Warren Gatland reflected on a “pretty significant” victory for his team after Wales brought the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals within sight by beating Fiji 32-26 at Stade de Bordeaux.

Wales held their nerve in a frantic and pulsating Pool C clash. It was tense throughout, especially when Fiji scored twice in the last seven minutes and centre Semi Radradra knocked on close to the line in the game’s last play.

At 32-14 ahead deep inside the final quarter, Wales looked home and dry, but Fiji had other ideas.

Asked if he had his heart in his mouth during the closing stages, Gatland said: “Absolutely. With seven minutes to go I wondered about just going down to the changing rooms and waiting until the final whistle.

“I am absolutely delighted with the result. I think it is pretty significant for us.

“With 65 minutes on the clock we were comfortable, and we needed to control that. We gave away some unnecessary penalties, lost a little bit of composure.

“We’ve always been a team that builds on confidence and get better in tournaments. So that is exciting.

“I was pretty frustrated and angry about the last period of the game, but it’s about being honest and making sure we learn from it.

“I am delighted with the win, but we made it a lot harder for ourselves than we needed to, made some dumb decisions in the last 15 minutes.

“We changed a few things at half-time. We really wanted to go for them up front in terms of taking it out of their legs.

“A few of their players looked a bit tired and we looked in control, but typical Fiji – they never say die, get a couple of sniffs of a try and come back at you.”

Wales ultimately prevailed through tries from Josh Adams, George North, Louis Rees-Zammit and Elliot Dee, with fly-half Dan Biggar adding two penalties and three conversions in a bonus-point success.

Fiji claimed tries through captain Waisea Nayacalevu, flanker Lekima Tagitagivalu and replacements Josua Tuisova and Mesake Doge – Frank Lomani converted two and Teti Tela also added a conversion – yet Wales gained the victory they craved ahead of remaining Pool C appointments with Portugal, Australia and Georgia.

Wales were close to a staggering 250 tackles in the game, and Biggar said: “It was absolutely exhausting. The last 10 minutes felt like the clock never moved.

“We put everything into it, Fiji came strong at the end, but I am really thrilled for this group of players that we managed to see it through because the work we’ve put in over the past few months has just been incredible.

“It puts us in such a good position in the group. I am just absolutely drained.”

Captain Jac Morgan said: “We have that mentality of never giving up, always working hard for each other.

“We’ve been through a couple of camps with some tough training over the past couple of weeks, and it has really brought the boys close as you saw.”

Fiji took two losing bonus points from the game, which might prove critical in terms of the group’s finishing places and race for a last-eight spot.

Head coach Simon Raiwalui said: “We had our opportunities. We weren’t clinical enough. There were a couple of disallowed tries, and we had a chance at the end.

“We weren’t clinical enough to finish off, and we move on to Australia next week.

“We made mistakes at critical moments, and we had to chase it at the end. It was a very good Welsh team.”

A defiant Stephen Kenny is refusing to contemplate his position despite seeing the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualification hopes ripped apart by the Netherlands.

Three days after a 2-0 defeat by Group B leaders France in Paris left them facing the point of no return, Ireland went down 2-1 to the Dutch in Dublin to effectively slip out of contention for a top-two finish.

Kenny, who was adamant in the build-up to the game that he still expected to be in charge for next month’s double-header against Greece and Gibraltar whatever happened on Sunday evening, remained just as determined in the wake of a heart-breaking defeat.

Asked about his future, he said: “Listen from my point of view, I’m not thinking about that now. I’m just very disappointed that we can’t finish in the top two in the group. I’m just very, very disappointed with that and it’s gut-wrenching that we can’t, you know?

“I think France are the best team in the world, up a level. Holland are probably not at the level of France, but they’re still… Argentina beat them in the World Cup on penalties.

“They have a lot of world-class players, but it’s still one that when you take the lead like we did, you are capable of winning. But we didn’t defend well enough overall to do that.”

Kenny’s men could hardly have got off to a better start when, having already caused panic in the Dutch defence, they were awarded a fourth-minute penalty for handball by Virgil van Dijk.

Adam Idah, who had only previously scored one senior international goal – and that against Gibraltar in June – dispatched the resulting spot-kick with the confidence of a man with a far more impressive record and the locals among a crowd of 49,807 dared to believe.

However, a defensive lapse allowed Denzel Dumfries through on goal and when he went down under keeper Gavin Bazunu’s challenge, Cody Gakpo was equally decisive from 12 yards.

Ireland gave as good as they got before the break, prompting Ronald Koeman to send on Wout Weghorst and Tijjani Reijnders before the restart, and it was Weghorst who scored what proved to be the winner within 11 minutes when he converted from Dumfries’ knock-down.

