The Guardian

The tourists are favourites against Australia, who need everything to go their way if they are to compete in this series There is nothing that can compare to running out for a British & Irish Lions Test for the first time. I was speaking to Andy Farrell this week and I was getting goosebumps just thinking about it. Running out on to the field, the noise, the energy, the stakes – it’s completely d…

Irishman penalised for ball roll during practice swing ‘I didn’t want to get slaughtered for being a cheat’ Shane Lowry said he was conscious of his reputation after accepting a two-stroke penalty for a rules infringement during the second round of the Open. Lowry was adamant he did not see his ball roll backwards in rough at the 12th hole during a practice swing, with officials determining he wa…

“Spain is Spain,” Switzerland’s talismanic captain Lia Wälti had warned and in the quarter-final between the host nation and the world champions, she was right. Athenea del Castillo and Clàudia Pina each struck in a five-minute, second-half spell to crush rumblings of a possible upset. It had been a game of hope, ­Mariona Caldentey’s missed penalty and Livia Peng’s save from an Alexia Putellas’s …

World No 1 makes second-round 64 to take one-shot lead Fitzpatrick in second; MacIntyre and Hatton tied for fifth Imagine he cared. Imagine he really cared. Scottie Scheffler used media duties before the 153rd Open Championship to assess the pointlessness of golf in the grand scheme of life . “If I win, it’s going to be awesome for two minutes,” Scheffler asserted. The world No 1 should already p…

Briton tries to remain relaxed despite his usual ‘vocal’ approach after staying in contention on day two at Portrush First Tyrrell Hatton effed, jeffed and played his way into Open contention. Then he revealed he was off for three pints of Guinness to relax and ready himself for the business end of this championship. It sounds like a distinctly old-school approach. But the fact Hatton was smiling…

The Scot and the American find different ways to crack the links before worst of weather and give themselves a chance this weekend You could feel the bad weather closing in on Royal Portrush during Friday morning. The atmosphere around the links grew stickier, and sweatier, every minute, and soon enough everyone was peeling off the layers of waterproof clothing they would be hurrying to get back …

Centre-back’s ordeal against Sweden was damaging but sketchy press and midfield failings need to be addressed before Italy semi-final Jess Carter glumly accepted her warm-down top, the pallid commiserations of Arjan Veurink and a seat on the England bench. In truth she had been fortunate to see 70 minutes of this quarter-final , and for all the nightmarish apparitions of the first half perhaps th…

Talk is of a possible clean sweep for tourists but the onus is on Australia to make one or two Lions eat their confident words Whatever unfolds over the next three Saturdays this British & Irish Lions series will resonate more than its predecessor. Simply to see visiting fans in red jerseys wandering down Queen Street in central Brisbane is to be thankful the whole enterprise has a beating heart …

Ukrainian seeks to unify the heavyweight division again at Wembley on Saturday before putting family time first Boxing, as Oleksandr Usyk knows, gets everyone in the end. It is a harsh and pitiless business and earlier this week, at the end of a long afternoon answering the same old questions in front of a line of television cameras, Usyk sat down with a small group of familiar faces who have wri…

Threat of rain and absences of Hodgkinson, Hassan and Ingebrigtsen are blows but record tilts will enthrall fans One of the major issues athletics faces is the relative lack of importance that the overwhelming majority of events hold. It is one of the reasons why Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track is yet to catch alight: the pay is great for the athletes, but a win or loss counts for little in th…

Ince was also fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 statutory surcharge and £85 costs over incident in June The former England footballer Paul Ince has been banned from driving and ordered to pay £7,085 for drink-driving. The 57-year-old appeared at Chester magistrates court on Friday where he admitted driving his Range Rover while over the limit on 28 June in Neston, Cheshire. Continue reading.…

Defending champion eases to time-trial triumph Vingegaard finishes second with Roglic in third A breathless Jonas Vingegaard slumped exhaustedly over his bike on another baking Pyrenean afternoon, after Tadej Pogacar inflicted a further crushing defeat in the mountain time trial to the altiport at Peyragudes. The second time trial in the 2025 Tour was expected to further confirm Pogacar’s suprema…

The first Lions Test, a golf major at Royal Portrush, a Euro 2025 quarter-final and heavyweight boxing are just some of our offerings this weekend Continue reading...

Saturday’s quarter-final is last chance for eight-time champions to meet expectations after Sweden rout “A historically lousy Germany” – Welt. “DFB Women Light Years away from the World Top” – Bild. “One big defeat and many small ones” – Der Spiegel. These were just some of the headlines that emerged in the aftermath of Germany’s bruising 4-1 defeat at the hands of Sweden in their final Group C m…