Author: Guardian sport

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Elisa Longo Borghini retains Giro d’Italia Women title as Lippert wins final stage

  • Italian holds on to pink jersey on closing run to Imola

  • Liane Lippert pips Anna van der Breggen in late burst

Elisa Longo Borghini has retained her Giro d’Italia Women title, holding on to the pink jersey she claimed on Saturday’s queen stage as the race concluded at Imola.

Longo Borghini (Team UAE ADQ) sealed her second victory at her home Grand Tour, after losing just four bonus seconds to Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser (Movistar) on the final stage, winning the title by 18 seconds overall.

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Archer back to face India at Lord’s as Wood makes surprise bid to return in fifth Test

  • Archer only change for third Test as Tongue drops out

  • Fellow pace bowler Wood targeting final Test at The Oval

Jofra Archer will start his first Test match in more than four years after being named as the only change in the England team to face India in the third Test at Lord’s on Thursday.

Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse are both retained after the defeat to India at Edgbaston which squared the series 1-1, with Josh Tongue making way for Archer.

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David Porecki returns to Wallabies team to face Fiji after 643-day international absence

  • Hooker to partner James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa in front row

  • Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii returns after recovering from broken jaw

The Wallabies have opted for experience in their front row to face Fiji this weekend, with former captain David Porecki called back into the team, 643 days since he last pulled on a gold jersey.

Porecki, 32, was named on Friday in the starting XV for Sunday’s Test in Newcastle, alongside all-time cap record holder James Slipper and 80-Test tighthead Allan Alaalatoa, in a forward pack missing big guns Will Skelton and Rob Valetini, who both have calf injuries.

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England call Jofra Archer into squad for second Test against India at Edgbaston

  • Bowler last in Test setup in February 2021

  • Archer played first red-ball match in four years this week

England have fast-tracked Jofra Archer into their squad to face India in the second Test at Edgbaston next week despite the misgivings of the bowler’s coach at Sussex.

The 30-year-old fast bowler returns to the Test setup for the first time since March 2021 after successfully coming through his first red-ball match for 1,501 days in Sussex’s match at Durham this week.

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Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan opens up on mental health struggles and hitting ‘rock bottom’

  • AFL star speaks about struggles for the first time since taking a leave of absence

  • He says there were times he ‘didn’t want to leave the house’ but he wants to play football again


The Western Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has opened up about his mental health struggles for the first time since taking a leave of absence, saying there were times he “didn’t want to leave the house”.

The former No 1 draft pick is hoping to make his AFL comeback after recently visiting a health retreat in northern New South Wales.

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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Maro Itoje to captain British & Irish Lions for first time in Argentina warm-up

  • XV features Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith

  • Tadhg Furlong also has the chance to prove his fitness

Maro Itoje will captain the British & Irish Lions for the first time in their non-cap international against Argentina in Dublin on Friday.

The England skipper Itoje leads a starting XV that features Marcus Smith at full-back and will be directed by England half-backs Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith.

This story will update

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How every Premier League club’s summer business is shaping up

Aston Villa and Manchester United must shift surplus players while Sunderland and Leeds seek extra squad depth

Recruitment was cast as the main reason for the club’s disappointment last season. Mikel Merino playing as an auxiliary centre-forward after Kai Havertz had broken down made that apparent. This will be a summer with a marked difference with Andrea Berta ready to go as the club’s new sporting director. Berta spent 12 years at Atlético Madrid, supplying the players and foundation behind Diego Simeone’s dynasty. Arsenal seek to avoid friction between Arteta dictating as he did previously and Berta wielding the same kind of power that was so effective in Madrid. Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig is heavily linked to the striking vacancy with Sporting’s Viktor Gyökeres seen as too costly. Martin Zubimendi is expected to reunite with Merino in Arsenal’s midfield, though Real Madrid may yet turn the midfielder’s head. Kepa Arrizabalaga will come in as a back-up goalkeeper within a squad well set for success but missing the final pieces. John Brewin

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Cat Ferguson breaks new ground to take Tour of Britain lead after crash-packed stage

  • Young British rider takes penultimate stage and GC lead

  • Former leader Kim Le Court among those to abandon

The 19-year-old Cat Ferguson prevailed in foul conditions at the finish to claim victory on a crash-packed stage three of the Women’s Tour of Britain and with it the general classification lead. It was her first UCI Women’s World Tour stage victory.

Ferguson (Movistar) from Skipton, North Yorkshire, surged clear across the cobbles in Kelso to lead home a British one-two in front of Josie Nelson (Picnic-PostNL). New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) finished third, with the Dutch rider Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) in fourth.

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Roldan wins Tour of Britain stage two in Saltburn as Faulkner takes overall lead

  • Kristen Faulkner takes green jersey from Kim Le Court

  • Cat Ferguson fourth in GC as Canadian rider wins stage

Mara Roldan pulled off a successful late breakaway on the steep approach to Saltburn-by-the-Sea, winning the second stage of the Tour of Britain Women by 12 seconds.

The 21-year-old, who hails from Canada’s Yukon territory, made a push for victory with 14km to go and held on to win ahead of Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek). British teenager Cat Ferguson (Movistar) finished fifth for the second stage in a row, just behind third-placed Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) and Roldan’s Picnic-Post NL teammate, Megan Jastrab.

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‘A great privilege’: Mal Meninga locked in as Perth Bears’ inaugural NRL coach

  • Former Origin coach beats Sam Burgess and Brad Arthur to role

  • Kangaroos coach steps down from national team job

The Perth Bears hope the presence of Mal Meninga will give the NRL’s 18th team immediate cut-through in an AFL-dominated city after unveiling the Immortal as the head coach of the start-up franchise.

At a press conference in Sydney on Friday, Meninga was locked in as the Bears’ inaugural coach on a three-year deal. It is his first foray into club coaching in more than 25 years.

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Michael Carrick sacked by Middlesbrough after failing to reach Premier League

  • Head coach had been in charge since October 2022

  • Decision taken on Teesside after post-season review

Michael Carrick has been sacked by Middlesbrough after two and a half years in charge. Although the former England and Manchester United midfielder was liked and admired by Boro’s owner, Steve Gibson, his failure to lead the team out of the Championship ensured his first managerial posting ended in disappointment.

Carrick led Boro into the playoff semi-finals in 2023 but they missed out on top-six finishes in the past two seasons. The 43-year-old has become the 17th Championship manager to have lost his job since last August.

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Chicago Fire announce plans to build 22,000-seat stadium near downtown

  • The $650m project will anchor an incoming development

  • Stadium would be the 22nd soccer-specific venue in MLS

This Chicago Fire on Tuesday announced plans to build a $650m, soccer-specific stadium in the South Loop of Chicago – a venue that will be part of a large development project called “The 78.”

The club aims to open the stadium in the spring of 2028, with the building of the venue itself requiring no public money, according to an announcement by the team’s owner, Joe Mansueto. It is planned to hold 22,000 spectators.

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Caleb Plant stunned by unheralded Armando Reséndiz in massive upset

  • Reséndiz wins interim WBA title in major shock

  • Plant outlanded 186–108 in high-volume battle

  • Charlo drops LaManna three times, wins by TKO

Armando Reséndiz pulled off a massive upset on Saturday night, defeating former world champion Caleb Plant by split decision to capture the interim WBA super middleweight title at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.

Reséndiz (16-2, 11 KOs) won on two judges’ scorecards by identical 116-112 scores, overruling one card that had Plant ahead 115-113. The 25-year-old Mexican outworked and outlanded Plant over 12 rounds, handing the American his second straight loss and third in his last five fights.

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