Soward even copping abuse in UK

Jamie Soward is no match for his Wigan opponent in a Challenge Cup thumping. Source: Chris Brunskill / Getty Images

HUMILIATING defeats and spiteful fans seem to be following Jamie Soward like a bad smell this year.

The key plank in Phil Gould's five-year plan at Penrith was on Sunday part of the London Broncos' devastating 70-0 Challenge Cup semi-final loss to Wigan Warriors.

And the Warriors fans let the former Dragons star have it, chanting "Taxi for Soward" as commentators bemoaned his lack of involvement.

Wigan fans even claimed Soward spat in their direction as the chant rang out at Leigh Sports Village.

Soward was granted an early release from St George Illawarra last month after being dumped to NSW Cup. The Broncos had signed Soward on a short-term deal so they could mount a Challenge Cup charge, but were left feeling some of the same frustration Dragons fans know only too well.

Soward, 28, has signed a four-year deal with Penrith, but Gould's faith in the former Blues Origin player is set to be tested if Sunday's performance is anything to go by.

Soward, playing at halfback, was little more than a speed bump as the Warriors ran in 12 tries. To make matters worse, Soward had made clear the priority in his English stint was to impress in the knockout Challenge Cup competition, rather than the Super League.

"You don't have to be doing really well in the league but you can have a good year if you do something in the Challenge Cup," he told the BBC this month.

Australian winger Pat Richards, who is returning to Wests Tigers next season after eight years in Europe, scored two tries and kicked 11 goals for a record total of 30 points.

Richards was a key part of the Tigers' 2005 premiership side before heading to England.

The victory was the biggest winning margin in a Challenge Cup semi-final.

Wigan returned brilliant fullback Sam Tomkins, captain Sean O'Loughlin and Auckland-born Harrison Hansen to their starting line-up, having rested the trio in the Super League defeat by arch-rivals St Helens. Tomkins, who is expected to join New Zealand Warriors next season, scored a try in the rout.

London coach Tony Rea was devastated.

"That was my biggest disappointment as a coach," the former Brumbies Super Rugby coach and North Sydney Bears captain said.

"I didn't expect it to happen like that and we have to find some pride from somewhere because we have a massive league game against Leeds on Thursday."

London have conceded 112 points against Wigan in two league meetings this season.

This latest rout and bottom spot in Super League could be the death knell for them as a full-time professional club.

Wigan coach Shaun Wane said: "I can't tell you how proud I am of the players. It was a short turnaround for us after losing to St Helens last Monday but we were ruthless with the ball and showed great mental strength.

"That was a real captain's performance from Sean O'Loughlin and if we broke a few records I am delighted. I am just pleased we are through to Wembley."

Wigan started sloppily but were soon in their stride and scored at nearly a point a minute in the first half.

Tries from Darrell Goulding, Lee Mossop, Blake Green, Tomkins and Richards gave them a 34-0 half-time lead. 

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Graham Murray dies aged 58

Former North Queensland Cowboys Graham Murray Source: Liam Driver / News Limited

RUGBY league lost one of its true gentlemen Sunday night when former Cowboys coach Graham Murray passed away. He was 58.

Murray will be fondly remembered from all points of the rugby league globe, having achieved fantastic success as a coach in Queensland, NSW and England.

But his coaching record and remarkable success only tell a small fraction of the story of rugby league's loss.

The game has also lost one of its friendliest and most likeable characters. A man who shared a terrific passion for the code, and created lifelong friendships within it.

Murray was to coach Wynnum Manly in the Intrust Super Cup this season, a club he had led previously as CEO.

But a heart attack in the pre-season put paid to those plans.

He was weakened, but fought on.

A second cardiac arrest, this one on the day of the State of Origin series decider, proved too much for him to tackle.

He has been in the Intensive Care Unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane since.

On Sunday the family he adored - wife Amanda and daughter Kara - made the agonising decision to switch off the life support system that had been keeping him alive.

With true grit, Muzz managed to fight on for a few more hours, as word of his worsening condition spread through the code.

But at 9.44pm Sunday night, a solemn text message from Wynnum Manly CEO Scott Thornton confirmed the worst. One of the game's good blokes was gone.

"Muzza'' will always hold a special place in the hearts of Queensland rugby league fans, for being the man who finally untapped the potential of the North Queensland Cowboys - lifting them to their first finals appearance in 2004, and then all the way to the grand final against Wests Tigers in 2005.

