Sports News – Page 2707 – Worldwide Sports News

July 19, 2024

England dominate France to claim fourth World Rugby under-20 title

England 21-13 France
Set-piece superiority guides team to victory

England claimed a first under-20 world title since 2016 with a victory over France founded on their ruthlessly dominant scrum and a power-packed performance that will have Steve Borthwick licking his lips. Tries from the forwards Joe Bailey and Arthur Green sealed victory in Cape Town with England’s muscle up front proving too much for the defending champions.

England were unstoppable at scrum time, winning penalties at will less than a week after Borthwick had bemoaned the senior side’s set-piece problems. The props Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Afolabi Fasogbon may soon find themselves fast-tracked, such was their superiority in a pack that was missing its first-choice tighthead in Billy Sela. Others to burnish their reputations were the second-row Junior Kpoku and the flanker Henry Pollock in a performance that bodes well as Borthwick plots a course towards the 2027 World Cup.

July 18, 2024

Youngest debut in MLS history, Messi injury update and a problematic post from Argentina

Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros discuss Cavan Sullivan making history, Enzo Fernandez’ and what is going on with the USWNT and why they’re having trouble scoring.

July 18, 2024

Former All Black named for Wallabies, 21yo rookie beast to debut amid 17 changes

The Wallabies will have a third captain in three games under new coach Joe Schmidt with Liam Wright failing to recover in time for Saturday’s clash with Georgia.

July 18, 2024

Cavan Sullivan, 14, breaks Freddy Adu’s record, debuts in an evolved MLS

Cavan Sullivan debuted for the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday — in a league, MLS, that is much better prepared to usher him toward superstardom than it was with Freddy Adu two decades ago.

July 16, 2024

The Breakdown | Power rankings: Ireland top after epic win over world champions

New Zealand sit third after Scott Robertson’s strong start and England have work to do after a 2-0 defeat

Ciarán Frawley’s last-gasp drop goal sealed a stunning win in Durban, ensuring South Africa had failed to win a series against Ireland for the first time. It was the latest thrilling instalment of the global game’s leading rivalry at present and Ireland have now won two of their last three against the Springboks. Add in the 2022 series win in New Zealand and Ireland’s ability to pick up away victories in the southern hemisphere sets them apart from their European rivals. That they went to South Africa and drew the series without Jamison Gibson-Park speaks volumes about the depth Farrell has unearthed, with full-back Jamie Osborne the latest to flourish. Farrell does not pick his British and Irish Lions squad for around 10 months but at this rate it will be dominated by his Irish charges.

July 14, 2024

Wallabies star caps off remarkable coast-to-coast move, gifted try by rival as Aussies sweep Wales

Progress can be hard to measure when you are coming from such a long way back but a second-up Wallabies win in the Joe Schmidt era is better than the alternative.

July 13, 2024

Frawley’s last-gasp drop goal seals stunning win for Ireland in South Africa

South Africa 24-25 Ireland
Jack Crowley scores 14 points in thrilling Durban victory

Ciarán Frawley coolly landed a last-gasp drop goal as Ireland weathered a second-half storm to pull off a stunning 25-24 victory in Durban and secure a 1-1 series draw against South Africa. Frawley stepped off the bench to split the posts in dramatic fashion with the final action of a thrilling encounter at Kings Park Stadium after a similar effort 10 minutes earlier.

Andy Farrell’s side had looked set to slip to an agonising defeat to the back-to-back world champions after Conor Murray’s try helped reward a ferocious first-half display with a 16-6 lead. The flawless fly-half Handré Pollard slotted eight penalties to turn the contest in the Springboks’ favour on the back of their 27-20 triumph last weekend in Pretoria.

July 13, 2024

Australia 36-28 Wales: rugby union international – as it happened

The Wallabies remain unbeaten in 2024 after victory over Wales in Melbourne gave coach Joe Schmidt a second win

“Replicate some of the things we did well and hopefully solve some of the things we didn’t do so well.”

How’s that for some cutting edge rugby insight from Joe Schmidt?

July 11, 2024

Newly minted Wallabies captain Liam Wright to miss Wales clash, James Slipper to captain

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt says his new-look team learned “a bit about ourselves” in last week’s win over Wales as he named a largely unchanged line-up, albeit with a new captain, for Saturday’s second clash in Melbourne.

July 9, 2024

France’s Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jégou arrested on sexual assault charges

Players currently on Les Bleus’ South America tour
FFR president says an investigation is under way

Two France international rugby players have been arrested after an allegation of sexual assault was made against them during Les Bleus’ South America tour. The president of the the French rugby federation’ (FFR), Florian Grill, told reporters in Buenos Aires that if the facts are proven they are “incredibly serious”.

The two players – the 20-year-old Pau lock Hugo Auradou and the La Rochelle flanker Oscar Jégou, 21 – are set to be taken from the Argentinian capital to Mendoza, where the alleged incident happened. Mendoza staged the first Test between Argentina and France on Saturday, when Auradou and Jégou both started.

July 7, 2024

Bagnaia tops MotoGP standings after Martín crashes out in Germany

Martín slid off track with two laps to go
Brothers Marc and Álex Márquez finish second and third

Ducati’s reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia went top of the MotoGP championship after winning the German Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of Marc Márquez after title rival Jorge Martín crashed while he was leading the race with two laps to go.

Márquez’s brother Álex finished third to make it two brothers on a MotoGP podium for the first time since Japan’s Nobuatsu and Takuma Aoki finished second and third in Imola 27 years ago.

July 6, 2024

South Africa 27-20 Ireland: first rugby union Test – as it happened

The Springboks’ bench won a penalty try at the death to settle a thrilling contest between two true heavyweights

The players are making their way out to the field.

They pass under a sign that reads, “Altitude. 1 350m. It matters”.

July 6, 2024

South Africa hold firm to seal narrow win over Ireland in pulsating first Test

South Africa 27-20 Ireland
Late tries from Murray and Baird not enough for tourists

The Ireland wing James Lowe went from hero to zero as the world champions, South Africa, underlined their status as Test rugby’s top-ranked nation with a gripping 27-20 win in Pretoria.

Lowe produced a sensational offload to set up a debut try for Jamie Osborne and thought he had brought Andy Farrell’s men level with a superb breakaway score in the second half.

July 6, 2024

Aussie humiliates rival with vicious move as new Wallabies boss exacts RWC revenge

Joe Schmidt’s reign as Wallabies coach got off to a flying start in Sydney on Saturday with a hard-fought 25-16 defeat of Warren Gatland’s Wales, who slumped to their eighth straight loss.

July 4, 2024

Wallabies get seventh captain in a year as new coach Joe Schmidt names first team

Liam Wright will return to the Wallabies for the first time in five years as captain of the national team with up to seven players set to earn their debuts as new coach Joe Schmidt put a full stop on the disastrous Eddie Jones era.