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Eddie Jones has warned his England side they need to be “bulletproof” in Japan after being handed arguably the toughest pool at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.England find themselves in Pool C, alongside France and Argentina, following the draw Authentic Henrik Borgstrom Womens Jersey here on Wednesday, setting them up for a potential semi‑final meeting with New Zealand.There was an air of familiarity about the outcome after a former captain Bill Beaumont drew the ball that placed possible problems in England’s way, less than two years after they were dumped out of the group stage in their own tournament after defeats against Wales and Australia.“The thing that I struggle with, what I continuously struggle with against English rugby, is complacency. So if there’s any way our team can be complacent now, then we’ve got the wrong people,” Jones said. “Then it makes it an easy decision for me selection-wise. Because we’re going to have to be bulletproof in the World Cup – to get through to the final we’re going to have to be bulletproof.“We’re going to have to play a number of different ways against different teams, and we’re going to have to be able to cope with it because the reality is … we’ve got four very tough games.”Speaking in a city dotted with ancient Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, Jones joked that he was considering seeking divine intervention. “I’m going to visit the temples because I need to pray,” he said. “I need to pray really hard.”England’s group is completed by two qualifiers, from the Americas and Oceania, with those places possibly being filled by the USA and Fiji or Samoa.Asked if the draw had influenced his choice of pre-tournament warmup opponents, Jones said: “Not http://www.officialpanthersonlinestore.com/Jakub_Kindl_Jersey really. Again, we need to produce a bulletproof team that can play against any sort of team. Against Argentina and France you’ll be playing teams with big ball‑runners and we’re probably looking at a physical disadvantage in both of those games. They’re bigger teams than us, so we’re going to have to get better at being tactically smart and being more skilful, which is all part of the plan anyway.”His New Zealand counterpart, Steve Hansen, appeared unconvinced that England were their biggest challengers to win the tournament – the first to be held in Asia. Under Jones England have won two successive Six Nations titles and equalled the All Blacks record of 18 Test victories in a row before losing against Ireland in Dublin two months ago.They’re one of [our rivals], along with South Africa, Australia and France,” Hansen said. “By the time the World Cup comes around any one of a number of teams could win the tournament. England are getting better and better all the time, but they’re in a really strong pool.“It’s going to be interesting. Everyone is saying that Pool C is the pool of death and Pool B is easier. But you’re in what you’re in. England will be like us – looking forward to getting here.”Beaumont, who opened the event as chairman of World Rugby, said: “It’s a tough draw for lots of teams. Certainly [England and Argentina] are teams that know each other very well – but a World Cup game held on neutral Kent Bazemore Womens Jersey territory is very different. England will be cautious, given how well Argentina have played in the last three World Cups.”The Pumas reached the semi-final at the 2015 World Cup and have been touted as a potential threat to top-tier teams.To improve their chances of banishing memories of their ignominious exit from the group stage in 2015, England will have to acclimatise to potentially tricky conditions. Much of the country is still humid in late September – a month also known for occasional typhoons – before October brings dryer, cooler weather.Despite this Jones, who was Japan’s head coach at the previous World Cup, remains in bullish mood. “You need to peak at the right time, and you remember back to the time of the 2003 World Cup the England team peaked in June and they were bulletproof then.“It’s all about timing and sometimes the preparation is about the age of your players and sometimes it’s about luck, so you’ve got to get all those things in line to make sure we’re right for the World Cup.”Hansen held out the possibility of a friendly against Japan to give his side a chance to adapt. “Will we play Japan between now and the World Cup? We’ll have to wait and see, but it wouldn’t be a silly idea,” he said.Organisers had hoped that the presence of national coaches and rugby dignitaries, along http://www.officialhawkstore.com/Kirk_Hinrich_Jersey with Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, at the draw would boost the tournament’s public profile and match the anticipation felt over the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. However, the buildup to the draw attracted little interest among the Japanese media and there was nothing in the streets around the ancient capital’s state guest house to suggest it was about to start the countdown to a major international tournament.“Japan 2019 will be a celebration of rugby and friendship felt throughout this great country,” Beaumont said. “No doubt it will ignite a deep love of rugby, and Japan’s people and cities will be outstanding hosts. Abe, who is not known to be a rugby fan, said the tournament would be the perfect opportunity for Japan to showcase rugby to the rest of Asia, where the sport hopes to recruit another million players by 2019. “I promise Japan will do everything it can to put on the best possible competition,” he said.After being drawn in the same group as Scotland and Ireland, Japan will be hoping for a repeat of their extraordinary win against South Africa in 2015.
