Good Week/Bad Week

We look at who shone and who struggled over the past seven days

By Alex Williams   Last updated: 9th March 2011  

Olly Barkley carried off against Gloucester

Barkley's season is over after a horror injury

Alex Ferguson Liverpool v Man Utd

Ferguson saw his side defeated twice during the week

Rory Sabbatini Honda Classic

Sabbatini took an emotinal victory at the Honda Classic

Kevin O Brien Ireland v England

O'Brien: Sensational century

Also see

Another intriguing week saw Ireland crown a new cricketing hero, while the Premier League title race took an unexpected twist with two straight defeats for Manchester United.

Elsewhere, heavyweight stars David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko finally agreed to settle their differences in the ring and a bumper weekend of sport produced plenty of talking points.

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Good Week

Kevin O'Brien

It may already seem like a distant - albeit unforgettable - memory, but it was only last Wednesday when O'Brien inspired Ireland to one of the greatest shocks in cricket history.

After England had set them a mammoth target of 328, hoped seemed lost for the Irish as they slumped to 111-5 in the 25th over of their chase.

But O'Brien had other ideas, bludgeoning his way to the fastest ever century at the World Cup as he brought up the three figures in just 50 balls.

He was eventually dismissed for 113, clearing the ropes six times along the way, before John Mooney and Trent Johnson brought home the famous victory.

Rory Sabbatini

Sabbatini saw off a host of big-name Europeans to seal a one-shot victory over YE Yang at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens.

It was the South African's first win in almost two years and comes three months after he had underwent surgery for skin cancer.

With his wife also needing a stay in intensive care after delivering their third child six months ago, the typically brash 34-year-old was understandably emotional at the end of his winning round.

Boxing fans

The long-running saga that is the heavyweight unification bout between David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko finally looks set to go ahead after seeming to be a lost cause.

The Ukrainian once again pulled out of a scheduled defence against Dereck Chisora and shortly afterwards the Haye camp revealed that a deal had been agreed to hold the hugely-anticipated showdown this summer.

Boxing politics and the murky waters of big-fight negotiations have often prevented fans of the sport from seeing the best going toe-to-toe, but now it looks as though the hype will finally be delivered upon.

Bad Week

Manchester United

Just over one month ago, United were unbeaten and seemed to be cruising towards a 19th title, but the Red Devils are now reeling after three defeats in five league matches.

The capitulation at Anfield was their worst moment of the season yet, with Dirk Kuyt grabbing a hat-trick as Liverpool claimed a comfortable 3-1 win over their arch rivals.

It followed their midweek loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, when a fine David Luiz strike and Frank Lampard penalty turned the tables on Sir Alex Ferguson's side after they had taken a first-half lead.

And if the two defeats were not bad enough, questions were raised - or not - post-match on Sunday as United imposed a total media blackout, even refusing to speak to MUTV.

Olly Barkley

There is no let up in Barkley's injury woes as the Bath centre suffered a double leg fracture against Gloucester that will rule him out for the rest of the season.

The 29-year-old, who broke the same leg in pre-season at the beginning of the previous campaign, suffered the injury after an awkward collision with team-mate Butch James.

The severity of the situation was clear when he was taken off the field wearing an oxygen mask and it was later confirmed that his campaign was over, with his hopes of earning an England recall taking a further hit.

Leeds Rhinos

There were many who predicted before the season that Super League's dominant force over the last five years would struggle during the 2011 campaign.

A trip to Warrington on Saturday would have been a perfect chance to prove the doubters wrong, but instead it was the Wolves who ran away with a dominant 40-24 victory.

The Rhinos' defence was made to pay for a number of mistakes as Brian McDermott's side slumped to a second straight defeat after being shocked by Harlequins in their previous game.

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