By AFP
July 3rd 2009 @ 1:19am
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New Zealand PM plays down Bastareaud row
New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key on Thursday said it was time for his country and France to move on after his French counterpart Francois Fillon apologised over the Mathieu Bastareaud controversy.
“At the end of the day we need to put it in perspective and say the matter’s now been dealt with,” Key said. “We [...]
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© 2008 AFP


![The AFL released the fixtures for the 2010 season on Friday, but with chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan admitting blockbusters took preference to fairness in fixturing, its time to analyse who got a good deal and who got a raw deal.
Adelaide
Matches in Adelaide; 12 (all at AAMI)
Interstate Trips; 10 (Vic 6, WA 2, Qld 1, [...] Ben Somerford: The winners and losers of the 2010 AFL fixtures](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/the-winners-losers-2010-afl-dangerfield-th.jpg)
![With a little over a month left in the Hyundai A-League regular season, the race for the Premiership rather than the battle to make the top six should take centre stage. After all, it appears set for an unbelievable finale in Sydney on February 14.
When the FFA announced this season’s competition would employ a top [...] Ben Somerford: A-League Premiership set for ultimate climax](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/melbourne-victory-sydney-fc-kemp-colosimo-th.jpg)
![In the end, Sevens Rugby became an Olympic sport with the ease of a great ocean liner easing down the slipway on its launching.
All the lobbying, the setting up of special tournaments, the creation of a Women’s Sevens Rugby World Cup and the co-opting of former rugby great players to push the case ended triumphantly [...] Spiro Zavos: Gold, gold, gold! It’s Olympic gold for world rugby](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/gold-olympic-world-rugby-james-oconnor-th.jpg)
![There seems to be a consensus amongst many long time league fans that the eighties were a golden period for the game. The game expanded beyond Sydney and the seeds were sown for the national competition that we have today. Good times.
There’s probably still many who wouldn’t mind if the game was the same [...] Gabriel Knowles: Memo NRL: bring back the five minute sin bin](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/memo-nrl-ben-cummins-th.jpg)
![First of all, let’s get something straight: FIFA’s apparent back flip on who can bid for the 2018 World Cup hosting rights has nothing to do with Australia and everything to do with Europe.
The world governing body aren’t just shafting Football Federation Australia, they are leaving everyone outside of the European power base in the [...] Davidde Corran: Time to get serious about our floundering World Cup bid](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/malaysian-fly-ointment-rudd-salisbury-mccallum-th.jpg)
![Last week, Cricket Australia issued a brief statement confirming that the chairman of the selection panel for Australia’s national cricket teams, Andrew Hilditch, has been re-appointed for two more years.
This means that Hilditch will preside over the selection policies and processes involved in trying to regain the Ashes in 2010/2011 after a series this year [...] Spiro Zavos: Two more years for chairman Hilditch? Amazing!](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Two-more-years-for-Hilditch.jpg)
![Willie Mason’s long search for a club has won the ‘drawn out saga of the off-season’ award pretty comfortably. But it seems to be pretty unique by modern sporting standards.
We all like to talk about about clubs having a ‘No Dickhead’ policy, but when a dickhead with particular talent is out there, there is usually [...] Steve Kaless: Mason finally signs, but will it just bring more sighs](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/big-willie-soft-mason-th.jpg)
![At the end of the Year 2000, Sydney looked at its reflection with a cocksure grin and felt with some justification that it held a reputation as one of the world’s great sporting cities.
The Olympics had been an absolute triumph and the Harbour city no doubt felt keen to tackle Melbourne for the crown of [...] Steve Kaless: Sydney is no longer one of the great sporting cities](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/nrl.jpg)
![As 2009 draws to a close, so will end one of the most controversy laden years for NRL off the field. Barely a week seemed to go by without another player being splashed all over the papers for “all the wrong reasons.”
The NRL has steeled itself to get tough on players and clubs in 2010 [...] Steve Kaless: Gambling on matches a risky bet for the NRL](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/nrl-roosters-storm-th.jpg)
![Pohang’s 6-0 thrashing of Newcastle Jets last week may have ended Australian interest in the Asian Champions League, but the competition itself rumbles on towards the final.
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![Can he do it again? Despite the strong list of contenders, the majority of the focus at this year’s Tour de France will be on Lance Armstrong and whether he has the capability to record a remarkable eighth victory.
Mystery surrounds just what Armstrong can do at the Tour.
Age is certainly against him.
He was already [...] Adrian Musolino: Le Tour 2009 intrigues like few before it](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/le-tour-2009-th.jpg)
![Libby Trickett is considering retirement at the age of 24. Casey Stoner has taken a leave of absence due to extreme fatigue at the age of 23. What’s happening to our star athletes?
It seems as though their lifespan, or ability to sustain a long-term career at the top, is being tested, not just as [...] Adrian Musolino: Sports stars start too young, retire too early](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sports-stars-start-too-young-th.jpg)