He worked similar feats everywhere he went  with the Illawarra Steelers, the Hunter Mariners, and with the Sydney Roosters who he took to the grand final against the Broncos in 2000.

A proud Blue, he was unfortunate enough to take over the NSW State of Origin coaching job in 2006 and 2007 just as Queensland's greatest era was dawning.

He was so well liked, Muzz achieved the impossible - he made it hard to hate the Blues.

As much as Queenslanders wanted the Maroons to win, there was a part of us that wanted the Cockroaches to at least get close, just so it wouldn't be too hard for Muzz.

In an age where rugby league coaches can take things all too seriously, Muzz was affable, approachable and always keen for beer and a chat.

But it was in Leeds in the north of England where Murray was truly worshipped, winning a Challenge Cup against the London Broncos in 1999.

He will never be forgotten by the Headingley faithful, who used to chant on the terraces, "There's only one Graham Murray.''

They were absolutely right.

He will be missed greatly.

May he rest in peace.

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Seebohm's low drives her on

Seebohm broke down at a press conference after Olympic final loss. Source: Crystal Ja / AAP

BACKSTROKE star Emily Seebohm's lowest Olympic moment has become her greatest motivator as she prepares to renew hostilities with the teen star attempting to become USA's new Michael Phelps.

Seebohm and 18-year-old Missy Franklin launched their intense rivalry at the Olympics last year when the US teen upset the Australian in the final of the 100m backstroke to snatch the gold medal.

It left Seebohm heartbroken and distraught on pool deck knowing her heat time would have been good enough for the gold medal but she failed to execute her race properly.

Now she gets her chance at revenge when she confronts Franklin for the first time since London and the US star attempting a Phelps-like eight race program here in Barcelona.

Seebohm looms as one of the biggest hurdles blocking Franklin's path to eight gold medals.

"We're pretty close to each other, we're pretty friendly. It's not like it's a bad rivalry at all. It motivates me to go faster and I'm sure it's the same for her," Seebohm said.

"It's still a big battle between us and there is a lot coming up in the 100 backstroke so you know you never really set anyone out of the field but you always keep your eye on your main rival."

Seebohm's main focus here is to build her races from heats to semis and then go her fastest time in the final.

In London she did the reverse, getting marginally slower per race and it cost her the gold medal.

"I just wish I could have done my heat time in the final but that is not what I was meant to do," Seebohm said.

"That is obviously something I want to do this time around and that is probably my main goal for this meet to just go faster and get better that way and to get my confidence up and to tell myself that I can do it.

"I know my turn in the final wasn't my fastest turn so I've worked a lot on my turns and also it's a lot of something to do with myself, the belief I have in myself and confidence that I can do it.

"I've just got to work on that and you know obviously take a lot from the Olympics last year and hopefully I can bring it into racing here.

"I will just come back and get stronger and that will obviously give me a lot of motivation come next Olympics and the years before that."

Seebohm has her own hectic program this week with three individual swims and two relays, but her focus is entirely on her main event and she is confident she will be able to blast out close to her personal best time putting her right in the mix for gold.

"I would hope so, I have trained really hard and done some really good times in training so I don't see why I won't be at that level," she said.

"I'm going for the best times that I can get. If I can get close to or better than what I was at Olympics then I will be pretty happy with that."

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Old-school bonding heals divide

"Old-school bonding" is healing the gender divide among the Aussie team. Source: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

TWO weeks of old-school bonding has united the Australian swim team with social interaction rather than social media helping to repair the gender divide.

One of the big issues facing Australia for the world titles has been improving the "toxic" culture which ruined the London Olympic campaign last year and included the infamous stilnox bonding night by the relay men.

But for 14 days in Barcelona Australian swimmers have connected with regularly activities such card games, jigsaw puzzles, Pictionary, celebrity heads and even a trivia night.

Mobile phones are banned at meal times and on pool deck, forcing swimmers to communicate through words rather than 140 character tweets.

Former Olympian Matt Dunn was invited to address the team during the week and head women's coach Michael Bohl said the entire camp environment was very much improved from 12 months earlier.

"Yeah there's a definite difference," Bohl said.

"I think the feeling amongst the group is a lot more bonded and a lot more united this time.

"You hear yelling and laughing and those sorts of things which is always good coming into a meet to keep them nice and relaxed."

Head men's coach Rohan Taylor said the team staff had deliberately kept the swimmers busy with fun activities throughout the staging camp.

