4 h. ago Comical announcement at rugby match leaves crowd in stitches as tempers flare on pitch

"Your wife is waiting at the bar to take you to the baby shower," read the announcer.

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4 d. ago How Scotland contrived to lose Calcutta Cup match they should have won as England end four years of hurt

Finn Russell’s missed conversion proves costly

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4 d. ago Agony for Finn Russell after missed kick hands England win over Scotland

England 16-15 ScotlandRussell puts conversion wide after Van der Merwe tryAt long last England have shaken off their Calcutta Cup blues. Never in the previous 153 years of this fixture had Scotland managed five successive wins over the auld enemy and another tartan triumph really would have had them dancing in the streets of Galashiels in Bill McLaren’s memory. This was a desperately tight old battle, though, with a second gripping home victory in consecutive games only secured right at the death.In the end it all hinged on whether Finn Russell could land the angled conversion following Duhan van der Merwe’s 79th-minute try. Up went the ball, end over end, and for the first half of its flight it seemed Scotland might be celebrating once more. Agonisingly for the visitors, though, it then curved just wide of the left-hand upright to leave England, to their immense relief, still alive in the title race. Continue reading...

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7 d. ago Wales name team for Ireland match as Sherratt rips up Gatland's side

The Wales interim head coach has made a number of changes from Warren Gatland's last team

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7 d. ago Tour of Algarve’s opening stage is scrapped after peloton goes wrong way

Filippo Ganna’s win for Ineos Grenadiers cancelledLead car went awry at roundabout to cause chaosThe opening stage of the Tour of Algarve ended in chaos on Wednesday when most of the peloton took the wrong road just before the finish, and race organisers later cancelled the results.When the riders came through a roundabout just before the home straight, the lead car went the wrong side of the barriers and the majority of the bunch followed suit, leaving the crowd bewildered as they watched two races unfurl. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Calcutta Cup classics: our writers pick their most memorable showdowns

As England prepare to host Scotland on Saturday, relive some of the most compelling clashes between the old foesThat bonkers 38-38 draw in 2019 clearly has to be up there. But the world’s oldest international fixture takes on a different complexion in even-numbered years. Edinburgh’s cold, malty air, the walk down past Haymarket (before the trams), the distant hills, the lone piper on the Murrayfield roof the pre-match mood always recalls the glorious tartan-tinted newspaper intro from years back. “Can we do it? Aye, I think we can.” Even as a kid, watching the great Andy Irvine from afar, and then subsequently as a uni student in Edinburgh, the most memorable matches always involved England being sent homeward to think again. So I’m choosing the 2000 game, my Calcutta Cup debut as – pinch me – the Guardian’s rugby correspondent. The weather was utterly atrocious and a strongly fancied England side, hoping for a first grand slam since 1995, were flushed away by a slithering splashdo...

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9 d. ago IT Crowd's Chris O'Dowd leaves villagers fuming as he films new show

Moone Boy star Chris O’Dowd returns home for a comedy series about a Hollywood production invading a small Irish town that he has written, directed and stars in with Paddy Considine and Christina Hendricks

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