Brits abroad go unnoticed

In a week when one was named England's Cricketer of the Year, and another produced the finest individual display in the history of Premiership rugby's Grand Finals, it would be glib to debate the impact of South Africans on English sport.

If the rules permit, which they do, then they are welcome. But the more pertinent question seems to be, why are players such as Jonathan Trott and Schalk Brits not appreciated in their home country?

Trott served far more than the minimum four-year residency term required in cricket to change his allegiance from South Africa to England.

Now, wearing the three lions on his chest rather than the protea, he has the second-best average of any batsman to have played more than 20 Test innings, behind only the great Sir Donald Bradman.

(Ironically, a great South African whose career was punctuated by their international exile, Graeme Pollock, is third).

Did no one in South Africa notice Trott could bat a bit?

The three Test matches Brits played for the Springboks before leaving for the UK mean that the extraordinary Saracens hooker will never follow suit and change his colours.

But he has been left in some sort of limbo, where his sublime displays in the English Premiership find no favour with his own national selectors. Of course, there are mitigating factors, such as the target system, the fact that he is playing in a suspicious foreign league rather than the Super 15, and that the World Cup-winning captain, John Smit, plays in his position.

Still, how is Brits not among South Africa's best three hookers, let alone their starting No 2?

The man is ridiculously talented. His coach at Saracens, Mark McCall, says "he plays like Superman".

Yet, in South Africa, he is regarded as just another everyman. One criticism he left Africa with was that his basics - line-out throwing and scrummaging - were not good enough.

Yet in last weekend's Premiership final win over Leicester, when he was not sidestepping wingers, claiming up-and-unders, and felling Samoan giants, he was hitting his jumpers with precision under intense pressure.

Why is he overlooked? Lucre is usually held up as a reason. The expatriated South Africans who change nations are often viewed as mercenaries, flying the flag for a better financial deal.

But Brits has not swapped allegiance. He deserves to be just as well off as any of South African rugby's Galacticos. And he is more than deserving of a few more Test caps, too.

pradley@thenational.ae

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Coffee: black death or elixir of life?

It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?

Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.

The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.

The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.

Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.

The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.

But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.

Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.

It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.

So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.

Rory Reynolds