Maidstone FA Cup hero Lucas Covolan once scored a goal and saved two penalties in a play-off final but just a few months later found himself in the depths of depression.
The Brazilian goalkeeper, pushed into attack with his Torquay side trailing Hartlepool 1-0 in the 2021 National League final, headed an added-time equaliser to take the match to extra time.
“The feeling of scoring a goal is totally different from just saving it,” he recalled.
“Such a high moment of my career. I don’t know if it brought me into the mental issues I had as well, but I will remember that day for ever.
“It was a corner, they cleared it, it went for a throw-in, I thought they were going to put it back in the box again, so I stayed up.
“It was great header in the end. I remember looking and the ball was going in the net in slow motion. I didn’t know how to celebrate.”
Covolan then kept out two spot-kicks in the shoot-out, but unfortunately his team-mates missed three and Torquay missed out on promotion.
An ill-fated spell at Port Vale followed where Covolan experienced his mental health problems.
So when the goalkeeper sank to his knees following his extraordinary display in National League South side Maidstone’s stunning 2-1 fourth-round win at Ipswich, the emotions came flooding out.
“It was a thousand moments in the past two years,” he added. “When I went to the league with Port Vale, my mindset was not right.
“Suffering with my mental health, being depressed. I was thinking of the people who helped me through it.
“When I went down on my knees and just cried, it was remembering all the down moments. It was reward for myself, a very special moment.”
Covolan, missing his family back in Brazil, became a withdrawn figure until he sought help from the PFA and received therapy.
“It was a long time, right now I wish I had come forward before and not waited that long,” he said.
“I like to speak about this now, try to encourage people to come forward.”
Covolan and his Maidstone team-mates made history by becoming the first team outside of the top five divisions to reach the FA Cup fifth round since Blyth Spartans in 1978.
They travel to another Championship side, Coventry, on Monday night bidding for a scarcely believable place in the quarter-finals.
Covolan’s heroics have not gone unnoticed by the Premier League’s Brazilian goalkeeping fraternity, Manchester City’s Ederson and Alisson Becker of Liverpool.
“They say when I go up north they will invite me to have a barbecue,” he said.
“I don’t know who’s going to cook, probably Alisson because he comes from the south. I think his barbecue is going to be better.”
Goalcorer Calvin Bassey felt Fulham just “wanted it more” than Manchester United after the Londoners claimed a shock win at Old Trafford.
Alex Iwobi struck in the seventh minute of stoppage time as the Cottagers killed off a late United fightback to snatch a last-gasp 2-1 victory in the Premier League on Saturday.
Fulham had been course for what seemed a deserved success courtesy of Bassey’s opener but United produced a strong finish and Harry Maguire appeared to have salvaged a point for the hosts in the 89th minute.
Yet while United pushed for a late clincher themselves, they were caught on the counter-attack and Iwobi capitalised to secure his side’s first win at Old Trafford since 2003.
“I don’t think you can just come here and overrun them,” said defender Bassey, whose goal was his first for the club. “You can see the quality of the players they have.
“They have got top players and a top manager and players that can have an effect off the bench, but we were just at it more and I felt we wanted it more. That showed in the way we played.
“(The equaliser) was a bit annoying, but we had done so well to even get 1-1, so then it was about making sure we didn’t leave with nothing. But then we got a chance and we were able to bury it.”
Mid-table Fulham’s victory was only their second in their last six games in what has been an inconsistent season but Bassey hopes a corner has been turned.
“It is always nice to win a game and hopefully we can keep this momentum going,” the Nigeria international said.
The result put an end to United’s four-game winning run in the league and dented their hopes of reaching the top four.
Maguire feels the team need to get it out of their system quickly ahead of Wednesday’s FA Cup trip to Nottingham Forest and then the derby against Manchester City next weekend.
The England centre-back told MUTV: “We know it’s going to be a tough game in midweek. Our full focus is on that one. We’ve got to bounce back.
“A big reaction is needed. It’s going to be a tough game, but one that we got to go there and produce a performance like we did there last year.”
Maguire admitted United were caught out in the end by Fulham but said pushing for the win seemed the right approach at the time.
He said: “This season we’ve scored numerous late goals, numerous late winners. So we had great belief that we were going to go on to win the game.
“Obviously in hindsight now we can all sit here and say that we should have been more cautious, we were far too naive.
