I am a busy working woman and I live in the age of female emancipation the internet and thank goodness 24-hour home-delivery for

I am a busy working woman and I live in the age of female emancipation, the internet and, thank goodness, 24-hour home-delivery for all. In the afternoon I reorganised my wardrobe, all the hangers now face in the same direction, before rustling up some delicious nibbles for my drinks party that evening Except I didn't, of course. Indeed, the Rugby Football Union would have been under pressure to take stern action had video evidence suggested he had acted recklessly.However, London Irish argued their player had no case to answer, and, after reviewing the film footage, Maybank agreed the clash had been accidental.. It was a typical weekend. It was always my dream to be in the England team, and I finally got a good run in the side last season. I didn't want it to end at the time and I badly want some more."In the Premiership, the referee Roy Maybank has withdrawn the yellow card he flourished in the direction of the French international flanker Olivier Magne during the match between London Irish and Bristol last weekend.

On Saturday morning I baked a cake, painted the inside of my kitchen cupboards an uplifting colour, tied ribbon round my freshly laundered sheets and pillowcases and then hosted an informal brunch for friends. Magne was sent to the sin bin for making physical contact with Maybank and his absence might easily have cost the Exiles a hard-won victory. "In previous years, I've felt I had a chance and, as a result, gone a little bit to pot But I'm more relaxed about it now. It is a sign of the fluidity of the situation that Noon is not sure of his ground, despite being the man in possession of the No 13 shirt."I feel a little under pressure because I am technically the man with the jersey," the Newcastle midfielder said yesterday. There is not even any solace to be found in the national academy.Ben Foden, the one scrum-half in the batch, is not likely to play serious first-team rugby for Sale any time soon, while the clutch of hookers - Chris Brooker and Rob Hawkins of Bath, Dylan Hartley of Northampton - are as green as the grass on which they all too rarely play.At least the coach has some numbers in the centre positions, where hardened Test performers like Mike Tindall are contesting preferment with the likes of Ollie Smith, Stuart Abbott, Olly Barkley and Jamie Noon, one of the few men to catch the eye in last season's Six Nations Championship. Scrum-half and hooker are not so much headaches as full-blown migraines, given the acute shortage of top-grade talent.

Ideally, the coach would pick three players in each position: two proven international operators and one bolter with the words "Test" and "potential" stamped all over him. In reality, Robinson is short of options in both roles - roles that just happen to be the most technically demanding of the lot. Sadly, the Keven Mealamus and Anton Olivers of front-row renown are under lock and key in Auckland and Dunedin. Van Gisbergen, the newly qualified Wasps full-back, may provide an answer at one extremity of the English spine, while Martin Corry of Leicester is a certainty to lead the side from the other end The nightmare concerns the bits in between. If only Robinson could call on Justin Marshall, another quality performer from the Land of the Long White Cloud now earning his corn in the shires, and perhaps a silver-ferned hooker or two, everything would be fine and dandy. Unfortunately for Robinson and his world champions - how shop-soiled that label now seems after nine defeats in 16 outings since striking gold in Sydney 22 months ago - Marshall's scrum-half expertise is, and will remain, at the service of Leeds and Leeds alone.

For him and for Renault it was a good year."One crown prince is now a king, and the future of Formula One is all the better for it.. Mark van Gisbergen, a New Zealander with an eye on an England cap, can confidently expect to feature in the first red rose squad of the season when Andy Robinson, the national coach, declares his 30-man hand for the Tests with Australia, Samoa and, funnily enough, the All Blacks themselves at Twickenham in November So far, so simple. "It was fantastic for me and for him, the competition," Alonso said of rival Kimi Raikkonen. "I think, thanks to Kimi, this world title is much better for me because Michael had some problems with the Ferrari this year and to beat the McLarens and especially Kimi this year was extremely difficult ""He definitely deserves it," Raikkonen said.

"Whoever has the most points at the end of the season or before the end of the season deserves it and I don't have anything bad to say about it. They have this incredible self-esteem, self confidence and this ability to set themselves targets. They are realistic but difficult to achieve targets but they achieve them time and time again and that is what I see with Fernando."Symonds might have been describing Fittipaldi, who also shares with Alonso a genuine respect for his competition. While clearly anxious to avoid direct comparison between Piquet, Schumacher and Alonso he added: "When you look at these people, a year in Formula One is along time and 10 years is an eternity. It's sometimes a little difficult to draw comparisons in every area and what we require of a driver technically these days is slightly different to what we wanted 10 years ago and very different to what we wanted 20 years ago."So I think you have to look a little bit outside the technical aspect and look at the human aspect of these people."I think champion drivers are just like champions in any sport. He has a very good understanding of the tactics and what needs to be done in a race And he enjoys it. I think that is always refreshing."Symonds worked at Renault when it was called Benetton in the Nineties, first with triple champion Nelson Piquet then with Michael Schumacher who won titles in 1994 and 1995 with the team.