Harlequins and England No10 Marcus Smith signs contract extension July 19, 2023 Blockbuster England fly-half Marcus Smith has penned a contract extension with Harlequins, the club confirmed this morning. The talismanic No10 – who in 2021 became a British and Irish Lion – will stay with the London club beyond next season. It was understood that French giants and a number of Japanese clubs were interested in [...]
Sam Torrance’s 2023 Open preview: Cream should rise to top at classy Royal Liverpool July 19, 2023 Narrow fairways, thick rough and small greens should favour good iron play at the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool this week, writes Sam Torrance. When you consider how well he has played in much of that time, it really is unbelievable that Rory McIlroy hasn’t won a major for nine years. Since 2014 he has [...]
British and Irish Lions schedule: 2025 tour to Australia confirmed July 19, 2023 The British and Irish Lions will play nine matches on their tour to Australia, including a fixture against a combined Australia-New Zealand side. The iconic touring side – made up of rugby players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (who play as the island of Ireland) – will face the five domestic super Rugby sides [...]
Barbie movie review: Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling shine, but what’s the point? July 19, 2023 Barbie movie review and star rating: ★★★ I can only assume the Barbie movie PR team have checked into the most beige hotel possible this week, cowering from all the pink to engage in some much-needed deep breathing. The movie’s ballistic marketing campaign has been even more omnipresent on social media than the endless stream [...]
England win ODI series, Australia retain Women’s Ashes July 18, 2023 England beat Australia by 69 runs to win the ODI series 2-1 and draw the Women’s Ashes level at 8-8 but the tourists will retain the run because they held it coming into the competition. Rain hit the series finale in Taunton but England came through to win via the D/L method, largely thanks to [...]
Is it time for the Commonwealth Games to move on and change tact? July 18, 2023 In the early hours of Tuesday morning a statement dropped announcing that the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games would not take place in the southern state of Australia. It triggered a crisis for the Commonwealth and what it perceives to be its legacy. Once the British Empire Games, the Commonwealth Games encompasses a modern Britain and [...]
Ashes: Stokes says series has ability to be best for very long time July 18, 2023 England Test captain Ben Stokes says this year’s Ashes will be one of the best in history if his side set up a decider in the fourth match of the series. England are 2-1 down heading into today’s Test at Old Trafford – where England have not won an Ashes match since 1981. “If we [...]
Manchester United: Onana agrees deal as Rashford re-signs July 18, 2023 Manchester United have agreed a deal worth £47m for Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana. The keeper started for the Serie A side in their Champions League defeat to Manchester City in Istanbul last season. The Old Trafford club are expected to pay £43.8m up front for the Cameroon international with over £3m possible in add-ons. [...]
Why now is the best time to visit wild, untamed Sri Lanka July 18, 2023 It has been a tough few years for Sri Lanka but Steve Dinneen finds a country that’s ready to welcome tourists The last few years have been devastating for tourism-reliant countries across the world, but few have had it quite as bad as Sri Lanka. Visitor numbers fell to virtually zero following the 2019 Easter [...]
‘Absolutely embarrassing’: Victoria blasted for Commonwealth Games hosting U-turn July 18, 2023 A bitter war of words has broken out over the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the Australian state of Victoria abruptly pulled out of hosting the event. Victoria was named host for the multi-sport championships last year but reneged on that commitment on Tuesday, citing spiralling costs – plunging the Games into doubt. Commonwealth Games Australia [...]