He said the attitude of the team was built upon three key rules this year: make sure you're individually prepared to perform, understand and respect that everyone else is trying to prepare to perform and have fun supporting your teammates.

"We think those three things will give us our best chance of having performances consistently through the meet," Taylor said.

The team's new leadership group met with high performance director Michael Scott and the coaches to set guidelines regarding athlete support in the stands to help foster team spirit.

Swimmers are expected to attend morning and evening sessions to support their teammates, with only those with races in the next two days exempt from going to the pool to cheer.

"It will give us enough critical mass in the stands to create a good feel of support and as much as we can do that without interfering with their individual preparation," Taylor said.

"It is important, it's something we definitely want to bring back to the fore."

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Dominant Ben silences Lions critics

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Ben Alexander was dominant for the Brumbies. Picture: Kym Smith Source:DailyTelegraph

THREE weeks ago the Australian scrum, and prop Ben Alexander in particular, was the butt of British jokes following the capitulation to the Lions in Sydney.

But in Pretoria yesterday, against the giant Bulls front row, Alexander delivered his comeback punchline, dominating the scrum to earn redemption of sorts while leading the Brumbies to a famous 26-23 semi-final win.

George Smith's breakdown work earned him a man-of-the-match award, Tevita Kuridrani's running lines and nose for the ball earned him the match-winning try, but Alexander's mighty scrummaging laid the base.

And new Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie has no doubt that Australia's scrum will also hold up to the rigours of the Rugby Championship against South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina.

Lions prop Alex Corbisiero made Alexander's life hell at ANZ Stadium during the tourists' 41-16 romp in the deciding third Test - as he had done in the series opener in Brisbane.

But as McKenzie pointed out, Alexander and co. had bounced back in Melbourne, when Lions front-rower Mako Vunipola was exposed as a scrum weakness.

Asked if he is concerned about the Wallabies scrum following the capitulation against the Lions, McKenzie said: "No, I look at the scrum in its entirety, and I know from being an old prop that you don't always have good days at the office.

"You don't always have good scrums. Sometimes it goes wrong. We had a particularly good scrum in the second Test, we put the Lions scrum under a lot of pressure and everyone was talking about Vunipola."One or two changes in the pack can make a big difference to the outcome.

"People have forgotten that, but we were all over them in the second Test, particularly in the first half.

"I thought tactically the Lions did a good job in the third Test, they knew the referee well, and they worked that space pretty well.

"I think we've made a lot of progress in that area.

"You can't judge it on one scrum. You've got to ... see where we are as a group. We've got a bunch of guys that are capable."

The Wallabies have been seen as a weak scrummaging team, and after annihilations in England in 2005 and earlier this month that belief won't be changing overseas.

"The problem is if there is a poor perception, it is hard to shake," McKenzie conceded.

"A couple of bad games, and it will dog you for the next three years, people will keep talking about it.

"You can scrum well and it might take three years to expunge that."

Alexander made a statement to the new national boss, as the Brumbies pushed the Bulls scrum backward early in the game to earn a penalty.

Early in the second half the Bulls brought on replacement Morne Mellett, who represented South Africa at the 2009 junior World Cup, and again Alexander shoved him backward to earn his team another penalty.

He will face another stern test in the grand final this weekend against the 364kg Chiefs front-row.

The Brumbies must also overcome a tough schedule.

Their grand final appearance will be on the back of a 23,000km journey from Canberra to Pretoria to Hamilton in the past three weeks.

But Chiefs captain Craig Clarke won't take his side's easier schedule for granted, saying the Brumbies are capable of handling the distances.

"If you've got an experienced crew, you can deal with that, and they're experienced, I'm sure they'll be very combative," Clarke said.

"The travel does play a little factor - it's awesome to be able to prepare in your own facilities and have that extra day of training."

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Brumbies set sights on another miracle

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Coach Jake White celebrates the win with Brumbies halfback Nic White. Picture: Themba Hadebe Source: Themba Hadebe / Getty Images

TEARS welled in the eyes of Jake White - standing on the Loftus Versfeld turf, 68km from where he was born 50 years ago, now the engineer of a two-year doghouse to penthouse story.

The Brumbies are in the Super Rugby grand final - from third-last in 2011 - having won a last-minute semi-final thriller 26-23 against the Bulls early Sunday morning (AEST).

White, the puppeteer of this fairytale, is a master strategist and planner, but the tears behind his black-rimmed spectacles revealed so much more to his golden touch.

