D Wednesday, January 13, 2010 News 21 Hitting fifty a mark of Sextons rapid progress Jonathan Sexton is in line to win his 50th Leinster cap against Brive this Saturday and admits it is a milestone he once thought he would never reach. this time last year, the out-half re- mained behind argentina star Felipe Contepomi in the RDS pecking order and had yet to prove himself capable of competing at the highest level. But, after replacing the injured Conte- pomi in last seasons heineken Cup semi-final win over Munster, the 24- year-old has not looked back, becoming undisputed no.10 at Leinster and also winning his first Ireland caps against Fiji and South africa in november. this time last year I would not have thought that I would get to 50 games for Leinster, Sexton said. Its a nice little milestone to get to and I would hope to get a lot further than that. I want to spend a good few more years in Leinster. If I start on Saturday itll be a little bit extra special. But there are lads now reaching 100 and they are the same age as me so Im still a bit behind. Sexton has recovered from two bro- ken fingers suffered against the Spring- boks and is keen to get back on the field after his comeback was delayed when last Fridays Magners League clash with Glasgow fell foul of the weather. he said: obviously its frustrating with the [Glasgow] game being called off, I felt I needed a game after not hav- ing not played for six weeks but the game being cancelled gave me another week to get back working with the ball and to get back playing with the lads. at the start of last week I felt rusty at best and now I feel a lot more confident going into this game. the extra week has probably done me good. Leinster expect a vastly different Brive outfit to the one they beat in october, with new coaching staff led by Ugo Mola inspiring a charge up the top 14 table that has included recent wins over Perpignan and toulouse. they are a totally different team to the one that we played back in october, added Sexton. they have had some re- ally good results of late and will be full of confidence. By Gareth Makim Playing catch-up: Sexton RUGBY HEINEKEN CUP Piquet claims its time to take stock MOTORSPORT: Nelson Piquet Jnr will compete in the Nascar stock racing series this year after failing to clinch a return to Formula One. The 24-year-old former Renault driver, who was embroiled in the crashgate scandal, said: After my first 18 months in F1 did not go as planned, I have decided to focus on something different. Nascar is hugely challenging, and nobody has ever come in as an outsider before and gone on to win it. It will be the ultimate challenge. sportdigest ODriscoll earns another honour RUGBY: Irelands Grand Slam captain Brian ODriscoll has won the prestigious Rugby Union Writers Club Pat Marshall Memorial Award as the sports outstanding personality for 2009. British and Irish Lions head coach Sir Ian McGeechan was also honoured, receiving the RUWCs discretionary Special Award for his services to rugby. The Scot joins luminaries such as Francois Pienaar, Agustin Pichot and Sir Clive Woodward who have received the Special Award. Bray bids farewell to Ireland squad CRICKET: Jeremy Bray has retired from international cricket after making 83 appearances for Ireland. The 36-year-old opener scored seven centuries, including a 115 knock against Zimbabwe in Irelands memorable World Cup run in 2007. Bray said: Im not getting any younger, and its hard to get up to the levels of fitness now required for international cricket. I have had some wonderful memories. FORMULA ONE MICHAEL SCHUMACHER stepped up his preparations for his F1 return yesterday by getting behind the wheel of a GP2 car for the start of a three-day testing session in Spain. The 41-year-old German, above and inset, has come out of retirement to drive for Mercedes this year but did not have the ideal start as wet and windy conditions meant the seven-time world champion could only run limited mileage. He said: Today was good, especially because after a long time I could drive again in a car that came close to a current F1 car. Despite the weather, all my senses were on full alert. This alone was worth it. Meanwhile, two-time title winner Fernando Alonso hit the slopes as he continued his build-up with Ferrari. The Spaniard enjoyed a ski lesson with his new team in the Italian Dolomite mountains. Schuey hampered by showers but ice is right for Alonso Pictures:Reuters SNOOKER THE MASTERS Rocking Ronnie scrapes into last eight Ronnie oSullivan fought back from 3-0 down to beat neil Robertson 6-4 in a stunning second-round clash at The Masters last night. oSullivan looked on his way out as his australian opponent moved into a convincing lead at Wembley. But the four-time Masters champion stormed back with two centuries and three half-century breaks to set up a quarter-final with Peter ebdon. a brilliant run of 114 halted Robertsons charge just before the mid-session interval and oSullivan quickly surged 4-3 ahead. Robertson then hit a superb 140 to level the match only to see oSullivan win it with breaks of 106 and 76. afterwards, the englishman admitted he had needed to regroup after Robertsons excellent start. i wasnt surprised to be 3-0 down. it was just nice to score a few in the end so i could make a game of it as it could have been a whitewash, he said. You cant panic, thats rule number one if you panic its a disaster. You have to stay patient and hope to catch a bit of momentum so you can put your opponent under pressure. i made two out of ten long pots and i think neil will be disappointed to have beaten someone making just two of ten long pots.Comeback: OSullivan Unlucky: Robertson index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html