Massa Impresses On Home Turf

Felippe Massa drove flawlessly in front of his home town supporters to take pole position for the last race of the formula one season. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton Is right behind with his rivals Raikkonen and Alonso right behind him. There are a number of situations where Alonso, Hamilton and Raikkonen can clinch the title.
1. Hamilton wins if he wins the race or finishes ahead of the other two.
2. Alonso wins and Hamilton finshes third or worse.
3. Raikkonen wins and Alonso finishes third and Hamilton finishes 6th.
It is a tall ask for Ferrari and Raikkonen will be hoping he can get all the help he can from team mate Massa. Alonso who is almost sure to leave Mclaren will be going all out to defend his crown and prevent Hamilton from making histroy. Being a Raikonnen fan I can only hope for a what I could call a miracle.

Its England VS South Africa For The Title

South Africa will surely start as favourites against the the team they hammered in the group stages, England. The Springboks had 36 unanswered points in the group stages against the defending champions. England who shocked Australia in the quarters and then beat hosts France to make it to the finals are a new and improved team. No one expected them to be at the finals hbut they are here. South Africa have had a relatively easy run to tis stage having beaten the Pumas comfortably in the semis. They cannot take England lightly and will hae to forget about the easy win in the group stages if they are to accomplish what they did in 1995. The surprise of the tournament were minnows Argentina who remained unbeaten till the semi finals where they went down to South Africa. I'm putting my money on the springboks but England will be looking to create history when they begin they fight to save their title.

Hamilton Faulters, Its Split Wide Open

Lewis Hamilton was on the brink of creating history but an error sent him into race retirement leaving Ferrari's Kimi Raikonnen to take the win. Mclaren teammate Fernando Alonso was second and Felipe Massa third. This result has opened the Driver's Championship wide open. Hamilton sits on 107 points folowed closeley by Alonso with 103 and Raikonnen is right behind on 100. It all comes down to the last race of the season in Brazil. Hamilton was had the race under control after starting from pole but tricky weather conditions caused his tyres to give way and spin out while heading for the pits. Raikonnen capitalised and never looked back. This is a bonus for F1 fans since the last race has so much at stake. Vettel and Button were the surprise of the race as they finsihed in fourth and fifth respectively, their best result of the season.I'm going to be optimistic and pray for a ferrari one-two in the next race with Raikonnen winning the title.

Springboks To Save Southern Hemisphere

Yesterday was one of the worst days Rugby history. At the start of the tournament everyone was asking what was wrong with The Northern Hemisphere rugby with all the big teams from the north putting in poor performances while the southern hemisphere teams were coasting. Half way through the quarter finals stage the roles have been reversed and now its the other way round. Two huge upsets have left people wondering what has happened to the South. England pulled of an upset win over the Wallabies and then later that night France shocked tournament favourites the All Blacks. 20-18. I feel the All Blacks were robbed with that last French winning try whcih clearly was a forward pass. The French defended with gut and strentgh but still that one refereeing error has changed the course of the world cup. From a mouth watering semi prediction between heavy weights Australia and rivals New Zealand, we have hosts Franc vs England. To salavage some pride of the Southern Hemisphere the Springboks should and must win against surprise package Fiji and Argemtina should beat Scotland. There could have been four teams in the semis from the South but now there could be just one. The Springboks should be favourite to take the title now.

Can France Repeat 1999?

I just saw England score a huge 12-10 upset win over the fancied wallabies. The wallabies just did not look like a team and created too many errors. It was however Wilkinson yet again with his four field goals that put the Aussies into their misery. However, my focus is on the other quarter final later tonight. The All Blacks are always the favourites whenever they get on a rugby field and are almost certain to pull off a victory against France tonight. The French firstly are not happy about their team playing in Cardiff when they feel they should have been playing at home. No one is giving them more than a 10% chance of winning tonight. So is it Possible. Retrace your mind to 1999. A certain legend by the name of Jonah Lomu put New Zealand up 24-10. A spirited Christophe Lamaison sparked an epic comeback and the Les Blues won the game 43-31. Lock Fabien Pelous, one of the two players in the present-day starting line up who was there on that October day eight years ago, says his team can be inspired. I hope the All Blacks really put in a game to remember. Im hoping for an All Black Springbok final.

United Finally Amongst The Goals

Manchester United finally found their scoring touch with a 4-0 win over Wigan at Old Trafford which puts them on top of the table temporarily. It wasn't all smooth sailing though for United in the first half. Defenders Vidic and OShea had to be substituted within the first half hour of the game due to injury. which led to a lot of reshuffling in their formation. Refereeing decisions also seemed to be going against them and the crowd were surely voicing their opinion. A brilliant finish by Carlos Tevez in the second half led to the flood gates being opened. Ronalso added the second with his head and he made the point known that he was playing with stitches. He got his second of the game and Rooney completed the rout over Wigan. Its good to see United finally finding their goal scoring touch. Hopefully there will be better days to come.

Englands Last 80 MInutes On The Field As Champs?

England seem to realize that they will have only 80 minutes on the field before their reign as rugby world champions end. England face off today against arch rivals, the Wallabies, in what is a rematch of the 2003 finals where a dramatic field goal gave the english a stunning win to lift the trophy. England have struggled a bit through this tournament to make it to the quarters which included a 36-0 drubbing to the Springboks. Australia start as firm favourites but a 25% chance of rain might favour England. England have made five changes, bringing in Simon Shaw, Jason Robinson, Mike Catt, Phil Vickery and Mark Regan. Australian fly half, Steve Larkham is injured and will be replaced by Berrick Barnes. The good news for Australia is that captain Stirling Mortlock is back after missing two games due to injury. Andy Farrell, the former Great Britain captain injured himself during training and will have to be replaced by Catt. John Connolly took over as coach from Eddie Jones in 2006 and has made a formidable team.England vs Australia matches are always spicy and a treat to watch. their famous rivalry always adds to the occassion and this time will be no different. The two teams are tied 2-2 against each other and this world cup quarter final will be a must watch affair. Later on in the day favourites All Blacks take on host France in the other quarter final.