France got back to winning ways in the Six Nations with a 32-21 bonus-point victory over Scotland at the Stade de France.

Scotland headed into Sunday's game having opened the competition with back-to-back wins for the first time ever in the Six Nations era, but their hopes of setting up a potential Grand Slam decider against Ireland were ended as France bounced back from their 32-19 defeat to Andy Farrell's side in their last outing.

France were ahead within five minutes through Roman Ntamack, with Thomas Ramos adding the extras, and things went from bad to worse for Scotland shortly after when Grant Gilchrist was sent off for a high tackle on Anthony Jelonch.

The hosts extended their lead to 19-0 with tries from Ethan Dumortier and Ramos, though they were down to 14 men themselves when Mohamed Haouas saw red for a head-on-head hit on Ben White.

Huw Jones reduced the deficit prior to the break before going over again shortly after the restart to spark hopes of a Scotland revival, though a Ramos kick went through the posts to stretch France's advantage to 11 points.

Finn Russell then barrelled over before converting his own try to cut the lead to just four, and his team got the ball back with less than two minutes to play.

Scotland needed to go almost the full length of the field, but a penalty handed possession back to France, and the hosts capped the victory through Gael Fickou.

Tottenham's stand-in boss Cristian Stellini expects Antonio Conte to return to the club within the next week.

Conte had gallbladder surgery at the start of February after experiencing severe abdominal pain and took a short break from Spurs to begin his recovery.

The Italian returned to duties, but after having his recovery progress checked out, it was decided he would need more time away from frontline work.

Stellini, who oversaw Spurs' 2-0 Premier League win over Chelsea on Sunday, told BBC Sport: "Our desire was to win, play a great game and to fight for every ball.

"We are happy for the fans, the club and, of course, for us and Antonio, who is still at home.

"My expectation is that Antonio will be back next week."

Oliver Skipp got Spurs on their way against the Blues 19 seconds into the second half, before Harry Kane sealed all three points in the 82nd minute.

Skipp's goal was his first for the club in what was his 67th appearance, and Stellini was full of praise for the midfielder.

"Brilliant moment Skipp and one that we expected for one year because it has been one year he stayed far from the pitch," he added.

"Last season with physical problems and this year for tactical decisions.

"He is ready because he has trained a lot and pushed himself. He is an amazing guy and great player.

"A player like Skippy has to understand that if he trains a lot he will have possibilities to show his value."

Kane's effort saw him become one of only two players to score 20 or more goals in each of the last nine seasons in all competitions for clubs in Europe's big five leagues, along with Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski.

The Spurs skipper said: "Chelsea have been a difficult opponent for us over the last few years.

"So it's a really important win to keep us around fourth. Overall I thought we deserved the win.

"First half both teams created a few half chances. We struggled with our pressure a bit and sorted that out second half.

"I think we just showed a bit more quality in the final third and whenever you break the deadlock it helps open the game up. Another clean sheet, two goals, so overall a good home performance."

Jamaica’s ex-WBA world featherweight champion Nicholas ‘Axe Man’ Walters ended more than six years of semi-retirement with a dominant points win over Colombian Luis Diaz Marmol in Santa Marta, Colombia on Saturday night.

Returning in a weight class 14 pounds above his title-winning featherweight division, Walters earned the unanimous decision over local favourite Marmol in the eight-round super lightweight (140-pound) main event. The official scorecard read 80-72 and 78-74 twice in favour of the 37-year-old from Montego Bay.

“Marmol was very game but the overall experience and skill level of Walters was the difference,” Fightnews web site reported about the Panama-based Jamaican.

“He did not show much effects of ring inactivity as he was in complete control.”

With the result, Walters improves his ring record to 27 wins (21 kos) against one loss and one draw and the 29-year-old Marmol’s log dips to 19 wins (11 kos) against 17 losses.

Walters said recently he was encouraged to return to the ring by several trainers in Panama. He had been visiting the boxing gym to keep in shape but admits he “wasn’t really serious about fighting” until experts around the gym encouraged him to come out of retirement.

