Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg has announced his retirement from rugby union with immediate effect.

Hogg had previously revealed plans to end his career after the World Cup in France later this year.

But the 31-year-old has decided to call time “knowing that I have given my body and heart to rugby”.

Hogg tweeted: “It is difficult where to start, but with great sadness and an enormous amount of pride I am announcing my immediate retirement from playing rugby.

“I fought with everything I had to make the Rugby World Cup, but this time my body has not been able to do the things I wanted and needed it to do.

“We knew this day would come eventually. I just never thought it would be this soon.

“It’s hard to put into words just how much of an impact the game has had on my life. I will be retiring knowing that I have given my body and heart to rugby.

“I will be forever grateful to this amazing community and cannot wait to begin my journey as a proud supporter of Scottish Rugby”.

Hogg made his Scotland debut in 2012. He played at two World Cups and went on each of the last three British and Irish Lions tours in 2013, 2017 and 2021.

He moved from Glasgow to Exeter in 2019 and was named Scotland captain the following year. Hogg skippered the national team for just over two years before Jamie Ritchie took over the role after head coach Gregor Townsend opted to make a change.

Hogg was visibly emotional before winning his 100th cap against Ireland earlier this year, although the match ended on a sour note when he was forced off in the closing stages with an ankle injury that ruled him out of the final Six Nations match versus Italy.

Townsend told www.scottishrugby.org: “Following Stuart’s news we would like to wish him all the best in his retirement. He has been an outstanding player for Scotland and has had a career lit up with so many achievements, highlights and special memories.

“I have had the pleasure of coaching Stuart for the majority of his career, and he was a joy to work with and watch on the training field and in games.

“He had a love for so many aspects of the game, and not only got joy from taking on defenders with ball in hand but also putting his team-mates into space.

“His basic skills and speed set him apart from other players, and it has been an amazing effort to play Test rugby for the past 11 years”.

Bucanero Fuerte is set to be campaigned at Group One level following his battling success in the Railway Stakes at the Curragh.

An impressive winner at the Kildare venue on debut, connections kept their powder dry with the precocious son of Wootton Bassett until Royal Ascot, where the Adrian Murray-trained youngster ran a fine race in the Coventry Stakes to finish a gallant third to Aidan O’Brien’s River Tiber.

Sent off 100-30 for the Group Two Railway, he built on that Ascot effort to quickly gain compensation, producing a brave performance off a positive ride from Rossa Ryan to hold off Ballydoyle’s Unquestionable and His Majesty.

The victory continued a golden spell for owners Amo Racing who enjoyed a double at Royal Ascot and also for Westmeath handler Murray who was picking up his second Group Two prize in the space of two weeks following Valiant Force’s Norfolk Stakes success at the big summer showpiece.

“Bucanero Fuerte has come out of the Curragh in great form and the team out in Ireland are really happy with him,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for Amo Racing.

“We were delighted with what he did there and he came forward from his Ascot run so we have to be chuffed with that.

“We’ve always held him in high regard and it’s nice it has come to fruition. We looked after him through the early part of the spring and he’s coming to the boil nicely now which is good to see.”

With Group Two honours secured, the natural next step is to seek top-table glory and both the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes (August 12) and Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes (September 10) back at the Curragh will come under consideration, as will Deauville’s Prix Morny on August 20.

“He’s got all the options. He’s in the Phoenix Stakes, he’s in the National and we’ll put him in the Morny,” added Pennington.

“We can’t wait to see him up at seven furlongs, but he showed at the Curragh he’s not slow. It will be a Group One on his next start, we just need to decide which one we go for.

“We would like to run in the Phoenix Stakes, that would be very much on our agenda and the National Stakes. They are the races we want to be competing in and he’s shown that he’s up to that level.”

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva continued her dream start to life on grass by storming into the last-16 at Wimbledon with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Anastasia Potapova.

