The English, by contrast, were like teenagers at their first disco. Wide- eyed and gauche, they displayed none of the sang-froid of the visitors.
Two hours later these memories made England’s victory all the sweeter. As the Dutch watched in disbelief, the home following exploded in raucous, unthreatening celebration, and a remarkable transformation was nearing completion. The England fans were finding a new identity.Where once their collective image was one of tattooed machismo and white- knuckle hatred, at this tournament it had become flag-waving and endless choruses of “Football’s Coming Home”. They even managed to make lurid orange wigs appear the epitome of European chic. Strolling up Wembley Way an hour before England’s third match of Euro 96 it was clear that only one set of fans felt at home The Dutch.

Luxuriously decked out in their team’s colours, they marched on the twin towers with the nonchalance of those who belonged. “It’s definitely a track that suits Corser but that doesn’t mean to say I’ve given up on pole position this weekend,” Fogarty said. Motorcycling

Troy Corser, of Australia, pipped Britain’s Carl Fogarty for provisional pole position in last Sunday’s fifth round of the World Superbike Championship at Brno, Czech Republic, with a formidable lap in yesterday’s opening practice session.
Corser was more than half a second faster on his Ducati than the back- to-form Fogarty, who insists there is still more to come from his Castrol Honda team. “There’s Saturday’s qualifying to come yet.”It took me most of the session to get dialled in but I’m now a lot happier about my suspension settings for the rest of the weekend.”Fogarty’s fellow Lancastrian Neil Hodgson took third place from his Ducati team-mate John Kocinski.. Goosen also eagled the last – and so did Ballesteros, for a 66 that left him six under and smiling broadly..

“It’s the best I’ve felt on the greens in a long while,” said the Welshman, who needs a top-five finish to regain top place in the Order of Merit from Montgomerie. “I’ve been trying to shorten it a bit – sometimes with the driver I could see the tip of the club out of the corner of my eye.”Burns shaved a stroke off his opening 67 to move into second place and then gave a very different view of Le National to Montgomerie. “It’s a pleasure to play on a course with good greens, good bunkers, good fairways and good tee boxes,” said the 22-year-old former Walker Cup amateur.Broadhurst, winner by eight last year, was only a shot away from his own course record as the work he has put in this season with Montgomerie’s coach, Bill Ferguson, showed its first real dividend with a 64.Woosnam, another Ferguson pupil, was delighted with his latest new putter as he returned 65. The European No 1 Colin Montgomerie, however, sank a nine- foot eagle putt on the final green for a 69 but discovered that he had still missed the cut.His two-under aggregate was one too many, and he criticised the course for being too easy. “I prefer to play where the errant drive is punished,” he said “Here the ball goes further the wider you go. It’s a good course made easy by having no rough.”Richardson, 146th on this season’s money list before the event, has a two-stroke advantage over the Ulsterman Raymond Burns, with Ian Woosnam, defending champion Paul Broadhurst and South African Retief Goosen one shot further back.”This is the first time in a long while I’ve felt comfortable with my swing,” Richardson said. The 28-year-old former Ryder Cup player equalled both the course record and the best round of his life with a nine-under-par 63.
Richardson now leads the tournament with a 13-under-par total of 131 at half-way.