The Guardian

The heavy defeat to England at Twickenham has left coach Les Kiss still searching for a solution to his side’s ongoing conundrum at No 10 If you thought that Albus Dumbledore had trouble filling the Defence Against the Dark Arts post at Hogwarts, spare a thought for Les Kiss who is the latest Wallabies coach desperate for a solution at fly-half. If only Harry Potter, part of the wider touring gro…

Under-fire batter will not feature in upcoming New Zealand series ‘Still possible’ he will be recalled for tours to India and England Marnus Labuschagne has been dropped from Australia’s Test squad. Chairman of selectors George Bailey confirmed on Monday that Labuschagne would be omitted from Australia’s yet-to-be-named squad for the first Test against New Zealand. Australia’s next Test begins on…

Larson becomes first repeat champion since 2010 Hendrick driver clinches title in opening stage Ryan Blaney wins season finale at Homestead Kyle Larson is now a three-time Nascar champion. Larson clinched his third Cup Series title in six years early in Sunday’s 400-mile season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, becoming the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson in 2010. Johnson won f…

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…

‘Is there?’ manager retorts when told of talk over position Bizarre 4-4 draw with Villa leaves United in bottom three A tetchy Michael Carrick dismissed a suggestion he could resign as head coach for the good of the team after Sunday’s chaotic 4-4 draw with Aston Villa left Manchester United in the relegation zone heading into the international window. Carrick’s side sit in 18th place with eight …

‘I’m delighted we got the win. He’s a world-class coach’ England beat Australia 45-22 in Nations Championship Maro Itoje, the England captain, has reiterated his squad’s full support for the head coach, Steve Borthwick, after the home side’s resounding 45-22 victory against Australia at Allianz Stadium on Sunday. Itoje described Borthwick as “a world‑class coach” and said England were “lucky to h…

Frenchman under pressure after four successive defeats Former Spurs manager Frank emerging as main candidate Crystal Palace are poised to sack Pierre Sage after Sunday’s defeat by Liverpool left them bottom of the Premier League for the first time since December 2017, with Thomas Frank emerging as the main candidate to succeed him. The Frenchman, appointed in mid-June to replace Oliver Glasner, h…

They had been in a battle, they had been behind and they had been on edge, but Barcelona found a way through, holding on to their place at the top of the table and holding the doubts at bay for another day. A fortnight in which they were defeated by PSG and Real Madrid, in which they might have wondered if something was not quite right, ended with a 2-1 win at Atlético Madrid. This was a proper t…

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…

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…

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…