I’m not sure quite what Sir G. Boycott would have made of it, but the People’s Republic of Yorkshire was on its feet to applaud the People’s Republic of China. Kindred spirits brought together at the Crucible, Sheffield, for Zhao Xintong’s victory in the World Snooker Championship over poor Mark Williams, at 50 the oldest finalist ever in the tournament. Zhao may look too youthful to get served in the Crucible bar – though he is actually 28 – but he had the good sense to settle in Sheffield some years ago and his fluent, remorseless snooker is breathtaking.
His victory means that snooker is now properly recognised not as a homely British sport played by chubby middle-aged men in waistcoats but as a full-on part of the international sporting scene. And in China, where there are 300,000 snooker clubs and millions of players and snooker is viewed as a national sport, Zhao will become a five-star ocean-going superstar. His victory in the final was watched by more than 150 million Chinese and will doubtless open the door to millions more players across Asia who want to take up the sport.
What was remarkable about Zhao was the fact that he had scarcely played championship snooker for months following a 20-month ban for being involved in a match-fixing scandal. There’s no suggestion that he fixed anything himself, but he did have a bet or two. No Chinese player has ever won a world pool title either, so this victory is a massive breakthrough for Zhao’s country. Quite how long the Crucible would be able to hold on to staging the World Championship if China sets its mind on hosting it is another matter. In the meantime we can hang on to the sight of a Yorkshire crowd merrily applauding a chap draped in the Chinese flag.
It wasn’t however in Sheffield but in Dublin that one of the most extraordinary sporting events of the year took place, out of sight of all apart from those at the Aviva Stadium and a handful of subscribers to Premier Sports. Northampton, contrary to almost all predictions, beat the fearsome Leinster, one of rugby’s superpowers, 37-34 in an epic semi-final of the European Cup. This was one of the most thrilling matches I have ever seen. Rugby has its share of financial troubles, particularly in the UK, but with a game like this, it should be one of the richest sports in the world.
Zhao may look too youthful to get served in the Crucible bar but his fluent, remorseless snooker is breathtaking
Leinster might be very successful but they are a difficult side to warm to, basically the Ireland team plus an All-Black superstar, a Bokke monster and a French prop on the bench. No English team can get near to compiling a squad like that. So how rewarding to see them go down to this Northampton side, which is stoked with great individual talent but thrives too on teamwork, despite a pretty humdrum season at home in the Premiership.
Their England stars Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman were all astounding, but it was the brilliant Henry Pollock, still only 20, who took the eye with a sensational solo try, remorseless tackling and a match-saving turnover in the final minutes.
If this performance doesn’t get him into the British and Irish Lions then Andy Farrell must have something else on his mind. If we want the Lions to play with some razzle–dazzle while winning every game, then Pollock should go; but if the purpose of Lions selection is to reward the players who have done the hard yards, then there are certainly plenty of others. Pollock should be on the plane to Australia. It has been some time since a fledgling superstar burst on to the scene like him, and in the riskiest sport of all. He has all the gifts to have a very fine career in rugby, but too often promising young rugby talents end up prematurely on the scrap heap through injury. One commodity he needs above all is luck.
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