Queen Mother Champion Chase favourite El Fabiolo will captain Simon Munir and Isaac Souede’s Dublin Racing Festival team as the unbeaten chaser heads to Leopardstown a red-hot favourite for Sunday’s Ladbrokes Dublin Chase.

Originally set to contest Ascot’s abandoned Clarence House Chase, Willie Mullins’ ace two-miler will seek riches closer to home as he looks to supplement his victory in the Irish Arkle at the two-day meeting 12 months ago.

El Fabiolo went on to add to his Grade One tally at both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals and following a successful comeback run in Cork’s Hilly Way Chase, the odds-on shot will be seeking to solidify his spot at the top of the market for the Champion Chase in just under six weeks’ time.

“The team will probably have about nine runners, but he’s the only one who will be a hot favourite for us and is our best chance,” said Munir and Souede’s racing manager Anthony Bromley.

“He’s training well and was in great form leading up to the Clarence House two weeks ago – and the team are all happy with him still, so let’s hope we cannot fluff our lines.”

Sunday will also see Impaire Et Passe, another of the owners’ 2023 Cheltenham Festival heroes, lock horns with State Man for a second time in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle, attempting to overturn a three-and-a-quarter-length beating from when they met in the Matheson Hurdle at Christmas.

A strong second-day squad will see Closutton’s James Du Berlais drop back in trip for the valuable O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey Leopardstown Handicap Chase.

Meanwhile, the day ends with Stuart Crawford bidding to provide Munir and Souede with a third-straight victory in the concluding Coolmore N.H. Sires Hurricane Lane Irish EBF Mares I.N.H. Flat Race with wide-margin Down Royal scorer Mongibello.

“James Du Berlais ran really well at Christmas in the three-mile handicap chase,” continued Bromley.

“We’re dropping back to two-miles-five on Sunday in the €150,000 race. We’re hoping dropping a couple of furlongs works the oracle, as he showed up well for a very long way and went very well at Christmas and I would be hopeful of a bold show, but it’s a hugely competitive handicap chase.”

He went on: “Mongibello was second on her debut in a Listed bumper and then won very well at Down Royal in a race that is starting to work out.

“There will be plenty more fancied than us in the race, but I think she will run a really solid race and we’ve had a bit of luck in the race with the colours in the past.

“Two years ago, the Crawfords won it with Lily Du Berlais and last year the Mullins father-and-son team won it for us with Fun Fun Fun. It may be asking a bit to make it a hat-trick in the race but Mongibello certainly won’t let us down.”

Hopes for the opening day rest on Intellotto in a red-hot renewal of the Grade One McCann FitzGerald Spring Juvenile Hurdle and Ayiko in the concluding Donohue Marquees Future Stars (C & G) I.N.H. Flat Race, with the Dublin Racing Festival arriving at the ideal time for the in-form ‘double green’ team.

They have enjoyed plenty of success over the last seven days, with a double at Naas last Sunday followed by talented novices Anotherway and Mistergif impressing in midweek.

Some of those victors could be set for a step up to better things next time, with Naas bumper winner Jasmin De Vaux set to be pointed towards the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival following his commanding 15-length romp.

“Jasmin De Vaux was a Crawford graduate and we purchased him from Stuart and sent him to Willie and he looked very good in the bumper on Sunday,” said Bromley.

“I imagine all roads lead to Cheltenham for him. You could probably pick holes in the form of the bumper but it was the manner in which he did it which was impressive and he’s a really exciting horse to look forward to.”

A day later, it was Anotherway who was representing the team with distinction as he sauntered his way to success at Punchestown, a win that meant an awful lot to connections.

Bromley explained: “Anotherway was extremely pleasing because he had severe complications after being gelded as a three-year-old and had to have two big operations, life-saving operations, and to even get him on the track at Christmas was brilliant.

“He blew up a bit then, but he certainly showed the benefit of that at Punchestown and that gave me as much pleasure as anything.

“He is Concertista’s half-brother as well, so that is quite nice and it was a very poignant winner. I don’t think he will necessarily go to Cheltenham but he will be racing at some sort of festival in the spring I suspect.”

Ousmane Dembele will miss Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain’s trip to Strasbourg on Friday.