“We can look back and I’m sure we’ll assess it in terms of areas that we can improve on but, ultimately, over the 90 minutes we didn’t do enough to win the game.”
Luka Modric rolled back the years with a stunning late winner for Real Madrid against Sevilla and spoil Sergio Ramos’ return to the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 38-year-old Modric – a 75th-minute substitute – had been on the pitch six minutes when he superbly controlled Loic Bade’s tired header and curled home from 20 yards to secure a 1-0 win.
The goal was clouded in controversy, however, as Sevilla felt Antonio Rudiger was offside in the build-up, with replacement referee Carlos Fernandez Buergo adjudging that the German defender was not interfering with play.
Modric’s former team-mate Ramos must have thought he would be part of a Sevilla clean sheet on his return to the club he represented 671 times and won 22 major honours for between 2005 and 2021.
Lucas Vazquez saw his 10th-minute effort disallowed for offside on a largely frustrating night for Real.
But Los Blancos finally found a way through to extend their LaLiga lead over Barcelona to eight points and nine to Girona, who have a game in hand against Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
England midfielder Jude Bellingham was absent for a third successive Real game because of an ankle sprain, while Dani Carvajal and Eduardo Camavinga missed out through suspension.
Sevilla should have been ahead inside eight minutes as Isaac Romero crossed and Youssef En-Nesyri smashed wide from 10 yards.
There was almost instant controversy as Nacho went in to the back of En-Nesyri but play was allowed to continue.
Vinicius Junior found Vazquez with a delightful pass and the former Spain international fired in off a post.
Sevilla players were enraged that the game was not stopped for a foul on En-Nesyri and surrounded referee Isidro Diaz de Mera.
Two minutes elapsed before Diaz de Mera went to the VAR monitor, booking an animated Real manager Carlo Ancelotti on his way, and eventually disallowed the goal.
Sevilla’s organised 5-3-2 shape – with Ramos at the heart of the defence – caused further frustration as Real struggled to make headway.
Brahim Diaz dribbled into the visitors’ penalty area for Aurelien Tchouameni to ripple the side-netting with a deflected attempt.
Fede Valverde forced Sevilla goalkeeper Orjan Nyland to tip over in spectacular fashion and then scuffed against the post just after the break.
The contest began to open up and Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin denied Romero with an outstanding reaction stop.
Real asked most of the second-half questions and Rodrygo shot wide after a fantastic run, while Nyland’s agility kept Vinicius at bay.
There was a refereeing change as Diaz de Mera suffered a calf injury and fourth official Buergo took charge of LaLiga action for the first time.
But the biggest alteration saw Modric strike an absolute beauty off a post and keep Real in command at the top.
Teun Koopmeiners’ disputed penalty kept Atalanta in the race for Serie A’s top four and AC Milan saw two points wrenched from their grasp.
Koopmeiners cancelled out Rafael Leao’s brilliant opener from the spot three minutes before the break with his 10th goal of the season after Olivier Giroud had been penalised for a high challenge on defender Emil Holm to secure a 1-1 draw at the San Siro.
That left his side two points adrift of fourth-placed Bologna with a game in hand at the end of a frustrating evening for Stefano Pioli’s men, who remain third, but are now 13 points adrift of leaders and city rivals Inter.
Milan could hardly have got off to a better start when Leao picked up possession wide on the left, skipped past Holm and them evaded Giorgio Scalvini’s challenge before curling a delicious shot across keeper Marco Carnesecchi and inside the far post with less than three minutes played.
However, it took a last-ditch 17th-minute challenge from Yacine Adli to prevent Koopmeiners from making meaningful contact with Charles De Ketelaere’s pull-back and defender Berat Djimsiti back-heeled an audacious attempt wide from the resulting corner.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek headed wide and Theo Hernandez saw a long-range strike deflected behind as the hosts responded, but the visitors were handed a way back into the game in controversial circumstances as the whistle approached.
Holm went to ground clutching his face after tangling with Giroud inside the Milan box and although replays showed the striker’s boot had connected with the defender’s armpit, referee Daniele Orsato was advised to review the incident and eventually awarded a penalty, which Koopmeiners converted with the minimum of fuss.
Ademola Lookman joined the fray as a replacement for De Ketelaere before the restart and Atalanta had a better balance about them, although the game became bogged down in midfield.
