The Philadelphia Phillies surged into first place with their sixth consecutive win, beating the New York Mets 4-2 on Friday.

Bryce Harper's two-run homer in the eighth inning provided what proved to be the winning margin as the Phillies took over sole possession of the top spot in the National League (NL) East for the first time since May 7.

That was also the last day the Mets spent outside first place, as they have seen a lead that once stood at five games evaporate in dropping four of their last five games.

Trade-deadline acquisition Kyle Gibson allowed one run in his six innings and added an RBI single for the Phillies, who also got a home run from Didi Gregorius as they handed Marcus Stroman the loss.

 

Brewers walk it off against Giants

Rowdy Tellez's 10th-inning single gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants in a matchup ot the teams with the two best records in the National League. Milwauke's Avisail Garcia and San Francisco's Brandon Belt had traded solo homers for the only other runs of the game.

The Chicago White Sox did not get what they expected out of their lockdown bullpen but still managed to pull out an 8-6 win over the rival Cubs in 10 innings. Newly acquired reliever Craig Kimbrel allowed a three-run homer to Andrew Romine in the eighth to tie the game at 4-4, but the White Sox put four on the board in the top of the 10th on a homer from Brian Goodwin and RBI singles by Gavin Sheets and Tim Anderson.

Brett Gardner gave the New York Yankees a 3-2 walk-off win over the Seattle Mariners with an 11th-inning single in a game that saw the Yankees use nine pitchers, none working more than 1.2 innings.

 

Dodgers' extra-inning woes continue

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost 4-3 to the Los Angeles Angels in 10 innings, their 11th straight defeat in extra-inning games. That was not even the worst news of the day for the defending World Series champions, though, as Mookie Betts left the game after six innings with right hip discomfort.

Boston Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi cruised through four scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays before everything came apart on him in the fifth. Toronto scored nine times in the frame, with seven of the runs charged to Eovaldi, as they rolled to a 12-4 victory at Rogers Centre.

 

Marte makes it count this time

Starling Marte's first home run after joining the Oakland Athletics was meaningless, a solo shot in an 8-1 loss earlier this week. His second made a bit more noise, a three-run bomb in the 11th inning to give the A's a 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.

 

Friday's results 

Tampa Bay Rays 10-6 Baltimore Orioles
Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 San Francisco Giants
Cincinnati Reds 10-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 New York Mets
New York Yankees 3-2 Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays 12-4 Boston Red Sox
Colorado Rockies 14-2 Miami Marlins
Oakland Athletics 4-1 Texas Rangers
St Louis Cardinals 4-2 Kansas City Royals
Atlanta Braves 8-4 Washington Nationals
Cleveland Indians 6-1 Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox 8-6 Chicago Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks 8-5 San Diego Padres
Minnesota Twins 5-4 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Red Sox at Blue Jays

The Boston Red Sox (64-47) have lost seven of their last eight games to fall out of first place, but they have a chance to recover with a doubleheader at the Toronto Blue Jays (58-49). 

Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei set the pace for most of Saturday's women's marathon, and the only question entering the final five kilometres was which Kenyan would cross the line first. 

Jepchirchir finally broke from her countrywoman with a little over two kilometres to go and pulled away to win by 16 seconds.

Kosgei's second-place finish made Kenya the first nation to claim gold and silver in the event at the same Olympic Games.

“I pushed on the pace [and when I opened the gap] it was like, 'Wow, I’m going to make it. I’m going to win,'" Jepchirchir said. 

"It feels good. I’m so, so happy because we win as Kenya. First and second. I thank my god so much. I'm happy for my family. I'm happy for my country, Kenya."

Ten seconds behind Kosgei, Molly Seidel of the USA shouted "Yes! Yes!" as she crossed the line for a stunning bronze medal in only her third competitive marathon.

Seidel is the third US woman to medal in the marathon, following Joan Benoit Samuelson's gold at the inaugural women's race in Los Angeles in 1984 and Deena Kastor's bronze at Athens 2004.

She said she took inspiration from her friend Courtney Frerichs' aggressive approach that led to a silver medal in the 3,000m steeplechase this week.

"Seeing her do that and race aggressively was truthfully what gave me the strength to not be afraid to stick my nose in it," Seidel said.