Walters became the first Jamaican ever to win a world boxing title at home when he beat Colombian Daulis Prescott for the WBA’s 126-pound belt in December 2012 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston.

Saturday night’s outing was his first since November 20, 2016, when he quit against Vasiliy Lomachenko after being dominated by the outstanding Ukrainian for seven rounds in Nevada, USA.

Walters had turned pro in 2008 after an amateur career that included bronze at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and two gold medals at the Caribbean Championships in 2005 and 2006. Within a few years he became one of the world’s most exciting fighters of the lower weight divisions after defeating big names like Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan.

 

 

Atletico Madrid chief executive Miguel Angel Gil has accused Real Madrid of pressurising officials and questioned the "integrity" of LaLiga after Angel Correa was sent off in Saturday's derby.

Correa was shown a straight red card midway through the second half of a 1-1 draw between the Madrid rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu, following a seemingly innocuous push on Antonio Rudiger.

Atletico have now had a man sent off in all three meetings with Madrid this season, with Correa following in the footsteps of Mario Hermoso and Stefan Savic. 

While Diego Simeone's men made light of their numerical disadvantage to deal a blow to Madrid's title hopes, the decision left a sour taste for Gil Marin.

"I said it a few weeks ago and I stand by it, word for word," he said in a statement on the club's website. "Yesterday was more of the same, it's regrettable! 

"We always suffer this kind of behaviour against this team because of the permanent pressure on the refereeing staff.

"After the last derby I decided to share my opinion publicly and, just for that, I received a lot of criticism and disqualifications from different groups.

"However, from many groups I received private expressions of support. I especially liked those that came from media professionals and former referees, because they understood better than anyone else my denunciation of a system that is not fair and that tries to influence the decisions of people who should be impartial judges.

"We cannot normalise what is abnormal. I refuse to get used to these situations, even though they have unfortunately become a habit over the years. We are fed up with it.

"The integrity of the competition cannot be in doubt."

Aston Martin closed the door on a Sebastian Vettel comeback by revealing Felipe Drugovich is the driver they have put on standby for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Formula 2 champion Drugovich will step up from his role as a reserve driver if Lance Stroll is unfit to take part in the March 3-5 race weekend. Stroll sustained a wrist injury while cycling, causing him to miss pre-season testing.

Team principal Mike Krack initially refused to rule out the possibility of Vettel returning to the cockpit, despite the German great retiring at the end of the 2022 season.

Vettel, who won four world titles and enjoyed a 16-season Formula One career, has stayed in touch with Krack since hanging up his racing helmet.

Krack declined to say whether Vettel had expressed an interest in a possible one-off return, which would have seen him team up with fellow former world champion Fernando Alonso.

Yet confirmation the 35-year-old would not be involved came on Sunday, with 22-year-old Brazilian Drugovich in line for a possible F1 race debut.

In a statement on Twitter, Aston Martin said: "The team will continue to give Lance every chance to race, pending recovery from his injury. Should he not be fit to compete, then Felipe will drive the AMR23 alongside Fernando."

Marcus Rashford was passed fit to start for Manchester United in the EFL Cup final against Newcastle United.

Rashford had been a doubt for Sunday's game at Wembley after coming off in the 88th minute of Thursday's Europa League playoff-round victory against Barcelona with what appeared to be a slight injury concern.

However, the in-form forward, who has scored 24 goals in 37 games this season, was named in a forward line alongside Wout Weghorst and Antony, who came off the bench to score the winner against Barca at Old Trafford.

The Brazilian replaced Jadon Sancho in attack, with the only other change seeing Diogo Dalot come in for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Callum Wilson returned to the starting line-up for Newcastle in place of Alexander Isak, with Loris Karius coming in for the suspended Nick Pope to make his competitive debut for the club.

Bruno Guimaraes was back from suspension, replacing Elliot Anderson in the only other change from last weekend's 2-0 home defeat to Liverpool, with Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron named either side of Wilson in attack for Eddie Howe's men.

Tottenham cranked up the pressure on Graham Potter as Oliver Skipp's first goal for the club and Harry Kane's late strike secured a 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday.

Potter's position has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after a torrid run of form, and that looks set to intensify after yet another miserable defeat.

