Leah Burke scored four tries as England women marked their first appearance since last year’s World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand with an emphatic 64-0 win over France in Warrington.

Australia-bound Hollie-Mae Dodd added a double while Tara-Jane Stanley scored a try and kicked eight out of 12 conversions in a one-sided start to life under new head coach Stuart Barrow.

The French, who exited the World Cup with three straight defeats, scarcely summoned any resistance as Shona Hoyle, Tamzin Renouf, Eboni Partington, Sinead Peach and Amy Hardcastle also scored to take England’s total try tally to 12.

Dodd, whose quickfire double extended England’s lead early in the second half, and Leeds Rhinos’ Georgia Roche made history as the first professional players to represent their country having recently inked deals in Australia’s NRLW.

They can expect much sterner tests ahead with the tone for the match set when Manon Samarra fumbled the kick-off and Roche sent Burke scampering over for the opener.

With the hosts’ incisive passing cutting apart the French defence, Burke picked up a neat pass from Stanley to cross for her second before the 10-minute mark.

England were making yards at will and Hoyle burst out of the front row to twist through the reluctant French rearguard and score England’s third midway through the first period.

The hosts switched flanks with Renouf and Partington both squeezing in on the right before Stanley went over, taking her personal first-half tally to 10 with a 50 per cent successful conversion rate.

Dodd touched down for a double early in the second period, sandwiching a neat kick from Stanley that teed up Burke to complete her hat-trick, and two more Stanley conversions took England’s tally to 46.

York captain Peach, recalled to the squad after being controversially omitted for the World Cup by Barrow’s predecessor Craig Richards, marked her return with England’s 10th try before Burke completed her personal tally.

Hardcastle, one of the stand-out performers of the World Cup campaign, crossed for England’s 12th and final try, serving up Stanley to take her own personal points tally to 20 with the final conversion of the day.

Sergio Perez blasted his way past Charles Leclerc to win the sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Perez started second before moving ahead of Leclerc on lap eight of 17 in Baku to take the chequered flag 4.4 seconds clear.

Max Verstappen finished third, one spot ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell. Lewis Hamilton started sixth and finished seventh.

Perez’s win reduced the deficit to Verstappen in the driver’s standings from 15 points to 13 ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Leclerc claimed his second pole position of the weekend earlier on Saturday and started the 17-lap dash with a smart getaway to keep Perez at bay.

Verstappen was third on the grid, but had a fast-starting Russell for company at the first corner.

The reigning champion managed to keep ahead before Russell sensed another opportunity at the second bend.

Russell nudged Verstappen before carrying the momentum on the charge to Turn 3 to move ahead of his Red Bull rival. Cue an irate Verstappen.

“He tapped me,” yelled Verstappen. “That’s how he got the position, report it.”

Moments after Russell barged his way past Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda was on three wheels after he banged into the wall.

Tsunoda’s right rear tyre fell off his AlphaTauri and bounced along the asphalt before resting in the middle of the track. The virtual safety car was deployed and then upgraded to a full safety car with debris from Tsunoda’s wounded machine also littering the circuit.

Tsunoda stopped for new rubber and was sent back on his way. But the Japanese driver’s car was undriveable.

The FIA took a dim view of AlphTauri’s decision to send Tsunoda back on to the track, with the governing body investigating the accident.

Back to Verstappen and the double world champion’s mood did not improve when he was told he had sustained floor damage in the clash with Russell.

Verstappen was back on the radio, saying: “Did he really drive into the side of me? I don’t get how he can damage my car and keep the position. I find it ridiculous”.

In came the safety car at the end of lap five and Verstappen made short work of taking third back from Russell as he flew underneath the British driver’s Mercedes at Turn 1.

Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase was on the radio to congratulate his driver. “Without contact as well, nicely done,” he said.

“Yes, I know how to do that,” replied Verstappen before he continued his rant with a series of bleeped-out expletives.

Hamilton was dicing with Carlos Sainz for fifth but the Ferrari man held firm. Hamilton ran out of room and Fernando Alonso snuck past, dropping the Briton to seventh.

Perez was starting to draw Leclerc in, and at the start of the eighth lap he breezed past his Ferrari rival on the 220mph drag to the first corner before cantering to the flag.

