England facing D-Day over Vunipola and Farrell Rugby World Cup ban fates August 21, 2023 Under-fire England coach Steve Borthwick will learn on Tuesday whether key men Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola will be banned for the start of next month’s Rugby World Cup. Captain Farrell and No8 Vunipola are both due to attend disciplinary hearings after being sent off for dangerous tackles in England’s two most recent World Cup [...]
Nike still won’t sell England goalkeeper shirt despite Mary Earps’ World Cup heroics August 21, 2023 Nike has resisted calls to put an England goalkeeper shirt on sale in the near future despite Mary Earps and the Lionesses’ success in reaching the Women’s World Cup final. The sportswear giant has attracted criticism from fans and players for not producing a replica of Earps’s kit following her World Cup heroics, despite selling [...]
Glamorous Monaco: Why there’s never been a better time to visit August 21, 2023 Occupying a slim slice of prime seafront real estate on the sun-baked Riviera, the sovereign city state of Monaco might be small—Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are bigger, in terms of square kilometres—but it rarely does things by halves. Here, less is certainly not more and over-the-top is always à la mode, from the old [...]
Checking into Lord Byron’s old love nest, Durham’s Seaham Hall August 21, 2023 Now’s an excellent time to go to Durham and the surrounding countryside, finds Adam Bloodworth WHERE: Incredibly posh students, a massive Cathedral, and music blaring from behind stately walls to signify where the studying is absolutely not happening. The northern city of Durham can feel subsumed by southern students, but go on a weekend to [...]
West Ham show up £800m Chelsea: 5 things we learned from the Premier League August 20, 2023 Chelsea have spent more on players since last summer than it cost to construct West Ham United’s home, the London Stadium. The 3-1 loss of the former at the latter today, even against 10 men for much of the second half, shows the Blues’ rebuild still has a long way to go. It was a [...]
Katarina Johnson-Thompson times run to perfection for World heptathlon gold August 20, 2023 Katarina Johnson-Thompson produced a personal best in the decisive 800m to win heptathlon gold at the World Athletics Championships for a second time. The Briton, whose career has been ravaged by an Achilles injury since she won this title in 2019, showed remarkable guts to pip American rival Anna Hall today in Budapest. Johnson-Thompson, 30, [...]
English rugby ‘digging its own grave’ with outdated coaching, says Danny Cipriani August 20, 2023 Former fly-half Danny Cipriani has accused English rugby of “digging its own grave” and appeared to compare coach Steve Borthwick to football manager Sam Allardyce after the national team’s Rugby World Cup plans descended further into disarray. England lost 29-10 to Ireland on Saturday in their penultimate warm-up match for the tournament and saw Billy [...]
Sarina Wiegman ‘proud’ as Lionesses beaten by Spain in Women’s World Cup final August 20, 2023 England coach Sarina Wiegman admitted she was disappointed but proud of her Lionesses after they suffered Women’s World Cup final heartbreak against Spain today in Sydney. Olga Carmona’s first-half goal handed Spain’s women a first senior world title – and revenge for their European Championship exit against eventual winners England last summer. Goalkeeper Mary Earps [...]
Hurt goes on for England, but will Spanish women’s football catch up at league level? August 20, 2023 And so the hurt goes on. Like other England teams before them, the Lionesses battled bravely in the Women’s World Cup final but ran aground against technically superior opponents who ruthlessly exploited their mistakes. Still, they have earned great credit along the way. Sarina Wiegman’s team had to overcome adversity before the tournament, seeing Euros [...]
Women’s World Cup: London spots to watch the Lionesses final August 19, 2023 It’s England against Spain, the Lionesses versus La Roja, in the Women’s World Cup final. And while the semi-final was on Wednesday lunchtime the final will be on Sunday at 11am UK time, giving you no excuse not to tune in to England’s first World Cup final appearance. Here are five places to watch the [...]