Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc saw off Max Verstappen in practice for the Australian Grand Prix – as Lewis Hamilton claimed “something was wrong” with his Mercedes after he finished only 18th.
Verstappen is bidding to match his record of 10 consecutive wins at this weekend’s race in Melbourne.
But Leclerc could pose a threat to the all-conquering Dutchman, following an impressive practice lap that put him nearly four-tenths clear.
Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz – back in his cockpit following British teenager Ollie Bearman’s stand-in drive in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago – ended the running in third, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso fourth and fifth, respectively, for Aston Martin.
George Russell took sixth for Mercedes, 0.674 seconds behind Leclerc, but team-mate Hamilton finished ahead of only Haas’ Kevin Magnussen on a troubling day for the seven-time world champion.
Hamilton, 39, ran off the road in the first running at a sun-cooked Albert Park, and his struggles continued into the day’s concluding session, with a best lap that put him 1.5 sec off the pace and nearly a second behind Russell.
“What times are people doing?” Hamilton asked over the radio. After he was informed of leader Leclerc’s pace, he replied, “Yeah, something is wrong.”
Only 19 drivers took part in the second session following Alex Albon’s high-speed crash in the opening session.
The London-born Thai driver lost control of his Williams on the exit of Turn 6 before smashing into the wall on the inside of the track and rebounding across the circuit.
Albon’s right-front wheel tore off his machine under impact, with debris from his Williams littering the track.
Albon came to a standstill and was able to get out of his cockpit. “Sorry,” he said over the radio before he was taken away in the medical car.
“Muchos debris,” said Lando Norris. “Is he alright? It looked pretty large.”
Albon, 27, was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks as the session was red-flagged to clear his destroyed machine.
Williams said he would not participate in the second practice due to the damage to his car, and it is uncertain if he will be able to take part in the remainder of the weekend with spare parts limited to the British team.
Elsewhere, home favourite Oscar Piastri finished seventh, two positions ahead of Norris in the other McLaren who had topped the time charts earlier in the day in front of a record 124,000-strong crowd.
Kevin Lankinen turned aside 33 shots for his first shutout in almost three years and the Nashville Predators extended their point streak to a franchise-record 16 games with a 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Filip Forsberg scored two goals and assisted on one by Gustav Nyquist as the Predators improved to 14-0-2 in their last 16 games since a regulation loss to Dallas on Feb. 15.
Nashville surpassed a 15-game point streak (14-0-1) from Feb. 17-March 19, 2018.
Lankinen stopped five shots in the first period, 16 in the second and 12 more in the third for his first shutout since March 25, 2021, for Chicago against Florida.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 34 saves for the Panthers, who have lost three straight – two by shutout – but remained three points behind Boston for the Atlantic Division lead.
Panarin powers Rangers past Bruins
Artemi Panarin registered his third hat trick of the season and Jonathan Quick stopped 24 shots to lead the New York Rangers to a 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins in a matchup of Eastern Conference heavyweights.
Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers, who have won six of eight to move within one point of Boston for the top seed in the East.
The win was the 391st of Quick’s career, tying him with Ryan Miller for the most by an American goalie.
Panarin’s three goals extended his career high to 41 and gave him a personal-best 97 points.
Jake DeBrusk and Justin Brazeau had goals for Boston, which had won three straight and five of six.
Hurricanes win in overtime to stay hot
Seth Jarvis scored 1:28 into overtime and Frederik Andersen remained unbeaten since returning to action as the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2.
Jarvis scored a goal in his fifth straight game to give the Hurricanes their fifth straight win.
Jordan Martinook and Jalen Chatfield also had goals as Carolina improved to 14-3-1 in its last 18 games and remained four points behind the Rangers for the Metropolitan Division lead.
Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny scored for the Flyers, who moved four points ahead of Washington in the race for third place in the Metropolitan.
Jalen Green scored 26 points and Dillon Brooks added 23 before he was ejected as the Houston Rockets stretched their winning streak to seven games with a 127-117 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
Jock Landale had 17 points and Aaron Holiday added 14 off the bench for Houston, which has gone 9-1 in March to get within 2 ½ games of Golden State for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan and Brooks were ejected for their part in an on-court scrum in the third quarter.
With 6:02 left in the third quarter, DeRozan committed a foul on Green that caused Brooks to become upset. DeRozan turned and subsequently elbowed Brooks in the chin, which prompted the melee.
Ayo Dosunmu scored 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting and DeRozan finished with 16 on 4-of-15 shooting as Chicago failed to win a third straight.
Jokic notches triple-double in Nuggets’ win
Nikola Jokić recorded his 22nd triple-double of the season with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists as the surging Denver Nuggets topped the New York Knicks, 113-100.
Jokic’s triple-double was the 127th of his career, a total bettered only by Russell Westbrook (198), Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138).
Michael Porter Jr. had 31 points on 13-of-16 shooting with eight rebounds and Jamal Murray added 23 points to help Denver win for the 13th time in 15 games. The Nuggets are percentage points behind Oklahoma City for first place in the Western Conference.
Porter also had three 3-pointers to give him 193 on the season and break Dale Ellis’ single-season team mark set in 1996-97.
Jalen Brunson scored 26 points for the Knicks, who had a four-game winning streak stopped.
Streaking Magic handle Pelicans
Paolo Banchero had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his second career triple-double and the Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 121-106, for their fifth straight win.
Banchero missed his first 10 shots, two of them free throws, but rallied to finish 9 of 18 from the field.
Jalen Suggs added 22 points and Franz Wagner had 18 for Orlando, which clinched its second winning season in 12 years by winning for the 18th time in 23 games.
