A week of Lewis Hamilton winning in the wet, astonishing goal-scoring at Portsmouth and Tottenham, and the Rugby World Cup exits of Wales and Ireland. Oh, and Rafa Benitez on 
football
“Even aquaplaning you are still in control. I was almost rallying it down the straight. It was cool and good fun” – Lewis Hamilton after his impressively calm win in the wet at the Japanese Grand Prix
“Without question. Because it is the king of distance†– Haile Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian distance runner who had set 22 world records previously, when asked whether his marathon world record of 2hr 4min 26sec in Berlin on Sunday was his most satisfying
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s cricket, rugby union, rugby league – we all hate England” – Australian rugby union chief executive John O’Neill
“He has merely confirmed the adage that you can always tell a buffoon, but you can’t tell him much” – Michael Henderson responds to O’Neill in the Telegraph
“The All Blacks are a myth. We need to demystify all this. We’re not going to the abattoir” – France coach Bernard Laporte ahead of their World Cup quarter-final with New Zealand
“The World Cup is about the best players, and it is good Wilkinson is back playing. Once he is in their team, the whole side seems to grow in confidence” – Matt Giteau, on England’s fly-half, showing that not all Australians lack judgement
“It’s been a tough old whirl, this one, in all sorts of different ways. We’re going to have to play better to test Australia, there’s no doubt in our minds about that” – Brian Ashton, England’s coach
“Things are changing. Rugby’s economics go way beyond the World Cup and we are not quite in the picture” – Argentina’s captain Agustin Pichot points out his side’s lowly status after putting Ireland out of the Rugby World Cup
“Gareth is a Welsh rugby man through and through, but it is all about results and winning, and we have fallen short” – Welsh RU chief executive David Pickering on the sacking of coach Gareth Jenkins
“At 4-1 down, I felt horrible to say the least, but my family were all in the Marines so I know the commander never leaves his troops. I had to keep my head cool” –Martin Jol, after seeing his side fight back to 4-4 against Aston Villa
“The only difference is in training you have the press – and they want to come back home and sleep with you. They are just always there” – Thierry Henry, adjusting to life in Barcelona and the access enjoyed by Spanish sports journalists
Martin Samuel, in The Times, on Chelsea, Avram Grant and anti-Semitism
“Nobody is denying that there has been some dodgy stuff on various internet sites since Avram Grant got José Mourinho’s job, but there is always dodgy stuff on internet sites. That is the nature of the beast. Half the world is trapped in a strength-sapping porn cycle and much of the remainder is furiously composing the 21st-century equivalent of green ink letters and calling it a blog”
“Any team can beat any other in this league and just to prove it there were seven draws yesterday” – pundit Don Goodman
“I’ve learned that you have to score goals to win games” – pure genius from Rafa Benitez
“Come the end of the season we are very confident we will pick up the necessary wins to keep us where we are” – Billy Davies, manager of Derby County, who are bottom of the Premier League
Pay your SJA subscriptions the easy way – click here for details and a bank mandate form