The former Barcelona winger missed training on Thursday with a thigh problem and the club have since announced he will be not be risked at the Stade de la Meinau.

Luis Enrique’s team, who have a six-point lead at the top of the table, will also be without the suspended Bradley Barcola.

The forward received a one-match ban after being sent off for two bookable offences in stoppage time of last week’s 2-2 draw with Brest.

PSG had led 2-0 in that match but surrendered their advantage, raising question marks over their resilience.

Manager Luis Enrique, however, has dismissed concerns about a lack of stamina.

“After watching the match against Brest again, I don’t think we had an athletic problem,” the Spaniard told reporters at a press conference to preview the game at Strasbourg.

“I think they were very good opponents – that’s the reality. It’s true that we had difficulty pressing and recovering balls, but I don’t think it was a physical problem.”

After being held by Brest, who are third in the league, Enrique recognises PSG face a tough game against another side in good form.

Strasbourg, under the guidance of Patrick Vieira, are unbeaten in their last six matches.

“They’re a team in better momentum than at the start of the season,” said Enrique, the former Barcelona and Spain manager. “They have had good results recently and are in the middle of the table.

“They’re a team that creates but also defends very well, in an organised manner. We will have to be ready for everything in this match.”

The game comes too soon for Achraf Hakimi to rejoin the PSG squad following the end of Morocco’s campaign at the Africa Cup of Nations.

With the Champions League also due to resume later this month with the first leg of the last-16 tie against Real Sociedad, Enrique is aware the business end of the season is approaching.

He hopes his team can tighten their grip on the title race as pressures increase.

He said: “We have to win the next matches and get to the end of the season in the best possible way.

“For the moment, what is important is the match against Strasbourg, but now we are going to have to play matches every three or four days.

“We have to take these three points which are really important.”

Dundee and Livingston were the only cinch Premiership clubs to announce signings by mid-afternoon on deadline day but more business is expected at Celtic and Rangers among others.

Dundee re-signed Norwich goalkeeper Jon McCracken on loan while Livingston completed a move for Inverness midfielder David Carson.

Celtic are set to wrap up the loan signing of Norwich and Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah, who has scored seven goals this season, after the 22-year-old arrived in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Several players could be on their way out of Celtic Park with David Turnbull and Mikey Johnston tipped to join Cardiff and West Brom respectively, and James Forrest linked with an exit.

But Gustaf Lagerbielke’s proposed loan move to Italian side Lecce could be scuppered amid reports of further injury concerns over his fellow centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Rangers are expected to complete the signing of 20-year-old Colombian winger Oscar Cortes on loan from Lens with an option to buy after he arrived in Glasgow.

The Light Blues look to have been thwarted in their bid to land 20-year-old Brazilian left-back Jefte from Fluminense with loan club APOEL Nicosia reportedly intent on keeping him until the end of the campaign.

However, uncertainty remains over the future of Gers left-back Ridvan Yilmaz with Galatasaray said to be preparing an offer.

Reports from Italy also claimed Hellas Verona were set to launch a bid to sign Ibrox striker Cyriel Dessers.

McCracken’s return to Dens Park came following an initial loan deal being terminated in August after he lost his place to Trevor Carson.

The 23-year-old went on to join Accrington on an emergency loan and played 13 times and now cannot play for anyone else this season other than Dundee.

With Carson missing some recent games through injury, manager Tony Docherty told his club’s website: “It is important for me to have strong competition in every position for the last part of the season and I want that with our goalkeepers and bringing Jon in gives us a real level of competition.”

Livingston have signed midfielder David Carson on an 18-month deal after the 28-year-old made more than 160 appearances for Caley Thistle having joined from Morpeth Town in 2019.

Livi manager David Martindale, who is also hoping to sign a centre-back, said: “He can play in a number of positions but, for me, is best in a defensive midfield role. He has bags of endeavour and desire to work hard for the team and I’m sure this will see him quickly become a fans favourite.”

Motherwell are still looking for at least one further addition after signing 22-year-old Welsh forward Jack Vale on loan from Blackburn on Wednesday, and assistant manager Stephen Frail gave fans fresh hope there might be a loan return for Groningen striker Kevin van Veen.

“I’m not sure anything’s out the water,” Frail said on Thursday morning. “That could be one of those last-minute things. There will be one or two people that the manager and recruitment team are looking to bring in.”