England completed the Grand Slam with a 38-33 victory over France but were saved by the bell in front of a world record 58,498 crowd at Twickenham.

Initially rising to the occasion of setting a new highest attendance for the women’s game, surpassing the 42,579 seen for last autumn’s World Cup final in Auckland, the Red Roses ran amok to build a 33-0 interval lead.

A fifth successive TikTok Women’s Six Nations looked certain but France were reborn for a second half they dominated 33-5 only to run out of time as England collapsed in dramatic fashion.

It remained a triumphant send-off for outgoing England head coach Simon Middleton with the strongest rivalry in the Championship producing another compelling instalment.

France were the last side to beat England in the Six Nations five years ago and they started the game like they finished it, although without the rewards.

It took resolute defending including an important penalty won on the ground by Hannah Botterman to deny them early on, but the pressure was halted when England pounced against the run of play.

Footwork and power swept Helena Rowland through the midfield before quick ball gave Abby Dow sight of the line with the right wing’s pace doing the rest.

Rowland’s centre partner Tatyana Heard was the next to swat away blue shirts and when she was eventually halted, Marlie Packer used her strength to crash over.

France’s defence was creaking and fly-half Jessy Tremouliere was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, ushering in a damaging spell that saw Alex Matthews cross and a penalty try awarded against Rose Bernadou.

Bernadou followed Tremouliere into the sin-bin and England continued to canter seemingly out of sight as Zoe Aldcroft touched down.

However, having regrouped at half-time, France full-back Emilie Boulard went over in the 48th minute through slick attacking play and when Gabrielle Vernier produced a smart dummy and sidestep before speeding over, the Red Roses’ nerves began to fray.

They settled when Lark Davies dived over once England’s pack had reasserted itself but the visitors continued to fight with tries by Charlotte Escudero, Emeline Gros and Cyrielle Banet falling narrowly short of the target needed.

Crystal Palace came from behind to spoil West Ham’s hopes of moving further clear of the relegation zone with a 4-3 victory at Selhurst Park.

Jordan Ayew cancelled out Tomas Soucek’s early opener for the visitors before Wilfried Zaha marked his return with his seventh of the season and Jeffrey Schlupp added another.

Antonio got his name on the scoresheet for the Hammers before the break and Eberechi Eze restored Palace’s advantage with a second-half spot kick.

Aguerd clawed one back to keep his side in it, but the hosts held on to make it 40 points for the season – and likely secure their own top-flight safety.

Kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes to 12:45 due to issues with the turnstiles at Selhurst Park, with plenty of seats still empty at the initially scheduled start.

Palace were buoyed by the return of Zaha, who last featured in Roy Hodgson’s return to the dugout on April 1 but sustained a groin injury in that victory.

Michael Olise quickly found himself punished by the visitors after he nodded down Jarrod Bowen’s corner but into the path of Soucek, who fired past Sam Johnstone on nine minutes.

The advantage was fleeting. Olise repented for his involvement in the opener when he slipped a fine pass to Ayew, who levelled with a lovely low finish and West Ham were soon dealt another blow when Kurt Zouma was forced off.

When Zaha sustained his injury earlier this month Palaces supporters feared the worst – that they had seen their talisman at Selhurst Park for a final time. Instead, he handed Palace the lead on Saturday.

Olise’s cross from the right initially skipped past Ayew but Zaha was waiting at the post where he pounced and gave Lukasz Fabianski no chance as he sent the ball into the top right.

The visitors worked the ball back into Palace’s half where Soucek tested Sam Johnstone with a low effort, forcing a simple save from the Eagles’ shot-stopper.

Schlupp extended the hosts’ advantage on 30 minutes as he picked the ball off Soucek and was through on goal, taking his time as he slotted through the legs of Fabianski.

This time it was West Ham with the quick reply, through a corner flicked on by Soucek to Antonio, who headed the ball in at the back post to close the gap and limit the first half to five goals despite a nervy flurry of activity at both ends.

Fabianski got just enough on Olise’s curling effort to tip it over the bar after the restart but the hosts restored their two-goal advantage after Eberechi Eze was deemed to have been dragged down by Nayef Aguerd inside the area.

