There was an early moment of excitement at the start of Thursday night’s meeting of Rangers and the José Mourinho industrial entertainment complex (Fenerbahce branch). As the players lined up on the Ibrox pitch Mourinho was caught by the TV cameras leaning forward on his bench, rubbing his hands, looking up to salute the watching … Read more
There could be a blizzard of broken records in Paris on Saturday night. On one wing, Damian Penaud could score his 39th try to overtake Serge Blanco as France’s all-time leading try-scorer, on the other Louis Bielle-Biarrey needs his eighth try to break the record set by Jacob Stockdale for the most in a single … Read more
Lando Norris claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix, the opening race of the 2025 Formula One season with an immense lap for McLaren in Melbourne. In what was an enormously tight fight he beat his teammate Oscar Piastri into second by just eight-hundredths of a second. As had been anticipated, the McLaren was … Read more
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva beat defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 to reach the Indian Wells final for the first time as she sets her sights on back-to-back WTA 1000 titles. After a tight first set, the 17-year-old Andreeva was flawless in the tiebreak, leaning over and letting out a roar when she enticed … Read more
The Six Nations will remain on free-to-air TV until 2029 after striking a new deal in which ITV will broadcast all England matches. Despite fears that the championship would disappear behind a paywall, ITV and the BBC have brokered an arrangement to keep the annual tournament on terrestrial TV for the next four years. As … Read more
Arsenal put the travails of their FA Cup defeat to Liverpool behind them with a vital 3-1 victory over Everton in the Women’s Super League. A brace from Alessia Russo and own goal from Maren Mjelde gave the Gunners an important three points in the fight for a Champions League spot. Renée Slegers’ side are … Read more
Mikel Arteta has defended Ben White’s “brave” decision to make himself unavailable for England under Gareth Southgate and revealed the 27-year-old had been “struggling” with the national team. The Arsenal defender has not played for his country since leaving England’s squad at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for personal reasons after a rumoured falling-out … Read more
Virgil van Dijk’s attention was not on football on Thursday night or checking on the state of contract negotiations. Instead he was watching a school production of Fantastic Mr Fox. His daughter Jadi, like her father on the pitch, had a starring role: she was Mrs Fox, while Wataru Endo’s son was a rat. It … Read more
Girl power took on Britpop at Cheltenham on Friday but a horse owned by Geri Horner proved no match for Wonderwall in the Hunters’ Chase, better known in racing as “the amateurs’ Gold Cup”. The former Spice Girl added a touch of glamour to the final day, and in the paddock beforehand she admitted she … Read more
The best Six Nations campaigns tick two crucial boxes. The first is a consistent sense of jeopardy from start to finish and the second is a level of entertainment that elevates the tournament into the mainstream consciousness. When both occur simultaneously, as they have done this year, the championship’s final round ranks among the most … Read more