However, St Mirren and Kilmarnock are also reported to be in the running for the Dutch striker. Killie manager Derek McInnes said on Wednesday “we may still look to add one if we can”.

Aberdeen are said to have failed in an effort to re-sign Mattie Pollock on loan from Watford, a day after Barry Robson was sacked as manager.

Hibernian are another club in the market for a central defender while Hearts are hoping to hold on to Lawrence Shankland after signing Scott Fraser on loan from Charlton on Wednesday.

Ross County are hoping to add least one more player while St Johnstone are reportedly keen to land 25-year-old striker Adama Sidibeh from English non-league side Warrington Rylands.

Outside of the top flight, Queen’s Park head coach Callum Davidson believes he has pulled off “a bit of a coup” by signing 32-year-old former Liverpool, Rangers and Scotland defender Danny Wilson from Colorado Rapids.

Lowland League side Albion Rovers sold striker Joe Bevan to Premier League Burnley for an undisclosed fee. The 19-year-old scored 15 goals for Rovers, including nine in League Two, after joining from Camelon 12 months ago.

Warren Gatland has backed Wales’ most inexperienced Six Nations line-up since 2019 to “go out there with no fear” in Saturday’s clash against Scotland.

Cardiff full-back Cameron Winnett is handed a Test debut after just 15 games of professional rugby, 21-year-old Dafydd Jenkins will lead Wales out as his country’s youngest captain for 56 years, while six of the Wales’ replacements have just 12 caps between them.

The absentees read like a current who’s who of Welsh rugby – George North, Louis Rees-Zammit, Liam Williams, Dan Biggar, Dewi Lake, Will Rowlands, Jac Morgan and Taulupe Faletau, to name just eight.

And the starting XV’s 413 caps has more than half that total shared by only four players in scrum-half Gareth Davies, wing Josh Adams, lock Adam Beard and number eight Aaron Wainwright.

Wales, though, will defend a 22-year unbeaten record against Scotland in Cardiff that comprises nine Six Nations games, a World Cup warm-up fixture and an autumn Test.

“We are at home and Scotland haven’t won here in Cardiff for a long time,” Wales head coach Gatland said.

“It is a full stadium and we’ve got a responsibility to go and deliver a performance.

“The enthusiasm of this young group of players has been exceptional over the last few weeks. I am really excited about this group that we’ve got, building with some youngsters who I think are really going to grow, develop and impress.

“Those young players get out there and learn what it is like to play in front of 75,000 people where things are happening quicker than you would normally experience.

“I couldn’t be happier with how they have trained and prepared. Two weeks, the attitudes have been outstanding – no-one has moaned about how hard we have worked.

“Everyone has been vocal and pushed each other. I think we’ve got an average age of 25. I think they can go out there with no fear with the way they have prepared.”

Centre North, who has won 118 caps and is comfortably the most experienced player in Wales’ Six Nations squad, suffered a shoulder injury during Ospreys’ recent European Challenge Cup victory over South Africa side the Lions.

Gatland, though, allayed any fears surrounding his fitness for next week’s Twickenham appointment with England.

“He is ready to go now. We’ve just made that decision early – we wanted to select the team early,” Gatland added.

“The fact he hadn’t trained much, we could have held on (until) later in the week, but we just wanted to make that call early to give those players the best chance in terms of preparing for Saturday.”

And on Racing 92 lock Rowlands, Gatland said: “Will hasn’t come into the squad yet. His wife had a baby a couple of weeks ago in France, and unfortunately there were some complications.

“So the message to him has been ‘you stay home and be with your family’. We always talk about how important that is, and he will turn up when he is ready.”

Owen Watkin and Nick Tompkins will forge Wales’ midfield partnership, with Winnett’s Cardiff colleague James Botham – grandson of England cricket great Sir Ian Botham – being recalled for a first Wales appearance since July 2021.

Dragons prop Leon Brown also starts, with uncapped Cardiff flanker Alex Mann among the replacements, where former Bristol back Ioan Lloyd provides fly-half cover for Sam Costelow.

“The Six Nations is always about momentum,” Gatland said.

“We are under no illusions that it is going to be a tough game for us, but we can go there being excited about this group of young players.”