Qualifier Andreeva, the youngest woman in the main draw at 16-years-old, had to wait a day to begin her third-round match but again showed why she is the talk of the tennis world with an accomplished display.

Andreeva’s victory in one hour and 35 minutes over her more experienced compatriot means her impressive grand-slam showing of reaching round three at Roland Garros in June has now been bettered.

She had never competed on grass before she started qualifying at Roehampton last week, but was able to chalk up a sixth consecutive win on the English lawn.

Potapova edged their first meeting in three sets last October and despite breaks being exchanged early on, Andreeva took control and won five of the last six games of the first set.

Further breaks were shared at the start of a much closer second set before Potapova moved 4-1 up.

Andreeva showed impeccable poise to keep calm and fought back to break in the seventh and 11th games of the second set to book a fourth-round meeting with Madison Keys.

An emotional Andreeva, who has made no secret of her affection for two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, said on-court: “Of course I am really happy I managed to win this match.

“It was an amazing battle, she played really well and congrats to her and her team because they did a good job.

“I did everything I could. I gave my all and I come back in the second set from 1-4 so of course I feel great.

“I have been working on (my emotions) really hard with my coaches, with my parents, we talked a lot. Now I know it is easier or better to control my emotions on court.

“But today honestly even if I wanted to show some emotions, I couldn’t because I was out of breath on every point!

“I do enjoy the atmosphere, it is just amazing here. You see all the pro players, you see (Novak) Djokovic, you see Murray… yes the atmosphere is great and I hope next year I will be in a different locker room (for seeds) that is the level above!”

England moved to within 98 runs of another memorable Ashes victory at Headingley, with Ben Stokes back on centre stage alongside Harry Brook.

Four years on from a famous Stokes-inspired victory at the same venue, England made themselves favourites to claim a gripping third Test after another tightly-fought morning on day four.

Needing 251 to win the match and keep the series alive at 2-1, the hosts reached 153 for four at lunch. Brook was playing forcefully on 40 not out, having swapped his spot at number three for his favoured position of five, with Stokes new to the crease on seven.

The mere presence of the England captain is a major factor, with memories of his match-winning 2019 century here and last week’s 155 in a losing cause both adding weight.

Australia will still fancy their own chances of a late surge though, having picked up each of the top four in a session that would not allow either side to fully take control.

England’s openers came out in cautious mood at 27 without loss, adding 15 careful runs to the score before Ben Duckett was trapped in the crease by Mitchell Starc, lbw to a ball destined for leg stump.

Moeen Ali was the man to replace Duckett at three, a surprise switch with Brook and a hefty promotion from number seven. The all-rounder has done the job before, but last appeared at first drop in November 2018.

It was a typically bold gambit from the Brendon McCullum regime but one that did not pay off.

Moeen made five from 15 deliveries and had no answer for a 90mph rocket from Starc, forcing its way through a modest drive and pounding the stumps.

If that dismissal raised any nerves around the ground, the arrival of their primary insurance policy, Root, should have settled them. Instead, he made an unusually skittish start.

He chased his first ball well wide of off stump on a hiding to nothing and was fortunate to hit fresh air.

Moments later he demanded a quick two off Zak Crawley’s bat and almost opened up a run out chance having yet to open his account.

When he did get off the mark it was in classical fashion, stroking a cover drive to the ropes to offer the crowd a much-needed release after one boundary in the first 45 minutes.

That stroke, combined with a change of bowling, appeared to break the rhythm and the runs began to flow.

Not all of them were intentional, Crawley carving Scott Boland over the cordon and Root nicking four low past second slip, but Crawley also pinged Mitch Marsh for a pair of authoritative blows through point.

Crawley’s growing confidence cost him his wicket on 44, throwing himself into a drive off Marsh and feeding the edge through to Alex Carey.

At 93 for three, both teams were moving towards their destinations and the balance of power was impossible to tell.

