Blacked up and in loincloths: Former team-mate of Danny Cipriani and his 'racist' Oxford rugby friends

Four students pose glassy-eyed, blacked up and semi in loincloths for an Africa theme party.

The extreme political incorrectness of the picture will horrify the Oxford University authorities.

Particularly since at least two of the students are members of the university's under-21 rugby squad, which is already under investigation for alleged anti-Semitism after inviting players to bring 'attractive Jewish girls' to a dinner last week.




The Africa party, known as the Safari Bop, was held earlier this year in the city. The four in the picture include Tim Hegarty, Phil Boon and Fred Spring, who is the son of a Tory MP.

Hegarty, 20, attended Whitgift public school in Croydon, where he played rugby alongside future England star Danny Cipriani and captained the school side which won the Daily Mail Cup in 2003.






His entry on the social networking site Facebook includes statements such as: 'I want to go to slag island' and 'I think most girls just think I'm some kind of depraved ape.'

There are a number of other lewd sexual comments about women.

Grammar schoolboy Boon, 21, from Doncaster, attended schools in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire and Scunthorpe.

Spring, 21, is the son of 62-year-old Richard Spring, MP for West Suffolk.

Last week the rugby club was forced to rename its 'Bring A Fit Jew to Dinner' party after complaints from the university's Jewish community including campus chaplain Rabbi Aaron Katchen.

Yair Zivan, of the Union of Jewish students, said 'real offence' had been caused and added: 'The union is appalled that in 2008 old myths and anti-Semitic stereotypes are still appearing amongst supposedly educated students.'

Despite the outcry, a number of players were still said to have arrived 'in costume' at a curry restaurant in the city last Wednesday - with one described as wearing caricature Jewish clothing and carrying a moneybag. The party name had been changed to 'Bring a Fit Girl to Dinner'.

Under university disciplinary rules, severe action can be taken against students who misbehave. They can be fined, banned from the university for a period of time or, in the most extreme cases, expelled.

Boon attempted to defend both the Jewish party night and 'blacking up' for the Safari Bop.

'I know the university is investigating matters but I have not been spoken to as yet,' he said.

'I have organised a lot of party nights but I do not see why there should be any fall-out. I deny that anyone turned up wearing Orthodox Jewish clothing last week.

And anyway we changed the name of the party from the 'Fit Jew' thing to 'Bring a Fit Girl to Dinner'.

'Blacking up for the Safari Bop was just going along with that theme. We dress up for a lot of parties. I have not had people telling me that either of the themes were offensive.'

Boon has appeared on the Internet video site YouTube playing the role of 'Edward Beerhands' - during which he tapes a four-pack of beer to each hand before attempting to drink them.

In another video, he and others are seen wearing Boratstyle 'mankinis' at a rugby match against Cambridge.

Fred Spring's father has had his own share of controversy, having once been nicknamed 'Three in a Bedspring'.

In 1995 he was forced to resign as a Parliamentary Private Secretary after being exposed by a Sunday newspaper for sharing a bed with a male friend and a female Sunday school teacher.

Last night an Oxford University spokesman was unavailable for comment.

PICTURE SPECIAL: Pompey's training plonker forced to drive home in Reliant Robin and this time it's David James

Forget Baby Bentleys, Mercedes convertibles and posh Porsches, Portsmouth's players will be forced to drive home from training in an old banger if they put in a poor session.

The Pompey stars have all chipped in to buy a decrepit Reliant Robin - blue, of course - that the worst player in training every day must drive home as punishment for his poor performance.


Today's shame-faced star was England goalkeeper David James, who was forced to drive home in the clapped-out car.



And to add further embarrassment to the under-performing trainer, the fun-loving footballers have attached a loud-speaker to the three-wheeler that plays farm-yard animal noises.

Previously an idea from Leeds United c2001, who had a yellow Reliant Robin similar to that owned by Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses, there's a bit of wheeling and dealing down at Fratton Park - even if Harry Redknapp has left for Tottenham

The £6MILLION haul won by a 22 year old, making him the youngest ever world poker champion

There's no need for Peter Eastgate to imagine what £6million looks like - it's all there in front of him in one massive pile of dollar bills.

Brandishing two clumps of money, the Dane celebrates his £5,882,831 victory in the World Series Of Poker with a sight that would be the envy of millions of U.K. amateur players.

Spectators at the Las Vegas casino in Nevada had seen the 22 year old become the youngest champion in the history of the no-limit Texas Hold 'Em event.





Even though he's still relatively young, Eastgate is a professional and maybe it was that experience which gave him the edge over his rival Ivan Demidov, 27, a semi-professional from Moscow.

However, he shouldn't be too disheartened as he took home £3,734,190.


The previous youngest champion was 11-time gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth , who was 24 when he won the tournament in 1989.

Under the hammer: One of the world's oldest football programmes expected to fetch thousands at auction

The rare single sheet programme for the 1892 match between Royal Arsenal and Gainsborough Trinity is expected to fetch at least £3,500.

The find is just one of the items being sold an an auction of sporting memorabilia by specialist auctioneers Graham Budd Auctions at Sotheby's Olympia showroom on Tuesday.

Graham Budd said the programme was an extremely rare find.





A football match programme which is more than 100 years old is to go under the hammer next week at auction.


He said: 'This is only the second one I have ever seen and I have been doing this for 10 years.

'It's a piece of really early Arsenal memorabilia and there's a lot of big Arsenal collectors around.

'It's being sold by a private collector but I do know he happened to acquire it from a family that had roots close to south-east London, where Arsenal originated.