"It is just to go out, stick your nose where it doesn’t belong and try and make some people angry. My goal today was just to go in and for people to think, 'Who the hell is this girl?'."

ANOTHER GOLD FOR MCGEE FAMILY

JaVale McGee was a late addition to the USA basketball squad, but Saturday's victory over France made him a part of history.

McGee's mother Pam won gold with the USA in basketball at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, and she and JaVale are now the first American mother-son combo to win gold in any sport.

“It's an amazing feeling man," McGee said. "I got a gold medal, my mother's got a gold medal. You can't really explain it, just knowing you're the best in the world.

“If that don't add to the resume, I don't know what will. It's a family resume. That's what it’s all about, in the end, is family.”

YAFAI WINS BOXING GOLD FOR BRITAIN

Galal Yafai became the first British man to win boxing gold since London 2012, defeating Carlo Paalam of the Philippines for the flyweight title Saturday.

Yafai knocked down Paalam in the opening round and never looked back, winning 4-1.

The 28-year-old Birmingham native competed in Rio as a light flyweight but lost in the second round.

He is the first Brit to medal in the men's fly since 1956.

Paalam is the first man from the Philippines to medal in any sport since boxer Mansueto Velasco took silver in the light fly at Atlanta 1996.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL NEWCOMERS TAKE MEDALS

A sport traditionally dominated by Brazil and the USA saw three newcomers on the podium on Saturday.

The Norway duo of Anders Mol and Christian Sorum defeated Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, to take home the gold medal.

In the bronze-medal match, Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse of Qatar downed Edgar Tocs and 2012 bronze medallist Martins Plavins of Latvia.

None of the podium nations had won a medal of any kind in men's or women's beach volleyball before, though the winners do have an Olympic legacy of sorts.

Mol's mother, Merita Berntsen, placed ninth with partner Ragni Hestad in the first beach volleyball competition at the 1996 Atlanta Games, then retired when Anders was born the next year.

"My mum thought it was going to be really hard to travel around with two kids, because my brother was born in 1994. She had me and then quit," Mol said. "I always dreamed of beating my mum in the Olympics. She got a ninth [place[. I was actually really happy when we made it to the quarter-finals because we became historical by achieving [at least] a fifth place.

"It has been a journey for a long time and our parents and families are very proud of us right now."

SIXTH KAYAK GOLD FOR HUNGARY'S KOZAK

Danuta Kozak claimed her sixth Olympic gold medal as Hungary won the women's sprint kayak four 500 metres.

The 34-year-old teamed with Tamara Csipes, Anna Karasz and Dora Bodonyi to hold off Belarus and Poland.

It was Kozak's third consecutive gold in the fours after taking silver in the event in her Olympic debut in Beijing.

She also won gold in the K1 500m in London and Rio, and in the K2 in Rio. She took bronze in the K2 earlier this week, so Saturday's win gives her eight Olympic medals overall.

In other sprint kayak finals, Germany won the men's kayak four 500m, China took the women's canoe double 500m and Isaquias Queiroz dos Santos of Brazil won the canoe single 1000m.

Kevin Durant said it felt "incredible" after he won a third gold medal and helped Team USA reach four in a row at the Olympics.

The men's basketball tournament looked primed for a potential shock when the United States team lost to France in their opening group game at Tokyo 2020, yet it came full circle as victory over the same opposition in Saturday's final tied up another success at the Games.

The USA won 87-82 against a French side who gave them trouble all game long, but a game-high 29 points from Durant carried Gregg Popovich's team to top spot on the podium.

"I'm so proud of this team," Durant said. "The coaching staff prepared us so well every single day, even some days when we didn't feel like practising but it was worth it at the end. I’m so glad. I’m ready to go home and celebrate.

"I love our country and this team is just amazing, it’s just incredible.

"How we came together. The adversity that we went through, so many people doubting us early on too. We get that support from our families, our friends, you know it’s bigger than us. We wanted to come here finish it and look alive."

Pre-Olympics defeats to Australia and Nigeria, followed by the France loss when competition began, hinted at major shortcomings in Popovich's ranks.

A host of withdrawals from the planned original roster meant this was a depleted team, but Durant proved to be a driving force throughout the tournament.

"This one feels good because we went through a lot," said the Brooklyn Nets superstar.