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank believes refusing to sell Ivan Toney in January proves how far the club has come in recent years – but admits eventually “money talks” when it comes to holding on to his stars.

England striker Toney was reportedly a target for the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea during the transfer window.

The 27-year-old has recently returned to action for the Bees having served an eight-month ban after breaching Football Association gambling laws.

Toney has scored 34 goals in 68 top-flight games for the Bees and Frank insists the player will stay put after a month of speculation.

“This will be breaking news, OK – but Ivan will stay,” Frank said at his press conference previewing Monday’s clash with Manchester City.

Asked if he was happy that the window was closing just hours after his media duties would conclude, Frank replied: “Happy? Yes, but I was pretty sure as I said from the beginning that Ivan will stay with us so I was not worried about that.

“In general, it is nice to know what you are working with so in that situation, yes (I am happy).”

Despite rumours of a big-money move during the window, Frank and the club as a whole were steadfast throughout January that Toney would not be sold.

The former Newcastle forward is out of contract at the end of next season but Frank feels Brentford showed their strength in keeping hold of their sought-after striker, even if their transfer strategy dictates otherwise.

“Yes, I think with any player we have a contract in general so at the end of the day we decide if they leave or not,” he added when asked if rebuffing any interest in Toney showed the progress Brentford have made.

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“Of course money talks and we also know that we are a ‘selling’ club as you could call it – we know that is part of the strategy.

“We want to have young, talented players in, develop them and make them better. Be on a journey with us, improve and hopefully do some fantastic stuff in the league and maybe one day win something.

“But at the end of the day, after some years if they are good enough they will progress to the next level.”

You Wear It Well remains on course for a crack at more Cheltenham Festival glory in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle after running with credit in defeat at Doncaster last weekend.

Jamie Snowden’s charge produced her best effort as a novice at Prestbury Park when making all to see off 20 rivals in Grade Two company last March, scoring at generous odds of 16-1 under Gavin Sheehan.

She kicked off this term by getting the better of Luccia at Wetherby over two miles before being a well-beaten favourite in the rearranged Fighting Fifth at Sandown.

Snowden opted to step her up to an extended three miles in the Warfield Mares’ Hurdle, with a change of tactics deployed, as she was held up at the back early on.

You Wear It Well came through to challenge Marie’s Rock at the final flight but just found the 2022 Mares’ Hurdle winner too strong on the run-in.

“I think we just got beat by a better horse on the day in that set of circumstances,” said Snowden.

“It was our first try at the trip and the ground was a little bit quicker than ideal. It turned into a little bit of a sprint from three out and we had a bit of ground to make up.

“But Marie’s Rock is rated 150, we’re rated 140, we were carrying the same weight and we only got beat a length and a half, so it was a decent performance and I was glad to get that run into her, it was a nice run.

“The Mares’ Hurdle is the plan and we might look at the Warwick race (February 10) on route.”

Blair Kinghorn has been ruled out of Scotland’s first two Guinness Six Nations matches with a knee injury, paving the way for Kyle Rowe to make his first international start at full-back in Saturday’s opener in Wales.

The Toulouse number 15 becomes the second member of Scotland’s first-choice back three to be ruled out of the match in Cardiff and the following weekend’s visit from France, with free-scoring Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham also absent due to quad tightness.

Rowe’s only previous cap came away to Argentina in July 2022 when he came on as a substitute and lasted only 10 minutes before damaging his ACL, resulting in him being sidelined for most of the following year.

The 25-year-old has been in good form for Glasgow this term, scoring seven tries, including three in his last two outings before meeting up with the national team.

Kyle Steyn, who recently returned after three months out, and Duhan van der Merwe will start on the wings.

Recently-appointed co-captain Rory Darge has not recovered from a knee injury in time to feature so stand-off Finn Russell will skipper the side.

Previous skipper Jamie Ritchie, who lost the role last month, has been named as one of this weekend’s vice-captains and will start in the back-row alongside Matt Fagerson and Luke Crosbie, with Jack Dempsey – the first-choice number eight for most of last year – on the bench.

Ben White, Scotland’s preferred scrum-half for the majority of last year, is restored to the number-nine jersey after Ali Price took his place in the starting XV for the last two matches of the World Cup against Romania and Ireland.