Brook set about nudging things in England’s favour, taking on Boland’s natural length and collecting three quick boundaries out the middle of the bat.

A stand of 38 with Root was beginning to give the chase a sense of security, but the latter was undone unexpectedly with the lunch break in sight.

Swivelling into a pull as the returning Cummins dragged one down, he gloved it through to the keeper for a tame end on 21.

The Minstrel Stakes is next on the agenda for Just Beautiful, as trainer Paddy Twomey plots a route to a possible tilt at Breeders’ Cup glory in the autumn.

A Group Three winner for Ivan Furtado in 2021, the five-year-old was subsequently bought for 625,000 guineas on behalf of Moyglare Stud Farm and moved to Ireland to join Twomey.

She only made it to the track twice last season, disappointing at Leopardstown before finishing third at the Curragh, and she was again well held on her first start of this term in the Athasi Stakes.

But having bounced back to winning ways in the Group Two Lanwades Stud Stakes at the end of May, Twomey is hopeful she can continue to show her true colours for the remainder of the year.

“She’s in good form and the plan is to run her in the Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh on (Irish) Oaks weekend,” said the trainer.

“She’ll have three options after that – the Prix Rothschild and the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville or the City of York Stakes. It’ll be one of those three races hopefully after the Minstrel Stakes.

“The long-range plan would be the Breeders’ Cup Mile if we could, but we’ll take it one step at a time.

“We didn’t really get a clear run at her last year – we had plenty of hold-ups.

“It was great to get a clear run with her this year and she’s versatile, I think. Seven furlongs on fast ground is probably her optimum, she has a lot of ability and I do hope she wins a Group One before the year is over.”

Joanna Mason, who suffered a leg fracture in a gallops accident last month, looks set to return to the saddle “in two or three weeks”.

Mason, 33, who was sidelined for 10 days when kicked in the knee by Jazz Samba following his win at Beverley on May 1, suffered more bad luck when three pigeons flew out of bushes adjacent to the gallops at her grandfather Mick and his son David Easterby’s yard, spooking a filly she was riding and unseating her.

The Malton rider raised her profile significantly on a wider stage earlier this year, producing a superb performance in February’s International Jockeys Challenge at the Saudi Cup to finish as leading woman rider and in third place overall.

On her rehabilitation, she said: “It’s going well, not doing too badly. I’m not a 100 per cent sure. I’ve increased stuff this week in the hydrotherapy pool, the physio and in the gym, and am doing a lot more weight-bearing. I’m hoping I’ll be back within the next two or three weeks.

“I definitely couldn’t get on a horse yet. I am just body-weight loading and doing that with heel raises, but I’m getting there.

“The knee is still a bit sore, because I was over-using it and hopping around while I was nursing my left one. There is not as much pressure, and it doesn’t hurt. I’m not doing too badly. I suppose your body will tell you when you are ready, but the process always takes longer than you think.

“The physios are really happy and I’m doing enough to push it without it hurting.”

Matteo Berrettini would have “signed with my blood” to have the Wimbledon run he is putting together.

The 2021 finalist has been struggling with a recurring abdominal problem that forced him to miss the defence of his Queen’s Club title but is through to the fourth round after convincing victories over Alex De Minaur and Alexander Zverev.

Berrettini, who was forced out of Wimbledon last year by Covid, said on court after his third-round victory that he had spent many days crying in his bed as he fought to get healthy again.

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“If they told me a few weeks ago you’re going to play five days in a row in Wimbledon, I would have signed with my blood,” the Italian said later.

“I really spent days in bed thinking about the tournaments that I missed, the injuries that I had, sadness that I was feeling. I was like, ‘I have to come back and feel alive when I play’.

“That’s the energy I have right now. It doesn’t matter how tired I am. In the morning, go there, enjoy. I find that extra energy that maybe a few years ago I took for granted.”

Berrettini is unseeded with his ranking having dropped to 38 and he revealed he arrived in London with serious fears he may have to miss Wimbledon for a second year in a row.