"We had a lot of first-time guys on the team, new experience for everyone on the team, COVID, the kind of bubble we were in, no fans, no one expecting us to lose.

"We heard it all over the past few weeks about our team. To fight through this adversity against a great team like these guys ... to come together so fast – it was beautiful to see, it was beautiful to be a part of."

There was widespread acclaim for Durant's on-court leadership.

Draymond Green earned a second Olympic gold and said Durant had "carried" the USA to gold, rating the 32-year-old as the greatest player in the history of the team.

"He's been special," Green said. "He is one of the best players to ever play this game, one of the most special guys you have ever seen lace their shoes and take the basketball court.

"He carried this team like we needed him to, like he was supposed to. Coming back for his third Olympics, all-time USA scorer, there's been a lot of great players to don this jersey – he is number one. That’s a special thing."

Jrue Holiday, who added the gold medal to his NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks, also raved about Durant.

Holiday said: "Doing it on the world stage and doing it against different countries and actually being on his team now has been pretty cool to see – how he carries the game, carries his teammates and takes over a game.”

Bam Adebayo said Durant had been "phenomenal", adding: "The thing I like about Kevin the most, he's one of the greatest scorers in our league but also he's a genuine person. People try to bash him in the media but he's one of those guys that got your back 24/7. Being around him, being around this group of guys, we created a brotherhood."

Not even a tropical storm could hold back Nelly Korda as the young American star held on for Olympic gold at Kasumigaseki Country Club.

The world number one golfer emerged triumphant from a fierce battle in the final round, winning by a single stroke from Japan's Mone Inami and New Zealand's Lydia Ko.

Inami fired a 65 and was the co-leader at 17 under until she bogeyed the last, finding a greenside bunker with her approach and failing to put the ball close, then missing her 20-foot par putt.

That meant Korda walked down the 18th knowing she was in pole position to take gold, albeit needing to keep an eye on Ko.

Both Korda and Ko found the green safely, each with an outside chance of birdie. Neither could sink that first putt, but Korda left herself a tap-in for the title and made no mistake.

The 23-year-old then was embraced by her sister Jessica, dancing across the green to offer a fond embrace.

Jessica Korda had fired a joint best-of-the-day 64 to finish in a tie for 15th, but it was Nelly's day to triumph.

The champion set herself up for this success with a 62 in round two, and consecutive rounds of 69 on Friday and Saturday took her over the winning line.

Play was briefly suspended with two holes left to complete for the front-runners, as the nearby storm caused a 49-minute delay just while the tension was ramping up.

But fears of a Saturday washout were allayed to ensure the tournament went the distance, and with gold on 17 under going to Korda, Inami took silver in a play-off when Ko bogeyed 18, the first extra hole.

Inami and Ko, who also made 65 in the final round, had finished tied on 16 under, one ahead of India's Aditi Ashok, whose closing 68 was not enough for a medal.

Korda's triumph meant the USA achieved a golf double, with Xander Schauffele having won the men's title.

Kevin Durant dazzled as Team USA won a fourth successive Olympic men's basketball gold medal, edging out France 87-82 in Saturday's final.

A game-high haul of 29 points from Brooklyn Nets superstar Durant saw the United States to a victory that avenged their opening group-stage loss to France.

It meant the USA kept up their strong recent record on the Olympic stage, with Durant securing a third gold medal of his career.

Jayson Tatum weighed in with 19 points, while France had five players in double figures but nobody in their ranks scored more than the 16 points managed by both Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier.

The USA led by 11 points at 71-57 in the third quarter, but an impressive France cut that advantage to three points at 73-70 with 5:42 remaining of the fourth after Frank Ntilikina drained a three-pointer

France again reined in a double-digit lead to get back to 85-82 in arrears with 10 seconds remaining, but a foul by Gobert on Durant gave the USA's star man the chance to put the game away, which he seized by making both his free throws.

Top-seeded Elise Mertens rolled into the semi-finals at the Silicon Valley Classic with a 6-3 7-6 (10-8) win over Yulia Putintseva on Friday. 

The Belgian already has collected a pair of grand slam doubles titles this year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and is seeking her seventh career singles crown. 

She will need to get past fourth seed Daria Kasatkina to have a chance. 

