MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 S P O R T S Champ Kwiatkowski Adi double maintains Albie Morkel replaces joins Sky for 2016 Portland’s playoff push Wiese for India tour RICHMOND: Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski, last year’s world road race champion, will HOUSTON: Nigerian striker Fanendo Adi scored twice to keep JOHANNESBURG: South Africa all-rounder Albie Morkel has been called move from Etixx-Quick Step to Team Sky for the 2016 season, the British outfit the Portland Timbers on track for a playoff spot with a 2-1 win at up for a three-match Twenty20 (T20) series in India starting next Friday announced yesterday. Confirmation of the signing-which has long been a badly-kept the Columbus Crew on Saturday. The win halted a four-game after David Wiese withdrew with a hand injury. T20 skipper Faf du Plessis secret in the peloton-came just hours before Kwiatkowski began the defense of his winless slide for the sixth-place Timbers (12-10-8) and main- told reporters that 34-year-old Morkel was a welcome inclusion. “Albie crown in the concluding race of the World Road Cycling Championships. The 25-year- tained their three point advantage over the Houston Dynamo brings a lot of experience and is getting another opportunity because he old rider, who spent the past four seasons with Etixx, won the prestigious Amstel Gold (11-12-8) in the battle for the final playoff spot in Major League is a quality player,” said Du Plessis. Batsman Rilee Rossouw has been ruled Race earlier this year whilst he also took stage victories at Paris-Nice, Soccer’s Western Conference. Houston, who only have three reg- out of the five one-day internationals (ODI) series that fol- the Tour de Romandie and Tirreno-Adriatico over the last couple lows the T20 matches having failed to recover from a of season. But his biggest victory came at last year’s worlds, ular season games remaining compared to Portland’s four, kept pace with a 3-2 win at home to the Colorado Rapids. In foot stress fracture. when he captured the rainbow jersey in impressive fashion with Uncapped Khaya Zondo, already part a late solo break on a downhill section. Columbus, the Timbers opened the scoring in the 28th minute when midfielder Darlington Nagbe slipped the ball through for of the T20 squad, takes his place. “Team Sky aim for the highest goals in cycling so I’m very Happier news for the Proteas man- happy that this move has become a reality,” Kwiatkowski said. “I Adi to finish but Kei Kamara’s league-leading 22nd goal, a near am excited and motivated to race for Team Sky next year.” It post header just before halftime, had the Crew level. Adi, though, agement was that T20 fast-medium wasn’t the time Sky had tried to recruit the Polish standout. restored the Timbers advantage in the 50th minute, poking bowler Chris Morris has overcome a “Michal has performed fantastically well over the past couple of home a left wing cross from Rodney Wallace. In Toronto, groin strain and will travel. The Proteas years,” Sky principal Dave Brailsford said. “We have been following Sebastian Giovinco set a MLS record for combined goals and also play four Tests in the longest tour of India they have undertaken. If the final Test his career for a long time. We have attempted to sign him on two assists in a season with two set-ups in Toronto FC’s 3-2 win over lasts five days in Delhi, the tour will stretch from occasions previously and weren’t going to miss out this time the Chicago Fire. —Reuters October 2 to December 7. — AFP Wallabies crush Uruguay to go top of pool of death BIRMINGHAM: Sean McMahon led nated the set-piece, but poor handling Australia to the top of their World Cup ruined many a clean linebreak. group yesterday with a comprehensive Felipe Berchesi kicked a 24th penalty 65-3 victory over minnows Uruguay for Uruguay, just desserts for a dogged ahead of crunch matches with archrivals display by a team boasting just four pro- England and Wales. fessional players and ranked just 19th in Australia ran in 11 tries-two each from the world. As Cooper came back on, a McMahan, returning exile Drew Mitchll consolidated Wallaby advance ended and Ben McCalman-but largely appeared with skipper Mumm shrugging off the to do the minimum necessary for victory lame challenge of Leandro Leivas to dot in the Pool A match at Villa Park. down. Henry Speight got one of the tries of The requisite bonus point came on the tournament at the end of a 65 metre the half-hour mark when a slick backline run. Joe Tomane, Dean Mumm, Matt move resulted