Sports�n�All � looking forward to an Emile Heskey hat-trick against Israel

The Sports�n�All bandwagon keeps rolling on into another week of sporting intrigue and expectation. The rugby World Cup is likely to provide the biggest headlines over the next few weeks. Though of course the English press is still more interested in a footballer�s foot, this time Steven Gerrard�s toe. But the World Cup is shaping up to be a singular failure for England�s team. Indeed none of the UK�s teams are likely to trouble the southern hemisphere sides.

Seventh in the rankings says it all about how England�s form has imploded since that heady day when Johnny Wilkinson almost single-handedly won the trophy. These days any win is a triumph and if the team does manage to make it to the semi-finals then the tournament has to be seen as a success. Wilkinson again holds the key as many of the present team have little or no experience of the World Cup stage. New Zealand are favourites to take the trophy home, but face a 16 year drought of constant underachievement in the tournament. I wouldn�t bet against them getting that monkey off their back in spectacular style this time around. From the moment the Haka starts there is no other team in the world that can strike such fear into opposition hearts. Personally, I think their particular brand of explosive flair rugby is worth the tournament admission cost. If England do fall at an early hurdle then I won�t be too disappointed about watching the All Blacks bamboozle countless opponents.

For a moment I would like to consider what has happened to two sports-people who had their moment in the spotlight then disappeared just as suddenly. So it�s a sort of �where are they now� section:

Tennis is no stranger to touting players as future greats only to watch them flounder under the weight of expectation. Australian-Serbian Jelena Dokic was no exception. Sometimes it seemed that for all of her talent it was her father (who was also her coach) who grabbed the headlines with his, shall we say eccentric behaviour. Her credentials aren�t embarrassing, with a highest ranking of 4, a quarter-final appearance at the French Open in 2002 and a semi-final at Wimbledon in 2000. For all of her promise she was destined to fall short. She flitted between representing Serbia and Australia, but reportedly had repeated bust-ups with her demanding father. Ultimately she stopped speaking to him and has spent most of 2007 pulling out of tournaments and trying to rebuild her career. 2006 saw her hit a career low of number 617 in the world, and lose to a player ranked 709. Her prolonged absence means her return will probably slip well below the press� radar, if it even happens at all.

Steve Morrow. A name made for pub quizzes and will forever be remembered for one moment of glory, which went badly wrong. He was a Northern Ireland football international defender who most notably played for Arsenal between 1988 and 1997. His moment in the spotlight came in the League Cup Final during the 1992-93 season when he scored the winning goal. But during the celebrations Tony Adams dropped Morrow when he tried to hoist him onto his shoulders, breaking the hero�s arm in the fall. After that Morrow quickly fell out of favour, which led to loan spells at five clubs before being sold to Queens Park Rangers. After that he fell into further obscurity with a spell in the American Major league Soccer at Dallas Burn. This saw him gain some recognition and as of December 11 2006 he became the coach of the club.

All that leaves me to say is good luck to England�s footballers, cricketers and rugby (union) players who are fighting the good fight this weekend. Let�s hope we win at least one of those. From my point of view it would be good to see us finish the India one-day series on a high. It�s been a while since English cricket fans have been able to celebrate in the one-day game, so let�s start now.