YOUNGS: ENGLAND BACK TO OUR BEST
Karanka had to go... and this is how his final supper played out
BEN YOUNGS has warned Ireland that England have got their mojo back.
A stodgy autumn and the early Six Nations struggles were cast off by an exciting all-court performance against France at Twickenham which delivered a dramatic late win.
And now that England are finally in the groove, Youngs says the World Cup finalists intend to kick on against the Irish in Dublin on Saturday.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t hit the straps that we should have done at the start of the tournament,” said the scrum-half (above).
“It’s been and gone now. What is pleasing is that we have shown what we’re about and we’ve got an opportunity to do it again.
“We’d love to be going to Dublin with something to win but we’ll still be there, fully committed and trying to build on what we did against France. The balance of run, kick, pass and counter attack was really good. That blend seemed to click nicely.”
Coach Eddie Jones (above) has been criticised for failing to make full use of the talent at his disposal, but Youngs insisted the dull rugby seen previously was not down to any tactical handbrake.“We’ve been trying to attack like this since the autumn. It’s taken a long while for some of it to come through. I’m really pleased we’re starting to see some of that training-pitch work coming to fruition in games.
“We probably haven’t hit the heights in our defence that we normally have – we still want to put teams under a huge amount of pressure through our defence. But attack-wise the balance was just about right.”
Flanker Peter O’Mahony is available to Ireland after suspension following his red card against Wales. But centre Garry Ringrose (ankle) and second row James Ryan (concussion) are out with injuries picked up in the narrow win over Scotland on Sunday.
France have recalled prop Uini Atonio and centre Arthur Vincent for the game against Grand Slamchasing Wales in Paris on Saturday night. Positive Covid tests kept them out of the England match.
France’s postponed Six Nations game against Scotland, called off due to an outbreak, is set to go ahead on Friday March 26 as long as player-release agreements can be reached with clubs.
BY
IT was much like any given Saturday at St Andrew’s.
Comic-book defending leading to a heavy home defeat and a shrug of the shoulders from the manager in his press conference.
As Birmingham City’s campaign staggered to yet another low against Bristol City, yes, it looked like any given Saturday.
Only it wasn’t any given Saturday.
The first sign of trouble came not in the post-match mutterings of manager Aitor Karanka.
It arrived, instead, when captain Harlee Dean (right) was questioned as to whether the manager had the players’ backing.
An hour or so later, calls were made to members of the first-team squad from a board member and their views were sought.
With that, the manager’s fate was sealed.
When players spelled out what needed to be done for Birmingham to have a chance of Championship survival, it was only going one way.
Unfortunately, there was a problem – even with this. The players, and Karanka, came in for their usual warm-down on Sunday.
But the players and staff were all due to attend a lunch, belatedly given to mark chief executive Xuandong Ren’s birthday.
By now, the decision had been taken – Karanka was to be axed.
The manager, who was enjoying his last supper, had been pulled beforehand by his paymaster and given the bad news.
Yet he then had to sit with his boss and go through the motions at a Sunday lunch before walking out.
Dong rose to say a few words, speaking glowingly of Karanka. No one was fooled.
The charmless Spaniard – by any measure the worst manager in living memory at St Andrew’s – felt compelled to respond.
He had been asked in his post-match interview whether he would resign, to which he had responded with a glib “No chance”.
True to form, he said he felt like he should have been given another couple of weeks, fired a parting shot in the players’ direction – and out he went.
He has left behind him a trail of devastation, his managerial reputation trashed beyond repair. Karanka admitted to having the final say in recruitment. Players on good contracts have been collected – several in duplicated positions. He has failed to address key weaknesses. There is a need for quick action if relegation is to be avoided. Rumours abound that Dong is now facing the axe too. The lift this would give the club would be unimaginable.
Ground down by negativity, poor decision-making off the field – and on it – there would be a pressure-valve release of joy among the support-base.
Credit must be given to the players for speaking out. The fortunes of the chief executive and manager were so entwined that moaning about one to the other was pointless.
They had the courage to spell out what was needed. They could turn out to be the season’s saviour.
Of course, nothing is ever simple at Birmingham City.
As soap opera scripts go, this latest episode would be rejected as fanciful, but perhaps a page can still be turned.
KELECHI IHEANACHO has revealed the emotional background to his Mother’s Day hat-trick for Leicester.
The Nigeria international said he had been waiting for his perfect time to come.
And what a day to do it, as Iheanacho dedicated his first Premier League treble – in the 5-0 drubbing of Sheffield United – to mother Mercy, who died after a battle with illness in 2013.
He was just 16 when she passed away, but his trademark goal celebration of pointing to the skies will never have been more poignant.
The 24-year-old revealed: “The reason I point to Heaven is because I think there is a God in Heaven, and also it’s for my mum.
“I know she’s watching when I score. So I want to show my appreciation for God and for my late mum.
“I’m going to use this opportunity to dedicate this hat-trick to all the mothers in the world. The ones who keep taking care of us.
“I have been waiting for this day to come. I’m delighted. Hopefully there are many more to come.
“It’s a really great day for me, my family and my team-mates. I’m thankful for my team-mates and the manager for helping me to get to this level – and for Jamie Vardy because he has helped me a lot.
“My team-mates are all happy for me. We’re like a family. I’ve got these lovely guys as my teammates and I hope we get to the top together.”
Iheanacho’s only other hat-trick was during his time at Manchester City in 2016, in a 4-0 FA Cup fourthround victory over Aston Villa.
His parents were wary of his dream of being a professional footballer during the early days in Nigeria and warned him to concentrate on his studies.
But Iheanacho was snapped up by the Manchester club after finishing top scorer in the Under17s World Cup in 2013.
He joined Leicester four years ago for £25million, but has struggled to make a big impact until now, with seven goals in his last eight games as the Foxes try to clinch a Champions League spot.
He added: “We are confident, but we need to take it one game at a time, and focus on our performances.”
BILLY SHARP claims Sheffield United are back where they were when Chris Wilder took over five years ago.
The Blades finished mid-table in League One when Wilder (right) arrived at Bramall Lane to begin an ascent which took them to a ninthplaced finish in the Premier League last season. They have been on the slide since and Wilder has left after falling out with the board, with his beloved Blades destined for relegation.
United were walloped 5-0 by Leicester on Sunday in their first game without
Wilder and an emotional Sharp
(left) said: “This season we have become really poor and it needs sorting.
“When the gaffer came in, we were like this and we became a very good team.
Now we’ve become a not very good team and we need to get together and find something for the fans. I feel for them. “We’ve lost, I don’t know how many games this season, far too many. We’re going to get relegated and we need to find something to get some momentum for next season.” Sharp branded United’s display against Leicester as their worst for five years and claims it could have been 9-0. “No excuses, embarrassing,” said the Blades diehard and skipper.
“It’s probably the worst performance we’ve had for five years, totally unacceptable. I don’t think we had a shot on target, It could have been nine in the end. Not good enough.
“There’s still a lot of the season left. If we play like that again and roll over, then we will get beat five or six in games.”