The Daily Dust | Good News from the UK » penalty

One Kick Wins Rugby Fan £250,000

Simon Tingle — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:43:28 +0000

A fan won £250,000 at Wembley last night after he hit the bar with a shoe-less penalty kick.

Stuart Tinner achieved the perfect kick during the half-time interval at the Saracens, South Africa rugby game.

Mr Tinner, from Hertfordshire, was one of three fans in the crowd chosen to attempt to hit the bar and win the quarter-of-a-million pound jackpot.

What makes his feat all the more impressive was the fact he achieved the perfect 30-yard kick wearing only his socks.

Mr Tinner, an amateur rugby player for Welwyn RFC fifth team, said: “If you’re going to feel the ball then you can’t have shoes on. You’ve got to really get a feel for the ball.

“I guess I just kicked it as hard as I could and I don’t really believe what happened.”

After the successful kick Mr Tinner simply raised his arms in the air and was mobbed by a group of cheerleaders.

Mr Tinner, who lives with his parents and works at a Job Centre, says he plans to buy a Saracens season ticket, a new car and a new flat with his winnings.

He added: “This is the second best day of my life – the best was when I lost my virginity.”

Boks edge out spirited Lions: South Africa 26 British and Irish Lions 21

Dave Musson — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:53:45 +0000

Two tries from Leicester’s Tom Croft and a rousing late rally weren’t enough to stop the British and Irish Lions slipping to their first defeat of the 2009 tour in Durban, as South Africa edged ahead in the three-match series.

Midway through the second half, when flanker Heinrich Brussow finished off a rumbling maul to give the world champions a commanding 26-7 lead, the Lions were being well and truly humbled. But, they stuck to a philosophy of using their backs at every opportunity, and each time they did they created space, broke defensive lines and looked dangerous.

The Lions’ driving force throughout was the centre partnership of Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll – a combination of flair and brute force that set the platform for every positive aspect of the Lions’ showing.

Their attacks allowed the tourists to go through the phases and creep closer to the South African line, a tactic that allowed Croft to claim his second try of the match from close range, and also let in scrum half Mike Phillips – who had earlier had a try ruled out by the TMO – with five minutes to go.

Phillips’ score ensured a frantic finish and really rattled the South Africans, who had substituted their top players thinking the game was won.

The Lions tried to force one last attack in the dying minutes of the game, but ultimately fell short, leaving them one defeat away losing the series, but their comeback will warm Ian McGeechan and his staff, who will have seen plenty to make them relish the second test next weekend.

It had been an awful start for the tourists, with South African captain John Smit powering over for a try inside the first five minutes.

But the Lions refused to lie down, and immediately hit back with a flowing move that set Ugo Monye up to dive over in the corner, only for the TMO to rule in the home sides favour.

Undeterred, McGeechan’s troops continue to play the more expansive game, and got themselves back in the match with Croft’s first try of the afternoon.

Roberts broke the world champions’ defensive line with a blistering break and offloaded to centre partner O’Driscoll, who cut a weaving line before popping the ball to the supporting Croft, who finished well.

Another O’Driscoll break almost saw the Lions score again moments later, but the referee called them back after judging Lee Bryne’s decoy run to have illegally taken out the defenders, creating space for the Irishman to run into.

If that had been the tale of the first half, then the Lions would have been happy, but their indiscipline and ineptitude – particularly at the scrum – cost them dear and allowed Ruan Pienaar to kick the home side out of sight.

Those penalties proved costly as the Lions’ revival fell short and they were left ruing not only the amount of penalties gifted to South Africa, but also the kicks and try scoring opportunities of their own that they failed to convert.

The Lions may yet roar the loudest in South Africa, but from here on in their task becomes all the more difficult.

Banahan’s debut try helps England outmuscle the Pumas

Dave Musson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:02:48 +0000

A second half double from Delon Armitage and a first international try by Matt Banahan helped Martin Johnson’s England side to a 37-15 victory over Argentina in a bruising encounter at Old Trafford.

England’s performance was far from scintillating, but their defence was excellent throughout, and they took their opportunities well to score their three tries.