Glasgow lock Scott Cummings starts in place of his suspended Edinburgh counterpart Grant Gilchrist.

Props Elliot Millar-Mills and Alec Hepburn – who was capped six times by England in 2018 – are both in line to make their Scotland debuts off the bench.

However, there is no place in the 23 for in-form Saracens back-rower Andy Christie who had been touted as a potential starter.

The Scots are eyeing a first victory in Cardiff for 22 years.

William Haggas has decided to keep the King and Queen’s Desert Hero closer to home for his first outing of 2024, with Royal Ascot once again on the agenda before a potential trip to Australia at the end of the year.

The chestnut sparked fabulous scenes last June, providing his owners with their first winner at the big meeting in the King George V Stakes.

He went on to win at Glorious Goodwood and finish third in the St Leger, after which Haggas was contemplating a Melbourne Cup tilt.

That was put on the backburner but the Newmarket handler was considering sending him out to Australia in the early months of the new year, given the success he has had with the likes of Addeybb and Dubai Honour Down Under.

However, those plans have now been shelved and Haggas told RadioTAB Australia: “We decided definitely that His Majesty’s horse will not be coming to Sydney in the autumn.

“We may well come down at the backend of the year in your (Australian) spring, but I just felt he needed a bit more time and they (his owners) concurred.

“Possibly (the Melbourne Cup) or possibly something in Sydney, we’ll see.

“We are going to concentrate on going to Royal Ascot for the Hardwicke Stakes, which will be his first major target.

“He’s done very well this winter. He will benefit from all the time he can get. It’s ‘do we press the button now or wait a bit’ and we plumped for the second option, we’re going to wait a bit.

“He’s pretty useful, he got better and better last year and we think he’s done better again this winter, so I am very pleased with him.”

Haggas will be represented in the big Australian races once again by Dubai Honour, who won both the Ranvet Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes last year before finishing a fine third to Romantic Warrior in the QEII Cup in Hong Kong.

“He’ll go into quarantine on February 15. We’re looking at the same two races as last year,” said Haggas.

“I probably shouldn’t have run him in the Eclipse, as he’d been on the go for a while, but there were only four runners and I thought he ran well for a long way in the Champion Stakes.

“To be honest, his whole summer was based around getting him in top shape to come to you (Australia) in February/March.

“He will be the same horse he was, I hope.

“I’d like him to come back for two years. If all goes well this year and he runs competitively, then basically it will be all the same again.”

Two more could travel with Dubai Honour, as Post Impressionist, winner of the Old Borough Cup, and Mujtaba, last seen finishing second in the Huxley Stakes in May, are both pencilled in.

“Post Impressionist will run in the Sydney Cup, he’s been bought by Lloyd Williams. He’s in really good shape,” said Haggas.

“Mujtaba might well go. I’m really pleased with his condition. He’ll either go Ranvet or Tancred and then hopefully Queen Elizabeth.

“He’s never won a Stakes race, in his only start last year he was second in a Group Two and then got colic.

“He’s a good age, he’s six but has only run nine times in his life.”

Lewis Hamilton looks set to make a shock move to Ferrari from the 2025 season onwards.

The seven-time Formula One world champion has enjoyed unrivalled success at Mercedes but is now on course to become the 12th British racer to don the famous red overalls of Ferrari.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at five of the most notable former Britons to race for the Maranello marque.

John Surtees

Starts: 37
Wins: 5

Surtees is the subject of a pub quiz question to this day as he remains the only man to win world championships on both two and four wheels.

His F1 title came during a four-year stint at Ferrari, where he won the championship in 1964.

More success probably would have followed had he not quit the team after just two races of the 1966 season following a public spat resulting from his omission from Ferrari’s team for the Le Mans 24-hour race.

Eddie Irvine

Starts: 65
Wins: 4

Ferrari’s hopes of a first drivers’ championship in two decades had seemingly been resting solely on the shoulders of Michael Schumacher.

That all changed when he broke his leg in a crash at Silverstone in 1999, jettisoning Northern Ireland’s Irvine into a title showdown with the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen.

Having joined Ferrari in 1996, Irvine was very much the number two in the team, although victories in Australia, Austria, Germany and Malaysia saw the championship race go down to the wire but – even with Schumacher back from injury and playing a supporting role, he fell short by two points and quit for Jaguar in 2000.