The Blues failed to take advantage of a reprieve shortly before half-time when Hakim Ziyech's red card was overturned following a VAR review, with Skipp powering home immediately after the restart.

Kane added a second in the 82nd minute to move Spurs four points clear of Newcastle United, although the Magpies have two games in hand. Chelsea remain in 10th – a whopping 14 points adrift of the Champions League qualification places.

Chelsea's plans took a hit in the 19th minute when Thiago Silva was forced off after sustaining an injury as he thwarted Harry Kane inside the penalty area.

Spurs went agonisingly close to taking the lead shortly before the half-hour mark when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's effort from the edge of the area was deflected onto the base of the post.

Chelsea momentarily thought they had been reduced to 10 men in first-half stoppage time when Ziyech received a red card for striking Emerson Royal in the face, but his punishment was downgraded to a caution following a pitch-side review by referee Stuart Attwell.

Spurs started the second half in electric fashion, grabbing the opener 19 seconds after the restart thanks to Skipp's thunderous strike from 20 yards that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar.

Kane then made sure of victory inside the closing 10 minutes with a simple back-post finish from a corner.

 

What does it mean? Chelsea's dire season goes on

Chelsea's dismal run continued at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the Blues now having won just two of their past 15 Premier League matches.

They rarely looked like finding the back of the net here and have now scored just once in their past six games in all competitions.

Spurs, meanwhile, have won three consecutive Premier League home games without conceding for the first time since April 2019. That previous run was their first three matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Speedy Skipp

Skipp's sublime strike 19 seconds into the second half was the earliest such goal in a Premier League game since Gerard Deulofeu for Watford against West Ham in May 2019 (45:11).

Ziyech struggles

Ziyech endured a game to forget. He can consider himself fortunate to have seen his red card overturned, given he did make contact with Emerson's face. Potter hauled him off just after the hour mark anyway after failing to make a single key pass.

What's next?

Tottenham travel to Sheffield United for an FA Cup fifth-round clash on Wednesday, while Chelsea host Leeds United in the Premier League on Saturday. It remains to be seen whether Potter will be in charge for that.

Hubert Hurkacz fought off Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi to land the Open 13 Provence title in Marseille on Sunday.

Poland's former Wimbledon semi-finalist scored a 6-3 7-6 (7-4), serving 19 aces as he justified his status as the tournament's top seed.

Hurkacz broke serve in the fourth game of the opening set to seize command of the match, before resisting a determined effort from Bonzi in the second set to force a decider.

A sixth win in seven ATP finals for the 26-year-old Hurkacz came when Bonzi sent a forehand just wide.

The result means Bonzi, playing his second ATP final, has again been kept waiting for a first trophy success at this level, having also lost in the Pune title match to Tallon Griekspoor at the start of the year.

Bonzi, born in nearby Nimes, was hoping to become the first French champion at this event since 2017, when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated compatriot Lucas Pouille in the final.

Hurkacz praised Bonzi in an on-court interview, telling the crowd: "He played really, really well. He deserved to win the second set. I just tried to compete as hard as I can.

"I think my game's getting better, and I'm super happy with the way I competed today. I know you guys wanted Benjamin to win."

Simone Inzaghi feels Inter must "do more" after they fell to a 1-0 defeat away at Bologna on Sunday.

Riccardo Orsolini fired home a 76th-minute winner to give the hosts victory at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara and inflict another blow to Inter's already slim chances of catching runaway Serie A leaders Napoli.

Inter have now failed to score in two consecutive away games in Serie A for the first time since April 2018, and Inzaghi says the Nerazzurri must improve if they are to get back to winning ways.

"There will be a lot of talk about the defeat and there will be criticism, but I'm the coach and I'm primarily responsible," he said.

"We have to say that even if the result had been different, we couldn't have been happy with our first half.

"We have to analyse and understand why these drops happen to us after the European matches, we have to do more and better."

Inter's lacklustre display, which saw them concede at least nine shots in a Serie A first half for only the second time this season, came after Wednesday's 1-0 win over Porto in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie.

