Catalan Dragons survive London Broncos fightback - BBC News
Catalan fought off a spirited second-half comeback by London Broncos to move up to third in Super League.
First half scores from Lopini Paea, Leon Pryce (two) and Remi Casty, all converted by Scott Dureau, gave the French side a 24-0 half-time lead.
London came back after the interval and Antonio Kaufusi, Ben Bolger and Chad Randall crossed to give them hope.
But it was not to be for Broncos as Casty, Steve Menzies and Jamal Fakir all went over to secure victory.
London Broncos' Shane Rodney spills the ball
Broncos were looking for just their third Super League victory of the season and their first since hammering Wakefield 36-0 in March.
Despite being the first game on in the second day of the Magic Weekend programme, the match was attended by an encouragingly-sized crowd in the Etihad, as many fans arrived early to enjoy the excellent conditions.
The Perpignan side had run in seven tries in a comprehensive 36-18 victory in London last month but had to weather early pressure from the strugglers before taking the lead when Paea crashed over from close in following Dureau's neat hand off.
Before Broncos had a chance to recover they were further behind, Pryce waltzing past a static defence after Catalans had regained possession from a London error.
The two sides were separated by 16 points at kick off and it was becoming increasingly apparent why, prop Casty barging in after poor defence from an up and under by Pryce.
Pryce effectively put the game beyond Rob Powell's side after he finished between the posts following Steve Menzies' quick hands on Dureau's kick into space.
With the first attack of the second period, Kaufusi got London on the scoreboard, going over from close in from Chad Randall's pass.
Ian Henderson tackles London's Chris Melling
The arrears were further reduced soon after thanks to Bolger's score from Mark Bryant's good hands under pressure.
Improbably, Randall then dived over from dummy half, after Catalans had forward Jason Baitieri sin-binned for a late challenge on Craig Gower, and Shane Rodney kicked his third conversion to reduce the deficit to 24-18.
Powell's side, winless since the Challenge Cup victory over Batley on 29 April, were in the ascendency but, before they could mount a further attack to level the match, Casty powerfully forced his way across from the 10 to give Trent Robinson's side much needed breathing space once more.
That score changed the complexion of the game and veteran Menzies finished off despite being under heavy pressure from two Broncos players as the French side ran in their sixth try.
With the Broncos looking deflated it was Fakir who grabbed perhaps the best try of the day to round off the win, diving over after an incisive attack cut through the London backline.
Catalans' victory means they close the gap on current leaders Warrington to just one point, having played one game less.
VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Catalan Dragons coach Trent Robinson said:
"We defended well in the first half but we lost a bit of that in the second and that was disappointing.
"I thought that Jason Baitieri hit Gower late but I think it's a poor rule that it's an automatic sin bin. It was silly but not dangerous.
"Jamal Fakir has been in good form all season and it looks like a groin injury. How bad it is, I don't know.
"Our front row group were outstanding. I thought Scott Dureau and Leon Pryce played well but I always judge them slightly harder because of their ability."
London Broncos coach Rob Powell said:
"At 24-18 I really thought we had the chance to go on and win the game.
"It was disappointing to get caught out the way we did when we'd come back so well.
"At half-time we talked about pride and fighting back. We know Catalans are capable of putting 60 or 70 points up.
"We just need to keep working hard and keep believing in what we're trying to achieve here."
SUNDAY'S LINE-UPS
Catalan Dragons: Greenshields, Bosc, Duport, Pala, Stacul, Pryce, Dureau, Paea, Fisher, Casty, Menzies, Anderson, Baitieri.
Replacements: Raguin, Henderson, Simon, Fakir.
London Broncos: Robertson, Dixon, Caro, O'Callaghan, Channing, Sarginson, Gower, Kaufusi, Witt, Wheeldon, Rodney, Melling, Clubb.
Replacements: Randall, Lovell, Bryant, B. Bolger.
