Marcus Smith starts at fly-half and Chandler Cunningham-South at flanker as Steve Borthwick names a strong England side to face Eddie Jones’ Japan in Tokyo on Saturday. Cunningham-South, 21, makes his first Test start, while Sale wing Tom Roebuck is set for a debut from the bench. Marcus Smith starts over namesake Fin, with Northampton’s Premiership title winner among the …
Australia batter David Warner says he is the only player who has taken “a lot of flak” since the sandpaper ball-tampering scandal. Warner and then-captain Steve Smith were banned for a year after being found guilty of ball-tampering during a 2018 Test match against South Africa. Opening batter Cameron Bancroft, who carried out the act, was also suspended for nine months. …
Conor McGregor’s injury is “absolutely real”, says UFC president Dana White, who is unsure when the Irishman might return to action. McGregor, 35, withdrew from his scheduled welterweight bout against Michael Chandler on 29 June because of an injury. The Dubliner insisted he would be back in the UFC soon, but president White says he is unsure if McGregor will …
Newly promoted Ipswich will host Liverpool while champions Manchester City are away to Chelsea on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season. Ipswich, who are back in the top flight after a 22-year absence, will play on Saturday, 17 August, with City starting their title defence at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, 18 August. Manchester United’s game against Fulham …
New Zealand Super Rugby player Connor Garden-Bachop has died at the age of 25. Garden-Bachop died in Christchurch “following a medical event” on Monday, New Zealand Rugby said. The winger’s father, Stephen Bachop, played for Samoa and New Zealand and his mother, Sue Garden-Bachop, played for the New Zealand women’s team, the Black Ferns. He was the nephew of scrum-half …
Kylian Mbappe is always the headline act when he pulls on the France shirt, but an old campaigner shared top billing by rolling back the years as Austria were eventually overcome in Dusseldorf. Mbappe’s so far chequered relationship with the European Championship continues and was summed up in one eventful night as he carved out France’s fortunate winner, missed a …
Bernardo Silva could not help but laugh when he heard the question about one of the biggest elephants in the room in Portugal. “In the national team, when you’re all listening to the pre-match team talk, do you accept the tactical instructions right away or sometimes react like, ‘Ronaldo, man, can’t it be another way?’” asked Ricardo Araujo Pereira, a …
Soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé played a vital role in France’s narrow 1-0 win against Austria in its opening Group D match at Euro 2024 on Monday. The new Real Madrid forward showed his trademark speed and lightning quick footwork to create the game’s only goal in the 38th minute. After skipping past a defender, France’s captain flashed a pass across …
Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs was arrested on a domestic violence/burglary charge in Alabama early Sunday morning, according to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s office website. He was being held on a $5,000 bond before being released, per jail records. The arrest is the second for Buggs in less than three weeks. In May, the 27-year-old turned himself in …
Gretchen Walsh emerged as the star of the US Swimming Olympic Team Trials, qualifying for the Paris Games a day after breaking the 100-meter butterfly record. Walsh secured her spot on the US team for next month’s Olympics with victory in the women’s 100m butterfly final in Indianapolis on Sunday, finishing ahead of Torri Huske in a time of 55.31 …