The Russian outlasted Magda Linette 6-4 3-6 6-4 in her quarter-final and is seeking her third title of 2021 after a three-year drought between wins. 

The other semi-final will match seventh seed Danielle Collins against qualifier Ana Konjuh.

Collins pulled out a tight 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) upset of second seed Elena Rybakina to reach the semis in San Jose for the second time. 

The American won her eighth consecutive match after taking the title at Palermo two weeks ago. 

She will meet the only unseeded player remaining, Konjuh, who won the final 10 games of the match to close out Zhang Shuai 3-6 6-2 6-0. 

Kei Nishikori is into his first ATP Tour semi-final in more than two years after defeating Lloyd Harris in straight sets at the Citi Open on Friday. 

By far the most experienced player remaining in the field after Harris' upset of Rafael Nadal on Thursday, Nishikori prevailed 6-3 7-5 to avenge a loss earlier this year in their only prior meeting. 

Nishikori had lost his last six ATP quarter-final matches dating to a trip to the semis in Barcelona in April 2019. 

The 31-year-old next faces Mackenzie McDonald, who downed countryman Denis Kudla 6-3 6-2 to reach his second career ATP semi-final. He has never played in a final. 

In the other semi-final, fifth seed Jannik Sinner will meet wild card Jenson Brooksby. 

Sinner had little trouble with American veteran Steve Johnson in a 6-4 6-2 win as the Italian won 93 per cent of his first-serve points and saved all three break points he faced. 

Brooksby maintained the strong return game that as carried him all week in a 6-1 6-2 upset of 11th seed John Millman. 

The Australian did not manage an ace against the 20-year-old American, who won 54 per cent of the points on Millman's serve and converted five of seven break points. 

At 130 in the world, Brooksby is the lowest-seeded Citi Open semi-finalist since John Isner reached the 2007 final while ranked 416th.

Harris English heads into the weekend at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational with a two-stroke lead after maintaining his spot atop the leaderboard Friday.

The American followed Thursday's 62 with a five-under-par 65 at TPC Southwind, where he won his first PGA Tour title eight years ago. 

Australia's Cameron Smith and Abraham Ancer of Mexico surged into a tie for second place after carding 62s of their own in Memphis to sit at 11 under for the tournament.

Ian Poulter (66), Scottie Scheffler (65) and Sam Burns (64) are three back of the lead at 10 under, while Louis Oosthuizen (64) and Bryson DeChambeau (66) are well within striking distance at nine under. 

English started on the back nine and made three birdies going out before carding his first and only bogey of the day at the par-four second hole. But he managed to follow that disappointment with an eagle on the third before adding one more birdie later in his round.

Smith also eagled the third on the way to tying a PGA Tour record, as he needed just 18 putts to complete his bogey-free round. 

That included a two-put at the last, not long after Smith figured out he was on the verge of history. 

"I was walking down 17 and was counting my putts up and I thought, 'No, that can't be right,'" Smith said. 

Further down the leaderboard, defending champion Justin Thomas (67) is seven strokes back of the lead at six under along with two-time major winner Dustin Johnson (65).

Phil Mickelson (66) is at five under, whie Hideki Matsuyama (69) and Patrick Reed (69) are well back at three under. 

Rory McIlroy (66), Sergio Garcia (68), and Collin Morikawa (71) are at two under, one stroke better than Brooks Koepka (69). 

Jordan Spieth (69) enters the weekend at even par and Olympic champion Xander Schauffele (73) is at two over. 

Kyle Lowry's move to Miami is official, giving the Heat another playoff-tested veteran to lead what they hope will be a charge back to the NBA Finals. 

The Heat announced on Friday they have acquired Lowry from the Toronto Raptors for Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa. 

Miami did not disclose the contract terms in Lowry's sign-and-trade deal, but The Athletic reported he has signed a three-year, $85million contract. 

"Kyle Lowry is a great leader and an exceptional defender," Heat president Pat Riley said in a release. "As a point guard, he will bring important skills to run the offense, score the ball and defend with the very best."

A 15-year NBA veteran, Lowry became a star after joining the Raptors in 2012 after serving as more of a role player previously with the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets. 

He had started fewer than half of his NBA appearances before moving to Toronto but will leave there as arguably the best player in franchise history after averaging 17.5 points, 7.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game over the last nine seasons, which saw him make the All-Star Game six times.