The Morocco international protested but the penalty stood after a VAR check, Eze making it 4-2 after sending Fabianski the wrong way with his spot-kick to the bottom left corner.

As was the pattern of the afternoon, the pendulum swung back in the opposition’s favour, again from a corner. As the ball initially flicked on by Soucek, three bodies rose and it was Aguerd who was adjudged to have had the last touch at the back post, the goal standing after a VAR check for handball.

Despite both sides threatening, neither was able to take advantage of six minutes of second-half stoppage time, and Palace prevailed on a topsy-turvy afternoon.

Mark Allen won three of the final four frames to stay within one of Mark Selby in their scrappy World Championship semi-final.

Former champion Stephen Hendry accused the pair of casting a “dark cloud” over the Crucible with their attritional play during a second session on Friday that was halted three frames early.

Although it was hardly thrilling stuff, they at least managed eight frames in the opening session on Saturday, with Selby turning his 7-6 lead into an 11-10 advantage to set up a tense evening decider.

The morning belonged to Selby, with the four-time former champion opening up a 10-7 lead thanks to breaks of 63, 112 and 53.

But, despite the clear water, he still did not look comfortable and some loose play helped Allen pull back to 10-9, with Selby missing a blue in the 19th frame while attempting to force a re-spotted black.

He extended the gap to two in convincing fashion but it is Allen, bidding to reach his first World Championship final, who has a modicum of momentum after finishing the session with a break of 92.

Manu Tuilagi will be available for England selection after the World Cup after it was announced he has signed a new one-year contract with Sale.

Tuilagi has ended speculation that he could join the exodus of Red Rose stars heading for the Top 14 in France by extending his stay at the Sharks, the club he joined from Leicester in 2020.

The news that he will remain in the Gallagher Premiership has been confirmed on the same day that Courtney Lawes committed his future to Northampton, giving England head coach Steve Borthwick a double boost.

A Rugby Football Union rule means that players based overseas are unavailable for international selection.

Tuilagi’s time in Manchester has been marred by significant hamstring and Achilles injuries, but the powerful centre of Samoan origin remains an influential figure at Sale.

“My family and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to stay up north for another year,” Tuilagi said.

“It was an easy decision. I love coming to work every day and I couldn’t ask for a better environment on and off the pitch.

“We’re so tight as a group, which is why I think we’ve had such a good run this season. There couldn’t be a better time to be a Shark.”

Tuilagi won his 51st cap during the recent Six Nations and has also made a Test appearance for the Lions in 2013.

“This deal says so much about this club and what we’re building, but it says more about Manu the man,” Sale boss Alex Sanderson said.

“It says so much about what really matters to him and that’s rare in professional sports people.

“Manu is really happy here but I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to stay. For us and for Manu and his family, I think it’s the right decision.

“Manu has been part of winning squads with Leicester and England and this environment is the one he seems to be enjoying and thriving in the most.”

Fulham will hope to finish what has been an impressive season strongly but manager Marco Silva is already looking ahead to trying to build on it.

The Cottagers’ hopes of a place in Europe have evaporated amid a run of five defeats from their last seven games, but their first campaign back in the Premier League has still exceeded all expectations.

They have six games left, starting with Sunday’s visit of Manchester City, before another important summer.

Silva told skysports.com: “I can tell you we have the big plan for the next season already there, we’re already on track.

“This season was one of the most important seasons for Fulham Football Club so far because, after the last two Premier League seasons, where the club didn’t perform at that level – for many reasons, I don’t want to be unfair because I wasn’t here – this season was crucial for the club to remain in the Premier League.

“We are doing it and we are doing it playing well, improving players, making the fans proud of us.

“We are building the momentum and the platform for next season as well. Next season will probably be even more important than this one because we have to start to sustain this club in the Premier League for everyone to see Fulham as a Premier League club.

“I believe it’s where the club belongs and, for this to happen season after season, we have to do the right things on the pitch and off the pitch and show the ambition to compete with all the clubs like we’ve been doing on the pitch, but at the same time off the pitch as well.”

