3 d. ago England rue five dropped catches as Australia build lead in second Ashes Test

Second Test, day two: England 334; Australia 378-6Late wickets offer tourists hope amid string of spillsThe ball may be pink and the meal breaks off-kilter, but for so much of the second day in this pivotal day-night Test match, the atmosphere inside the Gabba was an all-too-familiar one for England’s supporters.Gone was the triumphalism that met Joe Root’s first Test century on these shores 24 hours earlier and in its place the sight of Australia taking control. England’s attack had been in the madhouse, sending down a feast of wide long hops and half-volleys to make Jackson Pollock look positively precise. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Maro Itoje eyes World Cup glory after England dodge big guns in 2027 draw

England ‘welcome whatever comes’ says bullish captainWales’ Tandy ‘unbelievably excited’ by England clashMaro Itoje has set his sights on Rugby World Cup glory in Australia in 2027 after England were handed a favourable potential path through the tournament when the draw was made in Sydney on Wednesday.Steve Borthwick’s side, who have risen to third in the world rankings after an 11-match winning streak, emerged on the other side of the draw from the reigning world champions South Africa, three-times winners New Zealand and France. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Favourable 2027 Rugby World Cup draw provides few potholes for England | Robert Kitson

Signs are encouraging for an improving squad to invoke the glory of 2003 with rivals facing trickier routes in Australia As the Ashes have reminded us, it never pays to get too excited in advance about winning in Australia. But once the draw for the 2027 men’s Rugby World Cup had concluded and the various knockout permutations had been crunched there was a strong whiff of deja vu in the Sydney air. A World Cup down under and a decent draw for England? What could possibly go wrong?The organisers had already stoked the narrative nicely by wheeling out Jonny Wilkinson in the promotional tournament video, essentially a mashup of Mad Max and Wacky Races roaring across a dusty outback. When every Australian wakes up on Thursday to discover it is 666 days until the 2027 edition kicks off, the nagging fear of nightmarish history repeating itself will further intensify. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Arsenal go top as Martinelli puts finishing touch to win against Bayern Munich

This was billed as a clash of two of the best teams in Europe and for most of a cold evening in north London it felt like it. An absorbing game which ebbed and flowed throughout saw Bayern Munich’s rising star Lennart Karl cancel out Jurriën Timber’s opening goal from a corner before Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli sealed a deserved win for Mikel Arteta’s side to maintain their 100% record in the Champions League so far and go top of the table. A place in the knockout stages now seems a mere formality.Harry Kane let it slip in the buildup to this match that scoring against Arsenal gives him “a bit more joy” than any other club. But the England striker barely had a sight of goal as a Bayern side that had also won their first four matches in the Champions League group stage were taught a lesson. Arteta resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes before Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. He opted to start Cristhian Mosquera in central defence rat...

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3 w. ago England keep sights on rugby’s Everest in relentless climb to game’s summit | Robert Kitson

Beating the All Blacks shows how far Steve Borthwick’s men have come – but there remains yet more room for improvementAfter finally scaling Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953 the first person Edmund Hillary encountered on his descent was his longtime climbing friend, George Lowe. “Well, George,” Hillary said, “we knocked the bastard off.” Which is basically how England’s captain, Maro Itoje, and his team felt on Saturday having lifted the Hillary Shield, named in honour of the indomitable New Zealander who conquered the world’s most famous summit.English rugby’s ultimate Everest is still up ahead of them, of course, in the form of the 2027 World Cup, but this was their South Col moment. And while a first home win against the All Blacks since 2012 and their second‑highest margin of victory in this 120-year-old fixture will both be sources of satisfaction there was also a powerful sense that their upwardly mobile trek is far from complete. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Eberechi Eze makes Arsenal transfer admission and sets sight on next England goal

Arsenal and England attacker Eberechi Eze reckons he has become a better player since his £60m transfer from Crystal Palace as he seeks trophies for club and country

Sport

4 w. ago Erasmus’s coaching scholarship takes South Africa to a higher plain | Robert Kitson

Victory in Paris with 14 men showed what the world champions can still do, leaving New Zealand and others playing catchupSome wins count double in terms of the message they send. And amid the blizzard of weekend Test matches it was Saturday night’s result in Paris that will resonate the longest in both hemispheres. Not only the outcome, either, but the manner of it. To say South Africa exploded a few cosy theories would be the understatement of the rugby year.So much for the idea, for example, that France would avenge the injustice of their World Cup quarter-final defeat to the Springboks. That entering the final quarter with a narrow lead and an extra man would translate into inevitable glory. That even without their talisman Antoine Dupont they still had more than enough tranquiliser darts to keep the big beasts safely at bay. Continue reading...

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