After leading the Raptors to their first NBA title in 2019, Lowry joins a Miami team that lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 Finals and went out in the first round to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks this year. 

He will team up with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson on a squad that should be a threat in the Eastern Conference. 

The Raptors get back the veteran point guard Dragic, who averaged 13.4 points and 4.4 assists last season, and the 21-year-old Achiuwa, who averaged 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game. 

But Lowry will be missed, and the feeling is mutual. In a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday, Lowry thanked the franchise and its fans for his time there, saying his bond with the city is "unbreakable." 

"Toronto will forever be my 2nd home and I will always be tied to the franchise, the city and the country of Canada which makes me so happy to say," he wrote. 

The Brooklyn Nets and superstar Kevin Durant have reached an agreement on a four-year, $198 million contract extension, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday.

Like all deals agreed since Monday, Durant's extension will become official on Saturday after the end of the NBA's free agency moratorium.

The contract was reported hours before Durant and the rest of Team USA play France for the Olympic gold medal in Japan.

Durant, 32, averaged 26.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 2020-21 in his first season back from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

A former league MVP and two-time Finals MVP, Durant played just 35 games last season as the Nets cautiously handled a series of minor injuries.

In the postseason, however, he played in all 12 of Brooklyn's games, including all 53 minutes in the Nets' second-round, Game 7 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Durant scored 34.3 points per game in the playoffs while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from three-point range.

The extension is the first for the Nets' trio of superstars, with new contracts expected to come for James Harden and Kyrie Irving.

Brooklyn are the bookmakers' favourites to win the 2022 NBA title, which would be the first in franchise history for the Nets.

China remain atop the Olympics Games medal table as they maintained their five-gold buffer over the United States with two on Friday in Tokyo.

The table-toppers head into the penultimate day at the Olympics with their advantage still intact, courtesy of gold in the women's javelin and the men's team table tennis.

Shiying Liu became the first Asian woman to win gold in the javelin, while China extended their perfect record in table tennis since its 2008 introduction – Ma Long becoming the most decorated table tennis Olympian with his fifth triumph.

USA matched China's gold count on day 14, collecting the top spot in the women's beach volleyball and via Gable Steveson's last-second victory in the men's superheavyweight freestyle wrestling.

Japan remain in third place and collected two golds, the first of which came in the women's featherweight freestyle wrestling from Mayu Mukaida with the second following through three-time world champion Ryo Kiyuna, who was crowned the first ever men's kata karate Olympic champion.

After falling down to sixth on Thursday, Great Britain bounced back up to fourth with a pair of golds. Laura Kenny teamed up with Katie Archibald to become the first British female Olympian to triumph at three consecutive Games – winning the women's madison comfortably.

Kate French captured Team GB's other gold in the women's pentathlon, though there could have been a third had the men's 4x100 metre relay team not been pipped at the line by Marcell Jacobs' Italy.

The Russian Olympic Committee sit in fifth on 17 golds, Zaurbek Sidakov securing their sole gold of the day in the men's welterweight freestyle wrestling.

After firing a blank on Friday, Australia – who equalled their best ever medal haul at the Games a day earlier – dropped down to sixth, level with the Russians on 17 golds.

 

The British and Irish Lions lock horns with South Africa once more in Saturday's decider, with the Test series on the line at 1-1 as it boils down to the final game.

The Lions battled to a 22-17 opening victory but will now have to lick their wounds and respond to the heavy 27-9 defeat that the Springboks inflicted in Cape Town last Saturday.

While Warren Gatland's men eye a first series win on South African soil since 1997 in the winner-takes-all showdown, the Boks are also aiming to piece together consecutive series successes over the tourists for the first time since 1962-1968.

Each of Gatland's three Lions series have gone to the wire, though it will be a tough task to bounce back from South Africa's comeback victory last time out.

Having suffered an 18-point loss, the Lions head coach has made a host of changes, bringing in front-row forwards Ken Owens and Wyn Jones alongside scrum-half Ali Price, full-back Liam Williams, wing Josh Adams and centre Bundee Aki.

Despite Gatland's changes tailoring to the pre-existing strategy of matching their opponents physically, attack coach Gregor Townsend insisted creativity would be the key to overcoming Siya Kolisi's reigning world champions.

