Wales seek Six Nations boost from Principality Stadium roof decision January 21, 2025 Wales have attempted to draw a line under rugby’s roof rows of the past ahead of the Six Nations by announcing that the Principality Stadium will remain covered for all of the team’s home matches until at least 2027. Previously, opponents have had to agree to the roof being closed at the 74,000-seater venue but [...]
Northampton Saints England’s best hope in Investec Champions Cup January 21, 2025 It wasn’t in the 66 points that came before full-time, nor in the sledging match in the stands that decided an all-time epic between Northampton Saints and Munster in round four of the Investec Champions Cup. Instead it was the colossal mitts of one Henry Pollock, the East Mids star quickly forming a rugby reputation [...]
UK motorsport businesses missing out on corporation tax relief January 21, 2025 The heart of the UK’s Formula 1 and motorsport hub could be paying unnecessarily high tax rates because they’re unaware of free relief available to them, a new study has revealed. Less than 10 per cent of firms are claiming Patent Box relief in the motorsport corridor of the UK, which houses the likes of [...]
Investec Champions Cup: Benetton shine and Castres shock January 20, 2025 Nearly 50 matches after we began, the great and good of European rugby have been whittled down to 16 teams. The Investec Champions Cup round of 16 will see a number of firsts for the game intertwined with some classic fixtures synonymous with the competition. Because after the four rounds of pool games, South African [...]
Football regulator: Tory peers right to question changes, says Collins January 20, 2025 Former Culture, Media and Sport select committee chair Damian Collins has defended Conservative peers’ thorough questioning of the Labour government’s beefed-up plans for an independent football regulator. Sport Minister Stephanie Peacock last week accused some Tory peers of submitting amendments “cynically designed to dither, delay and block” the progress of the Football Governance Bill through [...]
Fifa boss Infantino on Trump: ‘We will make entire world great again’ January 20, 2025 Fifa chief Gianni Infantino has hailed his “great friendship” with US president-elect Donald Trump and vowed that they will “make the entire world great again”. Infantino has forged close connections with Trump and the US, which will host the first edition of the expanded Club World Cup this summer and co-host the men’s World Cup [...]
Iga Swiatek: Wada decision clears Pole to continue Australian Open bid January 20, 2025 No2 seed Iga Swiatek has been cleared to continue her quest for a first Australian Open title after the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) ruled out pushing for a longer ban. Swiatek, 23, served a one-month ban last year after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that her positive test for trimetazidine was a result [...]
Novak Djokovic: Australian TV presenter apologises for mockery January 20, 2025 Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has received a public apology from Channel 9 presenter Tony Jones after he mocked the Serbian and his supporters on live TV. Djokovic refused to take part in an on-court interview after his fourth-round win over Jiri Lehecka in protest at disparaging remarks made by Jones on the official [...]
Sale Sharks owner sells £1bn empire to Asda backer TDR Capital January 20, 2025 Simon Orange, the self-made millionaire who co-owns Premiership rugby club Sale Sharks, has sold his business empire to Asda backer TDR Capital in a deal worth more than £1bn. CorpAcq, which is based in Cheshire, counts more than 40 businesses as part of its portfolio including the likes of Cotton Traders. CorpAcq does not included [...]
Matt Dawson joins Clive Woodward-backed Seat Unique January 19, 2025 England’s Rugby World Cup winning scrum-half Matt Dawson has joined premium ticketing firm Seat Unique, which is backed by his former coach Sir Clive Woodward. Seat Unique have tapped up the former international as a business advisor to help the start-up penetrate into new markets, including the English rugby space and beyond. The platform has [...]