Latest news with #ex-Harlequins
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
"I trained with the Great Britain Sail team - they can produce when it counts"
I had the chance to train with the Emirates Great Britain SailGP team ahead of their home race in Portsmouth come July and their power and endurance is something you just don't grasp when watching on TV For a lot of sports you can make your own, relatively successful, prediction of how fit their competitors are. Rugby players for example speak for themselves, as would say a cyclist or a long distance runner. Their shape and size somewhat giving them away. When it comes to sailing though, me included, to tend to go in slightly blind. When you watch footage of them competing you see as much of the boat as you do the sailors themselves. So when I was invited to train with the Emirates Great Britain SailGP team I wasn't sure what to expect. Alongside myself, a relatively active individual but far from professional athlete, was England rugby great Danny Care and ex-Harlequins and Red Roses star, Shaunagh Brown. We were tasked with five exercises. Some a bit more tailored to sailing, others perhaps favouring rugby and some pretty neutral. Overseeing the action was Professor Greg Whyte OBE - a world renowned sport scientist and the human performance coach to the SailGP Emirates Great Britain team. It is safe to say it only took the first exercise to be complete for me to realise that, yes, these sailors had it. Neil Hunter had all the top tier physical characteristics you'd expect and Nick Hutton was absolutely shredded. Ellie Aldridge, the reserve sailor, was also in top condition. We embarked on a 30 second effort on the grinder. 30 seconds, not long right? Think again. The key here was maximising your output but making sure there wasn't a mammoth drop off. This movement is what trims the sails on the boats when the sailors are competing - in simple terms "the engine of the boat". They can be on these for minutes at a time when competing, but their max efforts had Hutton and Hunter well ahead of the pack. The final five to ten seconds really do take you to a dark place, so I can't fathom what minutes would be like. The SailGP athletes spend around 15 hours a week on that grinder machine. Base endurance is the core of what they are trying to achieve. The boats they compete in are only accessible for events so everything the athletes are doing is simulating race day. Imagine an F1 driver not jumping into the car until the first lap of qualifying. A simple exercise of who can smash out the most chin ups saw sailing edge out rugby with Hutton getting the better of Care - any mself, although that was no great surprise. Efforts on the Wattbike came next with the sailors needing less than ten seconds to produce their max efforts, hitting it hard when they got the go ahead from Whyte. Perhaps a personal highlight, and an entertaining show of competitiveness, was on the sled push. We were all timed and it was a race across eight metres. Pride was clearly at stake and, with one person still left to go, the SailGP Emirates Great Britain team were not top of the leaderboard. Hutton had the final say was told by his colleague Hunter that their reputation rested on him producing on his one and only run. If being out on the water is about relishing the concept of "your time to shine" and producing when its most needed, then boy did the man from Scotland come up trumps. A mega show of power saw him top the time charts to the delight of his team-mates. I think whenever you train with anyone your respect for them goes up and what took me back the most was the sheer power output they were capable of. The Emirates Great Britain team have already claimed victory at one of the events this year, coming out on top in Australia. Ahead of their home race in Portsmouth they look primed to close in on championship leaders Spain.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tigers pull 'wildcard' with 'very sharp' Parling
He was greeted as a "wildcard appointment", has been admired as a "very sharp student of the game" and is seen by one former team-mate as a "big coup" for Leicester Tigers. When Geoff Parling returns to Tigers in the summer after 10 years away, he will do so as a rookie head coach with a big reputation. The 41-year-old former England lock, who earned three British & Irish Lions caps while playing for Leicester, where he won two Premiership titles in six years, replaces a coach of world renown in Michael Cheika. For months, Tigers' search for Cheika's successor had the club linked to a multitude of high-profile coaching figures. Stade Francais coach and ex-Harlequins head of rugby Paul Gustard and ex-Munster head coach Graham Rowntree were two former Tigers that were favourites for the job at different times, as was ex-England boss Stuart Lancaster and even former New Zealand player and assistant coach Leon MacDonald. Australia assistant Parling, whose entire coaching career to date has been spent working Down Under after he retired as a player in 2018, was the surprise choice. "He hadn't been mentioned at all," said former Leicester Tigers and England winger Tom Varndell, whose first spell with Tigers ended in 2009 before Parling moved to Mattioli Woods Welford Road from Newcastle. "Geoff is a bit of a wildcard, but I think he is a really good one. "It's someone that knows the club, he has been part of successful Tigers teams, has learned his trade as a coach in the southern hemisphere and he will bring a huge amount of experience from that back to Leicester." Listen to BBC Radio Leicester's