England Triumphs, Then Slaughtered

Michael Owen scored a brace to guide the England soccer team to a clinical 3-0 victory over Gus Hiddink's Russia at Wembley Stadium in London last Wednesday. After beating Israel 3-0 earlier, Steve McLaren's squad got back on the right track towards automatic qualifation in Euro 2008 with a maximum of six points from two games played. England just need five more points against Estonia (home), Russia (away) and Croatia (home) to secure their normal place among Europe's elite soccer teams. I saw both matches and was quite excited and thrilled to witness Owen back to his best. Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry must be commended for their brilliant display and McLaren must have silenced his critics after announcing to recall these two players after many years in the wilderness for the two matches.

England slaughtered? Yes! By a rampant, organised and hard-tackling South Africa team in the ongoing 2007 Rugby Union World Cup. The Springboks triumphed 36-0, making the reigning World Champions eat humble pie. The English team made error after error and had only themselves to blame for this inept and woeful display. Yesterday, the Wallabies overcame a resilient Welsh team 32-20, while favourites the All-Blacks scored three figures in a 108-13 victory to annihilate and destroy Portugal. Ireland was given the shock of their lives before managing to succumb minnows Georgia 14-10.