“I wasn’t sure even if I was going to play,” he said. “I flew here and I said maybe the atmosphere is going to help me a little bit.

“I was really not sure about it. Not because I didn’t want to. In order to play a slam, you have to be ready physically, emotionally, mentally. There are many things.

“The will is not enough. But then I have to say I did a great job with my team. We worked really hard. They let me decide. A few days before, I thought, ‘I’m not ready’.

“But then I missed too many events in the last years. I couldn’t leave this place without trying. That’s what I said to myself. I think this place has something special. I feel a kind of energy I don’t feel anywhere else.”

Berrettini is one of the best grass-court players in the draw and he will next try to upset top seed Carlos Alcaraz, who is yet to go beyond the fourth round at the All England Club.

The Italian, who beat Alcaraz over five sets at the Australian Open last year, is looking forward to the challenge, saying: “In a way it’s what you want, right? You want to play against the best players in the world.

“Playing against Carlos, it’s always been a pleasure, a great fight. He’s the best player in the world. It’s going to be a great challenge. But I’m so glad that I have this opportunity right now.

“I remember watching him play at Roland Garros from my TV. Now it’s going to be me against him. I’m really happy for that. I think this is going to help me to go there and enjoy and find that extra energy that I was talking about.”

Zverev certainly would not be surprised to see Berrettini come out on top, with the German saying: “I told him that he can win the tournament if he plays like this.

“Of course there are other players that are great. He’s playing Alcaraz next. I think he’s a great player as well. But, if he plays like this, he has chances against anybody.”

Leicester have appointed former Manchester City and Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero as assistant manager.

He is the fifth addition to new boss Enzo Maresca’s backroom team and will head to the Championship club following an 18-month spell at Southampton.

The 41-year-old Argentine enjoyed a highly-successful playing career.

During his time at City and Chelsea he collected Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup winners’ medals.

Caballero links up with the Foxes as they continue preparations for a Championship opener against Coventry on August 6.

England head coach Sarina Wiegman has hailed the Lionesses’ “incredible” World Cup welcome in Australia.

Around 3,000 spectators watched England train during an open session at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Queensland.

“To see so many fans join us today was incredible,” Wiegman said.

“We have received such a warm welcome from everyone since we arrived, it really feels like a home away from home for us and we are delighted to be here.

“With the brilliant facilities and the excellent climate, we can’t think of anywhere better to get to work and finalise our preparation for the tournament.”

England will step up their World Cup preparations with a behind-closed-doors game against Canada on Friday before travelling to Brisbane three days later, where they face their opening group match against Haiti on July 22.

They will also meet Denmark in Sydney and China in Adelaide during the competition’s group stage.

Roberto Mancini agreed a new five-year contract with Manchester City on this day in 2012.

However, just 10 months later the City dream had soured and the title-winning manager wound up being sacked.

The Italian manager took charge at the Etihad Stadium in 2009 and helped accelerate the club’s revolution under owner Sheikh Mansour.

Mancini was rewarded with a long-term new deal after steering City to their first top-flight title in 68 years, when the Manchester side won the 2011-12 Premier League.

Sergio Aguero’s last-ditch winner toppled QPR and saw City edge out rivals and neighbours Manchester United to claim the league crown.

Mancini replaced Mark Hughes in December 2009, leading his side to the 2011 FA Cup before swiping the English championship a year later.

“I am delighted to be able to give all of my efforts to Manchester City for a further five years,” said Mancini on completing his new extended deal.

“The opportunity which exists to build on our recent success is enormous.”

Sadly for Mancini, that enormous opportunity for City did not extend to him for much longer.

City lost the 2013 FA Cup final 1-0 to Wigan, with the Latics suffering Premier League relegation to sit alongside their cup glory.

That proved the final straw for City’s owners, after United had already sewn up the Premier League title with two games to play.