Tigers Rugby Show 'Best thing I can do' for Parling is win - Cheika Leicester Tigers name Parling as new head coach Former Tigers hooker George Chuter, who played alongside Parling throughout the lock's time at Leicester, says his former team-mate appears to have "come up on the inside rail and snuck in at the end" to get the job. While Parling was not a name being "bandied around" during the months in which speculation around the job swirled, Chuter says getting him back is a "big coup". He describes Parling as a "very intelligent and very sharp" thinker who will have a "deep appreciation for what it takes" to make Tigers successful. "Geoff was a player that had to study the game," Chuter told BBC East Midlands Today. "If you were to describe someone who maximised their talent, I think that would be Geoff because he wasn't the most naturally gifted rugby player. He looked about 48 years old when he was 25, so he is that sort of guy. "He had a really great work ethic, physical skills he worked on but his brain was two or three steps ahead of most other people. "That has stood him in good stead as a player and in what is already a pretty successful coaching career. And it certainly will stand him in good stead as he goes into what is a very tough environment in the Premiership." And with Parling being the ninth head coach Tigers have had in nine years, it's arguable there are no more demanding conditions to work under than those in Leicester. Cheika took the job "very last-minute" when fellow Australian Dan McKellar – who, like Parling, left his role as Wallabies assistant when he took over as Tigers head coach in 2023 – got through only one year of a "long-term deal" with the club. The length of Parling's contract has been described the same way. Stability is something Tigers back-rower Hanro Liebenberg has previously said Leicester need to find in Cheika's replacement. Cheika himself spoke about "stability and all that business" after Parling's role was announced, but said that trying to deliver a Premiership title this season is the "best thing" he can do to help the incoming boss. But that may not be all, as Cheika remains keen to stay in touch with the club after his departure. When asked if he would "pick up the phone" if Parling ever had a question in future, Cheika replied: "Yes, of course. "And I've said it to the guys here - once I've coached them, I'm coaching them forever. You ask these guys to do things for you all the time, and the respect they show is something that is a big connector. "It goes without saying that if that is necessary, then, of course, yes."
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man found not guilty of racially abusing Ugo Monye
A man who shouted the n-word in the vicinity of former England rugby union international Ugo Monye following a match has been found not guilty of a public order offence. Angus Beukes, 32, from South Africa, made the comment at Exeter's Sandy Park stadium after the Chiefs played Gloucester on November 19, 2023. The Chiefs apologised to Monye following the incident, which was investigated by Devon and Cornwall Police. In a statement released at the time, the Rugby Football Union said it was 'appalled' by what happened and pledged its 'full support' to Mr Monye. On Friday, Exeter Magistrates' Court heard Monye had been commentating on the Premiership match and was leaving to catch his taxi for the train station at about 5pm. The ex-Harlequins player-turned-pundit described hearing a man with a South African accent repeatedly use the n-word, leaving him 'extremely shocked'. Beukes, a mechanic who represented himself in court via video link from South Africa, denied a charge of causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress. He insisted he had been talking to a female friend, who is also South African, and the n-word word is acceptable in their home country. Magistrates found him not guilty of the charge, concluding that prosecutors had not proved that Beukes, who is of mixed race, knew the word was offensive in Britain. Presiding justice Paul Doyle said the 'key point' was whether Beukes intended his actions to be threatening, abusive or insulting and whether he knew that they might have been. 'In evidence, we have heard that the use of the n-word was directed at your friend,' the justice told Beukes. 'We have also heard that there has been no general socialising outside of the South African community that you shared a house with while in the UK for the time you were here. 'We heard from a number of independent witnesses. The majority of those agreed that the use of the n-word was used towards your friend to stop her from using her phone. 'Mr Monye's evidence is that the n-word was used multiple times, also following when he remonstrated with you and while you were running away.' Doyle said Beukes had only been in the UK for six months at the time of the offence and the question for the bench was whether he became aware the n-word was offensive in UK culture during that time. 'The onus is on the prosecution to show us that this was the case,' he added. 'We find that they have not demonstrated this beyond reasonable doubt. 'As these elements have not been fully proved to a satisfactory standard, we find you not guilty of the offence.' Prosecuting, Maree Doyle read witness statements, including from Monye, describing how a man with a South African accent shouted the n-word as crowds were leaving the stadium. In a statement, Monye said: 'I felt immediately shocked by this as the word is extremely offensive. I heard the word again said as the male went past me. The male stood in front of me and repeated the word again. 