The Guardian

The 27-year-old flanker confounded expectations leaping from Durham university’s fourth XV to Prem rugby captain – don’t bet against his big England ambitions At the start of every season for the past few years Fitz Harding has written down his goals for the next 12 months on the first page of a crisp new notebook. “You can probably guess what they are,” says Bristol’s impressive captain ahead of…

⚽ All the latest football news heading into the weekend ⚽ Ten things to look out for | Read Football Daily | Mail Billy Former Manchester City captain and now Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany has been speaking to the media in Germany this morning. I’m only thinking about my work at FC Bayern. We have important games coming up, and that takes a lot of time. There’s not much time to think abou…

As the Premier League returns, we dive into the signing who could boost United’s midfield – or confuse things further Carlos Baleba cost Manchester United $88.7m (£65m) plus $6.8m (£5m) in add-ons when they signed him from Brighton in August. He may be worth even more now despite the fact that the Cameroonian has yet to debut for his new club. Many United fans are counting on Baleba to be a one-m…

Owner looking at investment options including sale ‘Time is right to consider the next chapter for Everton’ Everton’s owner, The Friedkin Group, is exploring the “sale of a controlling interest” in the club. A statement on Friday said new investment options were being looked into, including a sale. The group completed its takeover in December 2024, ending the turbulent era of Farhad Moshiri, and …

On Sunday, Austrian returns to Crystal Palace, the club he left in the summer after leading them to unprecedented success, but accepts there could be ‘booing’ Oliver Glasner puffs his cheeks and starts the search for the right words to explain his emotions as he prepares to return to Crystal Palace for the first time since leaving. There is the small matter of heading back on Sunday with Nottingh…

The Chess England event was a rare test of UK skills against strong foreign opposition Master chess in central London is rare, although the annual ChessFest in Trafalgar Square attracts more than 20,000 visitors. In London’s clubland in Pall Mall, the RAC clubhouse has hosted the Oxford v Cambridge Varsity match for almost half a century, while the Athenaeum was the venue for a dramatic match in …

Follow updates from Kingsmead Cricket Ground Start time in Durban is 9.30am local/6.30pm AEDT Sign up for The Spin newsletter | Get in touch via email Hello and welcome to live coverage of the first day of the first Test between South Africa and Australia in Durban. This is a heavyweight clash between the top two teams in the current World Test Championship standings, and the two teams that met i…

Irving rushes for career-high 165 yards and two TDs Rookie Daniels impresses in second NFL start Prescott throws two picks as Dallas fall to 2-3 Bucky Irving rushed for a career-high 165 yards, including a 72-yard run that set up the go-ahead touchdown, and scored twice as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-16 on Thursday night for their first win of the season. Jalon Daniels thr…

James scores 10 points in 18-minute Sixers debut Jaylen Brown leads Philadelphia with 18 points Nets pull away in third quarter for 114-108 victory NBA superstar LeBron James delivered a solid first-half performance in his first pre-season game for Philadelphia on Thursday, but the new-look 76ers fell 114-108 to the Brooklyn Nets. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, announced in July that h…

Australia’s record in Auckland is ugly but the stakes this weekend could be even higher for the home team who are on a three-match losing streak Eden Park against the All Blacks. It is perhaps the most formidable challenge in rugby union. The last time the home side lost was in 1994, before the pride of New Zealand began their unbeaten run at Auckland’s famous venue. It now stands at 53 Tests. Au…

Michael Carrick is wary of ‘Dr Tottenham’, Oliver Glasner returns to Selhurst Park and will Manchester City summon a siege mentality at Anfield? Premier League top scorers | View the league table Declan Rice’s future role in England’s midfield was questioned by Gary Lineker after Alex Scott’s impressive first senior international start in the 7-0 thrashing of Croatia. But the decision to withdraw…

Aces star wins record fifth WNBA MVP award Wilson becomes first player to win three straight Olivia Miles finishes second in MVP voting A’ja Wilson was named the WNBA’s most valuable player on Thursday for a third consecutive year and a record fifth time overall. Wilson became the first player in league history to win the award three years running, having also claimed the honor in 2020 and 2022. …

Rayo Vallecano’s fascinating forward on his unique club, his musical passions and the goalscoring form that puts him among Europe’e elite An 11-year-old, second-hand VW Beetle with more than 300,000km on the clock pulls over on Clown Fofó Street in the heart of Vallecas. The music goes off, the Smiths silenced, and out gets Sergio Camello: movie aficionado with 156 films reviewed , part-time phot…

This long-awaited fight is happening exactly as intended: at the sweet spot where commercial potential meets a genuine absence of jeopardy The 1912 Olympic marathon was held in a brutal Scandinavian heatwave, and before long Shizo Kanakuri of Japan was flagging. His journey to Stockholm had been debilitating; he had barely trained and struggled to sleep. At around the 16-mile mark he finally gave…

Cadillac driver rode between Malaysia and Singapore Bottas says four-day trip helped him acclimatise Valtteri Bottas has revealed the details of an incident-packed 418km bike ride including encounters with snakes, being chased by dogs and the eerie atmosphere of riding through the jungle at night as the Cadillac driver cycled between Malaysia and Singapore this week. The 37-year-old is a keen cyc…