Warren Gatland will send out a team “desperate to perform” at Twickenham next weekend as competition for World Cup places intensifies.

Wales boss Gatland is relishing the battle to make a 33-strong World Cup squad that will be announced later this month.

The final phase of preparation for the tournament could hardly have started in more promising fashion, with Wales’ 20-9 victory over England being underpinned by a dominant second-half display.

It was Wales’ third-biggest win of the professional era against their fierce rivals, and Gatland will now run the rule over other World Cup selection candidates in south-west London.

“There is a lot of competition in the squad,” Gatland said.

“In 2019 when we won the (Six Nations) Grand Slam, we had a settled side and we knew what a large number of our World Cup squad was going to be.

“I can tell you now there is a lot of competition in this team. It’s a good start, and the pleasing thing is there’s a group of players who will get an opportunity next week who are desperate to perform.

“I think the boys showed the work we’ve done over the past eight weeks or so that we are in a pretty good place, physically.”

Wales kept an England side that conceded 22 turnovers scoreless in the second period, turning around a 9-6 interval deficit to triumph through tries from scrum-half Gareth Davies and centre George North.

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny converted both scores and kicked two penalties on his 100th Wales appearance, leaving him just five points short of 800 in Test rugby.

Wales paraded five new caps, with the second-half introductions of former England prop Henry Thomas and back-row forward Taine Plumtree proving key to Gatland’s men posting a first home victory since November last year.

Gatland, meanwhile, said that hooker Ryan Elias and lock Dafydd Jenkins will undergo scans on Monday after being forced off with hamstring and knee injuries, respectively.

Among several eye-catching performances was that of fly-half Sam Costelow, who took his chance to shine in front of a 65,000 Principality Stadium crowd.

“I will take a lot of learnings from it. It showed me where I want to be and where I can get,” Costelow said.

“I have been doing a lot of work with (Wales assistant coach) Neil Jenkins in the training week, helping me with kicking and the game-management side of things. It is about keeping improving.

“You have just got to work hard every day. That is the biggest mindset, really, turning up every day and trying to improve.

“In the second-half we managed to find a way and we started putting some phases together, and I thought we had some decent outcomes.

“We played in the right areas, getting opportunities higher up the field and creating chances, which we probably didn’t do in the first-half.”

Courage Mon Ami has the Prix du Cadran on his long-range radar after connections admitted they failed to learn anything new from the Ascot Gold Cup winner when he suffered his first defeat at Goodwood on Tuesday.

Run on unseasonably good to soft ground, Quickthorn turned the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup into something of a procession, with Hughie Morrison’s charge routing his 10 opponents by six lengths and upwards.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained Courage Mon Ami, having just his fifth lifetime start, was sent off the 2-1 favourite to back up his Royal Ascot victory, but having taken a keen hold, did not get a clear run. His jockey, Frankie Dettori, realised he had no chance once the winner quickened clear.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani owns the gelding under his Wathnan Racing operation and Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock buys the horses on his behalf.

He was responsible for the purchase of Courage Mon Ami from Anthony Oppenheimer after the son of Frankel had won twice on the all-weather as a three-year-old, before opening his four-year-old campaign with a Goodwood handicap success.

Brown was left non-plussed by his latest display, however, and said: “He has come out of the race well, but it was a bit of a non-event, to be honest. It was a frustrating race to watch. We have just got to put a line through it.

“Frankie was very easy on him early when he knew his chance had gone.”

Courage Mon Ami is likely to take on Quickthorn again in the Prix du Cadran over an extended two miles at ParisLongchamp in October.

Connections hope to find out a little more about the inexperienced gelding in the meantime.

“He’s come out of it fine and the obvious end-of-season target would be the Cadran,” said Brown.

“We’ve got to decide what we do before then, but it was frustrating to be part of. We saw at Ascot what he is capable of.

“The problem is we didn’t learn anything. We didn’t learn anything about ground. Frankie said he went fine on it.

“Obviously, he has only run four times before then, including twice on the all-weather, and we are still learning about the horse.

“He is probably going to be better on top of the ground, and I’m hoping he’s going to be ground versatile.

