D Wednesday, January 20, 2010 SPORT 21 Picture: Reuters TENNIS RUGBY HEINEKEN CUP ODriscoll will not settle for bonus of second best Seeking home advantage: ODriscoll and Leinster know victory at London Irish will guarantee a home quarter-final Brian ODriscOll insists lein- ster have no intentions of settling for the losing bonus point that will guar- antee them a place in knockout stages when they face london irish in their final Heineken cup pool match this saturday. The Exiles shock defeat last week- end at llanelli leaves them needing a maximum five-point haul, while de- nying leinster the point that comes with a defeat of seven points or less. When asked if he would accept the defeat if it meant qualification for the quarter-finals, ireland captain ODriscoll said: no. i think as pro- fessional rugby players you just want to win the rugby game irrespective of how the standings are in the pool. We want to go and win the game. We were disappointed with our per- formance back in October [when lon- don irish beat leinster at the rDs]. saturday is an opportunity to put that right. We realise that london irish beat us in the first game, we know how good they can be. There are all sorts of permutations but as players you cant buy into that, think of what might be. Your focus has to be getting into the knock-out stages. Our destiny is in our hands and its just a case By Gareth Makim of ensuring we put ourselves there. leinster could actually know their fate before the 6pm kick-off at Twick- enham, for a Munster defeat of north- ampton earlier in the day will also ensure their place in the last eight. However, there is still the matter of a home quarter-final, and ODriscoll admits a first rDs knockout tie is the least the provinces fans deserve. The supporters have been incredi- ble over the last couple of years, he said. Theres some diehards who have been there for a long time and we owe them for their constant travel- ling. it would be great to get them a home quarter-final so they could stay at home for one week at least. As players we cant buy into the permutations Gouge earns Stade prop 70-week ban StADe Francais prop David Attoub has been handed a 70- week ban for eye gouging by an independent judicial officer. the 28-year-old was found guilty of gouging Stephen Ferris during Ulsters 23-13 Heineken Cup win over Stade in December. Judge Jeff Blackett said of the verdict: this is the worst act of contact with the eyes that I have had to deal with: it is a case of deliberate eye gouging. the ban means Attoub will not be able to return until April 22, 2011. His team- mate Julien Dupuy was handed a 24-week ban, reduced to 23 on appeal, for his role in the incident. LeInSter rising star Kevin McLaughlin admitted yesterday it was an honour to be included in the Ireland squad for the first time. the back-row said: Im absolutely chuffed. Just to be involved with the Irish team is a huge honour. Ireland squad: R Best, I Boss, T Court (Ulster), T Bowe (Ospreys), T Buckley (Munster), S Cronin (Connacht), L Cullen (Leinster), G DArcy (Leinster), I Dowling, K Earls (Munster), Stephen Ferris, D Fitzpatrick (Ulster), J Flannery, J Hayes (Munster), J Fogarty, C Healy, J Heaslip, S Horgan (Leinster), C Henry (Ulster), M Horan, D Hurley (Munster), S Horgan, S Jennings, R Kearney, F McFadden, K McLaughlin (Leinster), J Murphy (Leicester), D OCallaghan, P OConnell, M ODriscoll, R OGara, T OLeary (Munster), Brian ODriscoll (captain), S OBrien, E Reddan, M Ross, J Sexton (Leinster), D Ryan, P Stringer (Munster), Devin Toner (Leinster), A Trimble, D Touhy, P Wallace (Ulster), D Wallace (Munster), B Wilkinson (Connacht) Leinster squad (v London Irish): L Cullen (capt), J Fogarty, C Healy, J Heaslip, N Hines, B Jackman, S Jennings, R McCormack, S OBrien, K McLaughlin, M OKelly, M Ross, CJ van der Linde, S Wright, S Berne, G DArcy, G Dempsey, S Horgan, R Kearney, Simon Keogh, I Nacewa, P ODonohoe, B ODriscoll, E Reddan, J Sexton Munster squad (v northampton): W Du Preez, J Brugnaut, S Archer, J Hayes, M Horan, T Buckley, D Fogarty, D Varley, D OCallaghan, P OConnell, D Ryan, J Coughlan, M ODriscoll, B Holland, A Quinlan, N Ronan, D Wallace, T OLeary, K Earls, P Stringer, R OGara, J De Villiers, T Gleeson, L Mafi, D Howlett, I Dowling, D Hurley, P Warwick. Kevin so chuffed with Ireland call u GAVIN HASTINGS led tributes to Bill McLaren after the former BBC commentator died yesterday at the age of 86. Scot McLaren retired in 2002 after nearly 50 years behind the microphone and ex-Scotland full-back Hastings said: He was a wonderful man. He was a real family man. He was known as the voice of rugby and that probably will be his legacy. Historic win is just the start for Sorensen lOuk sOrEnsEns unexpected victory in the australian Open will be life-changing, according to the chief executive of Tennis ireland. The 25-year-old world no.284 became the first irish player to win a Grand slam match in 25 years by beating Yen-Hsun lu 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the first round in Melbourne early yesterday after battling his way through the qualifiers. The German-based son of irish Davis cup captain sean plays mostly in challenger and Futures events, but Tennis ireland chief Des allen is hoping the irishman can continue his fairytale run. i feel this will change his life, his career, said allen. Obviously louk has to capitalise on this but he is evidently capable of doing that. i am sure he will work from this platform he has created for himself. We have known for a long while he was capable of this sort of thing but hes had fitness problems, including a stomach muscle injury. He is certainly capable of going another round or two at least. sorensen admitted we was not used to the attention his win had garnered, saying: i dont know whats going on right now. ive suddenly got so many friend requests on Facebook. its the biggest achievement of my career so far, he added. i got through the first round now so im very happy. i dont know what its like in ireland. i dont want to know until after the tournament. sorensen was due to face towering 6ft 9in american John isner in the second round overnight and said he was likely to prepare for the match by watching YouTube highlights. He said: isner is a big server. i have never played anyone that tall. He is huge. i am maybe going to watch a few points on YouTube. Its game, wet and match for Young AMERICAN Donald Young had to draw on all his powers of concentration when his victory over Belgian Christophe Rochus was delayed for 40 minutes after a ball boy wet his pants. The 20-year-old was two sets to one ahead and 2-1 up in the fourth when the unfortunate event happened on court ten. The ball kid peed on himself. It was unfortunate, Young said. Then they had to put the sawdust down or whatever you put down when somebody throws up. Then they had to use the blower [to dry the court] but the blower had no gas in it. Young finally took the set 6-4 to reach the second round. First Louk: Sorensen on his way to victory in Melbourne Williams will not go quietly SERENA WILLIAMS eased into round two and then hit out at the fine which resulted from her last grand slam appearance. Williams, who maintained her perfect record in the first round of major tournaments with an easy 6-2, 6-1 win over Polands Urszula Radwanska, was punished for her verbal abuse of a line judge during last years US Open semi-final with Kim Clijsters. I dont know anyone who ever got fined like that, and people have said worse and done worse, she said. I just thought it was a bit much. The defending champion was joined by sister Venus in the next round after the sixth seed saw off Czech Lucie Safarova 6-2, 6-2. Fed avoids a meltdown ROGER FEDERER admitted he was forced to ride his luck as he fought back from a set down to overcome Igor Andreev and keep his Australian Open chances on the boil. The world No.1 produced a sloppy, error-strewn display against the Russian before winning 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, (7-2), 6-0. French Open finalist Robin Soderling became the first top-ten casualty, the Swede going down in five sets to Spains Marcel Granollers. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html