Inzaghi is unsure why they failed to follow up that impressive performance with another strong showing, saying: "If you go to watch matches, after the Champions League we often have some problems.

"Then away from San Siro the problem becomes even more pronounced and we have to try to do better.

"Today's first half was insufficient, the second was better, but in the moment in which we had created the conditions to win the game, we conceded goals."

Asked whether he felt let down by his players, Inzaghi replied: "Betrayed no, they have always given me everything both in the match and in training.

"I'm sorry because we are Inter and we have to do more."

A toothless attacking display from Inter saw them beaten 1-0 by Bologna on Sunday as Riccardo Orsolini scored to give the hosts all three points.

The Nerazzurri had four shots on target without scoring at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara as Napoli's charge towards a first Serie A title in more than two decades received yet another boost.

Musa Barrow saw an early goal disallowed for offside, though it would matter little as Orsolini fired home a 76th-minute winner to clinch victory and put another dent in Inter's already slim title hopes.

With an 18-point deficit to overturn, catching runaway leaders Napoli now looks a hugely improbable prospect for Inter as they may now have to focus on fending off the likes of Roma and Milan for second spot.

Bologna thought they were ahead after 12 minutes through a fine finish from Barrow, but a VAR review ruled the offside Nicolas Dominguez as having blocked Andre Onana's view.

The hosts continued to look the more threatening as Roberto Soriano hit the crossbar, though Lautaro Martinez should have done better when he sent a free header wide of the post. 

Clear-cut chances for both teams continued to be few and far between as the game went into the break goalless, but Hakan Calhanoglu missed a golden opportunity shortly after the interval when he blazed over.

Soriano saw a shot blocked, before Edin Dzeko came off the bench to force a decent save out of Lukasz Skorupski.

The deadlock would be broken with 14 minutes to play, though, as Orsolini latched onto Jerdy Schouten's throughball before firing home his fourth goal in five matches to claim an impressive victory.

A toothless attacking display from Inter saw them beaten 1-0 by Bologna on Sunday as Riccardo Orsolini scored to give the hosts all three points.

The Nerazzurri had four shots on target without scoring at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara as Napoli's charge towards a first Serie A title in more than two decades received yet another boost.

Musa Barrow saw an early goal disallowed for offside, though it would matter little as Orsolini fired home a 76th-minute winner to clinch victory and put another dent in Inter's already slim title hopes.

With an 18-point deficit to overturn, catching runaway leaders Napoli now looks a hugely improbable prospect for Inter and they may now have to focus on fending off the likes of Roma and Milan for second spot.

 

Bologna thought they were ahead after 12 minutes through a fine finish from Barrow, but a VAR review ruled the offside Nicolas Dominguez as having blocked Andre Onana's view.

The hosts continued to look the more threatening as Roberto Soriano hit the crossbar, though Lautaro Martinez should have done better when he sent a free header wide of the post. 

Clear-cut chances for both teams continued to be few and far between as the game went into the break goalless, but Hakan Calhanoglu missed a golden opportunity shortly after the interval when he blazed over.

Soriano saw a shot blocked, before Edin Dzeko came off the bench to force a decent save out of Lukasz Skorupski.

The deadlock would be broken with 14 minutes to play, though, as Orsolini latched onto Jerdy Schouten's throughball before firing home his fourth goal in five matches to claim an impressive victory.

 

What does it mean? Drab Inter not matching Napoli's stunning form

The title race looks all but over as Napoli's closest challengers continue to falter while they march on, rattling off eight straight Serie A victories since they were beaten by Inter in early January. 

The Nerazzurri looked a far cry from challengers here as they failed to score against Bologna for the first time in eight league meetings. 

Inter accumulated just 1.01 xG (expected goals) to Bologna's 1.28 as Skorupski enjoyed a relatively comfortable 90 minutes between the sticks before watching Orsolini secure all three points for his team. 

Orsolini the hero

In-form winger Orsolini has now been involved in six of Bologna's last seven Serie A goals as he fired them to a fifth victory in six league games. 

The goal capped an impressive display from the 26-year-old, registering three shots and creating three chances as well as scoring the well-taken winner. 

