They went back to the surgeon and he reversed his original decision and agreed that Simpson-Daniel needed more time.But although Gloucester’s director of rugby, Nigel Melville, has now decided not to pick Simpson-Daniel for the Bristol match, he did not rule out picking the player for the Premiership match the following week against Worcester – which would not please England.”I won’t pick him against Bristol,” said Melville yesterday, “but we will see how he is before the Worcester game. The Wales coach Mike Ruddock is pessimistic about his chances of assembling a full squad for a training camp the weekend after next.Five members of the 30-man squad named by Ruddock yesterday ply their trade either in France or in England, and one of them, Mefin Davies of Gloucester, looks as if he will definitely be turning out for his club after Melville said: “Mefin is itching to play. Head coach Andy Robinson has seen his threequarter line disappear. Three frontline centres – Mike Tindall, Will Greenwood and Stuart Abbott – are injured (Tindall having sustained a further injury when he cut his hand and needed 30 stitches, after an accident in the gym).Although Simpson-Daniel is a wing, he has played at outside-centre before, and there is every chance Robinson might consider picking the Gloucester man in that position.The club versus country thing is not confined to England. We want to look after players and I won’t play them if they are injured.”Last night it emerged that Simpson-Daniel was scheduled to see a third surgeon for a definitive assessment.The shoulder operation had kept Simpson-Daniel out for two months, but he made a troublefree comeback in the Heineken Cup defeat against Stade Fran?s last Sunday, staying on for the whole match.Earlier yesterday, when still considering Simpson-Daniel for the Bristol game, Melville was reported as saying: “England are saying James needs another two weeks rest.
A club versus country row is brewing between England and Gloucester over the fitness and selection of the winger James Simpson-Daniel. Several Formula One figures believe that the deal is the death knell for the GPWC project and that by signing Ferrari, Ecclestone and Mosley have snatched the jewel in the crown.. This agreement is in line with what Ferrari has hoped for, for a long time.”Ecclestone has since promised all teams a bigger share of the revenue, and said reaction from those he had talked to had been positive.A GPWC spokesman admitted it had not seen this move coming. We could have won by more and at 1-0 they always felt they had a chance.”We all watched the Liverpool game last night and that was a reminder to everyone of what can happen in Cup football I guess this was another one.”. Nine Formula One team principals were left stunned yesterday after Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosley and Ferrari announced that they have agreed to prolong the Concorde Agreement from 2008 to 2012, when it expires at the end of 2007. Max Mosley, the president of FIA, added: “We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Formula One’s commercial rights holder and the oldest team in the championship.”Ferrari have turned their back on GPWC and Luca di Montezemolo, the Ferrari president and chief executive who last September launched a scathing attack on Ecclestone and accused him of being greedy and out of date, said: “It is important and also pleasing that the FIA, which is the governing body, and FOM, which represents those who have organised Formula One in these past years, and Ferrari, which is the only team to have taken part in the world championship without a break since its inception, have put out a strong message of stability for the future of Formula One.
It was a big drop when they went out of the Football League and fell into the Conference, but maybe these games can help lift them back up again.”Ferguson admitted his side had to withstand periods of intense pressure, although he did state he was “never worried”, as the hosts carved out a series of half-chances.But at least, unlike Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City, he knows his side are still in the competition.”There is no point saying we were brilliant or anything like that,” he said “We missed too many chances. Last October, nine of them agreed means of cutting costs, but their uncharacteristic accord was rendered academic when Ferrari refused to vote with them.The latest development is yet another move in the game of chess between Ecclestone and the rival organisation Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC), which aims to start its own series in 2008 in reaction to what it sees as Ecclestone carving far too much of the commercial pie for himself.”Formula One Management are delighted that this agreement is in place and that the future of Formula One has now been stabilised,” a statement from Ecclestone’s company said. “I was listening to the radio this morning and all the talk was about Exeter City It is just brilliant for them. The whole experience is good for him and everyone at the club.”The Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, was full of praise for Exeter’s performance and added that he thought it could provide the impetus to get the West Country club back into the Football League.”These two games have been absolutely fantastic, not just for Exeter but for football as a whole,” Ferguson said. “After conceding an early goal it would have been easy to fear the worst but we showed we could be solid and kept going, which was important.”It was a one-off game and there was little consolation going out, be it 1-0 or 2-0, so taking risks was part of it.”Sean Devine had Exeter’s best chance in the second half and his manager continued: “We didn’t have many chances in the game, so it was important to take the ones we got.”Sean Devine is a great player and he’ll score plenty more – it’s just a shame it didn’t go in.”Inglethorpe was also delighted for goalkeeper Paul Jones, who kept United’s strikers at bay for much of the game.He added: “I think his price might have risen tonight, but he’s young and he’s still learning.