Nigel Mansell

Starts: 32
Wins: 3

Already a world champion, Mansell would forever be bestowed with the honour of being the last driver hand-picked by Enzo Ferrari to race for his eponymous marque.

Mansell had endured a terrible season at Williams in 1988 but won in Brazil in 1989 – his first race behind the wheel of a Ferrari – and later in Hungary, too.

Reliability issues hampered the remainder of his debut year with the Prancing Horse and 1990 proved even worse in that regard as Mansell retired from seven grands prix, winning in Portugal but falling out with the team and returning to Williams the following year.

Mike Hawthorn

Starts: 24
Wins: 3

Hawthorn became the United Kingdom’s first Formula One world champion when he took the title with Ferrari in 1958.

Having driven for the team earlier in the decade, he returned to take the crown after winning in France and finishing second in Belgium, Britain, Portugal, Italy and Morocco.

He retired after winning the championship having watched team-mate Peter Collins die at the German Grand Prix months earlier – Hawthorn himself would die in a road accident in January 1959 at the age of 29.

Peter Whitehead

Starts: 8
Wins: 0

Whitehead may have raced in Formula One but it was with a Ferrari, rather than for the team itself.

The Englishman became the first private racer to convince Enzo Ferrari to sell him a car, which he duly painted in British racing green.

He was entered into one race by the works Ferrari team – but failed to qualify for the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix.

New Ireland skipper Peter O’Mahony has dismissed suggestions Friday’s “colossal” Guinness Six Nations curtain-raiser against France will be an early title decider.

Andy Farrell’s men will run out in Marseille as reigning Grand Slam champions on the back of a decisive 32-19 round-two win over the French last February in Dublin.

Les Bleus, who are the pre-tournament favourites this year, completed a championship clean sweep in 2022 following a crucial 30-24 victory over Ireland in Paris.

Munster flanker O’Mahony, who has taken the captaincy from the retired Johnny Sexton, played down talk of silverware once again being decided by the fixture ahead of a mouth-watering opening evening at Stade Velodrome.

“I don’t know about that,” he told a press conference.

“It’s the first one up for us, first one up for them. In this competition, every game is colossal and that’s an understatement.

“Both of us are out there tomorrow to win the game, set ourselves up with some momentum for the rest of the campaign.

“Every opportunity you get to play for Ireland is huge, but this one seems particularly special… to continue our journey on.

“What a place to do it, what a stadium… what a place to play rugby.”

Ireland and France are both on the rebound from agonising quarter-final exits at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Head coach Farrell has made three enforced changes from the 28-24 last-eight loss to New Zealand on October 14, with fly-half Jack Crowley, wing Calvin Nash and centre Robbie Henshaw coming in for the departed Sexton and injured pair Mack Hansen and Garry Ringrose.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old lock Joe McCarthy has been preferred to James Ryan and Iain Henderson in the other alteration to the starting XV.

O’Mahony insists the team are looking forward, rather than attempting to make up for disappointment suffered at the hands of the All Blacks.

“We’re not trying to prove a point to ourselves about what happened,” he said.

“We’re trying to prove to ourselves in performance, where the scene is at, where we want to go, setting up momentum.

“It’s not about putting things right or whatever. It’s about a Test match tomorrow night. That’s what the occasion is, it’s the most important thing for us.

“And performance is absolutely paramount. That’s what everyone is here to do, be the best version of themselves. That’s what we’re trying to do for Ireland.”

O’Mahony has captained Ireland on a number of previous occasions but will lead his country for the first time as permanent skipper.

The 34-year-old believes he and his team-mates all learnt from his predecessor Sexton.

“I had a good chat with him a few weeks ago and he’s in good form, I can report,” O’Mahony said.

“I’d be shocked if you asked anybody in that dressing room who’s played with Johnny if they hadn’t picked up something from him.

“It’s kind of what the game’s about, it’s learning and being diligent and picking stuff up from guys who’ve figured it out and he was certainly one of them.”

England have given debuts to centre Fraser Dingwall and flanker Ethan Roots for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has also named three uncapped players on the bench in back-rower Chandler Cunningham-South, fly-half Fin Smith and wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

“Winning a first cap for your country is always a very special occasion,” Borthwick said.