Ineffective Lukaku fires a blank

Romelu Lukaku managed just nine touches in the first half while also not creating any chances as he failed to provide much of a focal point for Inter.

Simone Inzaghi saw enough after 64 minutes, deciding to bring on former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko with Lukaku unable to add to his two Serie A goals this season.

Key Opta Facts:

- Bologna have won four of their past five Serie A games (L1), three of these by just a one-goal margin.
- Inter have failed to score in two consecutive away games in Serie A for their first time since April 2018 (three).
- Orsolini has been involved in 10 goals in a Serie A season for the fourth time with Bologna (seven goals and three assists in the current campaign).
- Inter have not score a single goal with their last 40 shots fired on the road in Serie A.
- The Nerazzurri have conceded at least nine shots in a Serie A first half for only the second time this season, after doing so against Milan last September (13).

What's next?

Inter host Lecce in Serie A next Sunday, while Bologna travel to Torino the following day.

Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the inaugural Austin Open after contracting tonsillitis.

The 20-year-old has not played since her defeat in the Australian Open to Coco Gauff in January.

The Briton shot to tennis stardom with victory at the 2021 US Open, setting a record for the fewest majors played (two) before winning a title.

But a frustrating run of injuries and poor form across 2022, which also included numerous coaching changes, has seen her plummet to number 81 in the WTA Rankings and fail to reach the third round of a slam since her famous triumph.

"I'm sorry to have to withdraw from the ATX Open," Raducanu said on Sunday,

"I am currently suffering from tonsillitis and am unable to compete this week. Thank you to the tournament for the great hospitality here in Austin."

Marcel Siem pipped Yannik Paul to the Indian Open title as a brilliant four-under-par final round clinched victory on Sunday.

Paul headed into the third round on Saturday with a five-shot lead, but a troublesome day three saw his advantage cut to just one at the top of the standings.

Despite Paul steadying himself with a two-under final round to finish on 13 under, it was fellow German Siem who roared to victory with five birdies to reach 14 under and secure his first win on the DP World Tour since 2014.

Dutchman Joost Luiten finished a shot behind Paul in third, while Jorge Campillo and Kazuki Higa shot final rounds of three under and four under respectively to be tied for fourth.

An excellent day four for Alexander Knappe propelled him up to joint-sixth, managing two eagles in a six-under-par final round to leave him level with Thorbjorn Olsen.

Veer Ahlawat and Shubhankar Sharma were the best of the home favourites, both finishing strongly to be among a group of players on four under.

Speaking after his victory, Siem said: "This means a lot because two years ago I wasn't even sure if I could still compete on the European Tour, and now I'm a winner again."

Kieran Tripper does not understand why people are "kicking off" at Newcastle United's perceived time-wasting after Erik ten Hag called it "annoying".

The Manchester United manager made the comment ahead of Sunday's EFL Cup final meeting with Newcastle at Wembley, saying thee Magpies are an "annoying team to play against".

Eddie Howe's men have the ball in play for just 52.3 per cent of a match, the second lowest in the Premier League this season behind Leeds United.

But Howe's tactics are working as Newcastle are competing for European qualification while also having the chance to end a 54-year major trophy drought against the Red Devils.

Trippier is confused over the criticism his team is receiving, telling reporters: "I love it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

"But I have experienced it a lot in Spain. It's about knowing when to slow a game down. If the opposition are having more of the ball and are on top, of course you've got to kill the game. You're not going to take a quick throw-in and say, 'Carry on'. You have to manage the game.

"Some teams are not happy with us this season, but it's about being clever in that moment, about using your experience. Opposition fans are not going to like it either, because it's against their team. But as a neutral, I think it's good to see. I don't see why everyone's kicking off about it, it's good!"

Asked whether Newcastle plan to use the same tactics at Wembley, Trippier replied: "Of course we will.

"You've got to have that mentality. If you want to win, if you want to be successful, you have to be cute in every single game.

"You look at teams like Real Madrid and how successful they have been, and they've had players like Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, and they were the best at it. If you want to be successful, you have to manage the game well, and at the right time."

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.