Rooney cops two-year ban for drink-driving
LONDON: Former England soccer captain Wayne Rooney received a two-year driving ban yesterday after pleading guilty in a British court to drink-driving, the Press Association reported.
Rooney apologised for his “unforgivable lack of judgment” in a statement issued after he entered his guilty plea at Stockport Magistrates’ Court, near Manchester.
The 31-year-old was arrested in the early hours of September 1 while driving over the prescribed alcohol limit in the northwestern county of Cheshire.
Television footage showed him arriving at court on Monday wearing a dark suit.
In addition to the two-year driving ban, Rooney was ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid work as part of a 12month community order.
“I want publicly to apologise for my unforgivable lack of judgment in driving while over the legal limit. It was completely wrong,” Rooney said in a statement.
Rooney announced in August he was retiring from national team duty, ending a 14year stint in which he became England’s top scorer with 53 goals.
In July, Rooney returned to Everton, his boyhood club, after 13 years with Manchester United.
“I have already said sorry to my family, my manager and chairman and everyone at Everton FC.
“Now I want to apologise to all the fans and everyone else who has followed and supported me throughout my career,” Rooney said. – Reuters IF “YOU’RE only as good as your last match” then the Springboks are back at square one before the season’s final two home Tests, against Australia (in Bloemfontein) and New Zealand (in Cape Town).
So what will it take to fix the scrum and line-out woes, brutally exposed by the best in the game, and ensure the Boks are more potent on attack and better equipped defensively? Bok coach Allister Coetzee is going to have to ask himself a number of tough questions in the coming days, and most of them will be around selection. Firstly, it’s all well and good to back players and look to achieve continuity, but how healthy is that for the competition in the squad itself and does it bring out the best in each individual? Have certain players become complacent already? Why has Steven Kitchoff not been given a start, to put some additional pressure on Beast Mtawarira; why has the ordinary Francois Hougaard started ahead of Rudy Paige every time Ross Cronje has been injured; why did a player with X-factor in Dillyn Leyds not get a chance in Australasia? How many people even know Chiliboy Ralepelle, a class hooker in all departments, is in the squad? Surely it’s time to give Wilco Louw a crack in the No 3 jersey. Is Coetzee’s squad the best he can pick? Or has he overlooked certain players who could potentially bolster the squad in terms of depth, X-factor and genuine on-field presence? The current back three, who Coetzee has backed in all Tests this year, are good players, but they’re not going to make any opponent sit up and take notice; that’s just the reality. Should the coach then look to the likes of Warrick Gelant, Ruan Combrinck, Sibusiso Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am, Kobus van Wyk, Rohan Janse van Rensburg – all big, strong and quick men who have X-factor – to bolster the midfield and outside backs departments? And, Coetzee must figure out if he’s got enough men with mongrel, real heavy-weight hitters, up front?
It is interesting to note the only overseas-based man in the current squad is scrumhalf Francois Hougaard, who has not offered the Boks much this season. Then again, if he weren’t in the squad who would be the second- or third-choice scrumhalf; that’s how badly stocked the No 9 cupboard is? With the Boks having been shown up as rookies in Albany, is there perhaps room for a few more grizzled campaigners from up north? Or are the Bok days