“We’re delighted for the debutants who have all worked incredibly hard to get themselves selected in the 23 to face Italy. I know Saturday will be a very proud moment for the players and their families.

“My message to them this week has been to be themselves, to grasp their opportunity, and to play with the strengths and skills that deservedly got them selected to a strong Six Nations squad.”

Alex Mitchell has overcome an infected cut on his leg to form a half-back axis with George Ford, who is named as one of two vice-captains alongside Maro Itoje with Jamie George leading the team out at the Stadio Olimpico.

Ford has edged rookie Fin Smith for the number 10 jersey after Marcus Smith was ruled out of the round one clash because of a calf problem and he will direct a midfield partnership of Dingwall and Henry Slade.

Tommy Freeman wins his fourth cap and first since 2022 on the right wing as reward for an impressive season at Gallagher Premiership pace-setters Northampton, who also supply Dingwall and Mitchell to the starting back line.

Joe Marler and Will Stuart are the preferred props, keeping Ellis Genge and Dan Cole on the bench, while Itoje and Ollie Chessum are paired together in a familiar-looking lock duo.

Roots has big boots to fill after being chosen to start in the number six jersey worn by Courtney Lawes until his international retirement after the World Cup, with Ben Earl continuing at number eight and Sam Underhill at openside.

Roots played for the Maori All Blacks but has been a revelation at Exeter this season after arriving at Sandy Park having spent two seasons at the Ospreys.

Italy have never beaten England in 30 previous attempts but Borthwick refuses to take victory for granted.

“After an excellent week’s preparation in Girona, we look forward to the challenge of playing Italy in Rome,” Borthwick said.

“The Azzurri are a dangerous team, with some talented ball-carriers and players who like to find space. We’ll need to make good decisions, keep our discipline, and maintain a level of intensity to our performance from the first whistle to the last.”

Royale Pagaille may not run again this season as Venetia Williams reports he is “still very sore” following his final fence fall in Cheltenham’s Cotswold Chase.

The 10-year-old holds an entry for the Gold Cup, as well as being seen as a potential Grand National candidate, and after a career-best performance to win the Betfair Chase in November, he was out to cement his claims for the blue riband at Prestbury Park last Saturday.

However, dreams of a fourth shot at the Cheltenham Festival’s main prize now appear to be on hold after his Trials Day fall, which came when staying on strongly in the hands of Charlie Deutsch, with Williams suggesting his recovery time will keep him off the track for the rest of the current campaign.

“I don’t know for sure, but he is still very sore,” said Williams.

“He should be all right, but it is going to need a bit of time and I’m not sure if we will see him out again this season. It’s a big shame.”

Despite Royale Pagaille looking likely to be out of the Gold Cup picture, there was better news about high-ranking stablemate L’Homme Presse following his successful Lingfield comeback.

Having brought the house down with a terrific display to better Protektorat in the Fleur De Lys Chase, he is now firmly on course for his scheduled pre-Gold Cup stop in the Betfair Ascot Chase on February 17.

Williams said: “He’s fine and I’m happy with him. Ascot is in two weeks and we will see, but all being well, that is what we will do.”

Alongside Shishkin, L’Homme Presse is seen as one of Britain’s best chances of claiming victory in the Gold Cup for the first time since Native River in 2018 and is a best price of 10-1 with the bookmakers.

AC Milan defender Marco Pellegrino has completed a loan move to Salernitana for the remainder of the season.

The 21-year-old Argentinian joined Milan’s struggling Serie A rivals a day after the move looked to have fallen through.

Pellegrino played for former club Platense until July last year before joining the Rossoneri, for whom he made his debut as a substitute in a 2-2 draw with Napoli in October, and was therefore deemed to have played for two clubs this season.

However, after reported talks with FIFA, both clubs announced the deal had gone through on deadline day.

A statement on Milan’s website on Thursday said: “AC Milan announces that Marco Pellegrino has signed for US Salernitana on loan until 30 June 2024. The club wishes Marco a great second half of the season.”

Salernitana’s statement said: “US Salernitana 1919 announces that it has reached an agreement with AC Milan for the temporary transfer until 30 June 2024 of defender Marco Pellegrino. The player will wear the number 24 shirt.”