Even before the two seasons coincided, it was possible during the overlap between the two sports to peer out of the back of the rugby stand and see a second XI match or apprentices practising on the outfield.There have even been clashes of dates, although on a smaller scale than yesterday’s, when a home fixture for Bramley – who also play at Headingley – has followed county cricket.There was even a time when rugby crossed the divide completely. For a long time, he felt the Club – particularly its order of play committee – had a vendetta against him. He was once thrown off the courts for hitting with his coach, who was not a member The Club later apologised. “Summertime” is the theme tune of Mr and Mrs Boris Becker, the tune to which the proposal of marriage was offered and accepted in a fashionable Munich restaurant three and a half years ago. Summertime has yet to be the theme for Wimbledon 1997, nor has the living been easy this year for the three-times champion who has been hit by a recurrent wrist injury and forced by the lingering attentions of the taxman and pro-Nazi groups to contemplate a permanent move from Munich to Florida.

Sue Barker, who might have been expected to stiffen up a little under such challenging conditions, was at her smiley best, like the vicar’s wife at a sodden but still unusually successful fete (“Indoors if wet”).Barker’s party piece, in the role of Suzanne Barker, was to become a weathergirl and present a gloomy forecast from the Wimbledon studio. But over many damp years the BBC has managed to turn the rainy day at Wimbledon into an art form with its own peculiar charm. Rusedski is more of a showman, reacts favourably to the big stage, and looked in control of his nerves, while Philippoussis looked younger, off-balance and vulnerable.Rusedski served superbly in the first set, dropping just two points on serve and in boxing parlance was clearly ahead on points as they went into the tiebreak. In the second set Philippoussis came more into the match, but the way he lost the second tiebreak confirmed his vulnerability playing a Briton on Centre Court.

But then that was Rusedski’s afternoon, brilliant in parts, lamentable in others and characterised throughout by his major weapon. And Bobby Charlton will have been pleased by the geographical slip: at least his daughter won’t have to give up the day job.After that it was back to the stuff that the fans really thrill to: comedy out-takes cut together to rock music by the video-tape editors, who really have been earning their corn this week. Stella McCartney, 25, went straight from college to design for the French couture house Chloe Novelists start particularly early. The British art world is seething with enfants terribles – Mona Hatoum, Rachel Whiteread, Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst (who racked up a Turner Prize at 30). Now, thank the Lord, there are some glamour girls pouting up the rankings to dampen our yawns: beaming infant prodigies, black Americans with beaded hair and Russians in pigtails. But Pierce, with her problem father (see below), her rumoured liaison with Seal, and but one measly Grand Slam title to her name, is top soap queen.Sins of the Father: Too numerous to mention. Bidisha recently published her first novel, Seahorses, at 18; Alex Garland, 26, is a huge cult success with his first novel The Beach; Rachel Cusk, 30, has just published her third.

“But it didn’t really work.” Not much worked for the first two sets as the talented but erratic American, ranked 58, exploited Rusedski’s ill humour. Jenkins landed penalties on 66 and 72 minutes and when Gregor Townsend led one last raid on the Springboks defences four minutes from time, Guscott received the ball in space and did the business in typically nonchalant style.”We got into a position where we were going to call the drop-goal that, if it had gone to plan, Gregor Townsend would have been the kicker,” Guscott said. South Africa 15 British Isles 18

Tries: Van der Westhuizen 35 Pens: Jenkins 16, 31, 48,
Montgomery 41, 66, 72Joubert 54 Drop: Guscott 77Hallelujah. The Lions rewrote history in staggering fashion in Durban yesterday and not just rugby history either. Ranked four in Britain, but 200 in the world, Ahl was attempting to recover a 2-6 , 4-6 deficit against American Ginger Helgeson Nielsen.The right-hander from Devon, very much like Sapsford in appearance, style and tenacity, made the most of her time on court. He is also the former world junior No 1, a player who once won three junior Grand Slam titles, including Wimbledon.But Sapsford, with a film extra’s looks and David’s physique, wrapped up this match in exactly an hour. “I’m off to watch Rusedski,” he said.The crowd around No 3 Court shifts its composition, as fans of different nationalities fill and vacate the unreserved seats according to the changing attractions.

But the combination of careful, percentage back hands and vehement forehand winners proved too demanding to sustain, and Smith’s confidence visibly drained away.The Japanese player, who has a fine record in SW19 having reached the fourth round on two previous occasions, started to find corners of the court that were beyond Smith’s desperate lunges and quickly wrapped up the match. It was supposed to be another day of incessant rain but it turned into a tennis party from start to finish and the British men were not missing out on the action either.Linconshire’s Andrew Richardson led the way. She also scored the win of her career by defying 209 places in the world rankings to beat Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder. Wood-roffe, another Jones girl, won 6-4 6-4 to beat the world No 33.”It’s a lucky house isn’t it?” Cross suggested “The winning house. I have written to the Everton chairman, Peter Johnson, and told him that unless his club can come up with an amount acceptable to my club, they can send Howard Kendall back to work for Sheffield United.”The out-of-contract Manchester City wing-back, Nicky Summerbee, has been offered trials by the French club, Bordeaux.