Silva, who is set to celebrate two years in charge at Craven Cottage at the beginning of July, knows that Fulham’s exploits this season have raised the bar for future campaigns.

He does not have a problem with that, though, saying: “Our fans have expectations (on) a different level and it’s a good sign they raise their expectations.

“First, it shows they believe in ourselves, it reflects what we’re doing – to make them believe more, to dream more, that’s a consequence from our performance. It’s a good feeling, a good pressure, a privilege to have this pressure and raise the expectations on yourself.

“It’s up to us to prepare well ourselves. For us to do the same or even better next season we have to do many things.”

England international Courtney Lawes has signed a new contract with Gallagher Premiership club Northampton.

The 34-year-old forward has endured an injury-hit season, greatly limiting his opportunities for club and country.

Lawes last played Test rugby during the 2022 summer tour to Australia, when he captained England.

Saints have not specified the length of deal, but it is understood to run until the end of next season.

He will now prolong his stay at Franklin’s Gardens, having first featured for Northampton in 2007 and gone on to make 263 appearances, and it comes as another boost for the English game following Manu Tuilagi signing fresh terms with Sale.

“The club means a lot to me personally, and I wanted to stay here,” Lawes said.

“I especially didn’t want to leave at the end of a season where I have not played much, and I have not made as big a contribution as I would have wanted.

“It wouldn’t have felt right to me to leave now, so I was really keen to continue at Saints for that reason, but also because it’s so important for us as a squad to continue to build on what we’ve done over the last few seasons.”

Lawes made his England debut 14 years ago and also toured twice with the British and Irish Lions – to New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa four years later – making five Test appearances.

Northampton rugby director Phil Dowson added: “Courtney is an incredible player – one of the very best in the world, whether he is playing in the second-row or at flanker.

“His international experience with England and the Lions is almost unparalleled, but off the field he gives our group so much in terms of confidence and leadership.

“I am sure a lot of clubs over in France and Japan would have been keen to see Courtney turn out for them for the next few years.

“I know our supporters will be thrilled that he has decided to stay in Northampton and remain a one-club man, as he’s one of the best to have ever worn the black, green and gold.”

Charles Leclerc will start today’s sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position.

A day after he raced to the top spot in qualifying for Sunday’s main event, Leclerc was fastest again to put his Ferrari at the front for the 17-lap dash in Baku on Saturday evening.

Leclerc broke his front wing after thudding into the wall during his final run but the Monegasque’s first effort in Q3 was fast enough for him to take the spoils.

He qualified 0.147 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez with Max Verstappen third.

George Russell qualified fourth, two places ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the other Mercedes. Carlos Sainz, who was held up behind team-mate Leclerc following his accident, finished fifth.

Lando Norris made it through to Q3 but under the rules he was unable to take part because he did not have a set of new soft tyres available – an error by his McLaren team. He will start in 10th place.

“I tried to push again and I lost it in Turn 5, but it doesn’t have any consequence on qualifying,” said Leclerc following his accident.

“But I was very happy with the first lap and now we have to convert that into the race.

“We will go for it. We need to be realistic and we have been on the back foot in the race behind the Red Bulls so far this year, but hopefully we will have a good surprise.

“Ferrari needs to be on top and I will give absolutely everything to win.”

Formula One bosses have changed the format in Baku by introducing two qualifying sessions.

Friday’s result decided the order for Sunday’s Grand Prix, with Saturday’s second shorter qualifying session determining the grid for the first of six sprint events this season which takes place at 17:30 local time today (14:30 BST).

Earlier, Q1 ended prematurely after Logan Sargeant put his Williams in the wall. The rookie American lost control of his machine at Turn 15 before slamming into the barrier.

Sargeant sustained significant damage to the right rear of his Williams in the accident, with his mechanics now facing a race against time to fix his car for the sprint race.

Sargeant pointed the finger of blame at Sainz. “The Ferrari was in the middle of the road,” he yelled over the radio.

Alex Albon impressed to qualify seventh for Williams, one place ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Points are rewarded for the top eight in the sprint, with the outcome of today’s race having no bearing on tomorrow’s Grand Prix.

