will be happy if his current employers leave The

Stoop with a similar result to that earned by parent

club Munster last week, although Bath have lost

every league game away from home in 2013. If they

are to retain their spot in the top six, now would be

a very good time to reverse that run.

Under pressure

There’s only one winner here, and it’s

usually Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard

(right) has won every singles title in

Monte Carlo since 2005. For a player

with his injury issues, that proves he’s

either a huge fan of the principality or

there’s some magic, knee-soothing balm

hidden in one of the luxurious yachts

lining the harbour.

Either way, the locals have become

used to seeing Nadal get his teeth into

the trophy after a week of claycourt

tennis in which others try – and, to a man,

fail – to wrest it from him. And this year

they will expect more of the same.

Despite not competing for more than

six months in a bid to heal his creaking

knees, the world number five returned to

Monaco monopoly

SUNDAY > TENNIS | MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERS | MONTE CARLO COUNTRY CLUB, MONACO | SKY SPORTS 1 9.30AM

the court earlier this year in fine form,

winning tournaments in Sao Paulo and

Acapulco before taking his first title on the

American hard courts since 2010 in Indian

Wells. Another break followed that

Californian conquest, allowing Nadal to

prepare for his favourite time of the year –

when the clay courts come into play.

In Monte Carlo, he’ll have to contend with

new world number two Andy Murray as well

as top dog Novak Djokovic, whom he

defeated to win the title last year.

With Roger Federer still ‘on a break’ until

the Madrid Open in May, it is likely to fall to

either the Brit or the Serb to bring Nadal’s

Monaco monopoly – eight tournament wins

in a row, unbeaten in 42 consecutive

matches – to an end. Good luck.

50 | April 12 2013 |

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FRIDAY BASEBALL | MLB: CHICAGO CUBS v SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS | WRIGLEY FIELD, CHICAGO | ESPN AMERICA 7.20PM

7 Days

52 | April 12 2013 | Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

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... 151 games to go. The Chicago Cubs face reigning

World Series champs the San Francisco Giants

at Wrigley Field on Friday, and need a win to turn

around their slow start to a long season. Their starting

pitcher Jeff Samardzija (pictured) will be hoping for

some run support from his team after striking out 13

against the Braves in just five and two-third innings.

The 2013 season is not yet two weeks old, but it

has offered drama aplenty as well as some early

indicators of how it could pan out. Texas Rangers’

Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish was one out from

throwing the 24th perfect game in Major League

history before the Houston Astros managed a hit,

while RA Dickey was booed off by his own fans after

giving up eight runs in five innings as the Blue Jays

(who traded two top prospects to sign him

from the New York Mets) were trounced by the

Boston Red Sox.

Indeed, the Red Sox have already proved to

any doubters that they will be competitive in the

American League East, winning both of their series

against the Yankees and the Blue Jays.

The Atlanta Braves, meanwhile, have shown

the National League they mean business, clean-

sweeping the Cubs 3-0. And power hitter Justin

Upton has already blasted six home runs and

batted .423 through the first seven games.

Eleven down...

Continuity was the theme at the World

Superbikes’ season-opener in Australia

in February, despite the retirement of

last season’s champion Max Biaggi.

His Aprilia team stepped right back

on to the top step of the podium, with

Biaggi’s replacement Sylvain Guintoli

(pictured) winning his first ever race for

the team – and teammate Eugene Laverty

coming in right behind him. The order was

reversed for race two at Phillip Island,

leaving the Italian team in a powerful

position as the championship heads to

Spain. British riders looking to improve

closer to home include Johnny Rea and

Leon Haslam, whose Hondas scored points

but couldn’t trouble the podium in Oz.

Fellow Brit Tom Sykes has dominated

testing at the Motorland track in Aragon;

he will want to translate that performance

to race pace as he continues to recover

from a broken wrist and three broken ribs

sustained before the start of the season.

Elsewhere on Sunday, British Superbikes

has its own second round at Thruxton

(British Eurosport 2, 1.30pm and 3.30pm),

with 2012 champ Shane Byrne also picking

up where he left off: at the top.

Business as usual

SUNDAY MOTORSPORT | WORLD SUPERBIKES ROUND 2 | ARAGON, SPAIN | BRITISH EUROSPORT 2 11AM AND 2.30PM

54 | April 12 2013 |

Phone friends

EXTRA TIMEMaking the most of your time and money

Bowers & Wilkins Z2

We’ve seen plenty of iPhone speaker

docks in our time, but few are as lovingly

presented as the Z2 from Bowers & Wilkins.

With a Lightning connector for iPhone 5,

as well as Bluetooth connectivity, it’s

compatible with most modern devices, and

meshes seamlessly with Apple’s AirPlay

technology. Plus, its sleek design distracts

quite nicely from any horrific wallpaper or

lamps you might have at home.