“He already owes us nothing, but I very much hope there is a lot more to come from him.”

The unbeaten Gregory is on course for the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes at York later this month, after looking like he would represent the Wathnan team in the Goodwood Cup, only for the ground to change running plans.

The Golden Horn colt has won all three starts for the Gosdens this year, culminating in an emphatic Queen’s Vase win at the Royal meeting.

“All roads lead to the St Leger,” Brown added. “Although we are not committing to anything, John is quite keen to run him again before Doncaster, so the Voltigeur is quite an obvious race that we might take in along the way.”

The Ralph Beckett-trained Remarquee, who finished runner-up in both the top-class Coronation Stakes and the Falmouth, will be given a break after her latest fourth-placed effort in the Prix Rothschild at Deauville.

Winner of the Fred Darling at Newbury on her seasonal bow, she has proved herself as one of the leading milers without yet winning over that distance.

She will likely have another opportunity to do that at Newmarket on October 7, bypassing an engagement in the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown next month.

Brown said: “Remarquee came out of her race in good shape. She has had three quick runs, so we have put a line through the Matron and are going to give her a little bit of a rest.

“She might have one more run, which is likely to be the Sun Chariot.”

Keira Walsh could make a stunning return for England’s last-16 World Cup clash against Nigeria.

Walsh was stretchered off late in the first half of the Lionesses’ 28 July victory over Denmark, with fears that the influential midfielder’s tournament could be over, but scans revealed her knee injury was not as serious as first suspected.

The 26-year-old took another step forward in her recovery when she joined her team-mates in training at the Central Coast Stadium on the eve of their last-16 showdown, before England flew to Brisbane ahead of the knockout encounter.

England boss Sarina Wiegman said: “She is doing well. She started her rehab straight after we knew what was going on.

“She has been on the pitch, she has been training today. Now we will wait until [we see] how she recovers from that training session and if she does well then she is available tomorrow.”

The Dutch boss, who led the Netherlands to the World Cup final four years ago in France, would not reveal specifically what injury Walsh had sustained, but did add: “I can only say that there wasn’t a ligament injury.

“Of course that moment in that game against Denmark, that was a very hard moment, but after the assessments and we knew what was going on we also said don’t take any assumptions.

“Just wait until a proper assessment has been done. That’s what we did and then we got the green light to just get her rehab started.

“Everybody is going on about injuries all the time, but the day after we noticed things were much better.”

The moment Walsh was stretchered off – grimacing, telling team staff “I’ve done my knee” and fending off help from team-mates – England fans began to fear that she was the most recent victim of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) crisis facing women’s football.

European champions Leah Williamson and Beth Mead were ruled out with that injury ahead of this tournament, while Fran Kirby also underwent surgery for a separate knee issue.

Wiegman stuck to the Lionesses’ standard 4-3-3 formation in the immediate aftermath of Walsh’s injury and brought in Manchester City’s Laura Coombs for the remainder of the 1-0 Denmark victory, but against China handed Manchester United captain Katie Zelem her first England start and switched to a 3-5-2, which paid off with a thumping 6-1 victory.

Wiegman added: “We have two options now. The way we played and what we did against China, we have taken that into consideration.”

Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum is confident in his plan for however England line up, with or without Walsh.

He said: “Obviously, she’s a key player in the midfield for them. Kind of like we had to do for Australia and Sam Kerr, we had to prepare with and without, we have to do the same.

“England has so many weapons. All of those players are playing all over the world in high profile settings. There are more that can do damage to us than just her. They’ve given us a lot of challenges to prepare for and it will just be another one if she comes in.

“We have to prepare for both, as a coach I would expect her to go with a back three because they played ever so well like that.

“We also know they’re going to adapt to how they can best play against us so we have to prepare for both situations, that’s what makes the job challenging because we don’t have a lot of time. We’ve tried this week to prepare for both and we’ll see which way they come out.

“[Sarina Wiegman] has done a fantastic job with England, since she took over you can see the progression of the team.

“When I look at a coach and try to analyse, if I don’t know them personally, you look at the team and tell if they have an idea. In their organisation, they look like they have a plan [and] a way they want to play.”

