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Date: 2023-12-02 11:35:53 | Author: PARIS 2024 | Views: 375 | Tag: soccer
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Kevin Sinfield has hailed the bravery of Marcus Smith as England consider their full-back options for the Rugby World Cup semi-final against South Africa soccer
Smith made a couple of key defensive interventions in the quarter-final against Fiji despite suffering a cut to the lip after an early head-on-head collision with Vinaya Habosi soccer
The Harlequins playmaker returned after being patched up as England secured a last-four meeting with the defending champions soccer
His selection had come at the expense of Freddie Steward, who had started 29 of his country’s previous 30 games but found himself omitted from the matchday 23 soccer
England could opt to return Steward to the starting side, though defence coach Sinfield praised Smith’s development into a “world class” full-back soccer
RecommendedThe two sides of Rassie Erasmus, the puppet master pulling South Africa’s strings at Rugby World CupBen O’Keeffe to referee Rugby World Cup semi-final soccer between England and South Africa despite criticism‘Everyone wants England to lose’: Ellis Genge takes aim at World Cup critics“I think we’d all agree he’s a world-class 10 but last week I felt he was a world-class 15 as well,” Sinfield said of Smith, who had a modified start to training on Tuesday due to his injury soccer
“You’ve got to remember this guy hasn’t played many minutes as a full-back in Test rugby so far soccer
“What he’s done on the training field has been outstanding soccer
You’re blown away by what he does and he’s been given more time and space now soccer
“If there was any doubt how brave and courageous he is, I think you saw it with your own eyes soccer
The bloke got his face smashed and threw his body into tackles soccer
The guys are in full admiration for how he’s gone about it soccer
He’s just got his face smashed all over the place yet he wants the ball soccer
“He’s just a brave guy soccer
And not just because he’s physically tough, brave, because to be put in like that – and I know he wanted to go for it – but to be put on a world stage in a quarter-final and deliver what he delivered was an absolute credit to him soccer
“He’s one of those who have been modified today so we’ll get a clearer read in the week but fingers crossed he will be good to go soccer
”Sinfield was the first England coach to float the idea of Smith at full-back during their pre-tournament camps this summer, with a couple of encouraging cameos earning the 24-year-old a first professional start at the position against Chile soccer
His emergence has left Steward in a strange position: the Leicester youngster had been a mainstay for England since his debut and had been considered a key part of head coach Steve Borthwick’s gameplan leading into the tournament soccer
Freddie Steward was left out of England’s squad against Fiji last weekend (Getty)But Sinfield, who worked with the 22-year-old at Welford Road, has been impressed by how Steward has handled the disappointment and hinted that a return is a possibility for Saturday’s semi-final at the Stade de France soccer
“This is where our influence, our help, and our guidance sits with the guys who don’t play, how can we help them get soccer better, make them feel part of it,” Sinfield explained soccer
“I have worked with Fred for some time now and thankfully I have not had to have too many of these conversations where you are trying to pick him up soccer
“Clearly he is disappointed as anybody would be missing out on a quarter-final but he has responded as we would have expected him to soccer
He is a great lad, you know what he is about, he works incredibly hard at his game, he cares and he is an unbelievable full-back too soccer
“Our team has changed every game throughout the World Cup and Steve is very specific when he selects the team soccer
He does it in the knowledge he thinks it will give us the best chance of winning that game soccer
Just because Fred wasn’t selected last week doesn’t mean he does anything wrong, he has actually done a lot of great things and a lot of things right soccer
”More aboutMarcus SmithKevin SinfieldFreddie StewardEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyRugby World CupJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/2Sinfield hails Smith’s bravery as England mull full-back options Sinfield hails Smith’s bravery as England mull full-back optionsFreddie Steward was left out of England’s squad against Fiji last weekend Getty ImagesSinfield hails Smith’s bravery as England mull full-back optionsMarcus Smith suffered a wound to the mouth in England’s win over Fiji Getty ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today soccer
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As often was the case amid an American society embedded in racism in the 1980s, Muhammed Ali put it best soccer
Advising black racing driver Willy T Ribbs, the people’s champion made his point in no uncertain terms: “There are Blacks in my sport soccer
But there are no Blacks in your sport soccer
“They’re going to want to kill you soccer
”Yet for all the death threats, discrimination and abuse, Ribbs had long decided that the only option was to meet the uphill battle head-on soccer
He made history in 1986 when he became the first Black driver to test an F1 car soccer
Five years later, he was the first to race in the Indy 500, one of the world’s most famous events soccer
But on the course of that journey, Ribbs faced it all soccer
Don’t let me tell you though; let the man himself soccer