Asked about the pressure on his shoulders, Kenny said: “There is pressure on, pressure from ourselves because we were desperate to go into the October window still very much in the hunt.

“We were desperate to do that, so there’s that pressure from within ourselves, so we’re disappointed with that, really disappointed with that.

“From our point of view, we’ve Greece and Gibraltar to prepare for in October, which is only a few weeks away, and Holland, so we have to finish the group strongly and see if we have a play-off [via the Nations League] in March then. We’re not sure about that.”

Koeman admitted he was far from happy at the break, but delighted with the way his players responded to his half-time message.

He said: “The start was really poor. We expected high pressing from the Irish team, but we lost many balls in our possession and we did not have control in the game.

“After 20, 25 minutes, it was a little bit more calmed down and the decision at half-time to change the system to play four at the back was a good decision.

“After half-time, we controlled the game. Only in the last 10 minutes, maybe they brought the same pressing, but they did not create any chance to score and we defended well in the last part of the game, and finally I think it’s a fair result.”

The Republic of Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 were all but ended by the Netherlands for whom substitute Wout Weghorst’s goal secured a 2-1 win in Dublin.

The hosts, in need of victory to put themselves in contention in Group B, took the lead on four minutes when Adam Idah scored from the penalty spot after Virgil van Dijk had been penalised for handball.

Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu brought down Denzel Dumfries as the Netherlands won a penalty of their own midway through the first half, with Cody Gakpo levelling from 12 yards.

Weghorst ensured his side moved second with a game in hand behind leaders France when he scored from Dumfries’ cut-back after 56 minutes to leave the Republic requiring a Dutch collapse if they are to progress.

Elsewhere in the group, Greece beat Gibraltar 5-0 in Athens to remain in the race for the second qualifying spot.

Dimitrios Pelkas opened the scoring after nine minutes before Konstantinos Mavropanos followed up midway through the half with the first of two goals.

Giorgos Masouras netted after the break, before both he and Mavropanos each grabbed another to seal the victory and put the hosts level with the Dutch on nine points, albeit having played a game more.

Northern Ireland fell to a 1-0 defeat in Kazakhstan, their fourth by the same scoreline in a run of five straight losses, to leave their hopes of qualification virtually extinguished.

Striker Maksim Samorodov drilled into the bottom corner from outside the box and beyond Bailey Peacock-Farrell after 32 minutes to keep the home side in with a realistic chance of reaching their first major tournament.

They are one of four teams separated by a point at the top of Group H, with Denmark leading the way thanks to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s 86th-minute strike to seal a 1-0 win away in Finland.

It meant the Danes briefly replaced their hosts at the top of the group, before being knocked back into second on goal difference after Slovenia romped to a 4-0 win in San Marino.

Zan Vipotnik, Jan Mlakar, Sandi Lovric and Zan Karnicnik scored the goals against the section’s bottom side, who remain without a point.

Poland’s hopes of reaching the finals received a serious knock as they lost for the third time in five games in Group E, this time going down to a 2-0 defeat in Albania.

Jasir Asani and Mirlind Daku scored either side of half-time in Tirana to send Albania two points clear of the Czech Republic at the top of the group.

Moldova are behind the Czechs on goal difference after they kept up their surprise bid to reach the finals with a 1-0 win in the Faroe Islands.

Vadim Rata netted early in the second half in Torshavn to move his side onto eight points and leave the Faroes adrift at the bottom with a single point on the board.

In Group G, Montenegro and Serbia kept up the pressure on leaders Hungary in a three-way fight to qualify.

Montenegro needed a goal six minutes into added time from Stevan Jovetic to snatch a 2-1 win against Bulgaria in Podgorica despite having played more than 30 minutes with 10 players.

Igor Vujacic was sent off just before the hour mark after Stefan Savic had given the hosts the lead on the stroke of half-time, but Preslav Borukov levelled in the 79th minute before Jovetic’s dramatic late intervention.

Aleksandar Mitrovic score a first-half hat-trick as Serbia coasted to a 3-1 win in Lithuania, with Gytis Paulauskas’s goal not enough to rescue the home side’s faint hopes of qualification.

England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed he twice had to convince Kyle Walker to rethink international retirement.

The 33-year-old scored his first England goal in Saturday’s 1-1 Euro 2024 qualifier draw against Ukraine in Wroclaw.

It topped a fine performance from the Manchester City right-back, whose future for both club and country was uncertain over the summer.

Only an intervention from City boss Pep Guardiola saw Walker stay at the Etihad Stadium after Bayern Munich overtures almost saw him depart for Germany.

Now Southgate has told of how he also had to change Walker’s mind after both the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy and last year’s World Cup in Qatar.

“I’ve talked him out of retirement twice – out of international football,” Southgate said after the draw in Poland.