Simone Biles says she always knew she would return to gymnastics after her experience at the Tokyo Olympics.

The 26-year-old – the most decorated gymnast in history – ended her two-year hiatus on Saturday as she won the US Classic in Chicago.

It was her first competition since the Olympics in 2021, when she suffered “the twisties” – a phenomenon which temporarily affects an athlete’s spatial awareness – and withdrew from five of her six finals to focus on her mental health.

And the seven-time Olympic medallist and 19-time world champion, who is still doing weekly therapy, said her successful return “means the world”.

She told CNBC: “It felt really good, especially after everything that’s happened over the past year.

“I always kind of knew (I’d be back) as soon as everything that happened in Tokyo.

“So, this time I’m doing it for me. I worked a lot on myself and I believe in myself a little bit more, just coming back out here and starting the first steps again.

“It means the world because after everything that kind of transpired in Tokyo and it took a lot.

“I worked on myself a lot, I still do therapy weekly and it’s just been so exciting to come out here and have the confidence I had before.”

Biles recorded the meet’s best mark in three of the four disciplines as she scored a total of 59.100 to finish five points in front of second-placed Leanne Wong.

And Biles was happy with the fan support she received.

She added: “Everyone that was cheering, made posters and all that in the crowd, it just made my heart melt that they still believe in me.”

Biles has not confirmed whether she plans to compete at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris but her efforts on Saturday earned her qualification for the US Championships later this month.

Andy Farrell expects rookie fly-half Jack Crowley to take “massive confidence” from the experience of running the show for Ireland in their 33-17 World Cup warm-up win over Italy.

Johnny Sexton’s three-match ban opened the door for his understudies to stake claims during the lead up to the tournament, with Crowley the first to be given an opportunity.

The 23-year-old, who is also competing with Ross Byrne and Ciaran Frawley for a place on the plane to France, produced an assured performance against the Azzurri on the occasion of his second Test start to strengthen his case for further action.

Unlike his full Ireland debut, when he was elevated from the bench at the 11th hour for the autumn victory over Australia due to Sexton’s late withdrawal, Crowley was given a full week to prepare.

Head coach Farrell is planning a midweek debrief with the Munster man but was encouraged by his showing on Saturday evening in Dublin.

“He did well,” said the Englishman. “Certainly in the first half, he controlled the game very well.

“I didn’t think he overplayed too much. He looked composed enough.

“There are a few things we’ll chat about during the week that will help his performance but he will be glad to get that one done.

“Another experience where he’s started at 10 and this time he’s been able to run the week, so he’ll gain massive confidence from that.”

Crowley’s mature display at the Aviva Stadium included slotting three of four conversions as two Caelan Doris tries, plus scores from Dave Kilcoyne, Stuart McCloskey and Cian Healy, secured a victory which Farrell termed “a bit clunky”.

He filled in at full-back for the second period due to Jimmy O’Brien’s shoulder injury, with debutant Frawley taking over at 10 and adding the extras on Doris’ second effort.

Farrell, whose side have further fixtures against England and Samoa this month, was less convinced following that reshuffle.

“We’ll have a look at the performances of the two of them playing together,” he said of Crowley and Frawley.

“We try and get two ball players playing together, whether that came to fruition or not, I’m not too sure at this moment in time.

“We started the second half pretty poorly really and didn’t really get going for a while there so we’ll have to look at that.”

Leinster player Frawley was one of three international newcomers from the bench alongside Ulster hooker Tom Stewart and Munster wing Calvin Nash.

The 25-year-old has been involved in Ireland training camps since November 2021 but had to be patient for his Test bow, partly due to an untimely injury.

“I’m delighted I got it and hopefully there will be more to come,” said Frawley, who is bidding to make the cut when Farrell chops his current 42-man squad down to a final 33 on August 28.

“It’s very competitive in there, it’s hard to believe they’re going to drop nine players.

“At the moment, you’re just trying to put your best foot forward and get selected for the games that are coming around the corner, focus on what’s coming.

“You obviously have the big picture in the back of your mind but, if you get ahead of yourself, you might not perform on the day.”

