One of the greatest tennis players of all time has retired from the game. We look back at some memorable moments of a glittering career
Continue reading...Rory McIlroy admits painful memory of failure to win the US Open still ‘stings’
- Missing out on fifth major in June still grates
- Race to Dubai title would cap ‘successful’ season
Rory McIlroy admits his failure to win the US Open still “stings” after missing out on an overdue fifth major in June and remains a painful memory. The Northern Irishman looked set at Pinehurst to win his first major since 2014, but bogeyed three of the last four holes to finish a shot behind Bryson DeChambeau.
“Incredibly consistent again,” McIlroy said when asked to assess his season. “I think I’ve been really proud of that over the last few years. But then at the same time, thinking about the ones that got away, I could be sitting up here with a fifth major title and I am not.
Continue reading...Rassie Erasmus preps South Africa for challenge of ‘desperate’ England
- Springboks head coach expects ‘very, very tough game’
- England looking for first win of Autumn Nations Series
Rassie Erasmus expects England to bring a sense of frustration to their match against South Africa on Saturday and labelled them “desperate” for a win after two defeats from two in their autumn campaign.
Erasmus’s world champions returned to the world No 1 ranking with a patchy 32-15 victory over Scotland on Sunday as they kicked off their own run of Tests in the northern hemisphere. They now travel to Twickenham to take on Steve Borthwick’s side, who are reeling after suffering two late losses to New Zealand and Australia, 24-22 and 42-37, respectively, having expected to win both on home soil.
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
Ipswich’s young English duo catch the eye, Liverpool march on and the brilliance of Brighton’s Carlos Baleba
It took them an hour of huffing and puffing, but Arsenal did something at Stamford Bridge they hadn’t managed since September – they scored an away goal in the Premier League. After toothless performances at Newcastle and Inter in the past week – and last month at Bournemouth – Gabriel Martinelli’s cute finish was itself a moment of relief, but Mikel Arteta was frustrated that his team didn’t find a winner. Their expected goals figure was lower than Chelsea’s (1.27 to 1.69) but that does not account for Leandro Trossard’s costly miskick at the death nor Kai Havertz’s would-be opener, which was just offside. The Gunners will almost always control games, especially now Martin Ødegaard is fit and firing again, but that age-old itch has not been scratched. They are not ruthless enough and they still lack a penalty box killer. Dominic Booth
Match report: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal
Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Match report: Brighton 2-1 Manchester City
Match report: Manchester United 3-0 Leicester
Match report: Nottingham Forest 1-3 Newcastle
Match report: Tottenham 1-2 Ipswich
Match report: Brentford 3-2 Bournemouth
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Lucas Paquetá is struggling, Ruud van Nistelrooy nears Old Trafford farewell and will Luis Díaz play as a striker again?
Brentford have scored nine and conceded six in their past two Premier League home games. Their leaky defence did not cost them in victories over Wolves and Ipswich but they were shown up by Harry Wilson’s injury-time double on Monday night at Fulham to suggest things need to improve at the back. Wilson’s goals both came from crosses. Brentford allowed Fulham to cross the ball 43 times, although Thomas Frank was not too worried about it and was surprisingly relaxed that they led to two goals. With Ethan Pinnock and Nathan Collins, he does have centre-backs capable of dealing with the majority but it is a dangerous game to play. Bournemouth will have taken note and their fine wingers and full-backs will probably target the space afforded out wide. Will Unwin
Brentford v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm (all times GMT)
Crystal Palace v Fulham, Saturday 3pm
West Ham v Everton, Saturday 3pm
Wolves v Southampton, Saturday 3pm
Brighton v Manchester City, Saturday 5.30pm
Liverpool v Aston Villa, Saturday 8pm
Manchester United v Leicester, Sunday 2pm
Nottingham Forest v Newcastle, Sunday 2pm
Continue reading...Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
Forest and Bournemouth shine again, Gordon provides Tyneside tonic, while Gomez and Solanke are winning over doubters
If Ruud van Nistelrooy was supposed to wash the nostalgia out of the Manchester United system then perhaps that was achieved, though maybe not as intended. If Rúben Amorim was distracted from preparing Sporting for Manchester City on Tuesday, he will be more aware of a United squad bereft of confidence. United’s first 60 minutes against Chelsea saw them fumble pathetically for creativity. Not even the presence of one of the club’s greatest strikers has lifted the finishing quality in a group low on goals. Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were both bereft of touch and instinct; substitute Joshua Zirkzee’s signing remains a mystery. There was something of Van Nistelrooy in Rasmus Højlund winning Bruno Fernandes’s penalty, and the goalscorer’s knee slide towards the tunnel at the Stretford End. But there was to be no Ferguson-era ecstatic denouement. This United don’t do them. Van Nistelrooy has two games remaining until United seek the progressive future postponed by mistakenly retaining Erik ten Hag. John Brewin
Match report: Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea
Match report: Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal
Match report: Tottenham 4-1 Aston Villa
Match report: Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Match report: Wolves 2-2 Crystal Palace
Match report: Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester City
Continue reading...Sir Chris Hoy – memorable moments in the life of the Olympic great
After Hoy’s announcement that he has terminal cancer, we look back at some of the career highlights that made him a household name
Continue reading...Rugby Australia trials new tackle height laws to combat concussion
- Trial law designed to reduce head-to-head contact in tackles
- Research shows concussion risks far higher in tackles above sternum
Rugby Australia has confirmed that it will implement a new trial that will see the legal height of tackles in the game lowered to below the sternum from February.
The trial is designed to reduce the risk of head-to-head and head-to-shoulder contact between ball carriers and tacklers. World Rugby research has shown the risk of concussion is more than four times higher when the tackler’s head is above the ball carrier’s sternum.
The new 9.13 law will see match officials place greater emphasis on preventing a ball carrier “dipping” into a tackle and placing themselves, and potentially the defender, in an unsafe position for contact. However, it will not change the ability for an attacking player to “pick-and-go” when starting and continuing at a low body height.
The two-year trial comes after Rugby Australia announced its support for World Rugby’s global research initiative last March, and will apply to all levels of Rugby below Super Rugby level when introduced in February. It follows more than six years of research that has already seen trials of lower tackle heights undertaken in nations including France, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Preliminary data in South Africa has shown a 30 per cent reduction in concussions, while France recorded a 64 per cent reduction in head-on-head contact – as well as a 14 per cent increase in participation on pre-COVID levels.
This change in law will apply to all Australian rugby union competitions below Super Rugby that commence on or after 10 February, 2024, through till the end of 2025, and includes school and pathway competitions to protect the code’s young players.
Since their abysmal 2023 World Cup, in which the Wallabies failed to make the finals for the first time in 36 years, Australian Rugby has reeled from crisis to crisis, with coach Eddie Jones quitting in October and CEO Hamish McLennan rolled from the leadership in a boardroom coup last month.