Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has held firm and refused to panic despite a record loss to Argentina, making just two changes to the squad for the Bledisloe Cup showdown with New Zealand.
French rugby federation blames ‘poorly managed’ supervision for youth player drowning
The French Rugby Federation (FFR) said on Thursday it questioned the role of administrative supervisors from the ministry of sport following the death of France under-18 player Medhi Narjissi last month.
Jordan Chiles says stripping of Olympic bronze took away ‘the person I am’
- Romanian athlete was awarded bronze over Chiles
- IOC ordered American to return Olympic medal
US gymnast Jordan Chiles has spoken about the emotional fallout after she was stripped of the bronze medal she won at this summer’s Paris Olympics.
“The biggest thing that was taken from me was, it was the recognition of who I was. Not just my sport, but the person I am,” she said, her voice breaking at times with emotion, during an appearance at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Australian hockey player given 12-month ban for buying cocaine at Olympics
- Tom Craig was arrested during Paris Games
- Remains eligible for 2025 national squad
The Australian Olympic hockey player Tom Craig has been banned for 12 months, with six months suspended, after he was arrested in Paris for buying cocaine during the Games.
Hockey Australia (HA) said Craig’s ban started on Monday and followed an investigation by its integrity unit into his arrest last month.
Continue reading...Man charged after Olympic medals allegedly stolen from ‘Oarsome Foursome’ rower’s car in Melbourne
Victoria police arrest 47-year-old after alleged theft of Drew Ginn’s medals in Docklands last week
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A man has been charged after four Olympic medals – including three gold – belonging to one of the members of Australia’s popular “Oarsome Foursome” rowing team were allegedly stolen from a car in Melbourne.
Victoria police said Drew Ginn’s medals from four consecutive Olympics were in the back of a Land Rover that was parked on Cumberland Street in Docklands when they were allegedly stolen last week.
Continue reading...‘It’s been a lot … It is full on’: Jamie Smith takes stock of first Test summer
England wicketkeeper, who enjoyed a successful six games, is part of a side that has quickly changed
For England, this has been a summer of transition and transformation. Compared with the team that beat Australia at the Oval in the last home Test of 2023, the side that lost to Sri Lanka at the same venue on Monday was, on average, five and a half years younger.
In the intervening period, Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali retired, and with Mark Wood and Ben Stokes injured, England went from a team that had taken 2,008 Test wickets to one with 332, from 38,417 Test runs to 22,128 (56% of them scored by Joe Root) and from a wicketkeeper who had done the job in 147 first-class games to one wearing the gloves for the 25th time.
Continue reading...England 2-1 Sri Lanka: player ratings for the Test series
There’s praise for Joe Root, Jamie Smith and Pathum Nissanka, but doubts still remain about Ollie Pope
By Gary Naylor for the 99.94 Cricket Blog
Ollie Pope: 191 runs at 31.8; one catch
His embrace of captaincy duties from the crucial No 3 slot at a time when murmurs were beginning to burble about his form, showed admirable commitment to the team, but may not have been in the very best interests of himself or the group. The value of his 154, anchoring the first innings at the Oval, was demonstrated by the fact that nobody aside from Ben Duckett made 20. Even then, he needed a good helping of luck as he oscillated in and out of form almost from ball to ball, the cogs of his once classic defensive technique screeching. His trust in his charges led to some fine individual performances, but also an almost comically inept use of DRS, trusting advice from those better able to see and hear. But he kept the feelgood Stokes vibe going and delivered the series win, but the collective end-of-term indiscipline evident throughout the third Test will have done him no good in the long run. Grade B-
Sri Lanka beat England: third men’s cricket Test match, day four – as it happened
Pathum Nissanka completed a fantastic century to guide Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket win that meant they lost the three-match series 2-1
Righto, Gus Atkinson has the ball and we’re ready. England need nine wickets, Sri Lanka need 125 runs.
Oof madone dept: *RA Smyth advises me there’s a new Sopranos doc on Sky and it’s glorious.
Continue reading...Marc Márquez storms to San Marino MotoGP win after Martín gamble backfires
- Jorge Martín’s bike swap backfires in damp conditions
- Francesco Bagnaia finishes second, Enea Bastianini third
Marc Márquez won the San Marino Grand Prix ahead of Francesco Bagnaia on Sunday after the championship leader Jorge Martín’s gamble to swap bikes when it rained briefly at the Misano circuit backfired when the weather cleared up.
Márquez’s masterclass in damp conditions gave him his second victory in as many races after he won the Aragon Grand Prix last weekend as he denied the Italian factory Ducati team a win on home turf, with Enea Bastianini finishing third.
Continue reading...Wallabies’ worst ever defeat: Australia capitulate in embarrassing 40-point loss to Argentina
The Wallabies have been humbled by Argentina in a 67-27 thrashing in Santa Fe on Sunday morning AEST, the biggest margin of defeat Australia has suffered in a Test match.
Argentina 67-27 Australia: men’s rugby union international – as it happened
The Wallabies surged to an early lead before conceding their most points ever in a men’s rugby Test as Los Pumas piled on the pain
Time for the anthems. As far as I can tell everyone is singing.
[If you know, you know]
Continue reading...Warrington close on Super League top two with emphatic win over St Helens
- Warrington 16-2 St Helens
- Wolves have top-two finish in their sights with victory
Warrington Wolves and St Helens are no strangers to competing at the right end of Super League but as we approach the final fortnight of a compelling season, this contest underlined that we are witnessing two sides heading in different directions at the business end of the year.
For Warrington and Sam Burgess, this was a relatively straightforward afternoon’s work to keep their hopes alive of a top-two finish going into the playoffs. First is out of reach given Wigan’s win on Friday night against Hull KR, but the Wolves are just two points adrift of the Robins with two rounds remaining.
Continue reading...‘Absolutely heartbroken’: Rugby great’s wife presumed dead after swimming disappearance
The wife of rugby legend Scott Hastings is presumed dead after she went missing while wild swimming.
Rugby news: Wallabies team to face Argentina, James Slipper named to join George Gregan on 139 Tests
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt hailed James Slipper as the “ultimate team man” after including the veteran prop for what will be a record-equalling 139th Test against Argentina on Sunday morning.
Britain’s Sam Farrow claims women’s record for Lake Geneva crossing – video
The British endurance swimmer, Sam Farrow, is believed to have broken a world record with the fastest swim by a woman across Lake Geneva. Farrow, a 31-year-old from Wigan, swam the length of the lake from the Château de Chillon to the Bains des Pâquis – a distance of 45.2 miles (72.8km) – in 22hr and 48min.
"I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet," Farrow said. "We went out there to try and get the fastest British female record and just in hopes of finishing it. I wanted to see what I could do. I never expected to get the overall fastest female or the time that I got. Complete shock." Her swim time is yet to be ratified, but she will find out at the end of this month if she has broken the world record.
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