Loftus-Cheek whipped a 59th-minute shot straight at Carnesecchi after exchanging passes with Christian Pulisic, and the keeper had to make an instinctive save with his foot two minutes later after substitute Davide Calabria cut inside and drilled the ball towards goal.
Loftus-Cheek scuffed an attempt well wide after Leao and Adli had carved a path through the white shirts and Pulisic stabbed past the post after controlling Leao’s pass over the top superbly with the Rossoneri pushing for a winner.
Carnesecchi had to beat away Loftus-Cheek’s 77th-minute drive and then clawed out Leao’s toe-poke three minutes later with substitute Davide Zappacosta clearing Giroud’s follow-up off the line.
But Atalanta, who had won their previous five Serie A games and beaten Milan in both the league and the Coppa Italia this season, held firm to emerge with a point.
In a dazzling display of power-hitting, Rovman Powell emerged as the hero for Peshawar Zalmi in a nail-biting encounter against Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League on Sunday. Powell's brisk 46 played a pivotal role in setting the stage for Zalmi's thrilling eight-run victory.
The foundation for Peshawar Zalmi's imposing total of 211-4 was laid by the explosive opening pair of Sayim Ayub and Captain Babar Azam. The duo forged a formidable partnership of 136 runs before the experienced Shahid Afridi made a breakthrough in the 15th over, dismissing Azam for a well-compiled 48.
Ayub, undeterred by the fall of his partner, continued his aggressive onslaught on the opposition bowlers. The batsman hammered eight fours and four sixes on his way to a brilliant 88 before also falling victim to Afridi. With Ayub's departure, it was Rovman Powell's time to shine.
Powell entered the crease with a bang, unleashing a flurry of boundaries and sixes to propel Peshawar Zalmi past the 200-run mark. The Jamaican's exhilarating knock, which included five fours and two sixes, provided the crucial late flourish. Contributions from Mohammed Haris (12 from 5 balls) and Paul Walker (2 from 1 ball) took Zalmi to a formidable total.
In pursuit of the challenging target, Lahore Qalandars relied heavily on Rassie van der Dussen's breathtaking century. The South African batsman displayed remarkable stroke play, amassing an unbeaten 104 from just 52 balls, featuring seven fours and six sixes. However, despite van der Dussen's heroics, Lahore Qalandars fell short by eight runs, finishing at 203-6.
Shai Hope chipped in with 29, and Ahsan Hafeez contributed 20, but they couldn't provide the partnership needed to secure victory. Naveen-ul-Haq, despite being expensive with figures of 2-50 from his four overs, played a crucial role in containing the Qalandars' batting onslaught.
Ultimately, it was Rovman Powell's blistering innings and Peshawar Zalmi's collective effort that secured the thrilling win, marking a memorable encounter in the Pakistan Super League.
Liverpool’s Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea was manager Jurgen Klopp’s “most special trophy” after they overcame more injury adversity to win 1-0 at Wembley after extra time.
Already without 11 first-team players, they lost Ryan Gravenberch to an ankle problem after half-an-hour and finished the match with four academy players on the pitch but the youngsters held out long enough for captain Virgil van Dijk to head the 118th-minute winner.
“In more than 20 years it is easily the most special trophy I have ever won. It is absolutely exceptional,” said Klopp, who is leaving the club at the end of the season and looked emotional on the pitch at the final whistle.
“Sometimes people ask me if I’m proud of things and it’s really tricky, I wish I could feel pride more often but tonight is an overwhelming feeling.
“I was proud of everyone involved in everything here: I was proud of our people (fans) for the way they pushed us, I was proud of the staff for creating this kind of atmosphere surrounding where these boys can just do what they are best at.
“I was proud of our academy, I was proud of my coaches, I was proud of so many things. It was completely overwhelming.
“It was nothing to do with it being maybe my last game at Wembley.
“Can you create in football stories which definitely nobody will ever forget? It’s so difficult because ‘this’ happened before, ‘this’ happened before: this tonight, if you find the same story with academy players coming on against a top side and still winning it, I’ve never heard of it.
“I loved it. What we see here today is so exceptional. We might never see again. Not because I’m on the sidelines but because these things don’t happen in football.
“I got told there’s an English phrase ‘you don’t win trophies with kids’. I didn’t know that.”
Victory extended Liverpool’s own record to 10 League Cups and was the seventh major trophy he has won since arriving at the club in 2015.