Nash, 25, added: “Naturally after getting our first caps, we want to push on and try to get to the World Cup for sure and get a few more caps. That’s the aim.”

Dan Evans progressed to the final of the Citi Open with a straight-sets victory over Grigor Dimitrov in Washington.

The British number two eclipsed his Bulgarian opponent 6-3 7-6 (4) in just under two hours to set up a meeting with Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.

Despite being overmatched in the power department, Evans put together a clean and composed performance as a sloppy Dimitrov was left to rue his own mistakes.

The world number 20 fired 24 winners to just nine from Evans, but came unstuck with 30 unforced errors.

Evans, who beat both Alexander Shevchenko and second seed Frances Tiafoe on Friday to reach the last four, is the first British player to make the final in Washington since Andy Murray in 2006.

He told the ATP’s website: “It was so hard after yesterday putting in such a big effort.

“Coming back today it was really important to not roll over and have a bad performance.

“The last few months that has happened a little bit. I’m really proud I could do that today. One more to go.”

Victory on Sunday would give Evans the second ATP title of his career following his victory in Melbourne in 2021.

Meanwhile, Griekspoor shocked American top seed Taylor Fritz in three sets in their semi-final clash as the world number 37 seeks his third title of the season.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the all-round game of Kyogo Furuhashi in their opening league win after encouraging the forward to bring a new tactical element to his game.

The Japan striker hit his first goal of the season in a 4-2 cinch Premiership victory against Ross County in typical fashion, stretching the visiting defence before sweeping home Liel Abada’s low cross first time after Celtic caught their opponents out.

Furuhashi hit 34 goals for Celtic last season and was usually found playing on the shoulder of the last defender and often beyond the opposition defence in an offside position.

But Rodgers has asked him to drop deeper at times and the move paid off on several occasions against County.

Furuhashi played a one-two with Matt O’Riley on the edge of the box before the midfielder got to the byline and crossed for David Turnbull to hit his second goal of the game.

The 28-year-old dropped off to set up O’Riley to score and also played Turnbull through before the former Motherwell man forced a double stop from Ross Laidlaw.

Rodgers said: “I just think it’s development of his game. He is clearly a player on the last line, his movement is fantastic, he gets across the first post really well.

“But it’s finding different solutions for the team, so the opposition have something different to think about.

“We have great speed in the wide areas; it’s always about getting the numbers inside, so when he drops short he can link the game really well and then still has the speed to get beyond. I thought he was excellent.”

There was plenty of encouragement for County manager Malky Mackay with his side creating several early chances and then refusing to capitulate after going three down before the interval.

Jordan White and James Brown were on target in the second half and Mackay was particularly happy with the latter’s debut performance.

“I thought Jim Brown, my right-back, was sensational,” Mackay said.

“We brought him from Blackburn and my challenge to him was to get into the Republic of Ireland team. He was captain of Drogheda and he went to Blackburn.

“I said to him to come up here and play in the Premiership and play against the best there is here. Jamie McGrath did it last year and got into the Republic of Ireland team.

“Jim plays like that week in, week out and he’ll be chapping on the door. I’m not trying to pick anybody’s team – but he’ll be a good player if he keeps playing like that.

“I thought he was sensational against a really good player in (Daizen) Maeda.”

England’s experimental side tumbled to a 20-9 defeat by Wales at the Principality Stadium in the opening match of their warm-up schedule for the World Cup.

The only Test to take place before head coach Steve Borthwick names his 33-man squad for the tournament on Monday, it was seen as the stage to influence the handful of remaining selection calls.

Few emerged with credit from the contest, but here the PA news agency looks at three players who gave Borthwick a timely nudge.

Lewis Ludlam

England’s most effective forward in Cardiff by a significant margin, carrying with intent and disruptive at the breakdown. Started at blindside flanker against Wales but covers all three back-row positions, including number eight where Alex Dombrandt once again proved unable to stamp his authority on a Test. Factor in his leadership and defensive steel and the Northampton captain could be a valuable asset at the World Cup, having travelled to Japan four years ago as a bolter.