Mancini was unseated by City on May 13, 2013 – just two days after that FA Cup final defeat.

Assistant Brian Kidd took charge for the final two league games, with United eventually ending with an 11-point margin on second-placed City.

Mancini would move on to further club management roles with Galatasaray, Inter Milan and Zenit St Petersburg before claiming Euro 2020 glory as Italy coach.

Matt Manning, Jason Foley and Alex Lange produced the first combined no-hitter in Detroit Tigers history, leading the way to a 2-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays Saturday.

Manning was pulled after allowing a seventh-inning walk to Cavan Biggio on his 91st pitch. He walked three and struck out five in his 6 2/3 innings of work.

Foley recorded four straight outs before handing the ball over to Lange, who pitched a perfect ninth and recorded his 13th save of the season.

The start of the game was delayed nearly an hour and a half due to rain, but fans who stayed were treated to history as the Tigers rushed Lange on the mound after Spencer Torkelson squeezed the final out at first base.

Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter had first-inning RBIs for the Tigers, providing all the offence the team would need.

Riley Greene reached base four times in his first game back from the injured list after recovering from a stress fracture in his lower left leg.

Strider, Braves beat slumping Rays to stay hot

Spencer Strider stuck out 11 to win his seventh straight decision and the red-hot Atlanta Braves sent the Tampa Bay Rays to their seventh consecutive loss, 6-1.

Strider limited the Rays to four hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings with one walk to join Arizona’s Zac Gallen and Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan as the only 11-game winners in the majors.

Sean Murphy finished Atlanta’s four-run fourth inning with a three-run homer off rookie Taj Bradley, who gave up four runs and five hits in five innings.

The MLB-leading Braves homered in a franchise record-tying 25th straight game. They have won 20 of 22 to open a 9 ½-game lead in the NL East.

Dodgers hit five home runs, beat Angels again

Mookie Betts hit his 10th leadoff home run of the season for one of the Los Angeles’ Dodgers five homers in their ninth straight win against the reeling Los Angeles Angels, 10-5.

Betts’ home run set the MLB record for most in the first half, surpassing George Springer, who had nine with the Houston Astros in the first half of 2017.

Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, J.D. Martinez and David Peralta also went deep to help the Dodgers make it 10 consecutive wins against the Angels since a loss on Aug. 6, 2021.

Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 32nd homer and fell a double shy of the cycle as the Angels dropped their fifth in a row.

Elina Svitolina and Victoria Azarenka go head to head on Court One as Wimbledon hosts scheduled play on the middle Sunday for just the second year.

Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek headline the action on Centre Court as the singles competitions continue without the presence of any Britons.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at day seven’s action.

Svitolina set for Azarenka battle

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Elina Svitolina had planned to watch Harry Styles in Vienna this weekend. Instead, the Ukrainian will once again be under the spotlight for taking on a player from Belarus.

Svitolina beat two Russian players at the French Open before falling to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals. But she was booed in Paris for sticking to the Ukrainian position of not shaking hands with opponents from the two countries due to the ongoing war.

On Sunday, she faces Victoria Azarenka in the first Wimbledon match between someone from Ukraine and one from either Russia and Belarus since the war started.

Svitolina is well aware of the significance of the clash, saying: “A lot of Ukrainians will be watching, will be supporting me. I will go out there and put the fighting spirit on and just really fight for every single point.”

Middle Sunday action

For just the second time in its long history, Wimbledon will host scheduled action on the middle Sunday.

Up until last year it was always a day of rest, leading to ‘Manic Monday’ when all 16 fourth-round matches were played on one day.

This year’s play will be particularly welcome as the tournament is still playing catch up from indifferent weather in the first week.

There are some third-round matches still to be completed while a host of doubles and junior matches were cancelled on Saturday.

Match of the day

Hubert Hurkacz is the man who ended Roger Federer’s Wimbledon career when he won their quarter-final in 2021.

