Fullback scores hat-trick as New Zealand win 47-17 in Wellington
New coach Dave Rennie has back-to-back wins in his first matches
Will Jordan grabbed a hat-trick of tries including a record 50th for New Zealand as the All Blacks thrashed Italy 47-17 in the Nations Championship Test.
Jordan touched down once in the first half and twice in three minutes after half-time at Wellington Regional Stadium to eclipse Doug Howlett’s record against the outclassed Italians.
Continue reading...Fullback has been in good form ahead of Nations Championship
James Slipper out of retirement as replacement loosehead prop
Jock Campbell will start at fullback in his first Test since late 2022 when Australia take on Ireland in their first Nations Championship Test on Saturday.
Campbell played the last of his four Tests in Australia’s first ever loss to Italy in Florence in 2022, but had an impressive season in Super Rugby.
Continue reading...Former Barcelona striker joins for two and a half seasons
37-year-old’s 697 goals is third best total for current players
The Chicago Fire on Monday officially announced their acquisition of Robert Lewandowski through to the 2027-28 season. Poland’s record goalscorer will occupy a designated player slot pending the approval of his visa as well as the completion of an international transfer certificate.
The club described Lewandowski, 37, as “a global soccer icon” in social media posts. He was a free agent after spending the last four seasons with Barcelona, scoring 83 goals with 19 assists in 134 league matches (114 starts) while contributing to three La Liga titles.
Continue reading...Veteran of 2019 champions in first game for Oakland Ballers
‘The hitter didn’t know what was coming’
The former England cricketer Liam Plunkett swapped his cricket colours for a baseball glove, playing his first game for the Oakland Ballers and even claiming a strikeout.
The 41-year-old was part of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning side – his final international appearance – taking three wickets in the tied final against New Zealand as England emerged victorious by the narrowest of margins on boundary count. He moved to the United States, where his wife is from, and has played Major League Cricket for the San Francisco Unicorns.
Continue reading...Teams must fit a driver cooling system for race
First time heat hazard has been declared this season
Formula One’s governing body has declared a heat hazard for the Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring this weekend, the first time this season that the designation has been used.
The race director, Rui Marques, said the official weather service forecasts temperatures in excess of 31C during the race. Declaring a heat hazard requires teams to fit a driver cooling system, such as a liquid-cooled vest, though drivers are not obliged to use them and can take a ballast penalty instead.
Continue reading...New elite series to include promotion and relegation
23-24 events spread across February to August
The PGA Tour has announced sweeping changes to its competitive structure, approving a two-tier system with promotion and relegation to take effect in 2028.
The elite-tier PGA Tour Championship Series will run from February to August and feature 23-24 events with $20m (£15m) purses, while the $4m (£3m) events on the Challenger Series will provide a path for players to earn their way to the top level.
Continue reading...28-year-old is first US player to win at Halle since 1993
Tiafoe will climb to No 19 as Wimbledon nears
Frances Tiafoe beat fellow American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 to win the Halle Open on Sunday, sealing the biggest title of his career and becoming the first American since 1993 to lift the ATP 500 grass-court trophy.
Tiafoe set the tone early, breaking serve in the opening set and remaining composed on his own delivery to keep Fritz from settling. He carried that momentum into the second set, again striking early and dictating from the baseline to wrap up the win and snap a seven-match losing streak against Fritz since his first victory in 2016.
Continue reading...Stokes and Atkinson absent following nightclub furore
Ollie Robinson misses Oval Test due to soreness in knee
Seamer Ollie Robinson, whose performance guided England to victory in the first test against New Zealand, will miss the second match due to a sore right knee, the England and Wales Cricket Board, confirmed on Monday.
Playing his first test in more than two years, Robinson took seven wickets including five in the first innings to be named player of the match as England won by 115 runs on a difficult wicket at Lord’s.
Continue reading...Overall leader leaves nothing to chance on final climb
Dane will claim first Giro by reaching Rome finish
Jonas Vingegaard all but won the Giro d’Italia on Saturday and his attention will soon turn to the Tour de France as he attempts to become the ninth man to complete the Giro-Tour double.
The Dane wrapped up the first part in style, soloing to victory atop Piancavallo at the end of the 20th and penultimate stage to extend his overall lead to more than five minutes from Felix Gall. Jai Hindley remained in third, 6min 25sec behind Vingegaard.
Continue reading...Kuss completes grand tour stage win trilogy
Vingegaard stays 4min 3sec clear of Gall in the GC
Teammates Sepp Kuss and Jonas Vingegaard dominated the high mountains for Visma-Lease a Bike on Friday as the former claimed a historic solo victory on stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia, and the latter firmly defended his overall lead.
By winning the brutal mountain stage atop Piani di Pezzè in the Dolomites, Kuss became the 116th rider to complete the Grand Tour stage victory trilogy, with the American adding an Italian success to wins at the Tour de France in 2021 and the Vuelta a España in 2019 and 2023.
Continue reading...‘Tennis became a race against time’ after 2005 diagnosis
‘The suffering was less than my passion,’ says tennis great
Rafael Nadal has revealed he spent most of his career in pain as he willed himself to play through a chronic foot injury and went on to win 22 grand slam titles while spending two decades ruling men’s tennis alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
The Spaniard, who retired in 2024, said he took immense risks with his health to keep his career going, after a Netflix series called Rafa provided an in-depth look into his physical and mental struggles to pursue greatness.
Continue reading...The 22-year-old Frenchman set up by teammate Stuyven
Vingegaard keeps pink jersey after attack on final climb
Paul Magnier of Soudal Quick-Step completed a hat-trick of victories in this Giro d’Italia by winning a bunch sprint on stage 18 in Pieve di Soligo.
The 22-year-old Frenchman was perfectly set up by his teammate Jasper Stuyven in the final few high-speed turns and powered to the line, after 171km of racing, ahead of two Italian sprinters.
Continue reading...Converted kickboxer takes unified champion deep in WBC title bout
End of round bell may have rung before referee stopped fight
Rico Verhoeven, the Dutch former kickboxer who has switched to boxing, wants an apology as well as a rematch, after being stopped one second before the end of the penultimate round in a WBC title bout with unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk last Saturday.
The stoppage was controversial, with Verhoeven feeling he could have continued and some replays suggesting the bell may have rung before the referee signalled the end of the fight — only Verhoeven’s second since switching to boxing — at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Continue reading...Dane collects fourth stage victory of this year’s race
Gall comes in second, with Hindley in third place
Jonas Vingegaard underlined his dominance on uphill finishes at the Giro d’Italia, launching a solo attack on the climb to Carì to claim victory on stage 16. It was the Dane’s fourth stage win of the race and further tightened his hold on the leader’s jersey, with overall honours now looking increasingly assured.
On Monday’s rest day, Vingegaard declared his desire to win a stage while wearing the pink jersey, and quickly followed up that promise in Switzerland on the 113km ride from Bellinzona. His lead at the top is now more than four minutes.
Continue reading...Dane earns third stage win of this year’s race in Alps
Visma-Lease a Bike rider set to win Giro at first attempt
Jonas Vingegaard took the Giro d’Italia leader’s pink jersey for the first time after completing a hat-trick of stage wins, the race favourite soloed to the summit to take stage 14, proving too strong for his rivals in the Alps.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider, already successful on the summit finishes on stages seven and nine and, aiming to become the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours, attacked with less than 5km left of the gruelling 133km ride from Aosta to Pila. The Dane looks set to win the Giro at his first attempt.
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