'My first thought was he would have to be drunk to be shouting that word in public. I had a bag over my shoulder. I dropped it on the floor to challenge his behaviour. 'I said: 'Mate, you can't be saying that'. I took hold of him at the top of his jacket. We were sort of jostling but it didn't get any more physical than that. I expected him to apologise. He just seemed to double down.' Monye said supporters separated the two men and he asked for someone to take a photograph of Beukes but nobody did so. He alleged that Beukes repeated the racial slur again before running off. 'He said it while looking me in the eye,' Monye added. In evidence, Beukes said he had been invited to the match by friends and attended along with a female colleague, also from South Africa. He insisted the n-word has 'no significant meaning' in South Africa and that he was not aware it was offensive until Monye's reaction. 'In South Africa, we reprimand each other like that,' Beukes added. 'In my country, it doesn't mean anything. It has no meaning whatsoever.' Beukes told the court he only used the n-word once, towards his friend, saying 'My n-word, put your phone away' as she was causing a bottleneck in the queue of fans waiting to leave the stadium. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
07-03-2025
- Telegraph
Man found not guilty of racially abusing Ugo Monye
A man who shouted the n-word in the vicinity of former England rugby union international Ugo Monye following a match has been found not guilty of a public order offence. Angus Beukes, 32, from South Africa, made the comment at Exeter's Sandy Park stadium after the Chiefs played Gloucester on November 19, 2023. The Chiefs apologised to Monye following the incident, which was investigated by Devon and Cornwall Police. In a statement released at the time, the Rugby Football Union said it was 'appalled' by what happened and pledged its 'full support' to Mr Monye. On Friday, Exeter Magistrates' Court heard Monye had been commentating on the Premiership match and was leaving to catch his taxi for the train station at about 5pm. The ex-Harlequins player-turned-pundit described hearing a man with a South African accent repeatedly use the n-word, leaving him 'extremely shocked'. Beukes, a mechanic who represented himself in court via video link from South Africa, denied a charge of causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress. He insisted he had been talking to a female friend, who is also South African, and the n-word word is acceptable in their home country. Magistrates found him not guilty of the charge, concluding that prosecutors had not proved that Beukes, who is of mixed race, knew the word was offensive in Britain. Presiding justice Paul Doyle said the 'key point' was whether Beukes intended his actions to be threatening, abusive or insulting and whether he knew that they might have been. 'In evidence, we have heard that the use of the n-word was directed at your friend,' the justice told Beukes. 'We have also heard that there has been no general socialising outside of the South African community that you shared a house with while in the UK for the time you were here. 'We heard from a number of independent witnesses. The majority of those agreed that the use of the n-word was used towards your friend to stop her from using her phone. 'Mr Monye's evidence is that the n-word was used multiple times, also following when he remonstrated with you and while you were running away.' Doyle said Beukes had only been in the UK for six months at the time of the offence and the question for the bench was whether he became aware the n-word was offensive in UK culture during that time. 'The onus is on the prosecution to show us that this was the case,' he added. 'We find that they have not demonstrated this beyond reasonable doubt. 'As these elements have not been fully proved to a satisfactory standard, we find you not guilty of the offence.' Prosecuting, Maree Doyle read witness statements, including from Monye, describing how a man with a South African accent shouted the n-word as crowds were leaving the stadium. In a statement, Monye said: 'I felt immediately shocked by this as the word is extremely offensive. I heard the word again said as the male went past me. The male stood in front of me and repeated the word again. 'My first thought was he would have to be drunk to be shouting that word in public. I had a bag over my shoulder. I dropped it on the floor to challenge his behaviour. 'I said: 'Mate, you can't be saying that'. I took hold of him at the top of his jacket. We were sort of jostling but it didn't get any more physical than that. I expected him to apologise. He just seemed to double down.' Monye said supporters separated the two men and he asked for someone to take a photograph of Beukes but nobody did so. He alleged that Beukes repeated the racial slur again before running off. 'He said it while looking me in the eye,' Monye added. In evidence, Beukes said he had been invited to the match by friends and attended along with a female colleague, also from South Africa. He insisted the n-word has 'no significant meaning' in South Africa and that he was not aware it was offensive until Monye's reaction. 'In South Africa, we reprimand each other like that,' Beukes added. 'In my country, it doesn't mean anything. It has no meaning whatsoever.' Beukes told the court he only used the n-word once, towards his friend, saying 'My n-word, put your phone away' as she was causing a bottleneck in the queue of fans waiting to leave the stadium.
