Seven days is a long time in the brutal world of sport, indeed, long enough for some to rise to prominence and others to fall from grace. Sky Sports takes a look back at the winners and losers...
Monday 6 October 2014 13:39, UK
From the soul-destroying depths to undulating joys, we sift through the highlights and lowlights from the past seven days of sport from around the globe.
In a week when Prime Minister David Cameron made his keynote speech at the Conservative party conference, Sam Burgess offered his own statement of intent with a stirring display in the NRL Grand Final, while Lewis Hamilton claimed Mercedes bragging rights once more to move 10 points clear in the Formula One Drivers’ Championship.
Subdued were the celebrations on the rostrum, though. No champagne sprays or jumping for joy in Japan after the race was marred by a freak incident involving Marussia driver Jules Bianchi.
Let us begin the new week on a high note. One sportsman who is certainly shining at the moment is Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who netted his third hat-trick in four games as the Spanish giants thrashed Athletic Bilbao 5-0 on Sunday. It is the 14th consecutive game in which the prolific Portuguese has scored and his 22nd hat-trick saw him draw level with league record holders Alfredo di Stefano and Telmo Zarra.
Ronaldo had been an injury doubt prior to the match, but his selection was immediately vindicated with a second-minute header to fire the visitors in front. He then slotted home Gareth Bale’s cross and completed his treble two minutes from time. Ronaldo’s tally now stands at 17 goals for the season and the World Player of the Year will aim to extend his remarkable run to a 15th successive match when Real host Barcelona next weekend.
Farewells seldom come as heroic as the display turned in by Sam Burgess on Sunday. The England international truly lived up to his ‘British Bulldog’ billing in the NRL Grand Final, defying a fractured cheek bone sustained in the first tackle of the game (in a collision with fellow Englishman James Graham) to produce a stellar performance as the South Sydney Rabbitohs ended their 43-year drought.
Burgess, who is now set to switch codes and join Aviva Premiership side Bath, bowed out in fitting fashion as he proved to be an unstoppable force throughout. The 25-year-old completed the match with almost 200 metres gained, 30 tackles and three offloads, all squinting through one eye. It was enough for him to claim the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match, the first time an Englishman has ever been bestowed the honour.
Peyton Manning is no stranger to collecting accolades and the Denver Broncos quarterback once again etched his name in the NFL record books on Sunday, throwing his 500th touchdown pass. The Broncos triumphed 41-20 over the previously unbeaten Arizona Cardinals and Manning connected with Julius Thomas for a seven-yard score in the first quarter for the milestone moment.
Manning becomes only the second man to achieve the incredible feat, joining Brett Favre and cementing his place in NFL history. By the end of the game the five-time MVP was only five short of Favre's record of 508, having linked up again with tight end Thomas after a pair of touchdowns to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, the second of them an 86-yarder.
Heading into a tournament ranked 792nd in the world, it’s fair to say you’re probably somewhat of an outsider. However, after 11 years as a professional and 227 tournaments, Oliver Wilson finally ended his drought and ditched the ‘nearly man’ tag by holding off the threat of world No 1 Rory McIlroy to take the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.
A two-under final round saw Mansfield-born Wilson snap up the £500,000 jackpot, but more importantly a two-year exemption on the European Tour. Wilson, who lost his tour card three years ago, is now more likely to end the season at the World Tour Championship in Dubai, rather than with a trip to the qualifying school.
Leeds featherweight boxer Josh Warrington announced his arrival on the European stage with a rousing victory before a raucous home crowd - now promoter Eddie Hearn is tipping the 23-year-old to scale the heights of Ricky Hatton. Warrington stopped Davide Dieli of Italy in four whirlwind rounds on Saturday night in front of a 13,500-capacity crowd at the First Direct arena.
Leeds, often been seen as the poor relation in Yorkshire boxing compared with Sheffield, proved a venue more than suitable for big-time fights. Just a year ago, Warrington, who has a day job as a dental technician, was relatively unknown, but his European title win added to his Commonwealth and British belts will move him to the fringes of the world rankings.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may have been celebrating his 18th anniversary at the club in midweek but, like parties so often can, it all ended with a sour scrap. Last time Arsenal met London rivals Chelsea they were hammered 6-0 and so frustrated was Wenger during their latest 2-0 at Stamford Bridge he resorted to pushing opposite number Jose Mourinho on the touchline.
The Frenchman entered his adversary’s technical area after a foul by Gary Cahill on Alexis Sanchez and pushed Mourinho during an angry exchange of words. Wenger has shown little remorse for his action, though this latest outburst against his counterpart could result in retrospective action from the football authorities.
At long last the all-conquering All Blacks saw their hegemony broken as South Africa snatched victory in a thrilling, high-octane affair. Pat Lambie was the hero as he landed a late long-distance penalty to seal a 27-25 triumph for the Springboks, in doing so bringing to an end New Zealand’s spectacular 22-match unbeaten run.
It was a result which also saw South Africa break a three-year losing streak against the world champions and their first win against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in ten years. It was the most dramatic of finales as Lambie, not renowned for his goal-kicking abilities, slotted the penalty after English referee Wayne Barnes penalised Liam Messam for a dangerous tackle on Schalk Burger after consulting the big-screen replays.
Andy Murray has just three tournaments to secure his place at the ATP World Tour Finals in London next month after he lost more ground in Beijing on Tomas Berdych, who was in eighth place in the rankings going into the China Open and reached the final. Berdych went on to lose the showpiece 6-0 6-2 to Novak Djokovic, the man who had ended Murray’s seven-match winning run in the semi-finals of the tournament on Saturday.
Murray is ranked ninth in the Race to London standings and will play at the Shanghai Masters this week, where the eight players ahead of him will have the luxury of a first-round bye. He has qualified in the past five years for the London finals, but did not play at the O2 arena last year after undergoing back surgery.
It was a race weekend of theatre from start to finish, much of which meant Hamilton’s brilliance was overshadowed. Before the race itself could get underway in Suzuka, Red Bull racer Sebastien Vettel revealed he would be leaving the team with the German now set to fill the void left by Fernando Alonso at Ferrari.
Less than 24 hours earlier the Spaniard has signed his divorce papers after widespread rumours of discontent between Alonso and the newly-appointed Ferrari hierarchy. It now appears this latest bout of intrigue has left the two-time world champion, referred to by many as one of the finest drivers on the circuit and a driving force of the sport, in no man’s land.
Thoughts go out to Frenchman Bianchi, who remains critical in hospital after suffering severe head injuries from a crash moments before the premature end to the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.