Joe Marchant

Of all England’s players on display at the Principality Stadium, it was Marchant who seized the opportunity to show Borthwick why he should be included in the squad announced on Monday. The dynamic 27-year-old provided pace and sharp running lines to an attack that showed signs of life in the first half before crumbling amid a host of handling errors. Marchant’s 16 caps have largely been hit and miss, but he offers something different and covers wing as well as centre.

Joe Cokanasiga

Although hardly a stellar display, there was enough on show from Cokanasiga to suggest he could make an impact at the World Cup. The Bath wing of Fijian heritage hunted for the ball and punched holes in the home defence and while his rugby instincts may fail to match his athleticism, his power would be an X-factor asset to England’s backline. Vulnerable defensively at times and can be targeted with a clever kicking game, but his key tackle on Louis Rees-Zammit was an important moment.

England midfielder Keira Walsh is back in team training ahead of their Women’s World Cup last-16 tie with Nigeria.

The 26-year-old was stretchered off during England’s Group D win over Denmark, with what was initially feared could be a tournament-ending knee injury.

However, the Barcelona star’s injury is not as bad as first thought and her chances of featuring in the knockout phase received a boost on Sunday.

The Lionesses begin the knockout phase of their World Cup campaign against Nigeria on Monday and a tweet from England read: “All 23 players are out for training today at Central Coast Stadium.”

Walsh missed England’s last group game, a dominant 6-1 victory over China, and it remains to be seen whether she will be involved for the last-16 clash.

The 26-year-old did not hurt her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), with Sarina Wiegman saying ahead of the China game: “Keira is OK. We said that it’s not an ACL and we can’t give you more information.”

Knee injuries had already ruled captain Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead out of the World Cup.

Beth Tweddle announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics on this day in 2013, a year to the day after winning Olympic bronze.

Tweddle, regarded as one of Britain’s most successful gymnasts, revealed her decision nine years after making her Olympic debut as a 19-year-old in 2004 in Athens.

Her Olympic bronze came in the uneven bars at London 2012, while she won three world gold medals, six European titles and was British champion on seven occasions.

Speculation over Tweddle’s retirement came when she dismissed the possibility of competing at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and she finally announced her decision one year before the 2014 Commonwealth Games which took place in Glasgow.

The then 28-year-old followed several Olympians who called time on their sporting careers following the London Games, including cyclists Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton and swimmer Rebecca Adlington.

Tweddle said: “Following the Olympics I’ve had a lot of projects on and recently I’ve had a bit more time to get back into the gym and decide whether I could put 100 per cent into it.

“I know now deep down that I can’t commit to the hours and training to remain at the very top.

“I don’t think my achievements will ever really sink in but, when I do look back, I can be very proud of what I’ve done and how I’ve done it.”

Dan Evans progressed to the final of the Citi Open with a straight-sets victory over Grigor Dimitrov in Washington.

The British number two eclipsed his Bulgarian opponent 6-3 7-6 (4) in just under two hours to set up a meeting with Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.

Despite being overmatched in the power department, Evans put together a clean and composed performance as a sloppy Dimitrov was left to rue his own mistakes.

The world number 20 fired 24 winners to just nine from Evans, but came unstuck with 30 unforced errors.

Evans is the first British player to reach the final in Washington since Andy Murray in 2006.

Meanwhile, Griekspoor rallied from a set down in his semi-final clash with American Taylor Fritz as the world number 37 seeks his third title of the season.

Tim Anderson and Jose Ramirez exchanged punches to trigger a benches-clearing brawl in the sixth inning of the Chicago White Sox’s 7-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.

The fight began when Ramirez slid headfirst into second with an RBI double and Anderson stood over him, straddling Ramirez. When Ramirez got up, he pointed his finger in Anderson’s face and yelled, prompting the two to square off like a boxing match.

Anderson dropped his glove and threw the first punch, setting off a melee that saw both dugouts empty onto the infield. Ramirez appeared to connect with a right hand to the face of Anderson, who fell backward to the ground.

Anderson got back up incensed and tried unsuccessfully to get at Ramirez while being restrained by several teammates.

Tempers temporarily calmed before Guardians manger Terry Francona and Chicago manager Pedro Grifol had words, leading to pushing and shoving by players and coaches on both teams.