“After the Euros and after the World Cup, I think he loves being here and he’s wanted to keep going and now he’s thinking about how many caps can he get.

“He’s critical to us. If we’re talking about world-class players in their position in our team then he’s probably one of them.

“I think he didn’t realise how much value we have for him and how important he is for us. He’s probably not going to thank me for sharing that!”

Walker has enjoyed a good run of form of late and, when asked about his conversations with Southgate, he admitted the fierce competition in his position had led to him questioning his international future – but is now fully committed to adding to his 77 caps.

“Yeah, I’m playing well,” the City treble-winner said.

“Obviously, in a moment, at the time that me and Gareth spoke, the likes of Trent (Alexander-Arnold), Tripps (Kieran Trippier), Reece James coming through … you do think your days are numbered.

“And to sacrifice how many holidays and summers that I’ve sacrificed. I’ve been doing this since I was 19 (when) I joined the senior team. I’m 33 now.

“Me and Gareth have a good relationship off the field. We do speak and I feel that I can still bring something to the team. So why stop?”

Southgate has given Walker all but 20 of his senior England caps and believes the former Sheffield United and Tottenham man has continued to improve in recent years.

“I think he has,” he replied when asked if players get better with age.

“It doesn’t always happen but he’s, I think, not only playing but also him around the training, the way I hear him speak when he’s interviewed, his influence on the group, he’s become a really mature leader for us.

“He’s got huge experience of winning big matches and all week – two or three days into the training his focus was really clear, the way he was organising on the pitch and I think he’s enjoying the extra responsibility he’s had at his club and I know he’s ready to embrace that with us as well.

“But also the way he’s trained all week, his influence on younger players in the group. His all-round game, great composure in a position where you don’t always find it and our senior players were important and he was the pick against Ukraine.”

Wales held their nerve in a frantic and pulsating Rugby World Cup clash to beat Fiji 32-26 and put themselves on course for the quarter-finals.

Fiji were expected to provide ferocious opposition in Bordeaux, and they did not disappoint, but Wales ultimately claimed a fourth successive World Cup win against them in nerve-shredding fashion.

It was tense throughout, especially when Fiji scored twice in the last seven minutes and Wales had to dig deep during a frenzied finale when Fiji centre Semi Radradra knocked on close to the line in the game’s last play.

Warren Gatland’s team ultimately prevailed through tries from Josh Adams, George North, Louis Rees-Zammit and Elliot Dee, with fly-half Dan Biggar adding two penalties and three conversions in a bonus-point success watched by Welsh Rugby Union patron the Prince of Wales.

Fiji claimed tries by captain Waisea Nayacalevu, flanker Lekima Tagitagivalu, plus replacements Josua Tuisova and Mesake Doge – Frank Lomani converted two and Teti Tela also added a conversion – yet Wales gained the victory they craved ahead of remaining Pool C appointments with Portugal, Australia and Georgia.

Gatland masterminded two semi-final appearances during his previous reign as Wales head coach, and his players produced easily their best performance this year.

Biggar steered the ship impressively, while Wales’ defence often came up trumps at key moments, even somehow withholding Fiji late on after they were matched blow for blow.

Taulupe Faletau returned to Wales’ starting line-up after a calf muscle injury that sidelined him for the entire tournament warm-up schedule.

Fiji, meanwhile, showed one enforced change from the side that beat England at Twickenham last month with fly-half Tela replacing an injured Caleb Muntz.

Wales made an outstanding start, taking an 8-0 lead in as many minutes through a Biggar penalty and Adams try.

Biggar, playing in his final World Cup before retiring from Test rugby, kicked a long-range penalty before Wales carved open the Fiji defence.

North’s powerful midfield surge was taken on by scrum-half Gareth Davies before possession quickly went wide and Adams – top try-scorer at the 2019 World Cup in Japan – finished in style.

Fiji responded strongly, though, and Nayacalevu scored a 13th-minute try that Lomani converted.

It was a breathless contest in stamina-sapping heat, and Wales fell behind just four minutes later after Radradra broke clear and his pass to Tagitagivalu gave him an easy run-in.

Lomani’s conversion took Fiji 14-8 ahead, ringing alarm bells for Wales, before Biggar cut the gap by landing a second penalty.

And Wales regained the lead after relentless pressure reaped its reward as Nick Tompkins sent North over between the posts, with Biggar’s conversion securing an 18-14 advantage midway through the second quarter.

Fiji thought they had gone back in front just before the break, but Saracens prop Eroni Mawi was denied a try following a lengthy review of his dive for the line.

Davies was then on the receiving end of a high tackle by Selestino Ravutaumada and departed for a head injury assessment to be replaced by Tomos Williams. Wing Ravutaumada conceded a penalty but escaped further punishment from referee Matthew Carley as Wales held a four-point interval advantage.

