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• Springboks assistant Felix Jones to join England coaching staff in 2024

  South Africa assistant Felix Jones will join England's coaching staff after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

  Jones featured 13 times for Ireland during his playing career, before taking on assistant coach roles with Munster and the Springboks.

  England are planning ahead after a disappointing Six Nations campaign in which they finished in fourth place, losing three of their five games.

  Speaking to the England Rugby website after the future appointment was confirmed, head coach Steve Borthwick expressed his excitement at eventually having Jones on board.

  "We are continuing to build our programme to be in a position to compete to be world champions once again," Borthwick said. "At the same time, I also want to ensure we are preparing for long-term success for this England team, and I am excited that a coach as talented as Felix is joining next year.

  "Felix has been competing at the top of world rugby during his four years with South Africa and will bring invaluable experience to our set-up. Like with Aled Walters, Felix was an integral part of the team that won the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

  "Together with Richard Wigglesworth and Kevin Sinfield, we are putting in place a coaching team who have spent their careers at the highest level competing for trophies. That is exactly what we want for this England team."

  Jones has worked with South Africa since 2019, and will join up with assistant Wigglesworth (assistant) and another former Springboks coach in Aled Walters (head of strength and conditioning) as well as Borthwick and Sinfield (defence coach) in 2024, with Wigglesworth and Walters due to come in at the end of the Premiership season.

  "Coaching the Springboks is one of the biggest privileges in rugby and I intend to do everything I can to ensure the team is successful until the day my contract comes to its natural end," said Jones.

  "The last four years has been an incredible journey for me and my family, both professionally and personally, I am indebted to so many people at the Springboks and in South Africa for that.

  "My commitment to the Springboks until the end of the Rugby World Cup is unquestionable, and Rassie [Erasmus, director of rugby], Jacques [Nienaber, head coach] and the entire Springbok team know that.

  "The next five months are going to be exciting and demanding, and I'm looking forward to preparing for the World Cup with this coaching team."

• Clippers star Westbrook makes the Grizzlies pay as Lakers look for revenge

  The Los Angeles Clippers had Russell Westbrook in history-making form as they overcame the Memphis Grizzlies 141-132 on Wednesday.

  Westbrook finished with a season-high 36 points and laid on 10 assists in the victory, which snapped Memphis' seven-game winning streak.

  In the process, Westbrook became the first player in NBA history to have a 30-point and 10-assist game with five teams, having achieved the feat with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizards, the Los Angeles Lakers and now the Clippers.

  The sides will meet again in Memphis on Friday, with the Clippers having pulled away down the stretch on this occasion.

  "Just being composed, as a point guard, I was taught the last five or six minutes of the game were very important," Westbrook said of the fourth quarter.

  "Getting stops, getting good shots. We did a good job of executing down the stretch."

  Westbrook's team-mate Robert Covington had a season-best 27 points, and he anticipates a tough run-in with plenty of teams in the playoff picture in the Western Conference.

  "It's going to be tight," said Covington. "The West from four through 12 or 13 is like a three-game gap, something like that?

  "Anything can happen. That's why these last five or six games for us are very important."

  Another team pushing for a postseason place are the Clippers' city rivals the Lakers, who beat the Chicago Bulls 121-110.

  Anthony Davis starred with 38 points and 10 rebounds, and believes the Lakers – eighth in the West – have what it takes to go on a deep run.

  He said: "I think we've got everything we need. It's just about going out and applying it. We can definitely make a run. We've got all the right pieces from top to bottom.

  "We owe this [Chicago] team. We owe Houston. We owe Minnesota. All these teams. Utah.

  "So all these teams on this trip are teams that we lost to recently, and we want to get some get-back. And seeing as the situation that we're in, we need to win these games.

  "So this is a time when we shouldn't shy away from the moment. We should embrace it and these are the moments that you live for as a player."

  Davis' display garnered appreciation from coach Darvin Ham and superstar team-mate LeBron James.

  "It all starts with A, man," Ham said, referring to Davis. "Him just playing with force, him not settling, putting pressure on the defense to foul, him just loving and living in the paint."

  James added: "He always plays like that. Just got to kick him in the a** every now and then. But he always plays like that so I never worry about him."

• Van Dijk can keep Haaland quiet, says Keane

  Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk remains a "world-class player" who is as capable as anyone of keeping Manchester City striker Erling Haaland quiet.

  That is according to former Reds striker Robbie Keane, who also told Stats Perform talk of Jurgen Klopp departing Anfield is "absolutely ludicrous".

  Van Dijk's form for club and country has been the subject of much debate, with Netherlands greats Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit heavily criticising the defender this week.

  On the back of the Netherlands' 4-0 loss to France, Van Basten accused Van Dijk of "making noise but not saying anything" and creating chaos in the side.

  Fellow former Netherlands international Gullit, speaking alongside Van Basten in his punditry role with Ziggo Sport, said Van Dijk "thinks he is better than the rest".

  Experienced defender Van Dijk faces arguably the toughest challenge in world football this weekend when Liverpool travel to City on their return to Premier League action.

  Haaland, who is expected to be fit despite pulling out of Norway's squad, has scored 42 goals at club level this season – 11 more than any player across Europe's major leagues.

  But Keane believes Van Dijk is more than able to keep the prolific striker quiet in Saturday's contest at the Etihad Stadium.

  "The number of goals Haaland has scored is incredible for such a young player," Keane said. "He's certainly suited to this league and he's powerfully strong.

  "When you're playing a team like Man City, who create the chances they do, you know as a striker you've always got a chance to score goals.

  "But then you have someone like Van Dijk, who is a world-class player. If there's anybody that can keep [Haaland] quiet, it's certainly him."

   

  Liverpool have won just one of their past 13 Premier League away games against City, with that solitary victory coming in November 2015 when winning 4-1.

  The Reds were beaten by Bournemouth last time out in the league and will finish the campaign trophyless following Champions League elimination at the hands of Real Madrid.

  Klopp has been asked numerous times about his future in what has been a poor campaign for Liverpool, but Keane does not expect him to go anywhere at the end of the season.

  "If I'm being totally honest, I think it's absolutely ridiculous people are even questioning Jurgen Klopp, if he should leave this club or not, absolutely no way," he said. 

  "The only person I think should get to decide that is Jurgen Klopp after what he's done for this football club. It's not going to happen. No way. The fans love him. 

  "I know the owners love him being here, so it would be absolutely ludicrous for people to suggest that he would leave."

  Liverpool have taken 12 points from 13 Premier League away games this season, compared to 30 at home – the biggest difference (18 points) between any side in the division.

  They are running out of time to climb into the top four, but Keane is confident Klopp is the right man to rebuild the squad regardless of what happens over the next two months.

  "The team, like any other team, goes through bad spells and that seems to be happening this year," added Keane, who spent one season with Liverpool in 2008-09.

  "Jurgen Klopp, he's very good at rebuilding. So I'm sure he'd be trying to get into the top four the season with 10 games still to go. 

  "He won't be resting. We know what he's like, the character he is. We hope to get into the top four and then I'm sure he already has one eye on next year and ready to go again."