Afoa backs Ulster appointment

Ulster tight-head John Afoa is backing fellow countryman Mark Anscombe to make a success of his coaching tenure at the club when arrives in the province next year.

The Heineken Cup finalists have appointed Ansombe as the successor to current coach Brian McLaughlin, who will switch his attentions to Academy and schools rugby from next season.

The appointment came as a shock to many rugby observers from within the betfair.com community, but Afoa says he’s delighted with the appointment.

“He coached me for a year when I left school and then I had him on and off for three years at Auckland,” he explained.

“I think he’s a great coach. Everyone talks about Brian being such a loss, but I think Mark coming in can maybe take things on by doing some things a little bit different.

“Mark’s going to come in and hopefully add a few things that are going to improve our game, improve our forwards and help us go even better come next year.”

Though Ulster have already started to plan for next season, the team still has a huge Heineken Cup date on this year’s calendar.

The Irish outfit qualified for the final of the prestigious competition thanks to victory over Edinburgh on April 28, and they will now face Leinster for the right to call themselves European champions.

It promises to be a close encounter between the two rivals, as reflected by the tight Heineken Cup odds offered by most bookmakers.

And success in the Heineken Cup would be an excellent way for Ulster to end the season, says Afoa, following a slightly disappointing RaboDirect Pro12 campaign.

“We didn’t get to where we wanted to be in the league, and that’s disappointing,” said the New Zealander.

“But we have an opportunity now to create a very positive memory of this season. All of the players are striving to turn the campaign into a positive.”

Trott Backs Strauss to Get Runs this Summer

England’s batsman struggled over their disappointing winter tour of the sub-continent, and much of the media focus was on captain, Andrew Strauss, but Jonathan Trott has backed him to rediscover his form.

The top four of Strauss, Trott, Alistair Cook, and Kevin Pietersen all failed to impress with the bat – bar the one last game of the series – as they were beaten comprehensively by Pakistan and then humbled by Sri Lanka.

All eyes will be back on England, who still top the ICC Test rankings, as they face the West Indies and South Africa in a home Test series, before heading back over to the sub-continent to take on India, at the back end of the year.

In the Test with the West Indies, England will triumph, according to the betting with Bet Victor.

Strauss has returned to play for Middlesex, as he searches to rediscover some batting form, while Pietersen has been excelling in the Indian Premier League. 

The barmy army faithful will be praying England’s top stars can excel yet again with the bat and Trott has backed his skipper, claiming the whole squad are behind him.

Trott told the BBC that the media criticism “comes with the territory” of leading England, but he thinks that Strauss, who has only topped 50 twice in nine Test innings, in 2012, will come good yet again.

He added: “We saw what happened with Alastair Cook. He had a bad run and went on to become Test batsman of the year. I'm not saying Strauss is going to do that, but he might go on to score even more.”

Pietersen has returned to England after his IPL experience and he is set to play for Surrey in the County Championship; that one game will be his only preparation in English conditions, ahead of the first Test with the West Indies.

Cricket fans get great odds at www.betvictor.com.

Starscope shines with fine Guineas effort

Whilst all eyes were understandably on the Ballydoyle stable of Aidan O’Brien, after he sent out the winner and third, Homecoming Queen and Maybe, in Sunday’s thrilling Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, the fine achievement of John Gosden in saddling the runner-up, Starscope, and the fourth-placed, The Fugue, should not be overlooked, writes Elliot Slater.

The Fugue ran on well from a long way back to grab fourth place on only her second racecourse appearance, a performance that strongly hinted that she might prove even better when faced with more of a stamina test, and the Investec Oaks entry looks one to keep very much on the right side for middle-distance contests, throughout this season. 

Starscope, owned and bred by the Cheveley Park Stud, and running with the aid of a hood, found only the runaway winner too good for her; she must have delighted connections, in grabbing second place, and hinting that she could be very smart, as the term progresses. Find out if she is already a fixture of the horse racing betting tips, online.

The daughter of Moon Goddess, a half-sister to the outstanding miler, Medicean, had only one outing as a juvenile, when winning a Newmarket maiden over a mile, last October. 

After running a respectable race on her seasonal reappearance back at HQ, to be beaten by just a length into fourth place, in the Group 3 Nell Gwyn Stakes, the Selkirk filly had clearly improved for the outing, and stayed on strongly in the final quarter mile, to come home best of the rest behind the breathtaking winner.

Clearly coping well with the testing ground, and running as though she will be equally capable at eight or ten furlongs, Gosden appears to have plenty of options with the still unexposed Starscope.

With an entry in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, it seems natural that the stiff mile at the Berkshire might play to the strengths of a horse who could well get much closer to her Newmarket conqueror next time, Homecoming Queen being unlikely to be given quite so much rope in future contests.

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