Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to

Canberra and England hooker Josh Hodgson has jumped to the defence of Sam Burgess following his all-action but ultimately unsuccessful return to international rugby league against New Zealand.Burgess, in his first game as skipper of his country, was outstanding in the first half but less of a factor in the second as the impressive Martin Taupau and Jason Taumalolo stepped up for the Kiwis in their 17-16 win.The South Sydney talisman was criticised by sections of the English media for his attempt at an audacious pass between his legs that flew over Ryan Halls head late in the Four Nations game as England desperately tried to find a way to win.He also gave away a crucial penalty that allowed the Kiwis early in the tackle count to clear the downfield as the home side pressed for victory.But Hodgson said criticism of Burgess was unfair and undeserved.I thought it was a real captains performance from him, Hodgson said.He carried the ball strong and he tackled hard and did a great job. We were all doing everything we could to win the game, none more so than Sam.I dont think any player should be singled out for us losing; we all have to take some of the blame.Were disappointed in ourselves. You can take losing when you do everything you can and its not enough but we werent at our best and that was disappointing.England must now beat Scotland at Coventry on Saturday and then overcome Australia in London to have any hope of reaching the final at Anfield on November 20.But Hodgson insists England still believe they can win the tournament.We know what weve got to do, well go back and improve on a few things, he said.Well have to play well to beat Scotland and then well regroup and get ready for Australia. No-one in our team is thinking all is lost. Stitched Cheap Jerseys . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. China Jerseys . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. http://www.jerseyscheapauthentic.com/ . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Cheap Jerseys . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. NFL Jerseys China . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. ' ' '