Anderson, Ramirez, Francona, third base coach Mike Sarbaugh, Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase and Grifol were all ejected. It took 15 minutes before order was restored after multiple flare-ups ensued.

Elvis Andrus hit a two-run homer, while Andrew Vaughn, Luis Robert Jr. and Oscar Colas had solo shots for the White Sox.

Chicago starter Michael Kopech carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Verlander loses to begin second stint with Astros

Justin Verlander pitched seven innings but took a loss in his first start since being re-acquired by his old team, as the Houston Astros fell to the New York Yankees 3-1.

Verlander, who was traded by the New York Mets on Tuesday, began his second stint in Houston by allowing seven hits and two runs over seven innings while striking out four.

Jose Altuve hit his 200th career home run in the third inning, but the Astros managed just one other hit the rest of the game.

Nestor Cortes started his first game for the Yankees in over two months after recovering from a rotator cuff injury in his throwing shoulder.

Cortes allowed one run and one hit in four innings and fanned eight.

Jake Bauers provided the go-ahead RBI with a solo shot off Verlander in the fifth inning, and Gleyber Torres’ solo homer added an insurance run in the eighth.

Streaking Rangers rally past Marlins

Josh Jung hit the third of three multi-run homers for Texas in the middle innings and the Rangers erased a five-run deficit to beat the Miami Marlins 9-8 for their fifth straight victory.

Texas entered the bottom of the fourth down 5-0, but Adolis Garcia led off with a single and Jung singled before Robbie Grossman belted a three-run homer to right.

The Rangers took the lead for good with a four-run fifth, as Corey Seager’s homer scored Marcus Semien before Jung’s two-run blast made it 7-5.

Texas extended its lead in the AL West to 2 ½ games over the Astros, who lost to the Yankees.

Andy Farrell played down the severity of injuries suffered by Jack Conan, Jimmy O’Brien and Craig Casey during Ireland’s “clunky” World Cup warm-up win over Italy.

Number eight Conan was pictured in a protective boot following his first-half withdrawal in Dublin, while full-back O’Brien and scrum-half Casey were taken off with shoulder and back issues respectively.

Caelan Doris shone for the Guinness Six Nations champions with two tries in a 33-17 victory in which Dave Kilcoyne, Stuart McCloskey and replacement Cian Healy were also on the scoresheet.

Speaking of the injury concerns, head coach Farrell said: “They seem not too bad.

“Jimmy’s shoulder has shut down a little bit, it’s something he’s had in the past. Jack lost power in his foot, he seems OK.

“Craig had a tight back which was making his hamstring cramp. They were taken off as precautions more than anything.”

An experimental Ireland side recovered from a sluggish start at a subdued Aviva Stadium to take control of the contest but did not fully convince, despite the comfortable scoreline.

“To get up and running with a victory is nice, but I think we all know really that it was a bit clunky, to say the least, at times,” said Farrell.

“There was some really good stuff as far as possession is concerned and opportunities to convert were there in spades.

“But we weren’t patient enough to be able to convert that, so I think that’s the morale of the story really.”

Back-rower Doris, selected in an unfamiliar role at openside flanker, was the standout performer, while Ciaran Frawley, Calvin Nash and Tom Stewart came off the bench to make Test debuts.

“I’m sick of him getting man of the match,” joked Farrell.

“He just keeps getting better and better. We all know he’s good at jackalling and good over the ball and I don’t know whether he took that through the roof because he had a number seven on his back.

“He epitomises what we’re trying to do as far as the player being in control of his own mind.

“It doesn’t really matter whether he makes a mistake or two, he just gets on with the next job the whole time.

“He’s playing extremely well but he’s certainly growing as far as his leadership role is concerned as well. He’s coming on leaps and bounds.”

Ireland move on to a training camp in Portugal before taking on England and Samoa later this month.

Italy head coach Kieran Crowley said: “In the first half, we were dominated all over the place.

“Ireland were too good for us in that first half. Second half, we came back but we’ve still got a lot of work to do in our breakdown work and just in general with our management.

“I saw an improvement in that second half – we won the second half, I think, but that’s not winning the game.”