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.

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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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County cricket: Somerset’s win applies a little pressure to Surrey

Defeats for Kent and Lancashire keep them in the relegation slots but Somerset still have a shot at glory

By Gary Naylor for the 99.94 Cricket Blog

With Surrey only able to draw at Trent Bridge against a resilient Nottinghamshire, Somerset needed a win to apply a little pressure to the serial champions. With their top three back in the hutch after an hour, somebody needed to bat well to avoid wasting the chance to bat first against the Kookaburra ball.

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MotoGP legend Marc Márquez delights home crowd with Aragon GP victory

  • Six-times champion finishes five seconds clear of Martin
  • Bagnaia crashes to help Martin extend overall lead

Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Márquez stormed to victory at the Aragon Grand Prix in front of his home crowd on Sunday as the sprint winner completed a perfect weekend, while Francesco Bagnaia crashed out after a clash with Álex Márquez.

The 31-year-old Marc Márquez, who claimed his eighth Aragon pole on Saturday, took the chequered flag almost five seconds ahead of fellow Spaniard and world championship leader Jorge Martín for his first win since the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

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Harry Wilson to captain Wallabies amid five changes for Test against Argentina

  • Backrower becomes fourth skipper of coach Joe Schmidt’s reign
  • Australia meet the Pumas in Rugby Championship in Buenos Aires

Backrower Harry Wilson will become the 90th Wallabies captain with coach Joe Schmidt making five changes to his starting line-up for the Argentina Test, as Australia chase their first win of the Rugby Championship. The Wallabies play the first of two Tests against the Pumas in Buenos Aires on Sunday 8am AEST.

Among the changes after two losses to South Africa to open the tournament, Hamish Stewart will make his Test debut and replace injured Queensland teammate Hunter Paisami in the centres. Jake Gordon has regained the No 9 jersey after recovering from a head knock, with Tate McDermott again coming off the bench, linking with Noah Lolesio in the halves.

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Jay Shah becomes youngest ever chair of ICC after winning election unopposed

  • Shah, 35, is honorary secretary of India’s cricket board
  • New chair could face reduction request in broadcast deal

Jay Shah, honorary secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is now in charge of the global game after being elected, unopposed, to chair the International Cricket Council.

Shah is the son of India’s home minister, Amit Shah, and aged 35 becomes the youngest person to hold the position. He will step down from the BCCI – the ICC chair must be independent of any board – and formally start on 1 December after four years of stewardship by New Zealand’s Greg Barclay.

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Ed Dunlop given suspended one-year ban for Lucidity’s cocaine positive

  • Filly failed drug test after racing in Brighton last July
  • Dunlop fined £1,000 and horse disqualified from race

The Classic-winning trainer Ed ­Dunlop has been disqualified from racing for one year, with the penalty suspended for 12 months. His filly Lucidity tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine after finishing second in a race at Brighton on 4 July 2023.

The source of the positive for the Class A drug remains unknown, but while the British Horseracing ­Authority attaches no blame to Dunlop for its presence in the filly’s system, strict rules on liability required the independent disciplinary panel to impose a disqualification – or “warning off” – on the trainer, rather than simply a suspension of his licence. The disqualification will be activated if another significant breach of the anti-doping rules occurs in the next 12 months.

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Douglas Costa: Sydney FC sign former Juventus and Bayern star in coup for A-League

  • Highly-decorated Brazilian arrives at Sky Blues from Fluminense
  • 33-year-old who has won 24 trophies hailed as ‘world class’

Sydney FC have signed former Juventus and Bayern Munich star Douglas Costa in a massive recruitment coup for the A-League Men. Costa joins the ALM heavyweights as a marquee player for two seasons after being released early from his contract by Brazilian club Fluminense in July.

The 33-year-old winger will land in Sydney as their biggest signing since Italian Alessandro Del Piero in 2012. It comes after the Australian Professional Leagues slashed club distribution to just $530,000, down on close to $2m handed out last season.

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