Winning start for new pair .sx by William Kings .sx GILLIAN CLARK , the England badminton international who has won the European women's doubles title with three different partners , got her new pairing with Julie Bradbury off to a winning start by taking the Puma Wimbledon Open title .sx " Not bad for an over 30 , " said the Surrey player after she and national singles champion Bradbury beat Gillian Gowers and Sara Sankey , two of her previous partners .sx Miss Clark is chasing her 100th major Badminton final at the Canadian Open later this month .sx She has won 63 of them .sx The England squad leave for Canada tomorrow but England No .sx 2 Steve Butler stays behind for treatment on an ankle injury which forced him to retire in the men's singles semi-finals .sx Meanwhile England had to settle for doubles success at Wimbledon as Elena Rybkina won an all-Soviet women's final with Irina Serova and Anders Nielsen proved no match for Denmark's holder , Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen in the men's final .sx Dave Wright and Nick Ponting repeated their national win over Andy Goode and Chris Hunt to retain their men's doubles title while Goode and Gowers beat Soviet pairing Irina Serova and Andrei Antropov to keep their mixed crown .sx Young steps in for Joe .sx STEVE YOUNG proved himself a capable replacement for injured San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana when he threw three touchdown passes , including a 70-yarder to Jerry Rice , in the 34-14 win over the San Diego Chargers .sx Young threw for 348 yards and wide receiver Rice had nine receptions for 150 yards including a pair of touchdowns .sx It will be interesting to hear what the 49ers have to say at a press conference scheduled for today concerning their star Montana , out for at least four weeks with tendonitis in the right elbow .sx Kicker Tony Zendejas kicked field goals of 29 , 50 , 32 and 33 yards as the Los Angeles Rams inflicted a 19-13 defeat on Super Bowl winners New York Giants .sx Jim Kelly threw a career best six touchdown passes to guide Super Bowl runners-up Buffalo Bills to a 52-34 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers .sx Four of Kelly's scoring passes went to wide receiver Don Beebe , the longest a 34-yarder , as the Bills had their second-highest scoring day ever .sx A rugby challenge for Wales .sx Collins takes a break from riots .sx by Chris Jones .sx CARDIFF flanker Richie Collins has warmed up for Wales's crucial match with France tonight - by facing rioting mobs .sx Collins , a police officer , has been on duty in the Ely area of Cardiff which has seen repeated outbreaks of violence .sx Collins made it to the final training session yesterday after two nights on the front line and said :sx " I am a policeman and I had to be on duty .sx " But I am glad to have got away for this game .sx There is a great spirit in the squad and I am pleased to be relieved of those police duties to be part of what I believe will be a big night for Welsh rugby .sx " .sx The Welsh team has been radically changed since the 60-point hammering by Australia in Brisbane in July .sx There is a new manager , coach and captain and - according to pre-match build up - a new self belief .sx Captain Ieuan Evans , of Llanelli , said :sx " There is a confidence in this team which may surprise a lot of people .sx That doesn't mean we'll beat France but we may achieve a result that not many are expecting .sx " Our coach Alan Davis has given us something which has been lacking , self belief .sx " .sx All Welsh supporters want to see this team play with the pride that was lacking in Brisbane .sx A solid performance , particularly up front , will give Wales hope and open the way for a better World Cup challenge next month .sx Alan Davies , the ex-England B coach , is masterminding the Welsh recovery and he said :sx " When I first came to Wales I expected to find good players - and they are here .sx I am more than happy with the progress we have made although , realistically , no-one should expect us to win against a well organised side like France .sx " .sx This match has been arranged to mark the arrival of floodlights at the National Stadium , needed for World Cup matches .sx They will also be used for the Welsh soccer team's internationals .sx THE Combined London Old Boys went down 16-6 to the Soviet Union at Croxley Green last night after taking a 6-0 lead through Carl Pugh's boot .sx The Soviets , who face England on Saturday at Twickenham , eventually subdued the lively CLOB side and ran in three tries .sx But England still looks to have an easy ride on Saturday .sx LONDON WELSH , whose previous disciplinary problems have forced a shut-down at the club , have banned themselves again for two weeks after more trouble .sx Two players were sent off at a tournament in Newbury at the weekend .sx Emyr Blease has been banned sine die and Mark Davies for the rest of the season .sx The club has cancelled fixtures for two weeks and that includes first team games with Bedford ( 14 Sept ) and Penarth ( 21 Sept) .sx Last season the club shut down for a week after a run of dismissals .sx SCREENSPORT has paid an undisclosed fee to broadcast all but one of the 32 World Cup matches live to 65 countries in Europe .sx Andy Ripley and Clive Woodward , the ex-England stars , will commentate for the service .sx Lyle can see light at end of the tunnel .sx RENTON LAIDLAW on good news for a nice guy .sx THROUGHOUT the last three years of his golfing torment the fans have never deserted Sandy Lyle and he has never given up hope that he would return to his winning ways .sx As he stumbled from one golfing coach to another - he has used seven - it looked as if his efforts would be in vain but he refused to accept that he was a premature back number .sx Now , after finishing second in the European Open at Walton Heath