Ruben Selles admits Southampton’s trip to Champions League-chasing Newcastle is the first of five must-win games as his struggling side attempt to pull off a Premier League great escape.

The division’s bottom club sit six points adrift of safety ahead of Sunday afternoon’s challenging visit to St James’ Park.

Saints manager Selles acknowledges time is running out and wants his players to be brave as they bid to secure a shock result and keep alive their slim survival hopes.

“I think we have been talking about that in the last five to six games,” the Spaniard said of must-win fixtures.

“Of course it’s a game that we must win and every game has become a game that we must win, more now than ever.

“And that’s what we’re going to try, we’re going to try to go for it.

“I will keep my positivity until the very end. I still think we can do it and I still think everybody in the club is able to do it.

“We just need to keep that belief because then things can change.”

Southampton are on an alarming eight-match winless run following Thursday’s meek 1-0 loss to Bournemouth, which was a club-record 11th home defeat of the season.

Meanwhile, third-placed Newcastle have been in freescoring form as they close in on a return to European football’s premier competition for the first time in 20 years.

Selles believes victory at Chelsea in his first match in charge and draws against Tottenham, Manchester United and leaders Arsenal demonstrates his under-performing players are capable of upsetting the odds.

“I think they have proved that they are good enough to win games in the Premier League and then we have made some good performances against the top teams,” he said.

“That should be the boost we need to use for the next game. We need to go against one of the top teams again and everybody should be ready for the challenge.

“It’s not an easy situation. We need to be on point for that game.”

Ryan Mason is confident Son Heung-min will be key in Tottenham’s efforts to finish a poor season strongly.

Son scored his 13th goal of the campaign in Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United and it was the fourth home fixture in a row where he had found the net.

It has been a difficult campaign for the South Korean, who has been open about his struggles in front of goal and a lack of confidence, but Spurs’ acting head coach talked up the 30-year-old and his desire to never hide in the tough moments this term.

“Sonny is a robust player and pretty much plays week in, week out most seasons. We appreciate him, value him as a player and he is a team player which first and foremost is the most important thing,” Mason said ahead of Sunday’s trip to Liverpool.

“I think Sonny is at his best when he is attacking the line, attacking space. We saw that the goal came from that combination with him and Harry (Kane) and when Harry gets on the ball, Sonny comes alive.

“Sonny’s had many chances this season and probably could have ended up with 20 to 25 goals at this stage of the season if he had been a bit more clinical or had a bit more luck at times.

“The most pleasing thing for me is throughout the season… yes Sonny has been disappointed he hasn’t scored more goals… but ultimately he has always got in the positions and continued to make the runs.

“When you’re an attacking player that is key because at some point your luck will change, the goal will go in and you’ll find rhythm and start scoring again.

“Hopefully Sonny will be key for us in the next five games.”

This weekend’s clash at Anfield will see last season’s joint-Premier League golden boot winners go head-to-head, with Mohamed Salah set to spearhead the Liverpool attack.

Salah also struggled during the first half of the campaign but has been in form since and Tottenham will face a confident Jurgen Klopp team who have not lost at home in the top flight since October.

Spurs’ own record at Anfield is poor, with no victory there since 2011.

Mason admitted: “It’s a difficult place to go, we’re aware of that and as you rightly say I think recent history probably suggests that.

“I don’t think on Sunday years gone by are going to influence the outcome of the match or the mindset we approach it with.

“We’re going to be confident and confident in our ability and if we perform to our best with the ball we can hurt them.”

Tottenham’s top-four hopes essentially ended after last weekend’s thrashing at Newcastle but they do still have Europa League aspirations.

Captain Hugo Lloris will be absent on Sunday with a hip injury and Mason will hope to see more pride restored by his team.

“Every club has its history, its DNA and I think it’s important to tap into that,” Spurs’ third boss of the campaign reflected.

“As a fan of the club, I remember going to the Lane when I was younger and of course people work all week to go and watch their team and be excited.

“We want to give the fans that. In the game (against Manchester United) I hope they went home and felt the team were working for the badge, for each other because I felt the fans were with us from minute one and that’s a big thing for any club.

“As fans you want to watch your team and feel pride. I think we gave them that.”