£330 | bowers-wilkins.com

P62

Gosling rides

like lightning

and crashes like

thunder in The

Place Beyond

the Pines

Gadgets

Mophie Juice Pack Helium for iPhone 5

You can do pretty much anything you want

on a modern smartphone, from watching

football on the move to... er, making phone

calls. Until the battery runs out, that is. The

Juice Pack case holds extra power that can

be tapped into with the simple press of a

button when your iPhone 5 is running low.

And you can charge the phone without

having to remove the surprisingly sleek case.

£70 | store.apple.com

Philips InRange Bluetooth Smart Leash

If you’re forever losing your keys or your

phone – or both – this might be the gadget

for you. Set it up in conjunction with the free

app and at the press of a button, you can

locate your phone or vice versa – the app

will help you find the device, and whatever

you’ve attached it to. If you manage to lose

both halves of this ingenious invention,

however, you’re on your own. You idiot.

£40 | philips-shop.co.uk

Ferrari iPhone Case

Whether you’re looking for a case to

complement your smartphone’s speed and

style, or something to mask the fact it has

neither, this leather number does the trick.

It’s designed for iPhones and, having tried it,

we can tell you it’s a bit of a squeeze – but we

just about managed to jam our Nokia 3210 in

there. Let’s be honest – it’s the closest to

owning a Ferrari we’re ever going to get.

£68 | ferrari-store.com

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

56 | April 12 2013 | Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Triumph & DisasterThose two imposters famously

name-checked by Nobel laureate

Rudyard Kipling lend their names

to a handsome grooming range.

Sport has done the honours and

picked out a selection including

T&D’s Old Fashioned Shave

Cream jar (£19.50 for 100ml), the

same product in a tube (£18 for

90ml), and a Badger Hair shave

brush (sold as part of a £120 set,

with Peary & Henson aftershave,

a five-blade E-Shave razor –

neither are pictured here – and

the aforementioned shave cream

tube). It’s all designed, says T&D, to

deliver a great shave with aromas

of old-school medicinal notes,

bright, fresh citrus tones and a hint

of Turkish barber shop. All of which

should evoke a sense of tradition

befitting a gentleman’s morning

ritual. Then yours is the earth and

everything in it. And – which is

more – you’ll be a man, my son.

mensphere.com

GENTLEMEN’S CLUB

ET Grooming Scrub up proper dapper like the absolute cad you

ruddy well are. With apologies to Rudyard Kipling...

The shave range

The eau de toilette

Givenchy: Gentlemen Only

A dab of this elegant, woody

fragrance will, insist Givenchy,

make you part of an informal and

universal circle – “a club with no

name, the club of gentlemen from

around the world”. Its aroma, they

continue, is a mix of unapologetic

masculinity, impertinence (not

that – read it again) and courtesy.

But, because gentlemen also

speak plainly, we can tell you

this new fragrance opens with

a spicy freshness – a blend of

green mandarin orange, pink

peppercorns, nutmeg and birch

leaves – giving way to a woody

trio of cedar, patchouli and

vetiver. And all in a classy blue-

hued flask. Available April 29.

£58 for 100ml | johnlewis.com

The razor

Gillette Fusion ProGlide

Power Silver Touch

If you find the things you gave

your life to broken, Kipling advises

stooping to build ’em up with

worn-out tools. We’re sure he’d

also endorse Gillette’s sparkling

new SilverTouch power razor,

should your face be a bit ragged.

With thinner, finer low-cutting

blades, it cuts with less pull than

previously – and its streamlined

Snowplough comfort guard

channels excess shave foam

to help maintain optimal blade

contact. Hit that power button

and the razor delivers soothing

micro-pulses, helping it move

e�ortlessly – even poetically, one

might say – across your mush.

£15.49 | boots.com

58 | April 12 2013 | Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

RUN THIS TOWN

ET Kit Feeling inspired by next week’s London Marathon? Then get your hands on these top-of-the-range running garms, get out there and start pounding the pavements

Adidas Response 1/2 Zip

One for the colder days,

adidas’ long-sleeved top is

made from ClimaWarm material

that traps warm air to help

insulate your skin, while allowing

sweat to evaporate – meaning it

ensures a comfortable run even

when your core is heating up

under those layers. One to wear

over one of the short-sleeved

options on this page, perhaps.

£27 | johnlewis.com

Asics Fuji Light

Includes reflective panels on

the back and sides to keep you

visible (it’s also available in a

fluorescent yellow if you crave

a more conspicuous look).

The lightweight fabric improves

ventilation and ensures minimal

sweating in the heat, while a

UPF factor of 50+ will keep your

body protected from the sun’s

rays. If they ever arrive.

