The Guardian

Competition will not now begin until 2028 ‘Decision to shift our launch is strategic’ Rugby’s proposed breakaway R360 competition has announced it will be delaying its launch for two years until 2028. Fronted by former England World Cup winner Mike Tindall, R360 said in a statement that its ambition remains to “complement the rugby calendar”. However, the announcement will raise concerns over the…

Wiegman has had to rejig defence and captaincy for a Wembley friendly with China that should pose new challenges for Lionesses When England welcome China to a sold-out Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, it will mark the sixth meeting between two nations who have been on different trajectories in recent years. The marketing has focused on the clash of continental champions – England as the hol…

Ben Stokes’s batters must realise the aggressive option doesn’t always mean attacking Australia’s bowlers, and if they don’t, it could be all over in Brisbane It’s not over yet. There is still hope. Before the Ashes started I had plenty of it , because of England’s fantastic array of fast bowlers and because I felt they had improved on their crash‑bang‑wallop, one-size‑fits‑all approach to battin…

Saints’ director of rugby on being converted to coaching, his ‘bromance’ with Sam Vesty and why Henry Pollock is smarter than he seems Northampton is not the most exotic destination on the planet, but there is plenty of romance and adventure in its rugby union team. In a town famous for boot-making you might expect kicking, as frequently and as far as possible, to be the Saints’ modus operandi. B…

Goals from Amy Sayer and Hayley Raso set up 5-0 win Australia boost confidence ahead of Asian Cup showpiece In the 26th minute of the Matildas’ 5-0 win over New Zealand, Australia already leading 2-0, an Amy Sayer shot bounced off the post and out to Ellie Carpenter, who had come forward from her post at right-back to be the most advanced player on the park. As she does. Her resulting shot sailed…

Tech investors promise to disrupt everything from padel to basketball, but their pitch-deck jargon is slowly draining the humanity from sport itself Finally, a sector more ludicrously hyped than AI. Speaking to Yahoo Sports recently about the launch of Project B, a startup global women’s basketball league, co-founder Grady Burnett declared that “women’s basketball is growing right now as fast as …

FA says 63 million people within two hours of a venue Final stadium list will come down to between 14 and 16 England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have submitted their bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup as the largest single-sport event staged in the UK. The Lionesses’ leading goalscorer, Ellen White, described the bid as “really special” and compared it to her experience of the 2012 …

The latest football updates and reaction Mail Rob | Read Football Daily | Ten things to look out for Chelsea v Arsenal (Sunday, 4.30pm) Here’s a good one from the archive, Scott Murray on six classic Chelsea/Arsenal matches. Chelsea won their first and only pre-Mourinho championship in 1954-55 under the auspices of Ted Drake, but a series of mid-table finishes, and a slow start in 1961-62, saw th…

Donyell Malen has a cut to the head and two more goals to his name after leading Aston Villa to the verge of automatic qualification for the last 16 of the Europa League against a backdrop of more crowd violence from Young Boys supporters. The Netherlands striker exemplifies Villa’s strength in depth but this 10th win in 12 games was marred by visiting fans ripping up seats, throwing missiles at …

SW19 champion baffled by post-match suggestions she should have let Amanda Anisimova win one game in grand slam final as she turns focus to Australian Open in 2026 In the coming months, if and when her schedule allows, Iga Swiatek will make a pilgrimage to London and the All England Club, the scene of her biggest and, she admits, most surprising triumph. In July, the 24-year-old won her first Wim…

The Uzbek won $120,000 and qualified for the 2026 Candidates in Cyprus, which will decide the official challenger for Gukesh Dommaraju’s world crown Javokhir Sindarov, 19, became the youngest ever winner of the Fide knockout World Cup on Wednesday when the Uzbek teenager defeated China’s Wei Yi 2.5-1.5 in the final at Goa. Ukraine’s Ruslan Ponomariov had been a year younger in 2002, but that Worl…

The SailGP championship harnesses sailors’ competitive instincts in the cause of sustainability as teams vie to be the greenest of them all British sailors have always been a belligerent bunch. Francis Drake, Lord Nelson, Admiral Cunningham … and, of course, Sir Ben Ainslie. The most successful Olympian in sailing’s history is also the sport’s equivalent of The Hulk: you really don’t want to make…

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Libertadores Cup final sees the latest chapter in a rivalry that is dominating the continent thanks to European levels of funding and player recruitment To the surprise of few and the despair of many, it will be either Palmeiras or Flamengo lifting the Copa Libertadores trophy on Saturday at Lima’s Estadio Monumental. With this year’s final, one of these two Brazilian giants will have won five of…

Retired rider to work closely with head of sport Brailsford ‘This team has been my home since day one,’ says Thomas Geraint Thomas has been appointed as the new director of racing at Ineos Grenadiers, a few weeks after retiring from competition at this year’s Tour of Britain. “This team has been my home since day one, and stepping into this role feels like a natural next step,” Thomas said. The m…