Latest news with #Leigh
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
I practice what I preach – Jack Farrimond teaching value of pushing to the end
Jack Farrimond spent last Friday evening instilling into a group of under-11s at Leigh Miners Rangers the importance of creating opportunities right up to the final hooter. Less than 24 hours later the 19-year-old half-back was pouncing with time up on the stadium clock to score a dramatic second try and seal a comeback win for Wigan in their Betfred Super League clash with Huddersfield at Dewsbury. His rapidly rising stature in the game has not stopped Farrimond, the latest product to roll off the Warriors' seemingly never-ending production line, from popping back to help out at his old junior club where his father Tom is the long-time head coach. 'We're working quite hard at the Miners at the minute about everyone staying alive and pushing into the final moments, so it was great to get to practice what I preach,' Farrimond told the PA news agency. 'It was even better on Sunday morning for the under-11s who had seen the theory being put into practice. 'To them, though, I'm still not really anyone special. I'm just the same 'Big Jack' they've known since they were six or seven years old. For me it's all about staying humble and giving back to the place where I started.' Scouted from the well-respected Miners youth system at an early age, Leigh-born Farrimond found himself fast-tracked to first-team stardom after spending just a year in Wigan's academy set-up. But the win at Dewsbury represented only his third start of the current season, due to a minor injury to Bevan French, and Farrimond knows he will have to wait for further opportunities with French and half-back partner Harry Smith a difficult duo to dislodge. With French set to return to the starting line-up for Friday's trip to Wakefield, finding Farrimond suitable game time to maintain his impressive trajectory is a problem Wigan head coach and long-time admirer Matt Peet is wrestling with. 'I don't want him to be too patient, though,' said Peet, who believes there is no reason why Farrimond, whom he remembers scouting as a junior, should not aspire towards dislodging some of the biggest names in the game. 'If he can be better than Harry or Bevan, then he can play more. It's not about being patient, it's about working hard and making it a competition, not just waiting to get a game. 'Respectfully, it's Wigan Warriors, and we're not going to lower our standards so younger players can get a game. I wouldn't expect it to happen imminently, but that shouldn't be his attitude. His attitude should be to compete and learn, and take every opportunity he gets.' Relatively diminutive for a top-level half-back at around 5ft 8ins, Farrimond, who became devoted to the idea of making a career out of rugby league from a young age, is no stranger to the type of challenge laid down by his head coach. 'I've always been told that because of my size I had to play the game in different ways, I had to be smarter because when I was younger the other teams would have bigger, stronger lads and I was never going to run over the top of someone,' added Farrimond. 'I'm sure having to learn about the smart, tactical side of the game has helped me, as has learning from Bevan and Harry. 'They are two world-class half-backs and I am not expecting to take one of them out of the team straight away. It's a slow process but they're happy to help me with tips and it's important that I remember to stay grounded and keep working hard.'
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Politics
- Wales Online
Welsh man falls to knees in tears in front of police at Gaza border in viral video
Welsh man falls to knees in tears in front of police at Gaza border in viral video Nurse Leigh Evans was trying to deliver aid to Gaza when the viral clip was filmed Leigh Evans was trying to deliver aid to Gaza (Image: @taichiworld, YouTube ) A Welsh nurse has gone viral after a video of him pleading with Egyptian police to let him enter Gaza and deliver aid was shared online. The video showed Leigh Evans, a pro-Palestinian activist, dropping to his knees, crying, and emotionally pleading with riot police. The video started circulating online on Friday, June 13, and went viral during the weekend. In the video, Leigh tells police he's worked as a nurse in Gaza. He said: "I can't explain to you the horror, I can't explain to you the smell of starving babies." In the video, Leigh can be seen telling police: "This is a genocide of a Muslim people by Zionists... I saw them shooting pregnant women, Muslim women. These people aren't Muslims that are doing this." He tried to convince the police they had a choice whether to let them in. He added: "You do have a choice, you're humans. We're here for humanity, you are part of humanity. You are my brother." The Welshman from Swansea was one of around 4,000 activists from 80 countries joining the Global March to Gaza and hoping to enter the heavily-defended Rafah border which it shares with Egypt. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . The Rafah border is being manned by Egyptian police (Image: @taichiworld, YouTube ) Article continues below Leigh spoke to The Crispin Flintoff Show on YouTube afterwards. He said: "What I've seen and experienced in my visits to Falesteen and Gaza is as close as I ever thought I'd get to seeing the images of Nazi Germany. Reflecting on what he said to the police, he said: "Everything that came from my mouth was a genuine plea from my heart for the horror and the things I never thought I would see in my lifetime. "They were just the words that came from my mouth and came from my heart because I'm not here for myself but for the people of Falasteen and Gaza. "What came out of my mouth was not practised, scripted, they were just the words that poured from my heart because that was why I was there." He explained that afterwards police came to his hotel, questioned him and looked through his phone and passport. He added: "I genuinely thought I was going to get arrested or worse but it was kind of irrelevant what happened to me." Article continues below Leigh is a sea swimmer and a master black belt in Tai Chi, qualified through the World Taiji Boxing Association (WTBA) as an instructor. The video was shared through the WTBA's YouTube channel, by a long time friend. They told people to share the video "like crazy".
