The Guardian

The 21-year-old came to rugby via an unusual route, but it is one that may soon see him in the England squad To announce Afo Fasogbon as English rugby’s next big thing is not entirely accurate. He may be big – 6ft 4in tall and about 130kg (20st 6lb) – but as far as the internet is concerned he arrived some time ago. Video footage of the young Gloucester prop waving off the more experienced Ellis …

Forward made an emotional lap of honour at Anfield after a week that put his future at the club in doubt Mohamed Salah and Liverpool have put politics to shame by showing what a long week truly looks like. It ended with the Egyptian doing a one-man lap of honour at Anfield, an attempt to rebuild trust with the supporters after creating a ceasefire, if not a complete truce, with Arne Slot. Over th…

Former striker scored a hat-trick in 1979 derby Rowell had been diagnosed with leukaemia The former Sunderland striker Gary Rowell has died at the age of 68, the Black Cats have announced. He was being treated for leukaemia. The Seaham-born Rowell, who scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 Division Two win over Newcastle at St James’ Park in February 1979, died on Saturday. His death comes 50 years to the …

No easy games? Surely this one would be for Arsenal. Never before in English football history had a team endured a worse league record after 15 matches than Wolves. In any of the professional divisions. Their haul of a meagre two points gave an outline of the grimness, although by no means all of the detail. Before kick-off, the bookmakers had Wolves at 28-1 to win; it was 8-1 for the draw. And y…

The Manchester City midfielder is in sparkling club form but that doesn’t mean he is the right fit for Tuchel’s England By the time the World Cup comes around, nine years will have passed since Phil Foden won the Golden Ball as England lifted the Under-17 World Cup. That tournament can be seen in hindsight as a watershed for the English game, the first indication that the elite player performance…

Former champion shows mettle in win over Adam Hunt Gilding, Woodhouse and Davies victorious in first round The thought of playing in a “new” arena is keeping Gary Anderson going at the PDC World Darts Championship . The two-time champion edged through his first-round clash at Alexandra Palace, getting the better of Adam Hunt 3-2. Anderson is a threat to the favourites this year and, with the tour…

Pool 1: Sharks 28-23 Saracens Much-changed Sarries beaten in tough conditions It is a long way to go for just a point, but Saracens all but took the maximum against Sharks in biblical weather in Durban. Now that South Africa has been incorporated into the Champions Cup , these long trips are part and parcel. It meant Saracens changing 10 of their starting lineup. It meant Sharks changing 14 – and…

A win for Chelsea, a much-needed once after four games without, and in many ways a routine one – and yet it was also a game that highlighted the oddity of Enzo Maresca’s side. He has a squad packed with extraordinary talent, capable of passages of exceptional football, but they are also wildly inconsistent, even within individual games. They won easily, could have won more easily, and also had sp…

33-1 shot repels challenge of Jagwar and Vincenzo Race capped a week of events for Hunt Family Fund This was an afternoon at the track when the big-race result was secondary to the cause it was supporting. For Faye Bramley it also marked a huge step forward in her training career as Glengouly, a 33-1 outsider, made all the running to win the Support the Hunt Family Fund December Gold Cup. The Hun…

Substitute scores late in 2-1 win over Valencia Simeone’s side had lost last two in the league Atlético Madrid ’s Antoine Griezmann came off the bench to guide them to a 2-1 victory over struggling Valencia , helping snap their losing run in La Liga and stay in touch with the frontrunners. Koke opened the scoring in the 17th minute, his first league goal in nearly two years, but Lucas Beltrán pro…

Preston up into third after 2-1 victory at Oxford Stoke battle past Swansea to halt winless run Jovon Makama scored twice in the second half as Norwich battled to a 2-1 victory over Southampton at Carrow Road. Leading the line in the absence of Josh Sargent, who was missing due to concussion protocols, Makama struck in the 48th and 61st minutes to sink a Saints side who had won five out of six go…

Vonn denied second straight downhill win at St Moritz Aicher edges ageless American star by 0.24sec Vonn remains atop downhill standings after two races At 41, Lindsey Vonn is no longer defying expectations so much as resetting them. One day after becoming the oldest woman to win a World Cup race , the American came within a quarter-second of doing it again, finishing second in Saturday’s downhil…

Wild acquire star defenseman from Canucks Vancouver receive three prospects and a first Trade signals Minnesota’s all-in push The Minnesota Wild made an all-in move for one of the NHL’s best players in his prime, acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade – their boldest action yet toward ending a decade-long skid of playoff series defeats. The teams annou…

Eddie Howe says revitalised derby rivals will be a tougher mental test for his side than the Champions League Midnight was fast approaching when Eddie Howe faced a curve-ball question: if he could be offered a draw at the Stadium of Light on Sunday would he accept it? If the typically straight-bat answer – “no chance, we prepare to win every game” – was expected, Howe’s subsequent reaction spoke …

Channel Seven airs footage of Brisbane airport incident ‘This matter is being taken seriously,’ says broadcaster England’s embattled tour of Australia suffered a public relations setback on Saturday following a testy altercation between a member of security staff and a local camera operator at Brisbane airport. In footage released by Channel Seven , England’s minder Colin Rhooms is heard repeated…