Giant Bath winger Banahan set things rolling for England in the 26 minute to mark his test debut with a try, chasing a clever chip from Armitage and profiting from a fortunate bounce to score under the posts.

The game looked set to be decided by the most accurate fly half, as the forwards dominated the ball for long periods, but England effectively sealed victory with a quarter of the match left with a flowing try.

Nick Easter combined well with Harlequins team-mate Danny Care at the base of a scrum, and Care burst through a gap in the Pumas defensive line. He then flung a wide pass to Mark Cueto, who showed some improvised football skills to keep the ball alive, and Armitage gathered up to score.

Things then got very scrappy, and it started to frustrate players on both sides, culminating in Horacio Agulla and Jason White both being sent to the sin bin.

As the crowd started to lose interest and start a Mexican wave, England held firm and, through successful marshalling of dangerous Argentinean attackers Gonzalo Tiesi and Gonzalo Camacho, they nullified the Pumas’ creativity.

Armitage bagged his second try of the match and the fifth of his international career in the final minute of play, again finishing off a pacey attack.

Again Cueto showed clever footballing skills – clearly enjoying playing at the home of his beloved Manchester United – to boot the ball forwards, and Armitage had the speed to reach the ball and touch it down.

Without being a great spectacle, it was an important victory for Johnson’s troops against a side currently ranked above them by the IRB.

It was a much-changed Pumas side compared to the one that famously finished in third place at the 2007 World Cup, and while they are still a hugely physical presence, they are still yet to gel fully – unsurprising given how few matches they get to play each year.

Their only points came from the boot of Juan Martin Hernandez, including one penalty from well inside his own half, but they never looked like breaching the English line and ended up going down with a whimper.

For England it was a credible victory, revenge for the Pumas’ shock win at Twickenham in 2006, and another sign of Martin Johnson’s influence starting to shine through.

Penalty chalked off because ‘player broke wind’

Jake J — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:51:58 +0000

Most refs like to make sure rules are followed by the book, some take it too far…A Manchester Publicity league game descended into hilarity when a Chorlton Villa player broke wind. Now, we’re all grown-ups here, it wasn’t the flatulence that caused the giggles, it was the referee and his reaction.

As an International Manchester FC player started his run up to take a penalty, the Iguanas player let loose, much to the horror of the man in black. The penalty, which was missed, was ordered to be retaken and the flatulent player in question was booked for ‘unsporting behaviour’. The retaken penalty then hit the back of the net.

Villa manager Ian Tredwell, who led the side to a 6-4 victory, was astounded the ref took such a stance:

One of our players ‘broke wind’ and only the referee heard it and he booked the player.

The other player had the penalty saved because it was a bad penalty; it was nothing to do with any noise. They were as shocked as we were.

The opposition, International Manchester FC, were a little more light-hearted about the decision, with secretary Pauline Riley stating:

It was just hilarious.

Celtic through in 21-goal thriller

Richard — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:25:46 +0000

Last night saw a football match of epic proportions that ended in a 21-goal penalty shoot-out.

In the semi-final of the Co-operative Insurance Cup, Celtic were battling Dundee United for a place in the final against Rangers. After an even first half, United seemed the stronger side in the second half, having some good chances denied by the Celtic keeper Boruc. But it was Celtic who came closest to breaking the dealock when both Marc Crosas and Georgios Samaras hit the woodwork in a tense extra time period.

Ultimately however, the stalemate could not be broken and the dreaded penalty shoot-out was the only option.

The first 8 penalty-takers all scored, piling on the pressure for those lower down the order. Even both goalkeepers managed to hit the back of the net against their opposite number. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, with everyone either on the edge of their seat or not able to watch.

United midfielder Willo Flood felt the pressure and hit the crossbar with his penalty. When McDonald slotted his penalty home for Celtic to make it 11-10, the dream was over once again for Craig Levein and the Dundee side.

Levein said of his team:

“I can’t fault the players. What can I say? It becomes a lottery, but how many times do you see a team lose a shoot out yet score 10?”

A delighted Gordon Strachan can now look forward to the first old-firm final since 2003.

The Daily Dust | Good News from the UK » penalty

One Kick Wins Rugby Fan £250,000

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