The Guardian

Australia continue to struggle to find identity and a top-class fly-half a year before they host the World Cup On the shivering Twickenham concourses shortly after full time, one well-oiled Australia supporter took it upon himself to congratulate his forlorn compatriots for at least turning up. Alas, there were 15 of them conspicuous by their absence. Make no mistake, and take nothing away from E…

The stand-in left-back has become a pantomime villain but United fans are understandably struggling to focus their ire Sporting success is, supposedly, a nigh-on irrelevance to Manchester United’s global brand. The money will stream in regardless thanks to the behemoth company it has become, leaving behind its football club roots and becoming the world’s greatest soap opera creating the sort of d…

With his team rampant in their demolition of Australia, the head coach’s work seems to be paying dividends So this is what they have been building behind Twickenham’s big black gates. After all these weeks in which England have seemed to always be a work in progress, Steve Borthwick finally wheeled out something that felt like a finished version of his team. No excuses, no apologies, no explanati…

Falkirk leapfrog their hosts with 5-2 rout at Tynecastle Liam Scales gives Celtic 1-0 home win over Kilmarnock Rampant Falkirk obliterated Hearts ’ 18-month unbeaten home record in the Scottish Premiership with a stunning 5-2 win at Tynecastle on Sunday as they leapfrogged their hosts into third place. Wouter Vrancken’s beleaguered side, missing 11 players through injury, were in disarray as swas…

Does this late, late comeback draw keep Michael Carrick in his job? He urged United to back Tuesday’s breathless Roma comeback victory by building momentum and they did – kind of, by avoiding defeat. Patrick Dorgu’s 96th-minute equaliser went off his head and in: this made it 4-4 to follow Joshua Zirkzee’s own added-time finish as Aston Villa were somehow pulled back by Carrick’s chaotic unit. Co…

Mercedes wrap up constructors’ championship Red Bull’s Max Verstappen surges to second place Lando Norris won the São Paulo Grand Prix after an incident-packed race at Interlagos, including a remarkable comeback for Max Verstappen who finished in second having started in 21st place. Kimi Antonelli, the newly crowned world champion, struggled with tyre problems to make it to fifth place but with h…

The Kangaroos hit form in their semi-final win over Samoa, who arrived in a blaze of Pasifika passion but exited after being outplayed in Sydney Although the hopes of Samoan fans were washed away like tears in Sydney’s rain, the true triumph of their World Cup campaign – and that of fellow semi-finalists Tonga – will endure. Both tiny island nations were represented with pride and passion in this…

Australian driver who was the Formula One champion with the Williams team in 1981 and had 12 grand prix victories “The championship? You take it any way it comes,” said Alan Jones, with typical unsentimental pithiness, after winning a tense Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal in 1980 that made him that year’s Formula One world champion. This came during his third season with the Williams Grand Prix t…

Emma Peschel scores on US debut in Group A win Americans outscore opponents 12-0 through two games Sweden bounce back with 4-1 victory over Finland Emma Peschel celebrated her international debut with a goal as the United States shut out Germany 5-0 at the women’s ice hockey world championship on Sunday. The 22-year-old defender scored with a wrist shot from the point to make it 2-0 in the openin…

England 45-22 Australia George, Chessum and Heyes scored first-half tries England had promised to do their talking on the field and so it came to pass. After a turbulent few days, this result was certainly a more than decent response to newspaper reports that all is not well within the court of Steve Borthwick. If Australia had imagined they might encounter distracted, half-hearted hosts, this se…

World No 3 wins 7-6 (5), 7-5 Spaniard claims ninth 1000-level title of his career Carlos Alcaraz avenged his loss to ⁠Ben Shelton in the US Open last eight as he edged the American 7-6 (5), 7-5 to win the Paris Masters ⁠on Sunday, clinching ⁠his ninth ​ATP 1000 title. The world No 3 controlled the contest from the baseline to become the first Spaniard to win the ⁠tournament since David Ferrer in …

Bengals joint-top of AFC North with 34-17 win in Madrid What do the midterms mean for the NFL? | Email Graham Final score: (6-2) Cincinnati Bengals 34-17 Atlanta Falcons (3-6) And that’s the end of that chapter. Cincinnati’s league-best passing attack was just far too much for Atlanta to handle. These Bengals look destined for the playoffs. Continue reading...

Former Test opener issues explanation on social media Khawaja says he would ‘not deny’ everyone knew about sandpaper Usman Khawaja insists he has not thrown anyone under the bus with his bombshell ball-tampering revelations that have rocked Australian cricket. One day on from claiming sandpaper had been used in the Test prior to Cape Town 2018 and the entire team were responsible, Khawaja defende…

Who can stop Brighton’s ascension in English and European football? They continue to set standards, practices that leave almost everybody else trailing in their wake. Their second-place position in the Premier League would once have read like a glitch in a Football Manager session. Come November 2026, they appear the only team capable of throwing down a challenge to Arsenal. Under low winter sun,…

Another Evanilson goal helped fire Marco Rose’s Bournemouth to an eighth straight victory with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Ipswich. Evanilson failed to score in his first six appearances of the season but found the net for a fifth consecutive Premier League match and made it seven goals in eight after five minutes at Portman Road. Continue reading...