His side are top of the Premier League and are one of the favourites for both the FA Cup and Europa League but Klopp has no interest in the sentimentality of his final few months.
“I couldn’t care less about my legacy, I am not here to create one,” he added.
“Nothing we’ve done in the last eight or nine years is replaceable, we couldn’t have done the same at another club. It was exactly made for this combination. It is fantastic.
“We learned so much in that time, the people (fans) learned so much. That’s the one thing – it’s not a problem if a manager leaves, if these people would leave, our supporters, that would be a problem.
“As long as they are the way they are, Liverpool Football Club will be fine and that’s the most important thing.
“From time to time you need something to really celebrate. This was so special, you saw the game and saw the circumstances, they become bigger.
“We had a ref (Chris Kavanagh) who was not up to the level of the game, that didn’t help one team or the other. There was no common sense again.
“Then getting through all things. You see tired players. I have no clue who can play on Wednesday (against Southampton in the FA Cup) because we have players on the pitch until the end of the game who had problems.”
Klopp reserved special praise for his captain, who put in a real leader’s performance to lift his first trophy since taking over from Jordan Henderson.
“From the first day coming into the club (Van Dijk) was absolutely outstanding. Thank God he is in form, top shape. I think he learned an important lesson for himself: you always can win the game,” he said.
Inter Milan maintained their stunning start to 2024 with a 4-0 triumph at struggling Lecce.
Lautaro Martinez (two), Davide Frattesi and Stefan De Vrij scored as Simone Inzaghi’s in-form team extended their winning run to 10 games in all competitions.
The result saw the Nerazzurri re-establish their nine-point cushion over second-placed Juventus, who earlier edged Frosinone 3-2, with a game in hand. In contrast, Lecce were left just four points above the drop zone having collected only five wins from 26 games.
Martinez was first to threaten for the visitors with an off-target header, before an Pontus Almqvist fired over for the Salentini at the other end after a free-kick had not been cleared.
Inter broke the deadlock in the 15th minute. Kristjan Asllani found Martinez with a neat pass and the Argentinian brought the ball under control before holding off Ahmed Touba and beating goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone with a low right-foot finish.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan dragged a left-foot shot wide as Inter sought to increase their advantage, before Antonio Gallo lashed wastefully wide for the hosts just past the half-hour mark.
Alexis Blin headed over three minutes after the restart as Roberto D’Aversa’s team sought an equaliser. However, their hopes of a comeback were ended by two goals in the space of three minutes.
Firstly, Martinez found Alexis Sanchez and the Chile international squared for Frattesi to convert from close range.
Inzaghi brought on Marco Barella for Asllani immediately after the goal and it was 3-0 soon after, Frattesi turning provider with a square pass for Martinez, who tucked away his 22nd goal of the Serie A season.
Roberto Piccoli fired over from distance for the hosts but substitute Lameck Banda had their best chance in the 66th minute, firing a left-foot shot just wide of the far post.
Inter went up the other end and made it 4-0 when De Vrij headed in Federico Dimarco’s corner unchallenged in the 67th minute.
A dismal night for the hosts was summed up when Piccoli fired weakly at Inter keeper Emil Audero, making his Serie A debut because of illness to regular number one Yann Sommer.
Denzel Dumfries wasted a chance to make it 5-0 with a minute remaining when he headed wide from close range.
However, it was a great night for Inzaghi, who was able to rest players and also made five substitutions, with an eye on Wednesday’s rescheduled San Siro clash against Atalanta.
Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday to repair a tear of the radial collateral ligament in the fifth finger of his left hand. He will re-evaluated in four weeks.
The team said Young sustained the injury in Friday's loss to the Toronto Raptors and an MRI on Saturday revealed a tear.
It’s a devastating loss for the playoff-hopeful Hawks, who at 24-32 lead the Brooklyn Nets by three games for 10th place in the Eastern Conference and a berth in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Young leads Atlanta with 26.4 points per game (11th in the NBA) and ranks second in the league with 10.8 assists per contest.
He was named an All-Star for the third time in his career this season and led the East with seven assists in a 211-186 win over the Western Conference last Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino defended his players after “not fair” criticism from Gary Neville – who labelled Chelsea “blue billion pound bottle jobs” as they lost the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool in extra time.
Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk’s glancing header secured a 1-0 win for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who were missing as many as 11 injured players for the Wembley showpiece and relied on young, inexperienced players to come on late in the game.
Chelsea had the likes of £100million midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo on the pitch and were able to turn to almost £150m worth of talent from their own bench.
After Van Dijk – who had controversially seen a header chalked off by VAR in normal time – headed in the winner, Sky Sports pundit Neville, the former Manchester United and England defender, said: “In extra time it has been Klopp’s kids against the blue billion pound bottle jobs.”
Pochettino, though, defended his stars and pointed to the age of his own players as a comparison to Liverpool’s teenagers.
“I don’t hear what he said but if you compare the age of the two groups, I think it is similar,” he said when told what Neville had called his team.
“But look, I have a good relationship with Gary and I don’t know how I can take this but I respect his opinion. Of course, we made a few changes like (Conor) Gallagher and (Ben) Chilwell in extra time but it is true we didn’t keep the energy that was how we finished in the second half.
“I don’t know how you can describe this situation but for sure I feel proud of the players, I think they made a big effort.
“We are a young team and nothing to compare with Liverpool because they finished also with a few young players. It is impossible to compare and he knows that. He knows the dynamics are completely different.
“I think it is not fair to talk in this way if he says that. But we are going to keep strong and believing in this project and see what we can do in the future.”
Pochettino, who has now lost the three major finals he has reached while managing in England at both Chelsea and Tottenham, told his squad they needed to feel hurt by the setback.
“They need to feel the pain,” he added.
“We played for a trophy we didn’t get and now, it is the same – what can you tell me to feel better? Nothing. They need to feel the pain like us and of course, they need to realise we need to work more, do better things, we need to improve.”
The Argentinian pointed to Liverpool’s own progression under Klopp as an example for Chelsea to follow in the coming years.
“To compete in this level with this team that in the last five, six, seven years is competing for big things, it is about to arrive here and then feel what it means to play for a big trophy,” he said.
“I remember after three or four years at Liverpool, they lose the Champions League, the Europa League, they keep believing and moving the project (forward) and work on the next season stronger until they get what they wanted.
“That is a good example. If we want to challenge a team like Liverpool, it is not to be frustrated today because we didn’t get the trophy. It is taking the example that we need to keep believing.”
Chelsea had also seen a goal ruled out after former Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling tapped home a Nicolas Jackson cross in the first half, only for the Senegal international to be marginally ahead of the defence.
In slipping to defeat, the Blues become the first English team to lose six successive domestic cup finals, with Chelsea now turning an eye to Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash with Leeds.
Paolo Garbisi apologised for missing the injury-time penalty that denied Italy a slice of Guinness Six Nations history in France.
The scores were level at 13-13 when Garbisi stepped up from 38 metres, with Italy a successful kick away from their first Six Nations Championship away win against Les Bleus.
There was added drama as the ball toppled off its tee and, with just a few seconds left on the shot clock after it had been replaced, Garbisi rushed his kick and struck the right-hand post.
“I was thinking about trusting my process really, it’s part of my job to put the kick over,” said Toulon fly-half Garbisi.
“I take full responsibility for that and I’m sorry for the team because I thought they were amazing.
“Also for all the Italian supporters, that’s my bad, and I will work on it.”
Italy had lost 45 of their previous 48 games against France with their only victory on French soil coming in 1997, three years before joining the Championship.
The Azzurri had also won only once in 44 Championship attempts, away to Wales in 2022.
Italy were forced to defend for long periods in the first half but only trailed 10-0 when France centre Jonathan Danty was dismissed for making head-to-head contact in tackling Ignacio Brex.
Danty’s yellow card on the stroke of half-time was upgraded to red during the interval by the bunker review system.
In the second half, Garbisi cut a 13-3 deficit with a penalty before his touchline conversion levelled matters after full-back Ange Capuozzo ended a fine Azzurri move.
Garbisi said: “The performance was good overall. If you get to 13-13 in the last minute with France, I think you’ve done pretty well.
“The extra man helped us in the second half. First half we spent too much time in our half, because with the possession we were not that great.
“Second half with one more man we could attack more and find space, but it all comes down to the last kick really.”
While Italy remain bottom of the table, level on three points with Wales but with an inferior points difference, France stay fourth, nine points behind runaway leaders Ireland.
