The Guardian

Captain and fly-half clashed during defeat by Italy ‘I think it is a good thing people can express a view’ Maro Itoje has said there are no cracks in the England squad despite his spat with Fin Smith during last week’s humiliating defeat by Italy and believes the confrontation demonstrates the harmony within the camp. Itoje was heard roaring at Smith “don’t argue with me, take the three,” in the …

Scotland take on Ireland in mix for championship ‘It would be great to finish with a win and on a high’ Gregor Townsend refused to indulge in talk of a first Six Nations title for Scotland as he outlined the scale of the task still facing his side in their quest to make history. The Scots go into Super Saturday as one of three teams in the mix for the championship, alongside table-topping France …

Masochistically rewatching the horror show against Atlético confirms that in a season of disasters this is perhaps the biggest The Guardian published a story on its website late on Wednesday with the headline: Igor Tudor to carry on at Spurs but future in doubt beyond Liverpool match . Given the past four games, and especially Tuesday night, most Tottenham fans may find it surprising that the (se…

The world No 3 is backed to become the challenger but lost twice this week, to Wesley So and Levon Aronian Fabiano Caruana, the world No 3, reigning US champion and 5-2 favourite to win the world title Candidates at the Cap St Georges Resort, Pegeia, Cyprus, from 29 March to 16 April, planned to warm up with two events at his home town St Louis, but events have not followed the script. Caruana wa…

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From violent collision contests to celebrity-backed offshoots, spin-off sports are finding captive audiences. Their spectacle masks something more sinister A few weeks ago a clip went viral of a strange new contact sport emerging from the antipodes. Two burly men, one of them holding a football, sprint at each other on a kind of catwalk, waiting for the bloop-bloop-bloop of an electronic countdow…

Sweden winger was a serial winner at Barcelona and hopes her experience can help Manchester United claim their first Women’s League Cup trophy on Sunday against Chelsea When a club is preparing for its fourth major cup final, it helps to have somebody in the squad whose tally of Champions League final appearances alone surpasses that. Enter the serial winner Fridolina Rolfö, who has helped Manche…

This was a severe case of deja vu for Crystal Palace on their maiden European adventure, although at least this time they managed to avoid defeat. After surprisingly losing 1-0 to Larnaca here 139 days ago in the league stage, Oliver Glasner’s side were again left to rue missed opportunities and a lack of creativity in attack despite the return of Jean-Philippe Mateta as a late substitute. The Fr…

Victory for former Spurs manager’s horse in Cheltenham’s top race would be one of the best sporting stories of the year Harry Redknapp was in a reflective mood after watching Taurus Bay, his first runner at this year’s meeting, finish among the also-rans in Wednesday’s Turners Novices’ Hurdle. It was a decent performance – Taurus Bay was a 33-1 shot, after all – but it was the disappointing run b…

After earning gold in Milan, local figure-skating icon accepts a key to the city at a celebration of local artists Nearly 5,000 people gathered in Oakland on Thursday afternoon to celebrate local hero Alysa Liu – a fitting homecoming for the two-time Olympic gold medalist who joyously shouted out the Bay Area city after her short program in Milan less than a month ago. Scores of people arrived ea…

For over two decades the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Bees have ruled Ohio high school gymnastics. On Saturday, they pursue a remarkable 23rd consecutive state title As Brecksville-Broadview Heights gymnasts, seniors Rachel Kirin and Kyla Haverdill know that there’s only one expectation for how the season ends on Saturday: with the Ohio high school state title. “It’s definitely a lot of pressure…

The Fifa president’s sycophancy towards the US president has left the organisation facing a new nadir, but any reckoning seems a distant prospect Mr President. Fellow exco members. We’re going to need a bigger Board of Peace. How many mini‑pitches are we up to now? Gaza got 50 of them last month. What will it take to football-fix the global conflict being set in train by Fifa’s own Peace Prize Bo…

British No 1’s title defence ends in 6-1, 7-5 defeat to Medvedev Cameron Norrie faces Carlos Alcaraz in quarter-finals Jack Draper was controversially ruled to have caused a hindrance to opponent Daniil Medvedev as his Indian Wells title defence ended in the quarter-finals. The 24-year-old Briton, looking understandably weary from his exploits in beating Novak Djokovic less than 24 hours earlier …

Bukayo Saka could switch to No 10, Brentford’s Igor Thiago sets sights on 20-goal mark and a key selection dilemma looms for Chelsea Premier League top scorers: latest top-flight standings In the summer, Burnley signed two new goalkeepers. Martin Dubravka agreed a one-year deal after leaving Newcastle, and has been one of the successes from a questionable round of recruitment. At 37, however, and…

After Antonin Kinsky’s Spurs woes at Atlético, we recall five more matches the keeper in question would sooner forget The score at the City Ground was goalless as Manchester City’s Andy Dibble captured an aerial cross and assessed his options. Little did he know that the Nottingham Forest midfielder Gary Crosby had spotted that he had rested the ball, casually, on one hand. “All I thought was: ‘H…