Davies returned for the second period, and Biggar missed a 30-metre penalty chance before they conjured a third try in an unlikely fashion.

Sharp work by Tompkins unlocked Fiji’s defence, and skipper and flanker Jac Morgan provided the assist by kicking into space and Rees-Zammit finished off, with Biggar’s conversion making it 25-14.

Fiji camped deep inside Wales’ 22 entering the final quarter, and it took sustained last-ditch defending to keep them out.

But the game looked to have drifted away from Fiji when Tagitagivalu was yellow-carded and Wales scored before he had barely left the pitch.

The forwards drove a short-range lineout, and Dee claimed a touchdown that Biggar converted.

However, Wales then lost replacement prop Corey Domachowski to the sin-bin for a technical infringement and Fiji had the final say through tries from Tuisova and Doge, but Gatland’s men held on.

Manu Tuilagi insists England will continue to laugh in the face of adversity after reacting to their latest disciplinary crisis by delivering one of the nation’s great acts of defiance on a rugby field.

Argentina were routed 27-10 in a pivotal World Cup opener despite England playing all but three minutes of the Stade Velodrome clash with 14 men because of Tom Curry’s red card for a dangerous tackle.

Curry’s disciplinary hearing takes place on Tuesday night when he will learn how much of the group campaign he is to miss, with fixtures against Japan, Chile and Samoa to come.

England have now had four players sent off in six Tests – each of them for dangerous tackles – and an indicator of their regularity was seen in Tuilagi’s response when his Sale team-mate was given his marching orders.

“To be honest I was sort of smiling and laughing because we’ve had a tough preparation,” said centre Tuilagi, who packed down in the scrum in Curry’s absence.

“We’ve had a lot of challenges that life has thrown towards us. But just because we’ve had a lot of challenges it doesn’t mean they are going to stop. That’s life and you’ve just got to find a way to deal with it.

“Tomorrow’s going to be different – a new day, a new challenge. So we’ve talked about the belief and the trust that you’ve got to have in each other.

“Our preparation wasn’t the best, but we worked so hard to get here so it’s time to just go out there and enjoy our rugby, not think about the past and the future.”

At the heart of a victory that places England in control of Pool D was George Ford, the fly-half who wielded the knife as the abject Pumas were subjected to death by a thousand cuts.

Ford landed three drop-goals and six penalties, as well as delivering a tactical masterclass, while around him the likes of Courtney Lawes, Ben Earl and Maro Itoje outfought Argentina even while Curry watched from the stands.

Tuilagi marvels at “our kid” Ford, another Sale colleague who is helping put Manchester back on the rugby map.

“George is unbelievable. He’s a player who has been there and done it all. We look to him in tough times and he stepped up against Argentina,” Tuilagi said.

“He deserves everything he’s got because he’s worked so hard to get back and play well.

“He’s a mastermind. He lives and breathes rugby. And he loves it. Having the love of what you do means you enjoy it. It wasn’t perfect but that’s life, it can never be perfect.”

England are mindful of remaining clear-eyed about a stirring win founded on resilience and smart rugby, but also notable for the impotency of the attack.

The humidity made the ball slippery but that failed to account for the failure to convert a five-on-two overlap in the second half.

For now, however, England will celebrate an important win secured despite an abysmal warm-up campaign and which builds momentum ahead of Sunday’s clash with Japan in Lille.

“This definitely makes working on things a bit better. When we go back to the drawing board on Monday, it’s better to learn on a win than from losing,” Tuilagi said.

Cody Gakpo and Wout Weghorst effectively ended the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualification hopes as the Netherlands came from behind to win in Dublin.

On a night when Ireland simply had to win, they flew at the Dutch and took an early lead when Adam Idah nervelessly converted a fourth-minute penalty awarded for handball against Virgil van Dijk.

However, Gakpo levelled from the spot after 19 minutes and after an unhappy Ronald Koeman had made a double half-time change, substitute Weghorst fired the visitors to a 2-1 victory as they recovered from a less than impressive opening 45 minutes to hold sway.

For Republic manager Stephen Kenny, a fourth defeat in five Group B games and just a single win means a trip to Germany next summer is only a mathematical possibility, with France having collected a maximum 15 points and the Dutch and Greece both sitting on nine.

Appointed in April 2020, Kenny, who received a mixed response from a crowd of 49,807 when his named was announced ahead of kick-off at the Aviva Stadium, set his sights on building a new-look side for this campaign but to be so far off the pace with three games left to play represents failure in that mission and his future looks bleak.

His team played with real endeavour, Idah giving Van Dijk a torrid examination in perhaps his best senior international display, but they were painfully exposed defensively by genuine quality for both goals and ultimately could not find the cutting edge to repeat their famous victory over the Dutch in 2001.