in which he finished with two rounds of 69 and 67 , Lyle is ready to talk again about winning .sx His last Volvo Tour event victory was on 5 June , 1988 .sx That was the Dunhill masters .sx He won the World Match-play title in October of that year but that is not a Tour event .sx Although never a serious challenger on the final day of the European Open to the impressive winner , Mike Harwood , Lyle can take comfort from the fact that what he did last week is a clear sign that he has emerged from the tunnel of despair that almost engulfed him .sx Lyle may be the gentlest of sportsmen and is easily the most approachable of all the stars but he is also a fighter .sx The gracious golfer who , in 1985 , became the first British winner of The Open since Tony Jacklin in 1969 , and whose 1988 success at the US Masters started the run of British triumphs at Augusta , refused to accept the glory days were over .sx The last three years have been a nightmare .sx Just consider his record in Europe in official events since 1988 .sx That year he played 12 times , finished first once , second once , had four third place finishes , a sixth and two sevenths .sx In 1989 he played 11 events and had a fourth , an eighth and a 10th .sx In 1990 he had a fourth and two eighths from 10 appearances and this year he has played 12 tournaments and come second once , eighth once and 10th once .sx Nothing to write home about but he never became bitter or lashed out .sx Of course , in that time he has played in America and in 1989 was second in the Los Angeles Open and this year had two 16th place finishes in majors , two further reasons for him to think positively about the future .sx " I'm not dead and buried yet , " he said at Walton Heath .sx " I've produced this form just too late to make the Ryder Cup team this year but I'll be back in 1993 .sx " .sx Typically he insists that European team captain Bernard Gallacher was right to choose Mark James as his final 'pick' when Jose Maria Olazabal and Nick Faldo also required invitations .sx Maybe had Faldo and Olazabal played more events in Europe and made the side automatically , there might have been room for Lyle .sx His second place finish at Walton Heath was due , he said , to returning to his father , his original teacher , and putting into practice his advice to slow down his swing .sx The result was that almost every shot was hit flush out of the middle of the club .sx At Walton Heath he beat everyone except Harwood , second in The Open this year and winner of the Volvo PGA and Volvo Masters titles last year .sx Harwood , who had benefitted from a tuning up session with David Leadbetter representative Denis Pugh , based at Quietwaters in Essex , saw off the challenge of Seve Ballesteros over the closing five holes , which he covered in three shots better than the Spaniard .sx Yet at Walton Heath where the ambitious Birchgrey company and new sponsor General Accident made such a fine start to what promises to be a long and rewarding relationship with the European Open , the talking point was the performance of Lyle .sx And , at last , it was all positive .sx Pickard blast sparks Edberg .sx Peter Blackman in New York .sx STEFAN EDBERG produced his old Wimbledon form to earn an immaculate 7-6 , 7-5 , 6-3 victory over Michael Chang and reach sic !sx the last eight at the US Open here .sx But to achieve this win Edberg had to endure a pre-match 'ear bashing' session from his British coach Tony Pickard , who was unhappy with the Swede's concentration in the big matches .sx " He kept falling asleep , " said Pickard .sx " I'd let things drag on too long , so during a practice session I took him to one side and read the riot act to him .sx It just had to be done .sx " Stefan obviously understood what I was telling him .sx The real message was that against the top opponents in a cut throat business he will lose unless he concentrates on every point , and I mean every point , even if he is on court for five hours .sx " .sx Edberg hates playing under floodlights , particularly at Flushing Meadow , but he was encouraged by holding a 7-3 career lead over the in-form Chang .sx The first set took 71 minutes with Edberg winning the tie break 7-2 .sx That performance seemed to weaken Chang's resolve while Edberg's game soared to the exciting levels that has made him twice the Wimbledon champion .sx " That's more like it , " beamed Pickard , while Edberg said :sx " I had to play my best tennis to beat him .sx It's tough against him because he fights right to the end .sx " I was so pumped up for this one and I really wanted to win .sx I reckon this is the best I have played all summer .sx And I have conquered those night match blues .sx " .sx Chang was stunned by Edberg's determination and match tactics of keeping the ball low .sx " Stefan pulled off the big shots on the big points and that is what turned it his way .sx " .sx Fifth seed Ivan Lendl will meet Wimbledon champion Michael Stich in the quarter - finals after stopping the towering Croatian Goran Ivanisevic 7-5 , 6-7 , 6-4 , 6-2 in three hours 30 minutes .sx Ivanisevic moaned about back trouble and said that Stich would beat the Czech .sx Lendl countered with a few barbs of his own after being told about Ivanisevic's after match views .sx " He has had a bad back , has he ?sx Well , I'd like to have back pain while serving at 125 miles an hour , " said Lendl as he bit deep into his bottom lip .sx " All his shots are wild and he seems to self destruct mentally .sx " .sx What about the comment on a Stich win ?sx Lendl's eyes clouded .sx " That's what he said , did he ?sx Well , let us just wait and see .sx That's his opinion .sx But I can tell you this .sx The match against Stich is a big match for me .sx The winner goes into the semi-finals and when I meet him I will not be saying to myself that he is the Wimbledon champion .sx