The Guardian

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…

North Melbourne 9.2.56 defeat Brisbane 2.4.16 in grand final Roos create VFL/AFL/AFLW history as first undefeated premiers North Melbourne have completed a perfect season and become the first AFLW team to win back-to-back premierships with a 40-point win over the Brisbane Lions in the grand final. Ash Riddell starred in the Kangaroos’ 9.2 (56) to 2.4 (16) triumph at a sold-out Ikon Park on Saturd…

Quick misses nets as injury in troublesome knee flares up Josh Tongue is back-up if tourists do not go with spinners Mark Wood is set to be ruled out of England’s next Ashes Test at the Gabba after reporting soreness in the troublesome left knee that required surgery in March and forced him to miss the entire home summer. The eight-wicket defeat suffered in Perth last week was Wood’s first compet…

It may not be as glamorous as Monaco, but it was on the raceway where a seven-year-old Norris first caught the eye of motor sport trainers Monaco, Las Vegas, Singapore. The list of pitstops on Lando Norris’ road to the top of Formula One is like a luxury travel agent’s catalogue. So when I was asked to trace the young man’s journey ahead of a weekend in which he could become the first British cha…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Chelsea Football Club, an apology. Football Daily, and many others, would like to admit we might have poked rather too much fun at the machinations of the institution that brought us such chortlesome items as amortisation , nine-year contracts , spending a billion quid , stockpiling young players , flogging hotels to linked companies for account…

Nicky Henderson’s star hurdler needs to bounce back on Saturday after another poor performance at Punchestown The venerable Timeform organisation used a well-chosen four-letter word to describe Constitution Hill’s performance in the Boodles Champion Hurdle at Punchestown in early May , when the top-rated hurdler of recent decades started as the odds-on favourite but finished fifth of the six runn…

Captain rejects term used by former Ashes tormentor Mitchell Johnson Tourists begin training with pink Kookaburra ball in Brisbane Ben Stokes has accepted the criticism that followed his England side’s two-day defeat in Perth as part of being in the results business but said he draws a line at the notion his players were “arrogant” in their approach. That particular word was used by former Austra…

Knicks oust champs as NBA Cup quarter-finals set Orlando, Toronto top groups with perfect 4-0 marks Thunder v Suns, Magic v Heat headline last-eight ties The NBA Cup quarter-final field was set on Friday night, with Miami travelling to Orlando and New York going to Toronto on the Eastern Conference side, and an Oklahoma City v Phoenix rematch and San Antonio facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the W…

Mixed messages over captain Pat Cummins’s potential return to bowling in the Ashes are a curiously dismissive attitude towards the paying public You could speculate about whether Cricket Australia deliberately prefers to be opaque regarding player availability and team plans, or whether it just has a deficiency in communications, but once again the fitness of players and the makeup of the XI is l…

There have been many good points – challenging orthodoxies and Ben Stokes talking openly about male emotions – and even when it was bad, it was unignorable The Life Cycle of a Cult 1. The Big Idea. A charismatic leader or leaders propose a new and transcendent idea that promises a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people. So here we are then. They’re getting ready to storm the compound down in…

News and discussion as we build up to the day’s action Premier League things | Get in touch Hello, football. A jam packed day awaits. Readers, any football plans for the day? What ground are you heading off to? How optimistic are you that your team will get the win this weekend? Let me know in the comments below the line or via our dedicated matchday live email . Join me as we get stuck in with t…

Enzo Maresca’s young side face league leaders Arsenal on Sunday on a high but have moved on from the emotional swings of old The worst way for Chelsea to respond to their demolition of Barcelona would be to believe the hype. The problem is that emotions in football swing from one extreme to another, as the people running things at Stamford Bridge have quickly come to appreciate. They have faced p…

Troubled times at Carrington as the club proud of producing the next generation of stars is in flux under fresh leadership The standards of Manchester United’s academy have “really slipped” in recent years, according to Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The club is renowned as one of the world’s best schools for young players, so the words of the man at the top of the football operation will have stung those tr…

Chicago rush for 281 in fifth straight win Philly fans boo as offense unravels again Hurts’ tush-push fumble turns game Kyle Monangai rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown, D’Andre Swift ran for 125 yards and a score, and the Chicago Bears finished with 281 yards on the ground to win their fifth straight game, 24-15 over the reeling Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night. Led by rookie coach Ben John…

Norris third in Lusail, with Russell second on grid Verstappen furious with car after qualifying sixth Oscar Piastri took pole position for the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix. The McLaren driver beat the Mercedes of George Russell into second and, with Lando Norris in third, it was the result the Australian required for his world championship ambitions and allows a chance to narrow the gap t…