Across the field players were stoking the fires: Woodman and Mark Regan Dallaglio and

Across the field, players were stoking the fires: Woodman and Mark Regan, Dallaglio and Worsley, Andy Gomarsall at scrum-half – the Gloucester man produced his finest display at this level, by a distance – and Charlie Hodgson at stand-off, who established his international credentials beyond question.Dallaglio openly admitted that Shaw’s departure ended the game as a meaningful event, and he was right. Juliette now lives in the hills above Gstaad, and Federer receives cheese from her on a regular basis. He has milked her twice, she has already given birth to a calf, and her public appeal continues to grow.”Juliette is huge – everyone wants a piece of her now,” confirms Hermenjat. “We have these pictures on our website that are free-of-charge for the media, and photographers have downloaded them, claimed that they own them, and sold them.”"I went on the internet and searched Juliette and Federer one day, and there was an article in an Indian newspaper about them. “Then suddenly, out of nowhere, along she came!”Since then, the Swiss star has barely attended a post-match press conference without someone asking him about his cow, whether or not he had brought her with him, and was she planning to start a family any time soon. “Look, the guy had just won Wimbledon, so whatever we gave him would seem silly, so we gave him a cow,” said the Gstaad vice-tournament director, Claudio Hermenjat, clearly amused at the furore their choice of gift had provoked.Not that Federer was complaining “It’s nice to have a cow,” he said “It’s such a quiet animal, and so big.”Useful too. Hantuchova prevailed against Am?e Mauresmo, of France, in the semi-finals in the most exciting contest of the tournament.Kuznetsova may have what it takes to end Serena’s reign..

Over the past 12 months, Roger Federer seems to have garnered almost as many headlines for the cow he received as a congratulatory present from his countrymen as he did for actually winning Wimbledon itself. Anyone who witnessed the 800kg milking cow – Juliette – walk out into the Roy Emerson Arena (the centre court at the Suisse Open in Gstaad) to greet the new Wimbledon champion just two days after his triumph, will probably never forget it.”I thought I would just walk on court, salute the crowd, maybe say a few words, and then walk off again,” said Federer, who had made his professional debut as a wild card at the same tournament six years earlier. They were disappointing at the French Open, where only their outfits caught the eye, if not the imagination.”We both basically tried to commit suicide there,” Serena said yesterday. “We had to get over it quickly, because we don’t want to bring the bad karma to Wimbledon.” Nonetheless, it is difficult to see them being upstaged at Wimbledon, unless their American compatriots Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati stage a revival, or the Williamses contrive to beat themselves before they get to play each other.The Russians broke through in Paris, where Anastasia Myskina virtually had the final served to her by the petrified, double-faulting fellow Muscovite, Elena Dementieva. Both are in the same quarter as Myskina and Dementieva.Svetlana Kuznetsova, a sturdy competitor from St Petersburg, who is due to mark her 19th birthday next Sunday, arrives at Wimbledon in the once familiar manner of her former doubles partner, Martina Navratilova – with the Eastbourne title in her bag.In Saturday’s Hastings Direct final, Kuznetsova defeated Daniela Hantuchova, of Slovakia, whose healthier figure suggests her dietary problems are behind her.

Perhaps the Russians can now extend their success to SW19, where, although Myskina is the second seed, others may be ready to follow her lead.Maria Sharapova, a 17-year-old from Siberia via Florida, who reached the fourth round last year, is seeded to meet the 21-year-old Elena Bovina, from Moscow, in the third round. It is time for Henman to make his most decisive move – preferably against Federer in a final that will live in the memory.It is difficult to be so excited about the women’s tournament, particularly in the absence of Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, the two Belgians who might have intervened in the annual procession by the Williams sisters.Injury and illness caught up with Henin and Clijsters just when Serena and Venus Williams were on their way back from ailments that had troubled them ever since they left the All England Club last July with silverwear for their Florida home for the fourth year in a row.Not that the Williamses have approached anything like their former overwhelming power. Playing on grass obviously makes it a little easier, because going for a second serve is a pretty high percentage play.”Sampras may have gone, but his successors have cut their teeth and bite hard. So we may see Henman duel with the second-seeded Roddick for a place in the final.Eight days ago, Roddick defeated S?stien Grosjean, of France, to retain the Stella Artois Championship at Queen’s Club in a repeat of the 2003 final. Grosjean, it may be remembered, last year defeated Henman in the semi-finals at Queen’s and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, capitalising on Henman’s tentative serving.”If I was being brutally honest,” Henman says, “I would look back at the Grosjean match and make sure I didn’t do anything the same.”Roddick, asked to assess the field, said: “Roger’s the favourite Tim’s got to be up there. He’s one of the most experienced grass-court players and he’s been playing well all year I think Lleyton’s up there. He’s a former champion, a guy who just knows how to win matches I think I’m in that mix as well Then it gets tricky Obviously S?stien’s there.