The emotion, the raw human feeling we so rarely see, spilled over at this latest milestone: the Brumbies became the first team in history to win an away finals match against the Bulls.

More historical barriers await them on Saturday in Hamilton, where defending champions the Chiefs are favoured to go back-to-back.

No foreign team has won a grand final in New Zealand, no team has flown to South Africa and back to claim the premiership, and only the 1999 Crusaders have won the title finishing out of the top two (the Brumbies finished third).

"It's going to be an uphill battle that has never been done before," White said. "But there are a lot of things that haven't been done by teams before and the Brumbies have done them week in, week out."

As he hugged his winger George Speight in the aftermath of the Pretoria revolt, White's hearty outpouring belied his stern, calculated aura.

This isn't about making plans on paper come to life. It is about a journey that a group of young men who have overcome personal tragedy and professional rejection are undertaking to etch their names in history, and White is riding every bump.

White boldly predicted the path to glory three weeks ago, saying he had formulated plans on how to beat the Cheetahs at home, fly to Pretoria to beat the Bulls, and win the championship in Hamilton. He believes, and his players unwaveringly buy in with every chip in their pot.

If you want to win in Pretoria, the last scenario you would hope to confront is having to score a try in the last minute.With the Brumbies facing this predicament, they conjured what White describes as the greatest victory in their history.

"I spoke to George Smith and he said he has never experienced anything like that in his life," White said. "We defended and defended and the law of averages told us we were going to get out of our half and have one crack at getting the win. And then it happened."

It wasn't in the fashion of their glitzy predecessors who won titles in 2001 and 2004, but the Brumbies showed similar resolve and disposition.

The breathtaking expanse of Gregan, Larkham, Roff and co has been replaced by the industry of Mowen, Kimlin and Moore.

The Bulls didn't hit the lead until the 60th minute, but after the Brumbies had led 16-11 at half-time and then 19-14 in the 48th all the momentum swung to the home team.

Winger Clyde Rathbone and man-of-the-match Smith are the only players from the 2004 victory still in the team.

Having been replaced, Rathbone was on the sidelines observing the final quarter as the Bulls were storming home with a 20-19 lead.

"It's a crucial next 15 minutes for us," Rathbone said. "Every game against the Bulls is tough but especially a semi-final. It has a Test feel to it.

"We've just got to back our D now and make sure we don't give away any penalties."

They did, but the Bulls descended into madness.

Having earned two kickable penalties in the opposition half, they rejected shots at goal to take attacking lineouts. After coughing the ball over after the first, Steyn inexplicably attempted a field goal from the second, which missed.

Another penalty inside the Brumbies' half was given in the 72nd minute, yet again the Bulls opted for a lineout. By now their rabid fans were aghast, but when their team lost the ensuing lineout many were exploding.

In the Bulls coaches box, Frans Ludeke was severely testing the microphone's capacity in his walkie-talkie, thundering his displeasure down the line.

When the Bulls received another penalty in the 76th minute, the Loftus faithful were frantically pointing at the posts or at the coaches box where Ludeke was demanding a shot be taken.

The Bulls' trainer raced to skipper Dewald Potgieter to relay the message, twice to be sure, before Steyn pointed to the sticks, bringing about the biggest roar in the stadium this season.

Steyn duly kicked the goal to give his side a 23-19 lead.

Brumbies coach White was now pacing back and forth in his box, realising this game could no longer be won by a penalty or field goal.

As the seconds raced away, the Brumbies won the ball and pressed away in Bulls territory, scrambling for an answer.

It came when five-eighth Matt Toomua took the ball on the short side, targeting the lumbering forwards caught wide with 100 seconds remaining.

He dummied and raced through a gap, with only fullback Zane Kirchner to beat.

Having thrown just six passes in the previous 78 minutes, Toomua threw his seventh and most vital back inside to centre Tevita Kuridrani, who dashed to the tryline with an arm in the air and the other clutching the ball, diving in to silence 58,000 of White's former countrymen.

From glamour club to grafters, the reinvention of the Brumbies has been 24 months in the making under the World Cup-winning coach, who freely admits this squad is much further advanced than he'd predicted.

The voyage is one final hurdle from its conclusion.

White's eyes are already long dried, and staring straight at the Chiefs.

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Walters ready to save sad Cows

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Melbourne Storm assistant coach Kevin Walters runs through warm up drills. Source: Hannah Johnston / Getty Images

KEVIN Walters' services have been offered to the crisis-stricken Cowboys as the Broncos legend on Sunday declared himself ready to launch his career as an NRL head coach.

