What should we expect from the Rugby Championship?

The News at Ben

With the Rugby World Cup just around the corner, the All Blacks, Wallabies, Springboks and Pumas finalise their preparations at the Rugby Championship. 

1) Could one of the RWC’s finalists be playing? Well, as per the stats, the answer is yes. Out of the last seven World Cups, Southern Hemisphere teams have won six of them.

2) Is this the best thing to be doing with the RWC just around the corner? Well, there is no doubt that actually playing competitive matches against some of the best teams in the world is a fantastic way to prepare for the tournament. However, South Africa are already missing a number of their first team players, such as Duane Vermeulen. Can any of the teams really risk injuries to their key players?

3) Can any team topple the almighty All Blacks? They have been beaten on the occasion but they hold 13 southern hemisphere…

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Premier League Preseason Team Grades: Arsenal

Go Arsenal, go gunners !!!

AS Roma defeats Real Madrid on penalties

Friendly game between Real Madrid CF and AS Roma in Melbourne Cricket Ground. : 0-0 full time and 7-6 on penalties.

The 90 Minute Analysis

Italian heavyweights AS Roma have defeated Real Madrid 7-6 on penalties in the opening game of the International Champions Cup (ICC) after the game finished 0-0 in normal time.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 18: Players from AS Roma celebrate after defeating Real Madrid in a penalty shootout during the International Champions Cup friendly match between Real Madrid and AS Roma at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 18, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Roma’s Seydou Keita scored the decisive seventh penalty after Madrid youngster Lucas Vazquez’s penalty was saved by goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis.

A huge crowd of 80,746 fans turned up to the MCG on Saturday night to watch the two European giants and the fans were treated to a strong starting line up from both teams with Real Madrid featuring the likes of Christiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, while AS Roma showcased club legend…

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R.I.P Jules Bianchi

Rest in peace Jules Bianchi, you will be missed but never forgotten. Only 25 years old. Too young to die.

Wake Up Your Luck

Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own;
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow, do thy worst, for I have lived today.

John Dryden, translating Horace, Odes, Book III, Ode 29

Last night, Jules Bianchi died after nine months in a coma. You might have heard of him for the first time today, through the news stories about him. Perhaps you haven’t heard of him at all. Yet Jules Bianchi was one of the best drivers in the world – a racer in Formula 1. He never woke up from the coma he fell into last October, following a horrific crash in a Grand Prix. He was the first driver to die racing in Formula 1 since arguably the best of all time, Ayrton Senna, back in 1994. Jules was 25 years old.

Formula 1 is a dangerous sport. The speeds, the reliance…

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Nuclear Deal Won’t Change Policy Toward ‘Arrogant’ U.S.

Crews recover bodies from 2 Washington state plane crashes

Seven companies admit making illegal donations to ex-MP Penashue

Global News

OTTAWA – Seven companies have acknowledged giving illegal donations to former federal cabinet minister Peter Penashue during the 2011 election campaign.

Executives with the seven have struck « compliance agreements » with the commissioner of elections, in which they publicly acknowledge having made illegal contributions and promise to abide by the ban on corporate donations in future.

The admission of responsibility does not constitute a criminal conviction by a court of law and does not create a criminal record.

READ MORE: Conservative minister Peter Penashue resigns over 2011 election donations

Penashue, elected as the Conservative MP for Labrador, resigned in 2013 amid allegations that his 2011 campaign had accepted illegal corporate donations and discounted airfares.

He put his reputation to the test in a byelection but was defeated.

Reg Bowers, Penashue’s official agent in the 2011 campaign, has since been charged with three counts of accepting illegal corporate contributions, an offence under…

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