Category: Sports News

Worldwide Sports News

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A racing certainty? What a Labour government would mean for the sport

British Horseracing Authority says it has been preparing for a change of government for many months

Few could have guessed when the field came under starter’s orders for the general election in May that betting and the Gambling Commission would turn out to be such fixtures on the daily news grid. Or, for that matter, that Keir Starmer would suggest, in response to a question on his political punting habits, that he “only bets on the horses”.

Assuming the price of around 1-33 is correct and that a Labour administration with a significant majority takes the reins this week, that may well prove to be the first and last significant mention of the turf – or gambling, for that matter – by a member of the new government for some while.

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Blues beat Chiefs to break 21-year Super Rugby title drought

  • The Blues sweep aside the Chiefs in a 41-10 drubbing at Eden Park
  • It was the first final between the NZ sides in their 28-year history

The Blues have broken a 21-year Super Rugby title drought, sweeping aside the Chiefs in a 41-10 drubbing at a sold-out Eden Park.

In the first ever final between the two New Zealand sides in their 28-year history, the Blues were dominant.

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The Breakdown | Ireland and South Africa should be mates but have rugby’s hottest rivalry

Next month’s Test double-header on South African soil will write a new chapter in an increasingly rancorous struggle

No sooner had Ireland claimed a 13-8 win over South Africa in the Rugby World Cup last year – an epic tussle in a tournament littered with all-time encounters – a thumping rendition of the Cranberries’ Zombie rang out around Stade de France. The song’s connections with the Troubles, the IRA and Ireland’s struggle for peace was lost on most South African fans that sweaty Saturday night in Paris. Their primary reaction to Ireland’s adopted anthem was rage.

“What’s in your heeeeaad, in your heeeeeeeaaaaad!” It was hard for them not to feel this was meant as a jibe; that the Irish, who have never seen their players lift the sport’s most glittering trophy, who had never even seen them reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, were rubbing South African noses in their success. That their No 1-ranked team had wormed their way into the subconscious of every South African by relegating the Boks to a stepping stone on their march to glory. The face of Rassie Erasmus, South African rugby’s god-king, said it all. He was seething. What was a friendly rivalry had now become personal.

This is an extract taken from our weekly rugby union email, the Breakdown. To sign up, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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Connor Garden-Bachop, New Zealand rugby union player, dies aged 25

  • Highlanders outside back died on Monday following a ‘medical event’
  • Garden-Bachop represented the Māori All Blacks in two Tests in 2022

Otago Highlanders outside back Connor Garden-Bachop died on Monday at the age of 25 following a medical event, New Zealand Rugby has said.

Garden-Bachop, who made his Highlanders debut in 2021, was on the team’s roster this season but parted ways with the Super Rugby Pacific club after their latest campaign finished in the quarter-finals.

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Pakistan beat Ireland by three wickets: T20 Cricket World Cup – as it happened

Group A concludes with another nail-biter as Shaheen Shah Afridi helps Pakistan to a three-wicket win in Florida

How will the pitch behave after so much rain? We will find out shortly. Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie prepare to face Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Ireland belt out theirs, arms round each others shoulders. Pakistan’s military-style ditty is a palm on hearts affair. Babar, face plastered in suncream, looks pensive.

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USA qualify for Super Eights after washout against Ireland: T20 Cricket World Cup – as it happened

The co-hosts USA reached the second group stage and eliminated Pakistan on an historic if damp day in Florida

Meanwhile, in Group B…

The outfield is still very wet, so there will be another inspection at 11.30am local/4.30pm BST. If I had to bet the farm I’d say the match will be washed out because of further rain, but I’m thousands of miles away so I’m not sure what the point of this sentence is.

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Wallabies star Carter Gordon turns back on rugby union and joins NRL’s Titans

  • Member of 2023 World Cup squad signs two-year deal on Gold Coast
  • Five-eighth was looking for new club after demise of Rebels

Gold Coast have pulled off a stunning signing coup with Wallabies five-eighth Carter Gordon to join the club in another huge blow to Australian rugby. The 23-year-old, who will join the Titans next year until the end of 2026, was a key member of the Wallabies World Cup squad in 2023 and played No 10 for the now defunct Melbourne Rebels.

Gordon will join fellow World Cup star Mark Nawaqanitawase in the NRL next year with Test winger signing with the Sydney Roosters from the NSW Waratahs. Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i is heading the other way, switching to rugby union from the Sydney Roosters next season.

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