The Netherlands were fortunate to escape a second-minute mix-up at the back when Alan Browne forced an error and Idah, who had only the keeper to beat had he turned swiftly, instead fed Chiedozie Ogbene whose shot was blocked.

However, from the resulting corner, Van Dijk mistimed his jump and saw James McClean’s cross hit his arm, prompting referee Irfan Peljto to point to the spot, and Idah duly obliged by confidently sending keeper Mark Flekken the wrong way to get Ireland off to a dream start.

The home side maintained their high-octane start and Browne saw a 13th-minute header from Ogbene’s inviting cross blocked at source, but the visitors forced their way back into the game with their first move of any real quality.

Gakpo’s expertly-threaded pass split the Irish defence and allowed Denzel Dumfries to round exposed keeper Gavin Bazunu, who brought him down in his efforts to rescue the situation.

Peljto once again had little option to award a penalty and Bazunu was unable keep out Gakpo’s skidding attempt despite correctly diving to his left.

Van Dijk was fortunate to be awarded a free-kick after being dispossessed by Idah on the edge of his own penalty area, but Nathan Ake was penalised for hauling down the Norwich striker to allow Browne, who along with Jason Knight was making a real impact, to whip a 33rd-minute free-kick just wide.

Ake redeemed himself within seconds by throwing his body into the path of another Ogbene strike after Josh Cullen had mugged Frenkie de Jong on the edge of the box and fed Idah as the Netherlands played with fire once again.

Such was Ronald Koeman’s displeasure with what he had seen that he replaced Daley Blind and Mats Wieffer with Weghorst and Tijjani Reijnders before the restart, and the changes gave his side a better shape.

It took a fine sliding challenge by Browne to deny Xavi Simons a 52nd-minute strike at goal and an avoid an extension of Ireland’s recent record of conceding shortly after the break, but the increasingly influential De Jong fashioned the breakthrough 11 minutes into the second half.

The Barcelona midfielder’s lofted ball over the top was perfectly weighted for Dumfries to turn it across goal and allow Weghorst to stab past Bazunu.

Ireland’s sense of deflation was palpable and although they battled manfully to the whistle, they were unable to trouble Flekken unduly as the visitors eased their way across the finish line.

Gregor Townsend lamented Scotland’s inability to lay a glove on South Africa after a deflating 18-3 defeat in their World Cup opener in Marseille.

The Scots went into the match with genuine belief that they could get the better of the world champions, but they struggled to get their much-vaunted attack going.

The Springboks led 6-3 at the break and then pulled away with tries from Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse in the the third quarter, and Townsend’s team were unable to summon a response.

It was the first time since losing to Ireland at the 2019 World Cup that the Scots – renowned for their potency – had scored as few as three points.

“I’m really disappointed,” said Townsend. “We were slow to get going in the first half. There was a bit of inaccuracy in our play, but then we built into the game and I felt physically we were more than up for the challenge that South Africa bring.

“We started to win penalties at scrum-time, which was a real bonus. There were opportunities but not many in our attacking game, but there were a couple in the first half. We spoke at half-time about the need to build on the way we finished that second quarter.

“But we started with a bit of inaccuracy and then South Africa dominated possession for a period and put on points, and it then became difficult in those conditions. The defence had to play from deep and it became risky, and we never had the accuracy to trouble them on the scoreboard.”

Townsend was frustrated that the TMO did not intervene after Boks centre Jesse Kriel appeared to clash head-on-head with Scotland back-rower Jack Dempsey in the first minute. Replays indicated it could have been a red card.

“I saw it from two screens away and it did look like it was a head-on-head collision and I was expecting the TMO to come in to make the referee aware of that,” said Townsend.

“Who knows (if it could have been a game-changer)? There was a red card (for England against Argentina) on Saturday and it didn’t help or change the game much in terms of Argentina’s favour so who knows?

“There are still inconsistencies in seeing these things so we are obviously frustrated by that, but we are more frustrated by our own performance.”

Scotland must now win all three of their remaining matches against Tonga, Romania and Ireland to have a chance of getting through to the knock-out phase and Townsend admits they must tighten up their game if they are to do that.

“Accuracy in attack (needs to improve) and in defence we would be relatively satisfied with the effort which went in but I still think there is more in us with that,” he said.

“Our attack in general starts from our set-piece, winning possession and what we did when we had that possession has got to improve. We only scored three points and that is unusual for us.”

Stand-off Finn Russell received treatment after taking a bang to his midriff late in the first half, but he soldiered on for the remainder of the match.

“It looked like he was coming off initially,” said Townsend. “He had a rib injury which seemed like it was going to stop him from continuing, but he dug deep and fought really hard.

