Ronnie will still be a champ when he’s 50
WORLD OF SPORT ROCKET WON’T FIZZLE OUT Reprieve likely for strugglers Nathan: French test our audition for Six Nations Davis hails O’Sullivan as ‘ultimate player’ and says he’ll get better with age
ENGLAND coach Trevor Bayliss would like to see batsmen James Vince and Mark Stoneman get a final chance to prove their worth in New Zealand.
In Australia the pair have provided fleeting glimpses of what they can do before falling away without any real substance.
But despite both posting mediocre returns so far in their Test careers, averaging returns of just 22 and 27 respectively, Bayliss wants to see what they learned during the Ashes series.
He said: “They should get another couple of games to show what they’ve got.
“At times during this series, against probably close to the best bowling attack in the world in their home conditions, they showed they can play a bit.
“At the top level it is about making big scores not 50s, 20s and 30s but I feel they have both shown enough that they should get another couple of games.” NATHAN FOWLES wants to send a message to Scotland coach Gregor Townsend by dazzling when Edinburgh square up to Stade Francais.
The sides clash on Friday at Murrayfield in the first of a European Challenge Cup double-header.
It has been switched from Myreside to let the pitch recover from the cold snap.
And scrum-half Fowles wants to stake his claim for a Murrayfield return on the big stage with Scotland in the Six Nations.
Fowles, who was outstanding in last week’s Pro14 triumph over Southern Kings, said: “The Stade matches are definitely an audition for the national squad.
“A lot of Edinburgh guys have been going really well and there has been an extra edge, especially when we played Glasgow and there were so many head-to-heads.
“All the lads know how much every game means at this stage of the season.
“I think Edinburgh will be well represented in the plans for the Six Nations, just as they were in the Autumn Test series.”
Fowles was part of the Scots squad in November but missed out on matchday selection.
He added: “Being involved in the training was a great experience, especially working with specialist coach Mike Blair. He gave me lots of advice.”
Meanwhile, Leinster will be without centre Garry Ringrose for Sunday’s Champions Cup clash with Glasgow in Dublin.
He faces six weeks on the sidelines with ankle damage. STEVE DAVIS reckons Ronnie O’Sullivan is the “ultimate player” and could still be winning titles at 50.
The Rocket goes looking for an eighth Masters triumph – his third in a row and fourth in five years – at Alexandra Palace next week.
That would set a new record of 19 major Triple Crown successes for the 42-year-old, one clear of former rival Stephen Hendry.
But Davis – who won the 1997 Masters at 39 with a stunning comeback against O’Sullivan – believes the world No.2 is far from done.
Five-time world champ O’Sullivan recaptured his best form towards the end of last year, winning three more ranking titles.
Davis, now 60, has heard all O’Sullivan’s quit threats over the years.
But he said: “You never know, Ronnie may relish the challenge of holding back the tide and beating the young kids when he is 50.
“If he decides he fancies it and it is worthwhile he could win a ranking event at the age of 50.
“I was just hanging in there at that age. I was merely aiming for the top 16.
“But if Ronnie was still playing at 50 he could actually win one and that might appeal to him – he might enjoy that.
“As a player he may have had blips along the way but his game and mind have never stopped improving throughout his career.
“He is the ultimate player and doesn’t seem to suffer with pressure or tension – he is impervious to it all. That is mainly because he is so talented so even if he’s under pressure it doesn’t show and he knows he can get out of it.
“He is an even more complete and mature player than ever. It is astonishing to think that into his 40s he is still the most feared player.
“People think he can breeze through. He’s got the B game that can win an event and very few can do that.
“And so his rivals are afraid what he can do at the top of his game but they also know they have to produce an astonishing standard even to beat his B game.”
O’Sullivan’s former coach and mentor Ray Reardon is the only player to win a ranking title at the age of 50.
The six-time world champ beat Jimmy White 10-5 to triumph at the Professional Players Tournament in 1982.