in Speight sprinting in Toomua and Tevita Kuridrani got the oth- with a swallow-dive to the corner. ers. With the starting XV boasting 14 Cooper’s deftness was then on dis- changes from the side that laboured to play, a beautiful inside pass finding an opening 28-13 victory over Fiji, flanker McCalman for a simple run-in. Australia were by far the superior team. Uruguay’s best break of the half came Victory left the Wallabies in first place in when Berchesi broke free, a fantastic the “pool of death” on nine points with a McMahon tap tackle snuffing out the points difference of +77. attack. Wales are second, also on nine points Mitchell, after an error-ridden first 40 (+48pts) and England third on six (+21). minutes, was first on the scoresheet in Australia play England and Wales over the second period, the Toulon winger the next two weekends. jinking his way past five defenders for a McMahon, who played a vintage memorable try. game at openside flanker against an out- The winger, like clubmate Matt Giteau LONDON: Wales’ number 8 Taulupe Faletau (2nd R) powers through the defence during the Pool A match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup between England and Wales at Twickenham stadium, south west London. — AFP powered and outpaced opposition, a beneficiary of the Australian Rugby opened the scoring, peeling off from a Union’s relaxation of eligibility rules for driving maul for an easy run-in. overseas-based players, was over the From the restart, McMahon broke whitewash for a second time four min- clear, the ball was played right, Quad utes later, running a tightrope down his Wales stun England, Cooper’s smart offload seeing Tomane in left wing into the corner. for a try with Uruguay looking shaky in McCalman and McMahon bagged defence. their respective braces as Uruguay strug- The other side of Cooper’s game was gled to contain the second-string witnessed when he caught Uruguay Australian team, albeit one boasting Boks bounce back scrum-half Agustin Ormaechea around more than 800 caps. There were late tries the neck and flung him to the floor. for centres Toomua and Kuridrani, rub- French referee Pascal Gauzere had no bing salt into the wounds of anout- Italy survive Canada scare option but to brandish a yellow card. classed Uruguay, who are yet to play Fiji LONDON: Wales took a huge step towards the Samoa at Villa Park on Saturday should help to brave challenge from Canada to emerge slender The Australian team completely domi- and England. — AFP knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup with a silence some of their critics. Winger JP Pietersen 23-18 winners in the Pool D clash at Elland Road nail-biting win over old rivals England on grabbed a hat-trick in a lively display from the in Leeds. It was a finely balanced match, with Saturday, while the Springboks responded to Boks’ backs but it was their defensive efforts that both teams eager to register their first win of this their shock defeat by Japan with a six-try romp coach Heyneke Meyer praised after the match. year’s Rugby World Cup, and in the end it was over Samoa. “Attack puts bums on seats but defence wins the kicking of Italian flyhalf Tommaso Allan that Injury-plagued and second best for an hour, trophies,” Meyer said. “To not concede a try, to proved the difference. the never-say-die Welsh found their spark when stick to the game plan and for the players to put The highlight of the game was a piece of indi- it mattered most, with a Gareth Davies convert- their bodies on the line like they did means I vidual brilliance from Canadian winger DTH Van ed try levelling the scores and a seventh penalty must salute my players.” Der Merwe, who shot down the wing, passed from flyhalf Dan Biggar clinching a famous 28-25 Pietersen became the fourth Springbok to inside and then collected the return to score triumph. score a Rugby World Cup hat-trick after Chester under the posts. “It is a huge, huge effort,” said man-of-the- Williams (1995), Joost van der Westhuizen (2003) But his man-of-the-match award was scant match Biggar, who scored 23 of Wales’s 28 and Bryan Habana (2007). consolation for missing the victory his side had points. “For us to come here to England’s home Samoa did make World Cup history of their set their sights on. “Through this whole World ground at the World Cup-no one gave us a hope, own, fielding three brothers from the Pisi family Cup campaign, it has been our target to take we had a million and one injuries. in what was an otherwise forgettable afternoon Italy down,” Van Der Merwe said.