World Cup in balance

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Jan 16, 2007

Rugby union: Rob Andrew believes England's chances of success at the World Cups in 2011 and 2015 could depend greatly on what happens in the boardrooms at Twickenham and Premier Rugby over the next six months.

The Rugby Football Union are conducting a widespread structural review ( designed to create a long-term framework for the elite game in England ( with final recommendations expected in June.

RFU Elite Rugby Director Andrew, the former Newcastle Falcons boss, said: "This is a very serious process. The implementation of whatever comes out of this is about the future of the professional game over the next 10 years."

Ham so excited

MOTOR RACING: Lewis Hamilton is counting down the days to his Formula One debut. Hamilton took a step nearer yesterday as he joined world champion and new partner Fernando Alonso to unveil the new McLaren on the streets of Valencia in front of more than 200,000 fans.

Touching down

GRIDIRON: American football will return to London this year when the NFL stages a regular-season game outside of North America for the first time in its history.

London has beaten Berlin as the first venue for a league contest overseas.

NFL owners voted in October to play up to two games outside the United States every year for the next five years, with just one game to be played in 2007.