A GREAT SUMMER OF SPORT BECKONS

What a day of sport for the UK, and no sign of any help from the European Union !!

In Rugby Union, England put up a tremendous performance to record a rare win against Australia in their own country, winning 39-28 after trailing by 10 points early on. Wales suffered defeat against the World Champions in New Zealand but gave the hosts a real scare until the last 15 or 20 minutes. In South Africa, Ireland achieved one of the greatest victories ever, defeating the home side 26-20 having had a man sent off after 22 minutes; while playing with a man short in football is often a relatively minor handicap, playing with a man short in the far more physical game of rugby is an appalling handicap and that the Irish side not only coped with, but beat, an opposition who are renowned for their physical prowess and have been one of the best teams in the world for many years, was an astonishing achievement.

In cricket, England enjoyed a good day in the field against their admittedly less than testing opponents, Sri Lanka. After being in a good position overnight, Sri Lanka succumbed rather too easily in the morning, but they did bounce back to put England under pressure later on. Nonetheless, the prospect of a series whitewash now loom large.

Then we have Formula One motor racing, in which Lewis Hamilton, the reigning World Champion, gained pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix tomorrow. His advantage over team mate Nico Rosberg was miniscule at six hundredths of a second, but it was, nonetheless, an advantage. Tomorrow he is in prime position to further reduce Rosberg's lead in the championship and increase his own chances of retaining his world title.

Finally, I come to football, though this is what dominates the sporting media. Sadly, all other sport seems to fade into insignificance under the financial weight of the current world-wide infatuation with kicking a ball around; regardless, the latest international extravaganza, 'The Euros', is a major event and has to be acknowledged as such. Given that, Wales, having made their first appearance in the finals of an international tournament since the dinosaurs ruled the earth or, at least, since 1958 which may be the same thing, came through a challenging first match against Slovakia with a fine win, courtesy of a great team performance. Superstar Gareth Bale did his bit but it needed rather more than one man to win the match.

The Welsh victory was then followed by one of the better England performances of recent times. Indeed, but for a last minute lapse of concentration, they would also have started their Euro campaign with victory; as it was, Eric Dier's goal was cancelled out at the last moment though a draw was far from a bad result. England did look good and probably deserved to win, though they still need to learn the secret of scoring regularly from open play. The next game, matching England against Wales on Thursday afternoon, now becomes that much more important for both, though the Welsh currently have the upper hand.

With other great events coming up soon - Wimbledon, the Open, the Ryder Cup - what a great summer of sport we have in prospect !!