“I thought some of his defensive work in the second half was outstanding and it shows how much he cares for his team-mates and playing for Scotland.”

Liam Livingstone admitted he has been “crying out for” an innings of substance after his ODI-best 95 not out from 78 balls lifted England to a series-levelling victory over New Zealand.

England stumbled to 55 for five at the Ageas Bowl but were bailed out by Livingstone, who shared a restorative 48-run stand with Moeen Ali before putting on a decisive 112 in 77 balls with Sam Curran.

The Cumbrian might have fallen just short of a maiden ODI ton but, having registered his first fifty of the summer at domestic or international level in Friday’s series opener at Cardiff after a winter in which he battled ankle and knee injuries, the 30-year-old is finding some fluency ahead of next month’s World Cup.

His innings, remarkably the first time he has batted for 50 deliveries or more at international level, ushered England to 226 for seven, enough for a 79-run victory after New Zealand were skittled for 147.

“It’s weird, I’ve won (T20) World Cup (last November) but probably had the worst year of my career for form and had two bad injuries,” Livingstone said.

“This is something I’ve been crying out for. Unfortunately, there’s a reason why there’s not many lower-order hitters that have mastered the art of the game – it’s a pretty difficult role to do.

“If you get on a roll, it’s pretty nice. But you get yourself in a bit of a rut, it’s quite hard to get out of. It’s probably the first time in my career where I’ve had two months of struggling.

“I’ve put in a lot of work behind the scenes to try and go back to knowing what I can do and that’s win games for England. Thankfully I’ve done that.”

After being blown away in Cardiff on Friday, this was an impressive response from England, especially after losing Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes within the space of eight Trent Boult deliveries.

In his 100th ODI, the left-arm seamer exploited bowler-friendly conditions after rain had delayed the start time and led to the contest being reduced to 34 overs per side at Southampton and England needed every ounce of their batting depth to dig them out of the perilous position of eight for three.

Livingstone strode out at number seven after just 12.1 overs and was strong all around the ground, while he took a particular liking to Tim Southee, with six of his 10 boundaries – nine fours and a six – coming off the New Zealand Test captain.

Livingstone recognised he owed a debt of gratitude to Curran, who was a useful foil as he contributed 42 off 35 deliveries before lapping to short third in the final over.

“I don’t think consolidation is a word we use in the dressing room,” Livingstone said. “We’ve just got to see what we think is best in that situation. If in doubt, take the aggressive option.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be the easiest pitch but it was just about getting to a score we felt we could defend.

“My initial role was to just get used to the conditions and bat with Mo and then try and put on a partnership with Sammy.

“To have someone like Sam Curran batting at eight in any team in world cricket is pretty nice. Something we pride ourselves on is the depth we’ve got, we’ve got a lot of batting for days like this when things don’t go right up top.

“It’s a pretty rare occasion we end up 50 for five because of the quality we’ve got in our team. It’s always nice that when it does happen, you can put your hand up and win a game for England.”

New Zealand were going along nicely on 111 for three but Reece Topley’s dismissal of captain Tom Latham induced a collapse, which saw the Black Caps lose their last seven wickets for 36 runs in 39 balls.

Topley, whose dismissal of Latham was his first wicket in five ODIs, then snared middle-order duo Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra in his next over to finish with three for 27 in seven impressive overs.

Daryl Mitchell, whose brutal unbeaten ton set up an eight-wicket win at Sophia Gardens, overturned being given out on nought to bludgeon 57 off 52 balls.

But he became Moeen Ali’s 100th ODI wicket which saw New Zealand slide quickly to defeat in the second of four matches as they were all out in 26.5 overs.

“I thought our bowlers were exceptional,” Livingstone added. “They learnt from how New Zealand bowled and pretty much nailed the game plan.”

Under-fire Wales boss Rob Page says he is determined to see out the three remaining years of his contract.

Page signed a four-year deal exactly 12 months ago as Wales prepared to make their first appearance at a World Cup for 64 years.

But their fortunes have plummeted since and Page faces a potentially make-or-break Euro 2024 qualifier in Latvia on Monday.

Wales must beat bottom side Latvia – who are yet to register a point in Group D – to keep alive hopes of a top-two place and automatic qualification for next summer’s finals in Germany.

Asked at his pre-match press conference whether he was under pressure from the Football Association of Wales executive to qualify, Page said: “I can’t let that affect me. I can’t think about that.

“I’ve got a job to do. I want to qualify for me, as a Welsh supporter myself.

“As the manager, I want to be in this job for the rest of my contract. I really enjoy working with this group of players.”

Pressed further on whether he was fighting for his job, Page replied: “We are in an industry where you need to win games of football.

“We are in a period of transition as well. I can’t influence what the board or people above do.

“All I can worry about is winning games of football and giving it my best shot.