Referee: James Child (Dewsbury)
London 2012 - Sotherton retires from athletics - Yahoo! Eurosport
Kelly Sotherton has retired from athletics after conceding her ambitious bid to qualify for a third consecutive Olympic team was doomed to failure.
Sotherton won Olympic heptathlon bronze in 2004 but quit the multi-event discipline after Beijing to focus on the 400m.
After failing to make last year's World Championships she was dropped from lottery funding but the 35-year old claimed she was determined to still make the London 2012 Games after returning to heptathlon.
But she pulled out of her first competition for nearly four years in Italy earlier this month after breaking down during the fourth event, the 200m.
"I'm heartbroken if I'm honest but I'm looking forward to the new challenges that lie ahead," said Sotherton, who underwent surgery for back problems that have blighted her recent career last week.
"After losing my funding at the end of the 2011 season, having been forced to concentrate on the 400m for a year because of injury, I decided if I was going to do this myself then I would have one final shot at my first love - the heptathlon - and really go for the chance to compete at a home Olympics.
"Sadly it wasn't meant to be and the body didn't quite hold out long enough for me."
In addition to her Olympic bronze, Sotherton also won the Commonwealth Games title in 2006 and bronze at the World Championships in Osaka one year later. She finished fifth in Beijing but was later upgraded to fourth when Lyudmyla Blonska, the silver medallist, failed a doping test.
She was also successful indoors, winning world pentathlon silver in 2008 and finishing second at the European Indoor Championships in 2005 and 2007.
"I'm so proud to have represented my country and to have won an Olympic medal, among other accolades, and am grateful to all the support I have received over the years from those around me," she added.
"It's a really exciting time for sport in this country so I'm looking forward to enjoying it over the next few months."
London mayor praises 'fantastic' Portas scheme - ITV
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "Driving growth and creating jobs through the rejuvenation of London's high streets is at the heart of my mayoralty and the Portas pilot initiative is a fantastic way to help us achieve this.
"Through our regeneration drive we have already started reversing the decay of our high streets that had been allowed set in through long-term underinvestment.
"So I'm looking forward to receiving some innovative ideas which will help lead the way in steering London out of recession and get these vital economic centres booming again."
Lloyd's of London preparing for euro collapse - Daily Telegraph
A spokesman for Euler Hermes, Bettina Sattler, told Bloomberg: "The outcome of the new elections in June remains highly uncertain. Consequently, the situation is further deteriorating. The risk of Greece exiting the eurozone has been revived.
"In light of the recent developments, Euler Hermes will most probably have to switch to a more prudent approach. [We have] maintained a high level of cover for [our] customers until today. But now we are confronted with a changing situation."
Lloyd's fears are likely to be shared by a number of European businesses, which are watching developments in Greece.
On Saturday, Juergen Fitschen, co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, described Greece as a "failed state" run by corrupt politicians.
"I'm quite worried about Europe," Mr Ward said in one of the first admissions by a major UK business leader of the scale of the crisis that would be prompted by a eurozone collapse.
"With all the concerns around the eurozone at the moment, we've got to be careful doing business in Europe and there are a lot of question marks over writing business in the future in euros.
"I don't think that if Greece exited the euro it would lead to the collapse of the eurozone, but what we need to do is prepare for that eventuality."
Mr Ward says Lloyd's had been working hard on contingency planning and had the capability to switch settlement of European underwriting from euros to other currencies.
"We've got multi-currency functionality and we would switch to multi-currency settlement if the Greeks abandoned the euro and started using the drachma again," he said.
Lloyd's has de-risked its asset portfolio in recent years, with investments split equally into cash, corporate bonds and government bonds, mostly in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. "We have de-risked the asset portfolio as much as possible," he said.
The contingency planning comes as German politicians piled the pressure on Greece ahead of elections on June 17.
A conservative member of German chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet said today Germany would not "pour money into a bottomless pit".
On Sunday, Swiss central bank chief Thomas Jordan admitted his country is drawing up an action plan in the event of the euro's collapse.
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