Unai Emery believes Aston Villa and Manchester United will do battle for a top-four spot on Sunday both in “different moments” to when they met earlier in the season.

Emery celebrated his first game as Villa manager in November with a memorable 3-1 Premier League home win over Erik ten Hag’s side.

United exacted revenge four days later with a Carabao Cup victory at Old Trafford, the Red Devils going on to win the competition and lift their first trophy for six years.

The two sides meet again nearly six months on with Emery having transformed Villa from relegation candidates to Champions League outsiders, six points behind fourth-placed United who have two games in hand on their Midlands rivals.

Emery said: “For us, it’s a very good challenge, it will be a very different match on Sunday to when we played at home when I arrived here.

“Very different match to when we played in the Carabao Cup there and lost 4-2.

“Now is a different moment for them and for us. But, as well, it will be very difficult for us.

“I think we can face the match, we can be very demanding trying in the 90 minutes to get our best performance. And if we do it, we can have chances to take some points.”

Villa have climbed to sixth after a 10-game unbeaten run that has seen them collect 26 points.

United’s run of three successive league wins was brought to an end by Thursday’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham, which saw them give up a two-goal interval lead.

Emery said: “Of course, they have good players individually and collectively.

“This year they are in the top four, like usually Manchester United have to do.

“They won the Carabao Cup final and they are going to play in the FA Cup final – it’s a very good season for them, only to leave from the Europa League. I think they are having a very good season.”

Emery believes playing in the Europa League or Europa Conference League next season is a more realistic prospect than qualifying for the Champions League through a top-four finish.

Villa have a tough run-in after visiting Old Trafford with games against Wolves and fellow European hopefuls Tottenham, Liverpool and Brighton.

“I like to play matches like we are playing now,” Emery said. “I think this is the best moment you can have.

“We have to be very focused. I like to play under pressure because, for me, it’s not negative pressure, it’s positive pressure.

“I’m not thinking ‘if I will win’ or ‘if I will lose’. I’m thinking, ‘I want to play’, because in this moment we are really playing for something important.”

Everton manager Sean Dyche believes a softness has crept into his side’s game that has derailed their bid for Premier League safety.

A 10-match run with just one win has left the 19th-placed Toffees facing the prospect of losing their 69-year top-flight status and Monday’s match against fellow strugglers Leicester has taken on must-win importance.

But Dyche, who took six points from his first three games after replacing Frank Lampard in late January, is confident the kind of performance which saw them beat Premier League leaders Arsenal in his maiden match in charge can be rekindled in time to save them from the drop.

Although the first 25 minutes of Thursday’s match at home to Newcastle may have been encouraging, the lowest scorers in England’s top five divisions – with 25 in 33 games – failed to trouble goalkeeper Nick Pope and their second-half capitulation was hugely damaging to already-fragile confidence.

“We made some strides when we came in but it has softened again and we need to pick it up really quickly as there are five big ones coming, that’s for sure,” Dyche said.

“I don’t use the word worry, it’s realities. I’ve seen it with my own eyes and I saw it against Fulham (where they lost 3-1 having got back on level terms). It’s a correction that needs to be made.

“There’s no point worrying because worrying isn’t going to solve anything, work solves things: work on the training pitch, work with the players. That’s what takes away any problems.

“I think we can do it. A very similar side (to the one which lost to Newcastle) beat Arsenal in my first game so there’s the evidence it can be done.

“It’s bringing back that edge and performance.”

Dyche believes his players have to concentrate on improving the smaller details which have such an effect at both ends of the pitch.

“It is fair to say the thing that gets in the way is the details of what’s going on, the tightness if you’re not doing well,” he added.

“The next one (game) will be a case of saying ‘right lads, a lot of the basic principles of what we are doing are correct but the details are massively important and every detail counts’.

“Every time you get into the box you have to believe you are going to score a goal. Those are the details which are going to get you a win.

“There is only so much we can change. There’s a format here that can work, it’s proven to work. We need a sharpness to that performance.”

Dyche urged his side to embrace the pressure of Monday’s crucial match.

“Whatever game it is my mindset is to take it on, that’s what I learned as a player, regardless of it being a big game or a small game,” he said.