"If you create opportunities, you have more chance of winning the game," Townsend said. "You may create more through pressure. We know we have to control the game more by moving South Africa around, draining them of energy whenever we can."

The introduction of Finn Russell, who Townsend explained "can ask different questions than any fly-half in the world," on the bench for Owen Farrell may offer the tourists that.

The Boks, in contrast, make just the two enforced changes. Pieter-Steph du Toit and Faf de Klerk miss out through injury, opening up room for Lood de Jager and Cobus Reinach to start.

De Jager's arrival will force Franco Mostert into the back row role he filled after 55 minutes last time out. Indeed, Mostert's shift gained control of the lineout, ensuring the hosts won the remainder of the game 16-0.

 

Discipline key

The war of words between both camps, following Rassie Erasmus' remarkable campaign against the match officials, carried over onto the pitch in the second Test, yet Kyle Sinckler was the only player cited amid a hostile showing from both teams.

However, if the Lions are to succeed in the decider, they must remain composed in response to the Boks' contentious style of game management.

Gatland commented on the "stop-start" nature of the first two Tests but Courtney Lawes maintained his team "can't get too caught up in the niggle of stuff, scrapping."

"They can throw their handbags around, as long as we can get the ball out and play some rugby," the 32-year-old added.

Kolisi jumped to the defence of his side, who have been accused of time-wasting and suffocating games to their benefit, declaring: "If there are niggles we can't leave a man behind. That's our system and what we believe in."

 

Aerial bombardment

The Lions struggled under the high ball in the second Test and any chance of success for Gatland's men largely hangs on the aerial performances of their back three.

Duhan van der Merwe has endured a mixed tour so far, with a positive first outing and a fairly poor second showing. He is joined by Williams and Adams who will go head-to-head with key Springboks Willie le Roux and Makazole Mapimpi.

The latter battle between two try machines promises to be a thriller. Adams leads the Lions' scoring charts with eight tries in four appearances, though Mapimpi also boasts an impressive 15 in 16 internationals.

In response to the tourists' heaviest defeat since 2005, Gatland has rolled the dice in his selections and, if the Lions can get the ball in hand and play as opposed to battling themselves into the ground, they have a chance of legacy-making glory.

 

TEAMS

South Africa: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach; Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi (captain), Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese.

Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Trevor Nyakane, Vincent Koch, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, Herschel Jantjies, Morne Steyn, Damian Willemse.

British and Irish Lions: Liam Williams, Josh Adams, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe, Dan Biggar, Ali Price; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Tadhg Furlong, Maro Itoje, Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Courtney Lawes, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mako Vunipola, Kyle Sinckler, Adam Beard, Sam Simmonds, Conor Murray, Finn Russell, Elliot Daly.

 

KEY OPTA FACTS

- Since 1962-1968, the past five series between the Lions and the Springboks have seen the winner alternate, with the hosts winning the most recent series in 2009.

- The Lions gained just 105 metres from 85 carries against South Africa in the second Test, their average gain of 1.24 metres per carry the lowest by a tier-one side in a Test match since Opta began recording such data in 2010.

- Both matches in this series have been won by the side trailing at the break; the Lions defeated the Springboks in the opener after outscoring them 19-5 in the second half, while in the second Test South Africa scored 21 unanswered points in the second 40 minutes.

- The Lions have lost just two series after winning the first Test (W10, D1) – against New Zealand in 1930 and Australia in 2001 – with the tourists winning four and drawing one of their five such series against South Africa. 

- Alun Wyn Jones is set to win his 12th Lions Test cap, joining Mike Gibson and Graham Price as the joint-fourth most capped player in Lions history, behind only Willie John McBride (17) and Dickie Jeeps (13).

- Damian de Allende has made 25 carries during the series, six more than any other player, gaining the most metres (76), as well as the most post-contact metres (67).

Andre Iguodala has confirmed he will return to the Golden State Warriors on a one-year deal and plans to end his career with the franchise he helped to three NBA titles.

Iguodala was a pivotal part of the Warriors' dynasty, which saw them reach five successive NBA Finals between 2015 and 2019 and win championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

Having accepted the role of sixth man in the 2014-15 season, Iguodala moved into a more prominent position for the 2015 Finals, with his defense of LeBron James crucial to Golden State's 4-2 victory.