“If I do that and it doesn’t work out for me, then at least I can walk away with my head held high.”

Wales warmed up for their trip to Latvia with a goalless draw against South Korea on Thursday.

Page said he saw plenty of positive signs during that Cardiff clash and Wales were further boosted by Friday’s set of results in their qualifying section.

Group favourites Croatia left Latvia dispirited with a 5-0 thrashing, while Turkey and Armenia drew 1-1.

Wales would draw level on points with Armenia if they win in Riga and Croatia do likewise in Yerevan – and move within three points of Turkey with a game in hand.

“(Turkey and Armenia drawing) was probably the best result for us,” Page said.

“It would be nice for Croatia to get another win for them to run away with it and have us fighting it out for second spot.

“We want to win the game. It’s all about the points for us. It doesn’t matter if it’s 1-0.

“They are off the back of a tough game but they have been in games right up until the 90th minute.

“We can’t wait for it off the back of a positive performance against Korea. I didn’t want the game because I didn’t want to risk injuries and we’ve picked up an injury from that game as Wes (Burns) came on and he tweaked his hamstring.

“There is a generation of supporters who have seen Wales qualify for major tournaments. Losing players makes the job harder, but expectations say that we should be qualifying.

“It’s not as easy as that. We will continue to try and qualify for every tournament.”

Sweden’s Vincent Norrman surged through the field to win the Horizon Irish Open as Rory McIlroy’s bid for a second victory in the event came to a shambolic end.

Norrman carded a flawless closing 65 at The K Club to finish 14 under par and a shot ahead of 54-hole leader Hurly Long, with former champion Shane Lowry part of a four-way tie for third on 12 under.

McIlroy began the final round two behind Long and birdied the first and fourth either side of a 90-minute weather delay to share the lead, but found water on the seventh, 11th and twice on the 16th as he stumbled to a 74.

Norrman started the day six behind Long but made six birdies in the space of eight holes from the seventh and then two-putted the par-five 18th for another to set the clubhouse target on 14 under.

Long was briefly on the same score thanks to a birdie on the 12th, but bogeyed the next two holes and was unable to make an eagle on the last to force a play-off.

“It means everything,” Norrman said after his second DP World Tour title in two months, the first coming in the co-sanctioned Barbasol Championship in July.

“It’s such a cool event to play, the fans have been incredible and I really had a fun week out there. It was a long wait (for everyone to finish) but I’m super happy. I can’t believe this happened. I’m over the moon.

“I was starting off a little so-so and I made two birdies and got a rain delay, had a coffee and then went out and flushed it.

“I knew there were a few chances out there. I didn’t really have a number in my head. I just tried to press on with some birdie looks and saved a few great pars too to keep the momentum going.”

McIlroy, who lifted the trophy the last time The K Club hosted the event in 2016, followed his early birdies with a double bogey on the seventh and a bogey on the 11th before reviving his chances with a birdie on the 13th.

However, the world number two then hit his second shot on the 16th into the water for the second day running and amazingly flew his fourth shot from the drop zone over the green and into the same hazard, eventually getting up and down from a greenside bunker for a triple-bogey eight.

Lowry, who began the week facing questions about his Ryder Cup wild card after recording just one top-10 finish in 2023, carded a third 68 of the week which featured a tap-in eagle on the fourth and four birdies.

“It’s obviously a tournament that I would love to win again,” Lowry, who was still an amateur when he won in 2009, said.

“I’m a little disappointed now because to be honest I didn’t see a scoreboard for a long time out there. There was not many out there and 13 under was still leading when I got to the 16th green.

“I did my best and it’s been a great week. The crowds were incredible. It’s one of the best Irish Opens I can remember.

“All in all it’s been a good week for me and a step in the right direction and I’ll be back to defend my (BMW PGA Championship) title at Wentworth next week, which is exciting as well.”

Liam Livingstone’s counter-attacking 95 not out from 78 balls helped England battle back to beat New Zealand and level their ODI series at the Ageas Bowl.

England were reeling on eight for three after Trent Boult expertly exploited bowler-friendly conditions early on, while the hosts lurched to 55 for five before being bailed out by Livingstone and Sam Curran.

The pair put on 112 for the seventh wicket in 77 balls, the cornerstone of England’s 226 for seven in a 34-over contest, enough to secure a 79-run win as Reece Topley and David Willey took three wickets each.

After being blown away in Cardiff on Friday, this was an impressive response from England, especially after losing Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes within the space of eight deliveries from Boult after they were asked to bat first in overcast conditions.

Livingstone, who registered his first fifty of the summer in the Welsh capital, was fluent all around the ground at Southampton while Sam Curran, with 42 off 35 balls, proved a capable foil.

