The Guardian

The trial has caused heated debate in women’s rugby, with England’s Zoe Harrison calling it the ‘worst decision ever’ but others more open to it “We won a World Cup with a size five so it can’t have been that bad,” the England full-back Ellie Kildunne says of World Rugby’s trial with smaller balls in the upcoming WXV Global Series. The top 12 nations in the world rankings will be playing home and…

Our cartoonist imagines how the football great might while away the hours after calling time on his international career Buy a cartoon | Some of David’s favourite works And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

Turkish Airlines to replace Standard Chartered from 2027 Deal may be most lucrative in Premier League history Liverpool have announced a new shirt sponsorship deal with Turkish Airlines worth in excess of £60m a year to the club. The five-year deal will generate more than £300m for Liverpool when it comes into effect from the start of the 2027-28 season. Turkish Airlines will replace Standard Cha…

Country loses 200 tennis courts in three years, but they still outnumber padel facilities by a factor of 11 to one England has lost almost 200 tennis courts in three years as padel facilities have grown nearly sixfold. Guardian analysis of Sport England data found that the country has lost 183 tennis courts since 2023 – the first such decline since at least 2000. The data includes local authority…

Players generally welcome interacting with their fans. But as the league’s popularity surges, there are dangers to be aware of Caitlin Clark spent most of the 2025 WNBA season sidelined with a series of injuries that forced her to miss more than 30 games. But she also spent part of the season (and the preceding offseason) quietly navigating a tumultuous and scary reality: a 55-year-old man was st…

County Championship updates as the title race heats up Mail Tanya or post BTL | Sign up for The Spin newsletter Notts have signed New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Mitchell Hay for the last three matches after Kyle Verreynne was recalled by South Africa Essex are running on empty, without Simon Harmer (recalled by South Africa), Sam Cook and Jordan Cox (England), Charlie Bennett and Noah Thain (inj…

A large part of San Francisco’s summer was a literal car crash. On the positive side, they have so far avoided their usual list of crushing injuries The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers have trekked to Australia for this week’s NFL season opener in Melbourne. The flight time from California to Victoria is nearly the same for both teams – roughly 16 hours – but their journeys to the start …

The world No 10 on getting recognised in New York, coping with hostility and why he’s never changing his walk-on song “Definitely,” Stephen Bunting says as he considers whether working so hard as a darts player on social media is like making a deal with the devil. After Luke Littler, the prodigiously gifted teenage world champion , Bunting is the most heavily marketed player in darts. But, over t…

Luis Enrique, Vincent Kompany and Mikel Arteta are among the favourites to lead their sides to victory, but more recent appointments should not be counted out A delve into the history of the Champions League shows that managers can and do win in their first season at a club, but also that experience matters. Which makes it interesting, given that tenures for the 2026‑27 crop range from newly appo…

Gauff defeats Jovic 6-1, 6-4 in 80 minutes American has yet to drop a set in New York Andreeva awaits in anticipated quarter-final Coco Gauff continued her serene march through the US Open women’s draw with her most complete performance yet on Monday night, seeing off fellow American Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-4 to reach the last eight in New York for the first time since winning it all in her grand slam b…

Manager made surprise decision to step down in July Sporting director disappointed to lose Bruno Guimarães Newcastle’s sporting director, Ross Wilson, has revealed he began planning at the start of this year for Eddie Howe’s departure . Howe stepped down as manager in late July and the club turned to Matthias Jaissle, who had been identified as the preferred successor. “Eddie leaving didn’t feel …

Sales process launched for Melbourne Renegades NSW and Queensland had been fiercely against bold plan Cricket Australia has approved privatisation in the Big Bash League, leading the way for a dramatic shake-up of the sport in this country. Months after Cricket Victoria controversially decided it wanted to merge the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades , CA has approved states being able to se…

Commission chair Craig Drummond says values must be respected ‘Other opportunities outside sport’ for those who fail to meet standards AFL Commission chair Craig Drummond has declared players must abide by the competition’s high standards of behaviour or they will not have a place in professional Australian rules football. The comments follow a police investigation in an allegation of sexual assa…

It’s still very early but Mikel Arteta’s side are playing with an authority and freshness that eluded them at times last season Sign up for our free newsletter here Three league games played, three games won . For Arsenal this season could only have started better if Manchester City, who look like being one of their two most serious challengers, had dropped points. But it’s not just about results…

Promoted side’s thrilling win may be overturned after they used four substitutions windows while Georgia Stanway show the way for Gunners Kirsty Howat’s 60-second cameo deep into injury time could ruin what was a memorable day for Crystal Palace on their return to the top flight. An impressive 1-0 victory over Everton was celebrated emphatically by Jo Potter and her players but that joy would hav…