The Pole was then beaten by Matteo Berrettini in the semi-final, but he gets the chance to take down another big gun when he faces Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian is seemingly invincible on Centre Court so Hurkacz is going to have to channel that performance against Federer if he has any hope of prevailing and ending Djokovic’s reign.

Order of playCentre Court

Andrey Rublev v Alexander Bublik

Iga Swiatek v Belinda Bencic

Hubert Hurkacz v Novak Djokovic

Court One

Jessica Pegula v Lesia Tsurenko

Jannick Sinner v Daniel Galan

Victoria Azarenka v Elina Svitolina

Weather

Early thunderstorms will give way to more settled conditions

England need another 224 runs at Headingley to keep the Ashes series alive – and Chris Woakes hopes they can summon the spirit of 2019 to get them over the line on Sunday.

The hosts closed on 27 without loss in pursuit of 251 – a tricky ask as they have to better a first-innings 237 – after Australia were skittled for 224 on a truncated day three of the third Test.

Adding to the tension is the knowledge they will lose the series at the earliest possible opportunity if they fall short in the chase as they currently trail 2-0, although the target is some way below the 359 they were set by Australia four years ago.

On that occasion, England sealed a nerve-shredding one-wicket win to breathe fresh life into their campaign and Woakes recognises there will be similar momentum shifts and anxious spells on Sunday.

“I hope so, because that means we win the Test match,” said Woakes, when asked if they can channel the 2019 win over their arch rivals. “It would be nice to do it a little bit easier this time.

“There’s a full day ahead of us and we know what we’ve got to get. To chalk a few off is really nice and to finish the day none down is a real positive for us.

“We know we can chase scores as a team. It certainly suits us which is a good thing. The scores haven’t been overly high in this game, so you don’t just walk into it thinking it’s going to be a doddle.

“Naturally in a run chase there’s always nerves. But they are good nerves. The thought of winning the Test, chasing down a score and keeping yourself in the series. It’s more excitement than nerves.”

Woakes and Stuart Broad finished with three wickets apiece on Saturday, while Australia added 108 to their total in just 20.1 overs, largely due to Travis Head’s fine 77, which included three sixes.

There are certain to be some nerves on Sunday, but the total England have been asked to get does not crack the top five at this ground. Indeed, England have overhauled more twice in the last four years.

The magic numberCarey kept quiet

Alex Carey had been a stubborn presence at seven with the bat, passing double figures both times at Edgbaston and Lord’s and making a crucial half-century at the former. His controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow made him a pantomime villain, but, while his glove work remains immaculate, he has been dismissed in Leeds for single figures twice. Carey came to the crease on Saturday after Cricket Australia had refuted a bizarre story about him failing to pay for a haircut, but there was no close shave for the wicketkeeper as an attempted leave off Woakes thudded into his gloves and then, a little unfortunately, clipped his stumps.

Tweet of the day

Fans were left to their own devices for a large chunk of the day because of intermittent showers leading to a near six-hour delay, with only 25.1 overs sent down when play started at 4.45pm. And when you cannot watch the Ashes, what better way to entertain yourself than by playing concourse cricket pretending you are in them? Walking around the ground, there were multiple games that had broken out at the back of the sheltered stands. The size of the bat varied, from regulation to miniature, tennis balls were used and supporters got imaginative with stumps. But those participating – young and old and for a brief period including a policeman batting – at least found a way to pass the time.

Moeen’s economy class

Moeen Ali’s most tangible contribution of the day was not an elegant drive or a ripping delivery through the gate, but a football-style sliding tackle to prevent a boundary. The renowned Liverpool fan was not called upon to bowl as Woakes, Stuart Broad and Mark Wood took care of Australia, meaning Moeen finished the second innings with figures of 17-3-34-2. Going at exactly two an over is his best economy rate in an innings since December 2015 and second best in his Test career (with a minimum of six overs bowled).