With Neil Henry set to be sacked by the Cowboys board, Walters believes he now has the skill-set to succeed in the NRL and help deliver a premiership to a Queensland club.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Walters' management made contact with North Queensland powerbrokers well before news of Henry's impending demise broke on Friday night. 

"I'm ready to go ... at any Queensland club or any NRL team," he said on Sunday night.

Speaking for the first time since quitting as Melbourne's assistant on Thursday, Walters insists the chance to reunite with his wife Narelle and five kids was the motivation for leaving the Storm at season's end.

But he doesn't mask his desire to become an NRL head coach and a glorious opportunity will arrive this week when Henry is formally terminated by Cowboys chairman Laurence Lancini.

The former Maroons star makes it clear he isn't death-riding any coaching contemporary, but at age 45 he faces a now-or-never scenario to take charge of an NRL outfit.

Not since 2006, when the Broncos upset Melbourne, has a Queensland club tasted the premiership success Walters enjoyed five times as Brisbane's champion pivot.

"I've worked my a*** off for the last 10 years trying to get myself in this position," said Walters, who began his coaching career with Toowoomba Clydesdales in 2003.

"I feel like my time is now.

"And to be honest, there is nothing more that I can do from a coaching point of view, other than look at where I've been and how much I've learned and help a club that needs help. 

"The family was first and foremost on my mind. My mum passed away earlier this year and I didn't want to uproot the family again and bring them to Melbourne.

"I feel like, personally, I am ready for another challenge in life, a new challenge, and where it comes from I'm not sure.

"I don't have anything concrete at the moment, but I'm confident something will come up in the next six to eight weeks."

While Queensland's three NRL clubs the Broncos, Cowboys and Titans are all languishing outside the top eight, the most likely opportunity for Walters is in Townsville.

The Titans would face a $1 million-plus payout sacking John Cartwright, while Broncos boss Paul White insists Anthony Griffin is locked in for 2014.

But the Cowboys have a vacancy. 

It is understood Walters, Paul Green and Trent Barrett are frontline contenders to replace Henry at a club that has failed to win a premiership since its 1995 inception.

Despite his decorated history with the Broncos, Walters has no desire to be an assistant to Griffin, saying a 10-year apprenticeship has him well equipped to preside over an NRL club.

"I think I'm ready to coach a team by myself, if it's not the Broncos, it might have to be somewhere else," he said.

"I haven't spoken to the Cowboys and I don't want to be seen to be going for people's jobs. I'm available, I'm returning to Brisbane, I haven't got a club, but if there is an opportunity, I will take it.

"It's not about hawking myself around. I need to be smart about something that does come up, because I think I will only get one crack and I can't afford to blow it."

Walters' resume would be the envy of any aspiring NRL coach. He has worked as an assistant to master coaches Wayne Bennett and Craig Bellamy, worked under Mal Meninga at the Maroons, coached two Queensland Cup clubs and called the shots at French Super League club Les Catalans.

Walters narrowly lost out to Mick Potter for the Wests Tigers job last October. 

But as a serial premiership winner, Walters believes he can bring success to an NRL outfit.

"If you look at my resume, I'd be surprised if any coach outside of the NRL would have my pedigree," he said.

"I can bring a winning culture and winning methods to an organisation. I know I can bring that, winning is a habit.

"I've been all over the place trying to up skill myself as a coach and I've topped it off with Craig Bellamy in Melbourne. I really don't think I can do much more to add to the artillery as such. 

"The time is right to get into an NRL club and let me do my stuff ... I am very confident about what I can bring to an organisation."

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Lewis Hamilton wins Hungarian GP

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton steers his car during the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix at the Hungaroring racetrack near Budapest. Picture: Petr David Josek Source: Petr David Josek / AP

LEWIS Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position to clinch his first victory of a frustrating season.

Kimi Raikkonen was second after holding off a strong late challenge from Sebastian Vettel, who was third ahead of Red Bull teammate Mark Webber.

Hamilton's first year with Mercedes has been tricky, and he came into the race with low expectations of victory despite securing his fourth pole this season.

He managed his tyres wisely to get the 22nd GP win of his career and the first since the United States GP last November. Prior to Hungary, he had been third three times.

Hamilton remains too far behind to mount a serious title challenge as the season takes its mid-season summer break.

Fernando Alonso finished fifth to slip further behind Vettel overall.

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