France’s underwhelming championship has seen them routed at home by Ireland and claiming a narrow victory over Scotland after a controversial decision not to award the hosts a try in the last action of the match.
“We were probably overplaying a little bit at the end of the game and took one too many risks and gave a penalty away,” France defence coach Shaun Edwards told ITV.
“Fortunately he missed the kick but we’re disappointed with the draw. We expected to beat Italy here.
“We had all the ball in the first half, total domination of territory and possession.
“The second half was almost the total opposite. To concede 13 points with 14 players is not too bad, but we’re disappointed we didn’t get the win.”
A late Goncalo Ramos penalty rescued a point for Paris St Germain as they drew 1-1 with Rennes in Ligue 1.
Although PSG retained the majority of possession in the first-half, Rennes took their chance and Amine Gouiri fired them in front with a stunning effort into the top-corner.
The hosts wasted a series of chances in the second-half and looked destined for a second league defeat this season before Ramos scored from the spot deep into stoppage-time.
A draw means PSG now hold an 11 point advantage over second-placed Brest, who beat Strasbourg on Saturday, while Rennes move into seventh.
A quiet start to proceedings saw the hosts take control but fail to really test Rennes.
Vitinha had the first decent chance of the match in the 20th minute, when his low strike forced Steve Mandanda into a great fingertip save to push the ball behind for a corner.
Christopher Wooh then did well to stick a boot out to deny Ousmane Dembele’s through ball to Kylian Mbappe as the hosts struggled to find the breakthrough.
Despite PSG’s dominance in the first half, it was Rennes who took the lead in the 33rd minute after taking advantage of their first chance of the game.
Gouiri broke through the centre of the pitch and launched into a brilliant run, weaving around the Parisian defence before flicking the ball forward to clip it with the outside of his boot into the top-right corner.
The Algeria striker had another opportunity to double their lead minutes later after taking the ball past Danilo Pereira but fired wide.
Achraf Hakimi fired a free-kick well over the bar early in the second half as PSG searched for the equaliser and the Morocco international came close from another set-piece which curled just wide of the far post.
Their frustrations continued when Dembele burst down the right and found an unmarked Mbappe lurking on the edge of the area in plenty of space, but the captain dispatched a low effort wide.
Mandanda then made a great save, getting a strong hand to claw away Dembele’s strike from the right before Mbappe threatened again with a powerful effort that whistled just over the bar.
Rennes missed an incredible opportunity to extend their lead in the 69th minute when a low cross from the left was fed into Benjamin Bourigeaud at the near post, but the midfielder bundled his shot wide.
PSG had another great chance from a corner when Fabian flicked a header on to Pereira, who headed over the bar.
The hosts had a penalty ruling overturned by VAR in the final 10 minutes when Ramos dived in the box.
Bourigeaud then had a dangerous free-kick punched away by Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 90th minute before Fabian volleyed the ball past the post.
Late drama saw Ramos go down in the box again and, following a consultation with VAR, a penalty was awarded, which the striker blasted into the top corner in the sixth minute of stoppage-time to salvage a point.
Ireland and Scotland savoured victories in the third round of the Guinness Six Nations and Italy claimed an historic 13-13 draw against France, the first time the Azzurri have avoided Championship defeat away to Les Bleus.
Here, the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the weekend’s action.
Mouthguards concern
New technology surrounding mouthguards are concerning Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend. Scotland temporarily lost a second player in successive Six Nations matches for a head injury assessment triggered by the new technology. This championship is the first time elite male players have worn ‘instrumented’ mouthguards that send alerts whenever a ‘head acceleration event’ with G-force that exceeds 70g and 4,000 radians per second squared is detected. But Townsend said after Calcutta Cup success: “There’s a bit more work to do before this technology is correct.”
Ireland appear unstoppable
No side has managed back-to-back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era, but Ireland are within two games of doing so and it would take a brave punter to bet against them. Ireland recorded an 18th straight home win with a routine 31-7 success over Wales, equalling England’s Six Nations record of 11 consecutive victories. Andy Farrell’s side did not even have to produce their best to claim a third bonus-point win from three games – and now only England at Twickenham and Scotland in Dublin can stop Ireland holding another Grand Slam party.
