The Stagcom 21st March Roundup
England win the Grand Slam
Hats off to Eddie Jones. The little man with the big plan came up trumps at the weekend, as England took a Six Nations grand slam home to the capital. The final match in the tournament saw Jones' boys win by a comfortable 10 points over France, leaving the Rose Army singing long into the night.
So how did Jones turn England from no-hopers to all-conquering army? All sorts of theories have been kicked around, from the addition of coach Steve Borthwick to the unleashing of Billy Vunipola. We reckon it's much simpler than that. Aussie coach and former player Jones let the lads out for a few beers every now and then. A pint of the good stuff is now officially the dinner of champions. Cheers, Eddie!
F1 season starts with a bang
Jenson Button said he was 'amazed' Fernando Alonso walked away from the dramatic crash that changed the course of the Australian GP—the opening race of the 2016-2017 season.
Alonso was trying to overtake Esteban Gutierrez at Turn Three, when his front right wheel made contact with the back left tyre of Gutierrez's Haas. Alonso's McLaren launched into a high-speed barrel roll, coming to rest upside-down in the gravel trap. Amazingly, Alonso walked away unharmed, as did Gutierrez.
'I feel lucky to be here,' Alonso said. 'It's because of safety standards that I am alive.'
Nico Rosberg took the race, with Hamilton finishing second and Sebastien Vettel coming in third. Hard to tell at this stage whether there's a real challenge to Mercedes this year, but what a way to start the season!
Man U push for top four finish
Louis van Gaal reckons the Red Devils are in with a chance to finish in the top four, after a key win against Man City on Sunday. The local derby at the Etihad finished 1-0 to the visitors. To add icing to the cake, the winning goal was scored by Marcus Rashford, who became the youngest ever goalscorer in the history of the Manchester Derby since the start of the Premier League.
Even experienced players can find it hard to keep their cool in the heat of a derby. But at only 18 years and 141 days old, Rashford showed enough composure to slip past City centre back Martin Demichelis, and slot the winner into Joe Hart's net.
In other weekend games, Leicester City beat Crystal Palace to retain their top slot, and Spurs kept up the chase with a 3-0 thrashing of Bournemouth. At less than 10 games to go, the race for third and fourth is still anyone's to win. And with Leicester facing a tougher run-in than Tottenham, even the top two spots aren't certain yet. Who do you think is going to be first past the post? Let us know in the comments section.
Batman v Superman New York premiere reactions: it's good
The first fan reactions to Batman v Superman are here! The movie premiered in New York yesterday, and while critics can't officially say anything, the fans can. Their Tweets were published by superhero movie fan-site comicbookmovie.com, and they're basically all good.
@kburton23 said 'Might be the best superhero movie ever in my book'. @Dragonsfoe Tweeted: 'For those who hated that second trailer (including me), don't worry. It's awesome'. And @TerrancePryor got quite emotional: '#BatmanvSuperman made me cry real tears. That is all'. So there you go. Get your geek hat on, and take the other half to the cinema on Friday!
Timothy Dalton is 70
Timothy Dalton turns 70 today. Some loved him as Bond, some hated him. But did you know that his first film as the secret agent, The Living Daylights, made more money than Die Hard? True story. Plus, Dalton was the first bigtime Bond to play 007 as a troubled tough guy. There'd be no Daniel Craig franchise without Big T, so happy birthday, Mr Bond!