'It had probably been tucked away in drawers or something and finally resurfaced.'

The 1892 match against Gainsborough Trinity took place only six years after Arsenal was first founded as Dial Square in 1886, before it later changed its name as well as its location.

Mr Budd said an exhibition of the memorabilia would open tomorrow before going under the hammer on Tuesday.

He added: 'Once we open the exhibition tomorrow that's when we get a better sense of the interest.

'If it comes out of its little file to be viewed that's always a good sign.'

This is not the first time a single piece of football-related paper could fetch a small fortune at auction.

Graham Budd Auctions previously sold a single sheet 1889 FA Cup final programme for £19,000 - a world record auction price for a football programme.

A footballer is hit by a rocket fired by opposition supporters

A football player was hit by a firework launched by opposition fans moments after the whistle was blown at the end of a cup final match last night.

Conor Hagan fell to the ground after being struck in the back by the rocket before it exploded.

His team Linfield had just suffered a 2-1 defeat by sectarian rivals Cliftonville in the County Antrim Shield final at Windsor Park in Belfast.






The attack, which sparked riots afterwards, came as players for Cliftonville, a largely Catholic-supported side, had missiles thrown at them by fans of the losing side, which is typically followed by protestants in the divided city.

Hagan, 26, was tended by team medics and members of both sides before being able to regain his feet.

'I was lying on the ground disgusted with the result and didn’t see the firework coming,' he told the Belfast Telegraph.

‘It hit me on the back when it went off and it was more the bang that scared me and I was in shock for few seconds.






‘It could have been a lot worse so I am relieved that I am not injured.’

The attack came as many people in the province - like the rest of the UK – prepared to celebrate Bonfire Night tonight.

Fireworks have been on sale at major supermarkets for weeks in preparation for the event.

Afterwards, police were called to riots between fans of the two sides in the Newtownards Road area of East Belfast.

Linfield manager David Jeffrey said: ‘The last thing that I want to do is inflame the situation.

‘I don’t want to talk about one idiot, but it has got to be condemned outright.’

Cliftonville coach Eddie Patterson, who was the subject of a death threat before the Irish Cup semi-final last season, also condemned the incident.

‘I don’t even want to highlight it that much - it only gives these people publicity. It has no place in football.

‘Some of my own players had missiles thrown at them, but I would rather talk about the Linfield fans who applauded us off the pitch. That’s what football’s about.’

The £100million man: Last-lap Lewis set to be world's best-paid sportsman after snatching F1 title

Lewis Hamilton will become the world's highest-paid sportsman after becoming the youngest driver to win the Formula One world championship last night.

The 23-year-old Briton can expect to earn a minimum £100million a year following one of the most exciting finales to a race the sport has ever witnessed.

This far eclipses the £31million that David Beckham earned last year and even surpasses the £72million earned this year by Tiger Woods.





British viewers held their breath as Hamilton overtook another driver on the last bend of the Brazilian Grand Prix to rescue the world championship with seconds to spare.

He had needed to come fifth in the race to finish top of the championship ahead of his nearest rival Felipe Massa, even if Massa won. With three laps left, and Brazilian Massa in the lead, Hamilton was back in sixth after having stopped to change his tyres to suit the wet conditions.

Massa's Ferrari team-mates were already celebrating when he roared over the line.

But their jubilation turned to dismay when Hamilton's McLaren sped past Toyota's Timo Glock, who was still using dry-weather tyres, to secure the fifth place he needed.





There were boos from the crowd who were furious that Massa had been deprived of the championship.

Hamilton's father Anthony said:'It's a shame the crowd is doing this. They should be fair sportsmen.'

The latest British sporting hero's achievement is made all the more remarkable because he has been labelled the 'outsider' and has endured racist chants from Formula One fans this season.

His thrilling victory also buries the ghost of 2007, his debut year, when he led the championship only to fail in the final two races.





Hamilton's boss at McLaren, Ron Dennis, said: 'Who would have thought that Glock would have stayed out on dry tyres? It seems like Toyota have made a mistake with the tyres they chose. It's all a bit technical, but there doesn't seem like anything dodgy or untoward.'

Hugging his father after the race, Hamilton said: 'It is pretty impossible to put it into words. I'm so speechless.

'It has been such a long journey with a lot of support back home. I am so thrilled to be able to do this for everyone. I can only thank God. I was trying my hardest to get past. It was one of the toughest races of my life, if not the toughest.'






He said that as he passed the finish line he still did not know if he had won. When he heard the confirmation he said: 'I was ecstatic'.

His father said he too was left speechless by the dramatic finale.

'I really can't find the words,' said Mr Hamilton. 'It's great, absolutely great.'

Hamilton is the first Briton to take the world championship since Damon Hill in 1996.

In the Caribbean, his 77-year-old grandfather Davidson spoke of his 'pride and joy' after watching the race on the TV at his home in Grenada.





'We are all so very proud of Lewis,' he said. 'We always knew that he would be champion one day. He is a wonderful grandson and has made the Hamilton family very happy.'

Gordon Brown said he was 'thrilled' by Hamilton's 'exceptional talent'.

'I, like so many, want to congratulate him on becoming the youngest world champion in Formula One history,' he said. 'The first championship, I think, of many that he's going to win in years to come. I think the whole of Britain are proud of the inspirational Lewis Hamilton and the McLaren team.'

Tory leader David Cameron also offered his congratulations saying that the champion had made the whole country 'so very proud'.

'One of the most dramatic races in Formula One history ended with the right man winning the World Championship,' he said.