Iguodala was named 2015 Finals MVP and continued to have a significant influence on the Warriors' success thereafter.

The swingman shot 49.4 per cent from the field and 37.8 per cent from three-point range in the playoffs in 2018 when Golden State won their most recent title.

He produced the same field goal percentage in the 2019 postseason as the Warriors lost in the Finals to the Toronto Raptors, before then moving on to the Miami Heat and helping them reach the Finals in the NBA Bubble.

Iguodala's field goal percentage of 38.3 for the Heat last season was the worst of his time in the NBA, but while he admitted to pondering retirement this offseason, he is relishing the chance to bring the curtain down at the place where his career reached its zenith.

"Who would have thought I'd have the opportunity to go back to the place where I was able to have, whatever you want to call it, legacy years, in terms of the accomplishments, winning multiple championships, the relationships that I was able to build with some of my closest friends and teammates?" the 37-year-old told The New York Times. 

"The relationship with the fans, the relationship with the Bay, the opportunity to end it here, was just something special."

Iguodala will likely play a key role in mentoring the younger members of the Warriors' roster.

Golden State did not pull off the blockbuster draft-night trade many were anticipating, instead using picks 7 and 14 on two teenagers in Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. The Warriors used the second overall pick in 2020 on a center with just three games of college experience in James Wiseman, who showed flashes of his potential before a meniscus injury ended his rookie year.

While that trio will look to call on Iguodala's experience, he is hopeful he can still make an impact on the court perhaps even beyond the 2021-22 season.

"I think I've got some more time left," Iguodala said. "Where I'm comfortable at is I can decide when I'm ready to go.

"I think I want to leave with just a little bit left. I don't want to go out on one leg. I know I've got a few more years. It's just my decision whether it's one or two or three or whatever it may be. I shouldn't even say three. One or two."

Men’s 4x400 Metres Relay

Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago both advanced to the final.

The Trinidadian team consisting of Deon Lendore, Jereem Richards, Machel Cedenio and Dwight St. Hillaire ran a season’s best of 2:58.60 to finish 3rd in heat 1 and progress.

Jamaica fielded a team of Demish Gaye, Jaheel Hyde, Karayme Bartley and Nathon Allen to finish 2nd in heat 2 with a season’s best time of 2:59.29 to advance.

 

Women’s 400 Metres

The Caribbean secured two medals in the women’s 400 metres.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas successfully defended her title from the 2016 Games by winning gold in a personal best 48.36, the 6th fastest time ever in the event.

 

She was followed by Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic who took silver in a national record 49.20.

Allyson Felix of the USA became the most decorated female track athlete in Olympic history by finishing 3rd and securing her 10th Olympic medal, one more than Jamaican legend Merlene Ottey.

Jamaicans Stephenie-Ann McPherson and Candice McLeod finished 4th and 5th in 49.61 and 49.87 respectively.

Cuba’s Roxana Gomez started the final but unfortunately failed to finish, pulling up injured about 100 metres into the race.

 

Women’s 4x100 Metres

The Jamaican quartet of Briana Williams, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson celebrated Jamaica’s Independence Day by running a national record of 41.02 to secure the gold medal.

This marks Jamaica’s first time winning Olympic gold in women’s 4x100 metres relay since Athens 2004.

Javianne Oliver, Teahna Daniels, Jenna Prandini and Gabby Thomas combined to run 41.45 to secure the silver medal for the USA, while Great Britain with Asha Phillip, Imani Lansiquot, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita ran 41.88 for bronze.

 

Men’s 4x100 Metres

Jamaica finished 5th in the final of the men’s 4x100 metres relay.

Jevaughn Minzie, Julian Forte, Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville combined to run 37.84 to finish behind Italy, Great Britain, Canada and China.

 

The Italian team of Lorenzo Patta, Lamont Marcell Jacobs, Fostine Desalu and Filippo Tortu ran a national record 37.50 to secure gold and continue the country’s impressive track & field showing in Tokyo.

The British team comprising of CJ Ujah, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake ran 37.51 to finish just behind the Italians in 2nd.

Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse combined to run 37.70 and secure the bronze for Canada.

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