Jermaine Jenas says he is ‘coming back a better person’ before TalkSport return

  • Jenas was dismissed from BBC roles in August
  • Former player returning to TalkSport this weekend

Jermaine Jenas insists he has taken responsibility for the conduct that led to his dismissal from the BBC as he prepares to return to broadcasting.

The former Tottenham and England midfielder was dismissed from his roles on Match Of The Day and The One Show in August after messages he sent to two women came to light. Jenas apologised for his actions and is set to return to the public eye as part of TalkSport’s coverage of the FA Cup fourth-round tie between Aston Villa and Spurs on Sunday. It is understood that has caused concern among some members of staff at the radio station who are refusing to work with Jenas.

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‘Sorry, good game’: why English rugby attitudes still infuriate France

The one thing France fear about England isn’t their scrum, maul or back-play – it’s their attitude when they beat them

Always eager to keep its readers up to speed, the Guardian marked the inclusion of the French rugby team in the Five Nations by providing a quick glossary of pertinent terms. “Marquer” was one, “plaquer” another, “melee” a third, all familiar enough now after a hundred-and-some years of playing each other. Another essential phrase has come into the French game in that time, one borrowed from the English, who are, amusingly, almost entirely oblivious to its significance: “Sorry, good game.”

This phrase, or something like it, is what the English captain Vince Cartwright said to the French players after they went down 35-8 in the first fixture at the Parc des Princes in Paris in 1906. “Sorry, good game,” or something like it, is what Ian Preece repeated after he had kicked the winning drop goal in an 8-3 victory in 1949, when France were on a run of 43 years without winning in England. “Sorry, good game,” is, most indelibly, what the French heard, over and over again, from Will Carling, during the back half of a run of eight straight English victories that spanned 1989-1995.

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Antoine Dupont ‘surprised’ at rule that deprives England of Jack Willis

  • France-based players ineligible under RFU rules
  • Itoje reveals he rejected moves abroad to play for England

The France captain, Antoine Dupont, has revealed he is surprised by the Rugby Football Union’s policy that bans Steve Borthwick from picking players based abroad and admitted he is glad he will not lock horns with his Toulouse teammate Jack Willis on Saturday.

England host Dupont and co at Twickenham as they seek to improve a run of seven defeats in nine matches and do so without a raft of players who are based in France’s Top 14 and therefore considered unavailable.

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