Michael Essien his contract on 12 March 2007. It was feared Essien would miss the 2008–09 Premier League season after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage on 5 September while playing for Ghana. However, on 7 March 2009, he came on as a substitute in the second half of the FA Cup match against Coventry City. In his second match back from the knee injury, Essien scored just before half-time to give Chelsea a vital away goal against Juventus in the Champions League first knockout round. Chelsea went on the draw the match 2–2 and through to the quarter-finals 3–2 on aggregate. He
South African Country Districts XV South African Country Districts XV The South African Country Districts XV was an invitational rugby union side selected to play against touring international teams.In one of its first guises, the Districts side lost 32-12 against the touring British Isles' Barbarians at Potchefstroom (23/05/69) whose touring party included eight future or former British and Irish Lions with the likes of Mike Gibson,Sandy Arneil,Bob Taylor,John Pullin and John O'Shea having toured the Republic in 1968. In 1978 and 1980 the team was multi-racial in composition. The Districts' multi-racial predecessor was the South African Invitation XV which on 7 June 1975 beat the