English Sport: An update – Giles Lennox
The last few weeks have been full of English sport. On 2nd November, England faced off in the 2019 World Cup final against South Africa. After a shock victory over New Zealand the week before, many were confident at our chances to defeat the Springbok considering the All Blacks had beaten them 23-13 earlier in the competition. However, from the beginning, it wasn’t to be after England Prop Kyle Sinckler was injured. This had a major impact on the rest of the game, especially the England scrum who could not cope with the power of the South Africans which led to a multitude of penalties against us. In total, South African fly half Pollard converted 5 penalties as well as two conversions from tries by Mapimpi and a practically impressive solo try by winger Cheslin Kolbe. The game ended 32-12 leaving many England fans heartbroken but unsurprisingly left a very smug smile on the face of Basson du Toit.
On 27th October, British F1 driver Lewis Hamilton won the Mexican Grand Prix which secured his sixth Formula 1 drivers title, breaking the record for the most consecutive drivers title wins (6). The Mercedes driver, who started 3rd on the grid beat rival Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. In recent interviews, he has reiterated his drive to continue for further championships. In the early hours of Sunday morning, British Youtuber KSI took on Logan Paul at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles in their boxing rematch. Labelled ‘the biggest event in internet history’, these two influencers continued their rivalry after their last fight ended in a draw. The match consisted of 6 rounds of 2 minutes using 10-ounce gloves and no headgear. Both fighters landed strong shots but the final result saw KSI triumph on a split decision. Controversy surrounded this result due to earlier in the fight, Logan was penalised 2 points for landing a shot after KSI was knocked down, points that cost him the match. Despite being criticised for poor technique, these two are set to make $900,000 minimal so in actuality they both won from this fight.
A lesser known sporting event has been the recent English T-20 cricket tour of New Zealand. The final game was played yesterday with the score 2-2. New Zealand scored 146-5 off 11 overs (the over limit for this match) with Guptil scoring 50 off just 20 balls. England seemed to be off to a solid start with opener Johnny Bairstow scoring 47 off 18 balls before being caught. However, wickets started to fall until Chris Jordan hit 12 runs off the final 3 balls to tie the scores at 146-7. This meant a second super over between these sides in the course of a few months. England batted first and Bairstow and Morgan scored 17. Chris Jordon took the ball for England’s defence. Despite an early 4, England rallied and limited New Zealand to 8-1. An ironically similar ending saw England take the trophy yet again and reinforcing New Zealand’s hatred of super overs.