Scotland have England’s number
The last time Scotland won four Calcutta Cups in a row Queen Victoria was on the throne and Lord Salisbury was Prime Minister. The year was 1896 and England failed to get on the board in a 11-0 Glasgow defeat. Over a century on, England slid to a 30-21 loss as Duhan Van Der Merwe supplied the Murrayfield magic in front of Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Van Der Merwe became the first Scotland player to score a Calcutta Cup hat-trick in moving to within one of the country’s all-time record try-scorer Stuart Hogg.
Feyi-Waboso hits right notes
New England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is known to tickle the ivories and apparently impressed head coach Steve Borthwick with his piano-playing at the team hotel. Borthwick would also have admired the way Feyi-Waboso sped through for his first Test try after coming on as a Murrayfield replacement. The powerful 21-year-old, who was born in Cardiff to Nigerian parents, spotted space and cut a delicious line to score. It was a touch of class to a predictable attacking performance from England, and calls for a starting spot are now set to be deafening.
Winnett is a winner
Full-back was potentially a problem position for Wales heading into the Six Nations, with Liam Williams unavailable due to club commitments in Japan, Leigh Halfpenny having retired from Test rugby and the versatile Louis Rees-Zammit quitting rugby union to try and forge an American football career. But step forward Cameron Winnett, who looks to the manner born just three games into his Test career. The 21-year-old has excelled in all areas and he was arguably Wales’ best player against Ireland. Nothing seems to fluster him.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk headed the winner deep into extra time as Jurgen Klopp’s massively-depleted side beat Chelsea 1-0 to claim a record-extending 10th Carabao Cup.
The Dutch defender, who controversially had another header ruled out at the same end in the second half after VAR intervention, rose above Mykhailo Mudryk to nod in Kostas Tsimikas’ corner in the 118th minute.
It was no more than the Netherlands international, lifting his first trophy as Liverpool captain, deserved after a monumental performance in defence in a win which seemed against the odds for long periods.
Klopp became the third Liverpool manager to win the trophy more than once as his long goodbye to his departure at the end of the season began with the first of a potential four pieces of silverware.
But for opposite number Mauricio Pochettino his long wait for an English domestic trophy continues.
Italy were within the width of a post of the biggest upset in Six Nations history as they drew 13-13 against 14-man France in Lille.
Paolo Garbisi had a last-gasp penalty attempt from 38 metres to register Italy’s first-ever Championship win in France.
But the ball toppled off its tee and, with just a few seconds left on the shot clock after it had been replaced, Garbisi rushed his kick and struck the right-hand post.
France – who had won 45 of their previous 48 Test matches against Italy, including the past 14 in a row – had lost Jonathan Danty to a red card on the stroke of half-time for a high shot on opposite centre Ignacio Brex.
Les Bleus thrashed Italy 60-7 at last year’s World Cup but a repeat of that one-sided encounter did not materialise as the Azzurri underlined their improvement under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada.
Italy remain bottom of the Guinness Six Nations, level on points with Wales, while France stay in fourth place, with their title dream over.
France started at breakneck pace and were rewarded with a seventh-minute try.
Italy were unable to stop a series of pick-and-go’s through the middle of their defence and skipper Charles Ollivon got the ball down under a pile of Azzurri bodies.
Thomas Ramos dispatched a simple conversion and swiftly added a penalty as France suggested the game could be effectively over by half-time.
Italy spent most of the first half hanging on by their fingernails, and were not helped by a risky strategy of trying to escape their 22 with ball in hand.
Fly-half Matthieu Jalibert was stopped near to the line and 19-year-old lock Posolo Tuilagi almost celebrated his first Test start with a try.
But Tuilagi was held up over the line and the contest took a dramatic turn in the final play of the first half as Italy launched a rare attack.
There was clear head-on-head contact between Danty and Brex, and English referee Christophe Ridley reduced France to 14 men with a yellow card.
Martin Page-Relo provided further punishment to France from long range, and Ridley confirmed after the interval that the bunker review system had upgraded Danty’s yellow to red.
France made light of their numerical disadvantage as their forwards rallied for Ramos to land his second penalty.
Tommaso Menoncello went close to an Azzurri try, kicking ahead before running out of ground, but Garbisi cut the gap to seven points again with a straightforward penalty.
Italy drew level 10 minutes from time after building through the phases for Leonardo Marin to find Ange Capuozzo with a superb offload.
Garbisi converted but then failed to top it as Italy, with only two Six Nations wins over France since joining the Championship in 2000, fell agonisingly short of a second success in 45 matches.
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