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Australia slides down economic competitiveness rankings
Poor productivity and economic growth are dulling Australia's competitive edge and sending it sliding down an international economic leaderboard. Australia fell five spots to 18th place in the latest World Competitiveness Yearbook report, released by the Swiss-based Institute for Management Development on Tuesday. The disappointing result reiterates the need to revive flagging productivity - which measures how efficiently an economy converts inputs to output - said Cassandra Winzar, chief economist at independent think tank the Committee for Economic Development of Australia. Australia dropped from 28th to 49th in the productivity and efficiency standings. That accords with data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that shows the nation's labour productivity growth rate has slowed to its lowest level in at least 20 years. "With inflation looking to be under control in the short-term, we must now tackle the longer-term challenges holding back our economy," Ms Winzar said. "Key to this is lifting weak productivity through measures such as streamlining regulation, encouraging business investment and undertaking broad-based tax reform." The federal government has targeted productivity growth as a key economic focus of its second term. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a roundtable of industry, unions and experts in August to help guide its efforts. "We hope the Albanese government's recently announced productivity roundtable yields tangible policy outcomes that can lift us out of this funk," Ms Winzar said. "CEDA has long been calling for tax reform to be part of the Federal Government's agenda, and this report makes the need even more clear, given our consistently high levels of company and personal income taxes (ranked 59th and 58th respectively)." The government has remained coy on whether it would consider lowering the corporate tax rate as part of its productivity push, with Assistant Minister for Productivity Andrew Leigh focusing instead on slashing onerous red tape. "One of the big challenges here is that you're working across a range of tiers of governments, and so it's local, state and federal governments have these regulations. In many cases well-meaning, but often the cumulative effect of them is to create this thicket of regulation," Dr Leigh told Canberra radio station 2CC on Tuesday. Housing was being particularly held back by layers of red tape, Dr Leigh said, but he backed away from a suggestion to take a "stick" to local councils that get in the way of new supply. "Look, I'm a collaborative person. I wouldn't naturally think about taking a 'stick' to other tiers of government," he said. "And I think there is a political challenge if you're a jurisdiction where your votes are coming from local residents who don't necessarily want to see infill." Australia's worst result in the institute's ranking was its level of entrepreneurship, rating 68th out of the 69 countries included in the report. In real GDP per capita growth - a common measure of living standards - Australia tumbled 40 places to 60th spot, reflecting the fact that the country has experienced a fall in output per person in eight out of the last nine quarters. Opposition finance spokesman James Paterson and productivity spokesman Andrew Bragg said growth in government-funded jobs under Labor was crowding out the private sector, diminishing innovation and productivity. "If Labor is serious about making its productivity roundtable a success, they should commit to a process beyond a one-day meeting in Canberra," the duo said in a statement.