£35 | johnlewis.com

Adidas Supernova Singlet

Running’s all about looking good (kind of),

so if you’ve got the guns for it (we like to

think of ours more as cannons), why not show

’em off in this singlet? The lack of sleeves

obviously helps keep you cool, but the

material also helps wick away moisture and

cool your core. If all that’s not enough, this

top also boasts the official London Marathon

logo, so you can look the part – even if you

don’t take part in the actual race. Bonus!

£25 | virginlondonmarathon.com

Nike Dri-fit Touch Tailwind

Nike’s Dri-Fit range comes in six

colours, from the bright (yellow

and purple) to the basic (grey

and black). An inconspicuous

zip pocket is handy for holding a

key, but it’s the Dri-Fit material

– it wicks sweat away and moves

it to the surface to evaporate

– and the shoulder taping for

increased durability that really

make this top stand out.

£28 | nike.com

Puma Running Short Sleeve

A double-knit wicking finish and

CoolCELL materials in this neat

top will draw sweat away from

the skin, while air-flow features

throughout the top improve air

circulation and help to keep you

cool and dry on the warmer

days. For those after a subtler

option, meanwhile, there’s also

a black version (with green

reflective panels) available.

£18 | wiggle.co.uk

0844 847 2492TICKETMASTER.CO.UK SELECTED TICKETS ONLY

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TWICKENHAM STADIUM

7 SEPTEMBER 2013

LONDON DOUBLE HEADER

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60 | April 12 2013 |

Extra time Lisa Leyland

| 61

62 | April 12 2013 | Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

The Rosie Project

Graeme SimsionA cool £1.2m was the advance

paid for this debut novel about

a college professor who creates

a detailed questionnaire to help

him find the perfect woman.

Seems normal to us, but our prof

has undiagnosed Asperger’s

Syndrome. Comedy, disability

and love isn’t an easy three-way,

but they mix triumphantly here.

Out now

Ghost on Ghost Iron and WineSam Beam, aka Iron and Wine,

adds some pep to his magical,

indie-folk crooning on his fifth

album. Why, on Grace for Saints

and Ramblers, the young Mr

Twit lookalike sounds positively

upbeat, backed as he is by

jaunty horn blasts and warm

harmonies. A treat for your

tapping toes as well as your ears.

Out Monday

The Place Beyond the Pines

Popular man-crush Ryan Gosling teams

up again with Blue Valentine director

Derek Cianfrance for this fathers-and-

sons epic. The start is breathtaking, with

Gosling as a cocky motorcyclist, Steve

McQueening his way past an adoring

hick public before donning his helmet

for his latest stunt. Life changes when

he discovers he has a kid with a former

flame (Gosling’s real-life paramour, Eva

Mendes), and the biker has to decide

whether to use his hard-riding skills to

enter a life of crime to help provide for

his baby. This brings him into conflict

with Bradley Cooper’s earnest rookie

cop. For the most part, this sweeping,

cross-generational drama is an engaging

and unpredictable watch. It’s a shame it

descends into formulaic melodrama for

its third act, but you can’t fault the film’s

ambition. It’s not quite the small-town

Goodfellas it wants to be, but the cast

is terrific – with Gosling in particular

burning rubber and a hole in the screen.

Out today

Mosquito

Yeah Yeah YeahsTheir lead

singer has

described this

as “a Yeah

Yeah Yeahs soul record”, but

then Karen O (above) has always

been one banana short of the

full bunch. First single Sacrilege

is given a lift by the gospel

choir backing, but Mosquito is a

swaggering slice of rock and roll.

Not that it quite possesses the

raw punk energy of the band’s

early work, but slow-burners

such as Under the Earth, with

its ominous thrum and Miss O’s

languid vocals, more than make

up for it. It’s not a soul record

as Berry Gordy would recognise

one, but the Yeahs have spread

their wings expertly here. Still a

truly awful album cover, mind.

Out Monday

Free the Universe

Major LazerArtists as diverse as Peaches and

old Grandpa Boombastic himself,

Shaggy, flock together for this

album from ubiquitous dubstep

DJ Diplo. It’s already given us

Get Free (featuring Amber of the

Dirty Projectors), the hypnotic

reggae track which was one of

2012’s best singles. Let’s hope

the rest is even half as catchy.

Out Monday

Oblivion

Space cadet Tom Cruise dons

his sci-fi gear to play one of the

last men stationed to scour earth

in 2073, the planet having been

decimated by an alien invasion

60 years earlier. However, when

our hero finds a rancid old hag of

a survivor (not really: it’s former

Bond girl Olga Kurylenko), he

starts to question all that he’s

been told by his superiors.

Out today

Film Music

Book MusicMusic Film

UNEASY RIDER

ET Entertainment Intense and unsettling crime drama roars into life from

the start, while New York rockers bare their souls

Ma

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