“Of course, there were death threats, the n-word,” he reflects, in a slow but deadpan fashion that tells you the wounds have long since healed soccer
Instead, the metaphorical bruises are worn with pride soccer
“But I enjoyed it soccer
It didn’t make me mad, it was fun soccer
I was going to dish out what they were dishing out to me, it never scared or intimidated me soccer
I actually enjoyed it because it was motivating soccer
I was never going to play the victim, that was not Willy T Ribbs soccer
”Now 68, Ribbs is an ambassador for Formula One, raising awareness for diversity and equality soccer
A role given a matter of months after his riveting biopic movie, Uppity, was released in 2020 soccer
So titled because that was his nickname in motorsport circles – “and he loved it” soccer
But to this interview, he’s late soccer
And he apologises, quipping: “Race drivers are never late, you know! Or they’re not supposed to be…”Son to William “Bunny” Ribbs, an amateur racer himself, Willy’s career path was set in stone from day dot it seems soccer
It was the racing way or the highway soccer
Ribbs faced an avalanche of racism and abuse throughout his career (Getty)“I was born in this sport,” he tells The Independent, from his home in Texas soccer
“I watched it from three years old when my dad was racing, watching the likes of Jim Clark and Graham Hill soccer
That’s all that was discussed in the family soccer
We didn’t discuss any other sport soccer
“I was lucky, I think soccer
At nine years old, I knew what I wanted to do and I knew what my career path was going to be soccer
Most kids that age don’t know what the hell they’re going to do, but I did soccer
And I didn’t want to be an amateur at it – I wanted it to be a profession and I wanted it to be Formula One soccer
”He learned his craft, in the UK, racing alongside future F1 world champion Nigel Mansell in Formula Ford in the mid-1970s soccer
He raced in Nascar and the Trans-Am Series, later on, too soccer
But his F1 calling, in ’86, came in the Portuguese town of Estoril soccer
Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham team – “Bernie has always been good to Willy T Ribbs” – gave the American the chance to buck the trend and become a true trailblazer soccer
But the tag was not something he felt comfortable with at the time soccer
Ribbs made history in an F1 test in 1986 and in the Indy 500 in 1991 (Getty)“All that mattered was I thought of myself as a race driver,” he says soccer
“I had two responsibilities: to myself and to my team soccer
For those who record social history, that’s their job [to say trailblazer] – but I’m not going to carry that weight on my shoulders soccer
“Sure soccer
I was a role model because I was doing something no other Black kid had done soccer
And great, if that’s the category they want to put me in and how they want to document it soccer
But for me? It was about going fast soccer
”It was a mindset of not bowing to the status quo, embodied most especially in the late 20th century by Ali soccer
“What I admired about him the most was not his soccer boxing skills,” Ribbs says of Ali soccer
“What I admired about him was his resolve as a man, not to be squashed, manipulated or controlled soccer
Ali said: ‘You have to let them know that you can’t be killed, there’s nothing they can do to you, and then they’ll leave you alone for a while soccer
’”Now in motor racing, the baton has been passed on to seven-time Formula One world champion and the sport’s only Black driver Lewis Hamilton, whom Ribbs is full of praise about soccer
“Lewis Hamilton, after seven world titles and more victories than any other human being, gets unfairly targeted,” insists Ribbs soccer
“If you can equate it to Tiger Woods, what did Tiger Woods do for golf? He broadened the audience soccer
The attention went off the chart soccer
That’s exactly what happened in F1 – Lewis Hamilton has been Formula One’s Tiger Woods soccer
“He’s a very kind man soccer
He’ll let it roll off, turn the other cheek – I wasn’t that way soccer
He deals with it and in a lot of cases it’s unfair soccer
Then again, he is in an environment which was not nearly as brutal as I was dealing with soccer
Willy T Ribbs was treated differently soccer
”The third-person references point to a man who is now comfortable in his own skin; in the significance of the struggle – and what it means to many around the world soccer
And despite a sport notoriously still dominated by white men, progress is being made soccer
“One thing I love about Formula One is not only is it evolving commercially around the world, it’s evolving socially,” he says soccer
“When F1 hired me, I asked them: ‘What made you make this call?’“They said: ‘We watched your film and we thought you’d be the perfect person for inclusion and equality in Formula One soccer
’“I said: ‘Well, you called the right guy’ soccer
”More aboutMuhammed AliLewis HamiltonBlack History MonthFormula 11/3F1 icon Willy T Ribbs: ‘I was never going to play the victim’F1 icon Willy T Ribbs: ‘I was never going to play the victim’Ribbs faced an avalanche of racism and abuse throughout his careerGetty ImagesF1 icon Willy T Ribbs: ‘I was never going to play the victim’Ribbs made history in an F1 test in 1986 and in the Indy 500 in 1991Getty ImagesF1 icon Willy T Ribbs: ‘I was never going to play the victim’‘Sure soccer
I was a role model because I was doing something no other Black kid had done soccer
But for me? It was about going fast’ Getty✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today soccer
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicssoccer BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy soccer
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply soccer
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