Despite being without Adil Rashid because of mild calf tightness – with three and a half weeks until the start of their World Cup campaign in India, England insisted his absence was precautionary – Jos Buttler’s side showed more of a cutting edge with the ball than they had done in the series opener.

After rain led to a three-hour delay and a shortened contest, Boult wreaked havoc in his first ODI in a year in an opening spell of 3-1-3-3, first squaring up Bairstow, whose leading edge on another day might have landed safely but on this occasion was superbly plucked one-handed out the air by Mitchell Santner.

Root was beaten by a fuller inswinging delivery two balls later and given lbw, wisely declining a review as the Yorkshireman trudged off for his fourth duck in his last 10 ODIs, while Boult followed up a double wicket maiden by snaring an advancing Stokes, who clothed the left-armer to mid-off.

Buttler briefly rallied, offsetting Boult’s rhythm with three fours of varying quality down the ground in an over yielding 15, but England’s early luck was encapsulated by their captain dragging a Santner long hop on to his leg stump for 30 off 25 balls. Santner clenched his teeth at his fortune.

England were in a tailspin after 12.1 overs as Livingstone joined Moeen Ali, who drove lustily in a 48-run rebuilding job before expertly slog sweeping Rachin Ravindra for the first six.

Moeen departed for 33, the ball after taking England to 100, slashing ungainly at Tim Southee as Glenn Phillips took a fine grab.

Livingstone enjoyed facing up to Southee, with six of his nine fours coming off the seamer, including three in an over – two through power and one via careful placement.

Curran proved a more than handy ally, heaving spin duo Ravindra and Santner for sixes, while Livingstone, who got the benefit of the doubt after missing a big hit at Phillips as a review showed the ball would only have trimmed leg stump, rocked back and pulled mightily into the stands off Matt Henry.

Livingstone was unable to convert a fine innings into three figures, with Curran departing in the final over after lapping to short third to end their stand.

Willey struck with the second ball of New Zealand’s reply, snaking through the defences of Finn Allen and knocking back middle stump while Devon Conway, an unbeaten centurion in Cardiff, made a scratchy 14 before driving loosely and edging behind to give Gus Atkinson his maiden ODI wicket.

Mitchell overturned being given out on nought but Will Young was stopped on his tracks on 33 by Willey’s direct hit. Topley then followed up a parsimonious opening five-over spell by ending a 56-run union between Mitchell and New Zealand captain Tom Latham, who hung his bat out uncertainly and edged behind to Buttler.

Having claimed his first wicket in five ODIs, Topley swung the game in England’s favour in his next over by taking a return catch off Phillips before Ravindra wafted to slip two balls later. Topley finished with impressive figures of three for 27 in seven overs.

Mitchell, as he had done at Sophia Gardens in a brutal unbeaten hundred, bristled with intent and after going to 50 at just better than a run-a-ball, he launched Moeen back over his head for six.

However, he perished for 57 off 52 deliveries after clubbing a full toss to mid-off from the very next ball.

New Zealand’s hopes vanished with his departure and Willey claimed the last two wickets in quick succession as the tourists were all out for 147 in 26.5 overs.

Zak Crawley’s 158 inspired Kent to 387 for four on the opening day of their LV= County Championship Division One game with Nottinghamshire.

The 25-year-old needed just 153 balls before being caught and bowled by Calvin Harrison as second-bottom Kent gave their survival hopes a boost.

By then Crawley had helped Kent to 248 for two while Daniel Bell-Drummond also hit 60 and skipper Jack Leaning an unbeaten 54 to put them in control.

Tom Bailey’s three for 24 ensured Lancashire had Middlesex 132 for eight as Sam Robson’s gritty 56 from 173 balls – spanning more than four hours – spared them from further embarrassment.

The visitors had fallen to 83 for six in the face of Lancashire’s rampant attack, with Will Williams and Luke Wood also claiming two wickets each.

Emilio Gay made 77 and Karun Nair 78 as Northamptonshire frustrated Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Oliver Hannon-Dalby claimed three for 29 as rock-bottom Northamptonshire slipped to 24 for two but Gay and Nair helped them recover to 200 for five.

In Division Two, Yorkshire closed on 330 for three as Glamorgan’s slim promotion hopes took another dent.

Finlay Bean’s 93 and Shan Masood’s unbeaten 113 had Yorkshire firmly in charge.

Ollie Price’s career best 125 not out helped Gloucestershire to 333 for six against Derbyshire. He and captain Graeme van Buuren (78) put on a fifth-wicket stand of 157.

Sussex were all out for 262 against Leicestershire, with Fynn Hudson-Prentice top scoring with 65 as Matt Salisbury claimed five for 73.

In reply, Leicestershire lost Sol Budinger and Lewis Hill to finish the day on 68 for two, trailing by 194.