The Guardian

Hosts’ big clash with All Blacks on second weekend England will begin against Tonga in Brisbane The 2027 World Cup will get off to a low-key start with Australia kicking off against Hong Kong after the organisers opted against beginning the tournament with the Wallabies’ blockbuster pool fixture against New Zealand. When Australia were drawn in the same pool as their arch-rivals in December it wa…

Mateta to rejoin squad following medical concerns Palace close in on loan for Everton’s Dwight McNeil Jean-Philippe Mateta will be reintegrated into Crystal Palace’s squad after the France striker’s deadline-day move to Milan collapsed but he faces competition for his place from new club record signing Jørgen Strand Larsen. The Norway striker’s move from Wolves was confirmed just before Monday’s …

⚽️ Updates from the Stadium of Light (8pm GMT KO) ⚽️ Live scores | Full table | Follow on Bluesky | Mail Will I covered the reverse of this fixture back in August. Burnley won 2-0 against a dreadful Sunderland side and I thought the Black Cats’ opening day win over West Ham was a flash in the pan. Always good to be reminded how wrong I generally am. Get your deadline fill with John Brewin. Contin…

Latest row to hit T20 World Cup raises difficult questions for the sport’s governing body, with lucrative TV deal to protect The announcement on Sunday , fittingly, was made by Pakistan’s government, a reminder that this episode goes well beyond a game of cricket. In a post on X, the government approved the national side’s participation at this month’s T20 World Cup, but with a significant caveat…

Grand slams proposed setting up a player council Australian Open not involved in the pay dispute The tennis pay row has escalated further with the world’s top 10 male and female players rejecting an offer from the grand slams to set up a player council that would give them a greater say in the running of the major championships. In correspondence sent to Wimbledon, the French Open and US Open las…

Fifa president sorry for comment about arrests Infantino says it is time to look at readmitting Russia The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, has apologised over remarks he made about British fans and defended the decision to award a peace prize to the United States president, Donald Trump. Infantino said at last month’s World Economic Forum in Davos that the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 had been sp…

Pep Guardiola’s side would be on top of the league had they not consistently struggled to hold leads Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here The focus had been on Arsenal. They had not won in three Premier League games before this weekend and it was reasonable to ask how secure their position at the top of the table was. But the impact of their wobble was not that their lead was eaten into, …

Nine years in, the appeal of lots of Grade One races, cheaper tickets and accommodation make Dublin the place to go Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, had two reasons to be cheerful after the Irish Champion Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival on Sunday. His seven-year-old mare, Brighterdaysahead, had just won the feature race. And she was cheered back to the winner’s enclosure by a…

A second-half cameo from 41-year-old talisman helped end strugglers’ long wait for win against Girona First there was applause and then they started singing, the sound coming from the narrow street outside. In the bars and terraces where Real Oviedo’s fans were still picking over the game – in La Patatina, La Pepica, La Competencia and the rest – some put down their drinks and came to see what wa…

Team GB’s ice dance duo warmed up for the Winter Olympics by re-enacting the classic routine and are confident they can end Britain’s 32-year medal wait Even after 42 years, the images remain seared into the mind’s eye. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean staring deeply into each other’s souls as Ravel’s haunting Boléro strikes up. Dean tenderly caressing his partner’s face as they dance. And the …

Mercedes principal insists their new car is within rules ‘Other teams are finding excuses before they have started’ Toto Wolff has dismissed claims from rival teams over the legality of Mercedes’ new engine, insisting it is within the regulations. The Mercedes team principal said that the onus lay with the other manufacturers who had missed an opportunity and that they should get their “shit toge…

Max Rushden is joined by Barney Ronay, John Brewin and Seb Hutchinson as Arsenal enjoy a healthy lead at the top of the Premier League thanks to a stirring second-half performance from Spurs against Manchester City. On the podcast today; what happened to Manchester City in the second half against Spurs? An extraordinary finish from Dominic Solanke probably saves Thomas Frank’s job once again. Els…

Itoje missed start of camp to attend mother’s funeral Arundell makes first England start in three years on wing Jamie George will captain England in their Six Nations opener against Wales on Saturday with Maro Itoje named on the bench while Henry Arundell has been selected for a first start in three years. Itoje missed the start of England’s training camp in Girona to attend his mother’s funeral …

The 28-year-old has rebuilt from crushing disappointment in the skeleton four years ago to become Britain’s best hope of Winter Olympic gold at Milano Cortina “Excitement is definitely the word I’d use,” Matt Weston says as the world No 1 and the reigning world champion in the skeleton looks ahead to the start of the Winter Olympics this week. Weston has just won the skeleton World Cup, winning f…

There were tears after a nonsensical draw with Atalanta but young possession-based team is heading places For the second time in less than three weeks, Cesc Fàbregas found himself standing in front of the TV cameras, trying to explain a scoreline that made no sense. “It’s not normal,” he had insisted last month, after Como lost 3-1 to Milan despite “making 700 passes to their 200” (659 to 320, ac…