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‘It’s a sad time’: Rebels bid emotional farewell in last ever Super Rugby Pacific match

  • Hurricanes end Melbourne’s hopes of fairytale finish with 47-20 victory
  • Financially-stricken club to now be closed down after 14 seasons

Tears among the Rebels players have signalled the end for Melbourne, whose place in Super Rugby Pacific was brought to a close by a quarter-final loss to the Hurricanes. The Rebels were given almost no chance of upsetting the table-topping Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday, but held them to an eight-point margin at half-time on the back of some desperate defence.

That took its toll, with the home side piling on five second-half tries to post a 47-20 victory. Rebels winger Lachie Anderson scored a late double but the Hurricanes remained on track for the semi-finals.

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Court condemns soccer fans’ Nazi salutes at 2022 Australia Cup final

Three men were convicted and fined $500 for ‘deliberately and intentionally’ performing the salute

Three Croatian men have been convicted and fined after separately making Nazi salutes during the 2022 Australia Cup soccer final.

Nikola Marko Gasparovic, 46, Dominik Sieben, 25, and Marijan Lisica, 45, performed the salute at Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium on October 1 2022, during the match between Sydney United 58 and Macarthur FC.

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India beat Ireland by eight wickets: T20 Cricket World Cup 2024 – as it happened

India won emphatically in New York after their quick bowlers bulldozed Ireland for 96 on a very lively pitch

1st over: Ireland 3-0 (Balbirnie 1, Stirling 2) Stirling walks down the track to time his first ball through the covers for … two. That would have been four on most grounds.

There’s a bit of swing for Arshdeep, who beats Stirling with a ball that keeps a bit low. Stirling’s second and third attempts to walk down the track are less successful; Arshdeep cramps him for room with one delivery and then zips a bouncer past his noggin. A really good start.

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Moto GP: Bagnaia leads Ducati one-two in Italy to turn up heat on Martín

  • Francesco Bagnaia cuts gap in title race with Jorge Martín third
  • Enea Bastianini finishes second after late overtake on Martín

Francesco Bagnaia won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday at the Mugello Circuit, while his Ducati teammate Enea Bastianini overtook Jorge Martín, who started on pole, on the final lap to take second place.

Pramac Racing’s Martín, the current championship leader, looked well set to challenge Bagnaia for top spot in the final stages of the race. Instead, the reigning champion pulled clear and Bastianini found the pace to overtake Martín at the final sector and grab second place to delight home fans.

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Two more Macarthur FC players named in alleged A-League bet-fixing scheme

Matthew Millar and Jed Drew named in court documents as three other teammates face charges over alleged plot to receive yellow cards for payment

Two more A-League players have been named as alleged participants in an alleged bet-fixing scheme involving their Macarthur FC teammates.

Matthew Millar and Jed Drew are accused of participating in a criminal group that also allegedly involved three charged players – club captain Ulises Davila and teammates Clayton Lewis and Kearyn Baccus.

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Financially-stricken Melbourne Rebels axed from Super Rugby Pacific

  • Private consortium’s rescue plan deemed ‘overly optimistic’
  • Australian club’s last match will be played next month

A legal battle looms between Rugby Australia and the consortium who planned to save the Melbourne Rebels, with the Super Rugby Pacific club to be shut down after 14 seasons.

Five months after the Rebels entered voluntary administration, Rugby Australia broke the news before players boarded a plane to Fiji for the final round of the competition.

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Manchester United’s win made the FA Cup final seem like it matters again

A derby victory over Manchester City at Wembley helped Erik ten Hag’s team gain some self-respect after recent domination by their closest rivals

Some days, you wonder just why the FA Cup seems so embattled. Saturday’s final felt like a throwback: a sunny spring day, a sense of subplots coming together in an occasion that genuinely mattered, drama on the pitch and ultimately a shock. Perhaps it wasn’t quite Sunderland beating Leeds in 1973 or Southampton beating Manchester United in 1976 (or even Wigan beating Manchester City in 2013). But United finished lower in the league this season (eighth) than Wimbledon (seventh) did when they beat champions Liverpool in 1988. The status and histories of the clubs shouldn’t disguise what a shock United’s victory over City was.

For United, it was a great occasion. For them a first FA Cup in eight years and just their second trophy in seven, a step-up on the League Cup they won under Erik ten Hag last season. But more than that, they stopped City becoming the first club to win the Double in successive seasons. It’s not just about succeeding; it’s about the failure of others, especially your closest rivals.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition

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FA Cup final triumph a fitting last act of defiance for embattled Erik ten Hag | David Hytner

Manchester United have endured crisis after crisis this season but their head coach will always have Wembley glory

It was one of the great shows of ego and defiance, pure theatre, pure Louis van Gaal. As another embattled Manchester United manager from the Netherlands found himself in the same position, it was impossible to ignore the echoes. Erik ten Hag’s delivery was different, more measured and understated. But, like Van Gaal before him, he had entered the arena for a fight. He made his punches count.

“I show you the Cup,” Van Gaal said in 2016 after leading United to victory against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final as he headed for the sack; he was informed of the decision 24 hours later. Van Gaal strode into the Wembley press conference room with the trophy, which he set down on the end of the desk before repositioning it bang in front of him after he took his seat.

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MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia wins in Catalonia to cut gap to Jorge Martín

  • Ducati rider finishes ahead of Martín and Marc Márquez
  • Márquez recovers from 14th grid start to make podium

Ducati Lenovo’s two-time defending world champion, Francesco Bagnaia, won the Catalunya Grand Prix to close the gap on the championship leader, Jorge Martín, who finished second, while Ducati’s Marc Márquez was third despite starting 14th on the grid.

Márquez repeated his heroics from the Saturday sprint when he finished an astonishing third from 14th, keeping the polesitter, Aleix Espargaró, at bay until the chequered flag and finishing five-hundredths of a second ahead to take third.

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‘When they don’t want me I will hear it’: Ten Hag tight-lipped on future after FA Cup win – video

Erik ten Hag refused to give any answers on his future as Manchester United manager after his side beat their local rivals Manchester City 2-1 to win the FA Cup. Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scored in the first half to give United victory over an uncharacteristically poor City side but Ten Hag was unmoved when asked about his future. 'When they don't want me I will hear it,' he said after the match. 'When I took over it was a mess at United. We are on out way to constructing a team for the future and that will go with ups and downs.'

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Central Coast Mariners defeat Melbourne Victory in A-League Men grand final – as it happened

While today is a celebration for domestic football in Australia, it is impossible to overlook what has been another chastening season for the A-League.

The APL remains in omnicrisis, bungling its budget and communications as it fails abysmally at converting the promise of independence. And while there’s not a lot they can do about fan misbehaviour or the alleged conduct of players, it’s hard to avoid the creeping feeling of the competition succumbing to another doom spiral.

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