Our rugby correspondant Anthony Pearce casts his verdict over the weekend’s Six Nations clash

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Ireland remains the only side that can win the Grand Slam in this year’s Six Nations Championship, following their narrow 14-13 win over England and the Welsh defeat in Paris.

In truth the score line wasn’t a fair reflection on a match which the Irish never really looked like liked loosing once Brian O’Driscoll had hit a superb drop goal shortly after half time.

The first half wasn’t much to write home about. One penalty a piece meant the sides were level going into the break. The Irish must have felt slightly aggrieved at not being ahead however, with O’Gara flashing two penalty goal attempts wide before converting third time around.

Ireland raised their game in the second half, and O’Gara hit the post with another penalty attempt before Brian O’Driscoll stepped up to earn his Man of the Match award. First he hit a delightful drop goal, then he powered over from close range for the first try of the match to make it 11-3.

English discipline, or lack of, again came into question with former captain Phil Vickery and scrum half Danny Care both spending time in the sin bin during the second half.

England did manage to reduce the deficit to 11-6 with a penalty from Armitage, only to see O’Gara respond with a penalty of his own shortly afterwards, maintaining the eight point advantage.

This proved vital as England gave their travelling support something to cheer about when Mike Tindall made a great break and eventually set up Andy Goode who delicately chipped the ball over the Irish defence for Armitage to touch down. Armitage then dusted himself down to convert his own try and make it 14-13.

However, with only 60 seconds left the Irish held out for a well deserved victory which keeps them on course for the Grand Slam. England Coach Martin Johnson, however, must be wondering what his team could achieve if all 15 players remained on the pitch for the full 80 minutes.

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Image credit: Woesinger

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We all know who they are. United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. They’re the four princes of English football: they’re the teams that share the spoils; they’re the fats cats with the big players and money spilling out of their pockets. But could this football season be different?

Many rivals have tried to supplant them. Tottenham and Newcastle are two notable examples, who between them have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on new players, fresh management teams and global scouting networks. But it hasn’t worked. The last team to break the monopoly of the ‘big four’ in the Premier League is Everton, and that was way back in 2005.

This year things look a little different. Here’s a snapshot of the Premier League table as we approach the end of February:

The obvious question is can Aston Villa maintain their position amongst the top four for another twelve games? Currently they are sat six points clear of Arsenal, and with thirty six points left there is a very good chance that things could change.

But the Aston Villa manager, Martin O’Neill, has slowly built a strong, committed team at Villa Park. The acquisition of Ashley Young may be his biggest success, but of equal note is the resurgence of players such as Martin Laursen and Gareth Barry and the emergence of others like Gabriel Agbonglahor and Curtis Davies.

But Arsenal are no dropouts. With Emmanuel Adebayor, Eduardo, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott on the verge of a return to the first team, and with the purchase of Andrei Arshavin – their fans can rightly expect an upturn in fortunes. The race for the Champions League could just be about to heat up.

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Who do you think is going to make it? Keep abreast of all the latest developments online and on digital television with Sky Sports and Sky Sports News.
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Lead image credit: Gordon Flood

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10 Reasons Why February could be the perfect time to switch to Sky HD:

• Sky are now offering the cheapest ever price for their Sky+ service. A Sky+ Box is available for Free

• There are more channels than ever: Sky Movies HD, Sky Box Office HD, BBC HD and Channel 4 HD are some of the best.

• Sky offers the best coverage of The Ashes cricket tussle between England and Australia.

• Sky are currently offering a FREE £30 M&S voucher for new customers.

• Get a Sky Bundle and receive FREE weekend and evening calls.

• Get Free Sky+ with Free installation .

• Enjoy up to four times better picture quality, with superb Dolby sound.

• Set up your own home cinema with Sky Movies’ 12 film channels.

• Be the first to see the fourth season of Prison Break on Sky One

• Get closer to the action than ever before with Sky Sports HD as the Premier League comes to the crunch.

Learn more about Sky HD !

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* Lead image credit: Coda

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Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur

This weekend sees the giants of Manchester United take on Championship minnows Spurs in the League Cup Final.