West Australian
4 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Australia slides down economic competitiveness rankings
Poor productivity and economic growth are dulling Australia's competitive edge and sending it sliding down an international economic leaderboard. Australia fell five spots to 18th place in the latest World Competitiveness Yearbook report, released by the Swiss-based Institute for Management Development on Tuesday. The disappointing result reiterates the need to revive flagging productivity - which measures how efficiently an economy converts inputs to output - said Cassandra Winzar, chief economist at independent think tank the Committee for Economic Development of Australia. Australia dropped from 28th to 49th in the productivity and efficiency standings. That accords with data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that shows the nation's labour productivity growth rate has slowed to its lowest level in at least 20 years. "With inflation looking to be under control in the short-term, we must now tackle the longer-term challenges holding back our economy," Ms Winzar said. "Key to this is lifting weak productivity through measures such as streamlining regulation, encouraging business investment and undertaking broad-based tax reform." The federal government has targeted productivity growth as a key economic focus of its second term. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a roundtable of industry, unions and experts in August to help guide its efforts. "We hope the Albanese government's recently announced productivity roundtable yields tangible policy outcomes that can lift us out of this funk," Ms Winzar said. "CEDA has long been calling for tax reform to be part of the Federal Government's agenda, and this report makes the need even more clear, given our consistently high levels of company and personal income taxes (ranked 59th and 58th respectively)." The government has remained coy on whether it would consider lowering the corporate tax rate as part of its productivity push, with Assistant Minister for Productivity Andrew Leigh focusing instead on slashing onerous red tape. "One of the big challenges here is that you're working across a range of tiers of governments, and so it's local, state and federal governments have these regulations. In many cases well-meaning, but often the cumulative effect of them is to create this thicket of regulation," Dr Leigh told Canberra radio station 2CC on Tuesday. Housing was being particularly held back by layers of red tape, Dr Leigh said, but he backed away from a suggestion to take a "stick" to local councils that get in the way of new supply. "Look, I'm a collaborative person. I wouldn't naturally think about taking a 'stick' to other tiers of government," he said. "And I think there is a political challenge if you're a jurisdiction where your votes are coming from local residents who don't necessarily want to see infill." Australia's worst result in the institute's ranking was its level of entrepreneurship, rating 68th out of the 69 countries included in the report. In real GDP per capita growth - a common measure of living standards - Australia tumbled 40 places to 60th spot, reflecting the fact that the country has experienced a fall in output per person in eight out of the last nine quarters. Opposition finance spokesman James Paterson and productivity spokesman Andrew Bragg said growth in government-funded jobs under Labor was crowding out the private sector, diminishing innovation and productivity. "If Labor is serious about making its productivity roundtable a success, they should commit to a process beyond a one-day meeting in Canberra," the duo said in a statement.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caines lead way for Burnden over testing Ironman course
It was little surprise there was a heavy Burnden Road Runners presence at Bolton's ultimate challenge last weekend - both the big Ironman 70.3 and it's baby cousin, the Night Run 5K. Both events are accompanied by a brilliant Bolton atmosphere and represent the best of running and triathlon. Advertisement Road Runners under their 2024 affiliated title of 'Burnden Tri' turned out in their masses to support the nine athletes competing in the Bolton 70.3 Ironman. The event was reduced to a half distance in 2024 which has encouraged more people to take part and create an inclusive, but challenging, race covering Leigh, Wigan and Bolton. The 6.15am start at Pennington Flash commences the 1.2m open-water swim, followed by 56 miles of cycling which brings the competitors back to Queens Park in Bolton for a tough undulating half-marathon run. First over the line in the male category was Burnden's Mike Caine 5hrs 33mins 7secs (36:34/2:55:19/1:48:27), coming 18th in his age category and 356th overall. He shaved 24 minutes off his 2024 time and achieved a personal best. Advertisement The club's first and only lady competitor was Mike's daughter Francesca Caine in 6:29:57 (42:49/3:32:25/2:01:41). She also came 18th in her age category and 813th overall, knocking 30 minutes off her PB. Other results: Martin Fielding 5:39:34 (42:42/2:58:56/1:48:32), Lyall Mew 5:50:24 (43:25/2:59:17/1:56:48), Steve Horsman 6:00:32 (46:14/3:02:42/1:57:44), Gareth Doherty 6:09:46 (47:41/3:08:34/1:58:23), Martin Cullen 7:05:17 (46:14/3:40:36/2:19:46), Stephen Riddle 7:23:09 (32:12/3:47:23/2:36:32), Simon Entwistle 7:34:26 (46:36/3:43:51/2:42:27). Ironman's slightly kinder challenge was under way on the Friday before the big event with almost 1,000 runners waiting to set off in waves on Le Mans Crescent. Two offers - a 5K and a 10K - take runners around and out of Bolton town centre and into Queens Park for a gentle ramble before looping back around and on to the mighty red carpet for a true Ironman finish. Advertisement In the 10K, first home was Gary Avison in 40:15 followed by Ryan Moore, in 42:31, and Steven Walton, in 43:33. First three ladies were Linda Doherty, in 51:22, Sandra Caine (59:01) and Natasha Clarke (59:34). Other results: Rick Winnard 56:02, Rob Moran-Hetherington 57:55, Richard Blake 59:15, Amy Smith 1:01:03, Katie Walsh 1:07:28, Jennifer Entwistle 1:10:02, Jeanette Robinson 1:10:02. First home in the 5K was Mark Cannon in 20:16 followed by John Simms, in 21:09, and Neil Counsell (21:55). First three ladies were Gayle Gerrard (23:43), Susan Sumner (24:42) and Louise Righini (26:29). Other results: Martin Whitehead 21:56, Paul Johnson 22:07, Steven Walsh 25:07, Ivan Brown 28:08, Lisa Berry 29:01, Nicola Halsall 29:43, Carol Richardson 30:54, Jocelyn Chadderton 31:01, Kathryn Berry 31:02, Stephen Holt 31:03, Bernie Jones 32:22, Rebecca Fisher 33:12, Debra Hennessey 34:55, Tony Fulop 35:12, Ian Mann 39:21, Suzanne Walmsley 59:09. Advertisement It was back to the classics for Burnden this week as a contingent took on track and field events in Manchester. Wednesday saw the 16th Joe Moran Memorial Veteran Track and Field Meeting hosted by Manchester Harriers at the SportCity Stadium. Paul Christie, former chair and avid sprint runner, is an enthusiastic ambassador for this event and picked up two of the nine total medals. He claimed gold in the 400m with his time of 1:19.7 and gold in the 800m with 2:58.9. Steve Nolan took two golds in the 800m with 2:44.9 and in the 1500m with 6:03.5. Mumtaz Patel took home two bronze medals for the 400m (1:26) and the 800m (3:02). In the field events, it was the javelin up first and Patel took a further bronze medal with her throw of 6.26m. Tom Stratton took two medals home - one in the 1500m with 5:18.6 and a javelin throw of 25.31m. Advertisement Burnden brought home several Vet winners from the annual Leo Pollard Memorial Fell Race, organised by Lostock AC and part of the Horwich Festival of Racing. Named in honour of Lostock's late president, Leo Pollard - an accomplished fell runner and climber - the race is a tough and challenging adventure in the hills. Beginning at the Top Barn in Rivington, runners faced a steep climb up to the Pike and then circulate both Rivington and Smithills moor - taking in Brown Hill and Crooked Edge Hill to reach the Two Lads monument. Circling again around Holden's Plantation and Smithills Shooting Hut, it is another climb almost to the Mast before traversing back across Rivington Moor in stunning approach to the Pike. Racers then retrace their steps to finish the seven-mile race back at the starting point. Andrew Horrocs was first Burndener home in 44:23 followed by Paul Duke, in 47:58, and Michael Kermode, in 51:35. Anne Ferguson was first Burnden lady and first FV65 in 57:24 and Lyndsay Darbyshire brought third FV55 and second Burnden lady in 1:00:48. Jane Forrest claimed first FV60, in 1:00:53, and Marie Parkinson took second FV60, in 1:05:10. Advertisement Other results: Phil Fryer 52:15, Andy Staveley 53:36, Jake Quinn 54:02, Keith Thomas 57:58, Marcus Hamer 58:03, Dean Covill 59:22, Andy Warburton 1:02:48, Colm O'Brien 1:02:51, Kathryn Baron 1:06:12, Louise Righini 1:09:38, Steve Holt 1:12:49, Nia Bell 1:18:08. Paul Cox was out for another half-marathon, choosing one of 'It's Grim Up North' canal events. A variety of distances are on offer at the IGUN races and Cox's half-marathon distance took him along the tranquil Leeds to Liverpool Canal to Kirkstall and back again. He crossed the line in 1:57:00. Diane and Amy Smith were in Wales this week to compete at the Cardiff Hyrox Doubles. Advertisement Described as 'the world series of fitness racing', this brutal training event is super popular all over the UK. With supporters providing an electrifying atmosphere throughout, the sport of Hyrox incorporates cardio and strength, racing 1km between eight activities - SkiErg, Sled Push, Sled Pull, Burpee Broad Jumps, Rowing, Farmers Carry, Sandbag Lunges and Wall Balls. The mother-daughter duo smashed this terrifying event in 1:58:29. There were just two Burndeners at the Astley Park Trail this week as the packed race calendar presented other commitments. Located around the picturesque grounds of Astley Hall, in Chorley, this week's finishers were Gayle Gerrard, in 30:53, and Chris Greenall, in 34:14. Edgworth Reservoir 10K welcomed just the one Burndener , Justin Bones, to its wet and muddy race. The picturesque, yet challenging, route is a whistle-stop tour around two of the countryside's most beautiful reservoirs - Wayoh and Entwistle.
