Billy Vunipola facing defeat in battle to force England World Cup recall April 12, 2023 England No8 Billy Vunipola is a major doubt for this year’s Rugby World Cup after being ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. The bulldozing back row is set to undergo surgery on Thursday after suffering the problem in Saracens’ bruising Champions Cup defeat at La Rochelle on Sunday. Vunipola’s [...]
PM Rishi Sunak lays out plans for biggest sporting event ever hosted by UK and Ireland April 12, 2023 Euro 2028 will be “the biggest sporting event our islands have ever jointly staged”, says Prime Minster Rishi Sunak, after the UK and Ireland confirmed details of their bid to stage the international football tournament. England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland today formally submitted their proposal to governing body Uefa, which [...]
The future is orange for rugby referees as chiefs ponder new card for World Cup April 12, 2023 World Rugby is considering giving referees the option of “orange cards” at this year’s World Cup, according to the governing body’s head of match officials. A form of the yellow card review system is currently being trialled in Super Rugby Pacific and it could be fast-tracked into the global showpiece hosted by France this autumn. [...]
Beleaguered Edinburgh Fringe responds to financial struggles of key London festival April 12, 2023 The future of the Edinburgh Fringe festival is hanging in the balance due to rising costs, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s chief executive Shona McCarthy has said. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that this festival is under existential threat,” said McCarthy, speaking on Barry Fearn’s Leading Conversations podcast. “We’ve come into 2023 with a [...]
New Netflix show scores rare 100 per cent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes April 12, 2023 Only a handful of shows have done it, but one new Netflix series has landed a rare 100 per cent Certified Fresh’ rating on review platform Rotten Tomatoes. It means critics and viewers think it’s one of the best shows out there at the moment, and it joins just a few dozen shows to have [...]
A Little Life review: 4 hours of misery but James Norton is electric April 12, 2023 Author Hanya Yanagihara has said of her 814-page, million-copy bestseller that she set out to create the literary version of an ‘ombre cloth’, a piece of material that’s light at the top and becomes increasingly saturated towards the bottom. It’s a fitting metaphor for A Little Life in its book form. The doorstop of a [...]
Hotel Chais Monnet in Cognac: Stunning space off the tourist track April 12, 2023 The distillery town of Cognac lies off the tourist route, making it ideal for a weekend break that genuinely feels like a getaway. Our Life&Style editor Steve Dinneen stayed at the wonderful Hotel Chais Monnet. Where is it? Cognac, population 18,000, is one of those places whose produce is far more famous than the town [...]
Lampard rejects Di Matteo parallels as Chelsea eye new Champions League miracle April 11, 2023 Frank Lampard has played down comparisons with Champions League-winning Chelsea interim manager Roberto Di Matteo and told his players to make their own history against Real Madrid. Former Blues midfielder Di Matteo was handed the reins for the last few weeks of the 2011-12 season and ended up guiding them to European club football’s most [...]
Manchester United sale: Glazers risk aggravating buyers with third round of bids April 11, 2023 Manchester United owners the Glazer family have risked aggravating would-be buyers by taking their sale of the club to a third round of bidding. More than two weeks after the deadline for second offers, bankers the Raine Group finally broke their silence to bidders – only to inform them that the Glazers want another round [...]
Chelsea to headline first Premier League Summer Series tournament in US April 11, 2023 Chelsea and Newcastle United are to headline the Premier League Summer Series, the English top flight’s first pre-season tournament to take place in the United States this summer. Aston Villa, Brighton and Hove Albion, Brentford and Fulham are also due to play in the six-team friendly competition, to be held from 22-30 July in five [...]