Eugenie Bouchard produced a brilliant fighting display to win her grudge match against Maria Sharapova at the Madrid Open.The pair faced each other in the second round with Bouchard winning a tense match 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.The Canadian Aaron Ekblad Jersey world No60 had called Sharapova “a cheater” before the Russian’s return to competitive action in April after a 15-month doping ban. It was Bouchard’s first win against Sharapova, who she believes should be banned from tennis for life. Sharapova, a five-times grand slam winner, was initially banned by the International Tennis Federation for two years after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. It was reduced to 15 months and, in October, the court of arbitration for sport said she was not an “intentional doper”.Bouchard was still hugely critical of Sharapova, though, and the Russian looked to gain some kind of payback early on in their Madrid match. She needed to save two break points in the fifth game but broke Bouchard in the sixth with a brutal forehand winner to lead 4-2. Bouchard http://www.officialpanthersonlinestore.com/Aleksander_Barkov_Jersey immediately broke back and capitalised on sloppy play from Sharapova, who made six double faults in the first set, to break again. Yet Bouchard missed the chance to win the set when she dropped her serve to make it 5-5.Sharapova 'a cheater' and should not play tennis again, says Bouchard – video Sharapova then lost a 12-minute service game as Bouchard broke and the Canadian eventually took the opening set 7-5 after 70 minutes. Sharapova, who struggled with her serve all evening, recovered in the second, again claiming a 4-2 lead. This time she did not let Bouchard back in as shewrapped it up 6-2.Neither player was prepared to give ground in the decider as Sharapova survived five break points in the fifth game. Bouchard’s pressure paid off when she broke to love to go 4-3 up, only for Sharapova to hit instantly back. But another break from Bouchard allowed her to serve for the match to set up a third-round tie with Angelique Kerber.Kerber defeated Dominique Wilkins Jersey Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 to regain the world No1 ranking. The German top seed overcame seven double faults and won the final four games to defeat the Czech in just under two hours.Maria Sharapova’s competitive instincts intact on her return from the wilderness Karolina Pliskova, seeded second for the tournament and ranked third in the world, lost against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-3, ending her hopes of reaching No1 this week. That meant Kerber was guaranteed to retake the top ranking from Serena Williams.Lara Arruabarrena defeated the 15th seed Barbora Strycova 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Kristina Mladenovic edged out the American Lauren Davis 6-3, 1-6, 7-6. Svetlana Kuznetsova knocked out Alison Riske, with the Russian coming from behind to win 2-6, 7-6, 6-2.The men’s world No1 Andy Murray, a two-times Madrid champion, will face Marius Copil in the second round http://www.officialhawkstore.com/Dominique_Wilkins_Jersey today after Copil saved two match points to defeat his fellow wild card Guillermo García-López to win 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.Murray has endured a difficult time after returning from an elbow injury, crashing out against the Spanish world No24 Albert Ramos-Viñolas in the Monte Carlo Masters last 16, and then enduring semi-final defeat by the Austrian Dominic Thiem at the Barcelona Open. Agencieshen the clock struck midnight here, Maria Sharapova’s interminable wait was finally over. An outcast no more, the gates to the world of tennis were open to her again and nobody could cross DeAndre' Bembry Authentic Jersey her name off the list. Nine hours and 15 minutes later, Sharapova strode purposefully on court, ignoring the cameras and journalists, and briefly it was possible to fall into the trap of thinking that this was just business as usual.But it was no ordinary occasion. Rarely, if ever, had there been this much interest in a practice hit before a first-round match at a tournament where players tune up on clay before the French Open next month. One of the sport’s most famous figures, and by far its most controversial, was back in the sceptical public eye after the rancour that followed her stunning revelation of a failed drug test last year and the troubling sense that even now she feels no shame about meldonium being found in her system.Perhaps that apparent shortage of remorse can be explained by Sharapova’s knowing awareness of her undiminished power. For longer than she would care to remember, the Russian’s reputation has been dragged through the mud. In the eyes of most of her peers, she will always be a pariah, but there are others who still regard her as Princess Maria and fall obligingly at her feet whenever she walks on a court.A few of those people were in the Centre Court crowd at the Porsche Arena on Wednesday night, when Sharapova played in a competitive setting for the first time in 15 months. There were supportive signs in the stands, a few Russian flags, and noticeable cheers instead of jeers as Sharapova prepared to face the awkward Roberta Vinci and start her quest for passage into the grand slams. A 7-5, 6-3 victory against the world No36, who is no ally of hers, secured a match against Ekaterina Makarova on Thursday, the dangerous Russian left-hander. There was even some whooping.
