ALL THE WORLD`S A STAGE...

ACT I - MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

We`ve seen it all this weekend. First, the farce in Guyana when the West Indies` manager, John Dyson, miscalculated the Duckworth-Lewis sheets to hand England the first win of their current Caribbean tour by just one run. I have some sympathy for the unfortunate Dyson; not because of the England win but because he is a cricket coach and not a mathematician, which one needs to be these days to make sense of the D/L mysteries. Oh, well, at the end of the day, a win`s a win.

ACT II - THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

Next the comedy. Manchester United lost to Fulham at Craven Cottage yesterday, having been reduced to playing with just nine men. Should have been eight really, given the petulance, amateur dramatics and constant whining displayed by Cristiano Ronaldo. Hugely entertaining and hilariously funny to see United reduced to bit part players in a compelling drama, which makes the title race more interesting and brings joy to the hearts of all who have no time for United, their arrogance and particularly their manager, who until yesterday thought he and his players were above the laws of the game. The fat lady ain`t singing just yet.

ACT III - ALL`S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

And so to the triumph and tragedy played out in the final few minutes of the Rugby Union Six Nations Tournament. In the end, England finished second in the table, but the triumph went to Ireland - a united Ireland when it comes to Rugby - who achieved their first Grand Slam for no less than 61 years. Well done them. But spare a thought for Stephen Jones, who with the last kick of the game had the chance to deny Ireland and win the game for Wales. His kick fell just short of the posts and it was hard to decide whether to feel sorry for the excellent Jones or joy for the deserving Irish. In the end, sport - and especially Rugby Union - was the winner in a thrilling finale to an enthralling tournament.