Harry Redknapp insists that they are not interested in this match as they are concentrating on the league. This is surely mind games as a bit of gleaming silverwear would provide a fantastic silver lining and possibly motivation, for what has been a very grey season so far.

Tottenham and Redknapp are definitely capable. With Pompey last season, Redknapp enjoyed FA cup glory and beat the Champions in the Semis.

United also will be dying to win the match, as they chase a historic 5 trophies. They must also be favourites being a massive 34 points beyond Spurs in the Premiership.

Some other interesting facts:

• Manchester United have only won the League Cup twice. Liverpool are the most successful club having lifted the trophy 7 times
• The cup has had many names: Milk Cup, Littlewoods Cup, Rubelows Cup, Coca-Cola Cup, Worthington Cup and finally Carling Cup
• Geoff Hurst scored 49 League Cup goals – 43 for West Ham and 6 for Stoke City

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Sky will be broadcasting the Carling Cup final live on Sky Sports this weekend.

Lead image credit: Image Shack

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The next weeks see the remergence of Europe’s premier football competition after it’s cutomary winter absence. Here are the week’s forthcoming games:

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This weekend sees the giants of Wales take on the minnows of England. Not knowing the result I wouldn’t like to make any predictions about this one. However Wales go into the match as tournament favourites having won the Grand Slam in 2008.

The battle will take place at Wales’ Millennium Stadium which will be filled to the rafters with daffodil wearing, dragon holding, angelic singing Welsh people.

Wales Coach Warren Gatling has been a huge success since joining the side.

Previous Six Nation winners are:
2000 England
2001 England
2002 France (Grand Slam)
2003 England (Grand Slam)
2004 France (Grand Slam)
2005 Wales (Grand Slam)
2006 France
2007 France
2008 Wales (Grand Slam)

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Image Credit: infomatique on Flickr

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Chelsea have sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari

• Guus Hiddink and Avram Grant are immediately linked to the Stamford Bridge post
• ‘Results and performances appeared to be deteriorating’
• Club act to ‘maintain a challenge for trophies’
• Ray Wilkins takes charge of team on temporary basis

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In the wake of the BAFTAs, the attention of the global film industry turns towards the Oscars. Can Britain’s most unlikely success for years compete with the old pretenders?

The BAFTAs are over. The stars are already hanging their glittered gowns into their walk-in wardrobes and turning their attention to the big event. The Oscars are a mere few weeks away.

Yesterday was Danny Boyle’s day. His film Slumdog Millionaire, an energetic and compelling snapshot of life in the Mumbai slums, scooped a clutch of awards, amongst them Best Film and Director. Slumdog’s success had been widely predicted, and last night it went some distance toward fulfilling the humorous prophesy of a British tabloid, that, in mid-January, excitably claimed that: ‘Slumdog has the Pedigree to Winalot’.

All things being equal, Slumdog should well be able to replicate its successes at the other side of the Atlantic. But predicting the actions of the Academy has never been an exact science. Alfred Hitchcock, widely considered to be one of the finest directors of all, never received much more than his complimentary quota of Champagne from the Academy; Kate Winslet hasn’t won so much as a toffee, and nor has Johnny Depp, Ed Harris, Albert Finney or Tom Cruise.

But does Slumdog have what it takes to crack the Academy? It’s doubtful. Hollywood tends to lean towards grim historical epics, vivid biopics, or leftfield art-house flicks. Slumdog defies any of these pigeonholes, and it would be a brave step to hand it one of the top awards in a year that boasts so many more traditional favourites.

Can Danny Boyle pull off the ultimate surprise in Hollywood in a fortnight’s time? All the answers will be revealed in time, when Sky report from Hollywood, live from the red carpet. All the coverage begins on Sky Movies from 2pm on Monday 23rd February. The ceremony will be presented by Hugh Jackman and coverage will include awards of each Golden Statuette. Slumdog or not, it promises to be quite an occasion.

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Image Credit: gdcgraphics on Flickr

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