Trey Murphy III scored 21 points and Zion Williamson tallied 20 points and seven rebounds but also had a season-high eight turnovers.
New Orleans, which had won seven of eight, lost forward Brandon Ingram early in the second half to an apparent left knee injury.
Alex Albon walked away from a high-speed crash in opening practice for the Australian Grand Prix.
The London-born Thai driver lost control of his Williams on the exit of Turn 6 before smashing into the wall on the inside of the track and rebounding across the circuit.
Albon’s right-front wheel tore off his machine under impact, with debris from his Williams littering the track.
Albon came to a standstill and was able to get out of his cockpit. “Sorry,” he said over the radio before he was taken away in the medical car.
“Muchos debris,” said Lando Norris. “Is he alright? It looked pretty large.”
The one-hour running was suspended for 10 minutes, with McLaren’s Norris topping the time charts.
The British driver finished just 0.018 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with George Russell third for Mercedes and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth. The top four were separated by less than half-a-tenth.
Russell hauled his Mercedes towards the front of the order in the closing moments, but team-mate Lewis Hamilton struggled with the handling of his Silver Arrows.
The seven-time world champion ran off the road at the opening bend on his first lap on the speediest soft tyres and ended the session only ninth.
Carlos Sainz, back in his Ferrari after missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with appendicitis, was eighth.
The second practice session at Melbourne’s Albert Park will begin at 4pm local time (5am GMT).
World champion Luke Humphries was at his clinical best to seal a hat-trick of Premier League wins on Thursday.
The world number one saw off Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall before impressively defeating Michael Smith 6-2 in the final in Dublin.
It gave Humphries control at the top of the table, following victories in Brighton and Nottingham.
The 29-year-old won the first four legs to take control of the showdown against Smith and wrapped up victory with double 16.
“The last three weeks have been fantastic,” Humphries told Sky Sports afterwards.
“The standard has been high. I’m not unbeatable but I’m putting in that stage of performance where it takes something big to beat me and nobody has done that so far.
“I’m just happy with the way I’m playing and if I keep playing like this then it will take a tough performance to beat me – that’s all I ask of myself.
“If someone beats me and I play well then I’m not too disappointed but the last three weeks have been a dream.
“I’m really pleased with the fashion I’ve won the last three nights.”
Humphries extended his lead to seven points as Michael van Gerwen was beaten 6-5 by Gerwyn Price, who ended a run of four successive quarter-final losses.
Luke Littler had a night to forget when he lost to Smith – for the third time – in the first round of night eight.
The 17-year-old succumbed 6-4, having led 3-1, his second quarter-final exit of the season.
It leaves him fifth in the standings after Aspinall gained two points for edging Rob Cross 6-5.
“It’s my first year in the Prem. Some weeks have gone to plan and some weeks have not,” Littler said.
“But it’s all about getting the points on the board. Obviously this is the halfway point, whatever happens from now until the end is the crucial part.”
Karl Burke’s Got To Love A Grey has another Chantilly start pencilled in after a taking victory in the Listed Prix Ronde de Nuit.
The three-year-old, who is by Dark Angel, was twice a winner as a juvenile and picked up early black type when landing the Listed Marygate Fillies’ Stakes at York last May.
She was then a creditable fifth in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, but met with a setback after that run and therefore it was her last start of 2023.
At Chantilly on Monday she returned to action after a 271-day absence from the track, defeating previous Group and Listed winners in heavy ground to prevail by a length and a half.
That performance was over a five-and-a-half-furlong trip and the filly is now booked in for a course-and-distance return as the Group Three Sigy is intended to be her next outing.
“It was a great training performance as she was off since the Queen Mary, she had a minor injury that was nothing serious and just needed time,” said Mike Prince of owners Middleham Park Racing.
“We always had that race in mind to get her back ready, it’s good Listed form for a filly and she didn’t carry a penalty for her Marygate win, so it seemed an ideal starting point.
“She was gutsy, it was pretty heavy ground but she’d won on soft at Nottingham so that didn’t seem to stop her.
“The plan was that if she won or ran well then we’d go back for the Sigy, I know Karl’s got quite a few for the race – he’s pretty well stocked for sprint fillies!”
Beyond the Prix Sigy, connections are likely to embark on a fact-finding mission as to the filly’s ideal trip as her pedigree would suggest she will be effective over longer distances.
“It will be an interesting one, I think she’s versatile ground wise so what we need to find out is what her optimum trip is,” Prince explained.
“She shaped on Monday like she’d certainly get six furlongs and her pedigree suggests that she might actually get seven and potentially a mile.
“You’d say at this point she probably shows too much speed for a mile, but after the Sigy we’ll probably step her up to six and explore black type races – it’ll be Group races now as she’ll be carrying Listed penalties.
“We could try her over further later in the season but if she goes well over six, then it could be a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
“In the Sigy she’ll be up a notch in terms of her opposition and that’ll tell us what route we should go. If she were to win it would be Group Twos and Group Ones, but we’ll take it from there. There should be lots of fun times ahead.”
Joe Mazzulla is taking nothing for granted despite seeing his Boston Celtics team overcome the Milwaukee Bucks in what could be a prelude to a playoff game.
The Celtics won 122-119 on Wednesday, with the Bucks - who sit second in the Eastern Conference, but 11 games behind runaway leaders Boston - unable to get over the line in the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points for the Celtics, who have now won seven games on the bounce.
Mazzulla, however, does not necessarily see the win as a preview of what could come in the postseason.
He said: "Nothing's guaranteed in life.
"We may see them; they may see us; we may not. You never know what's going to happen.
"I know both teams are developing an identity and there's obviously a DNA there that both teams have. But you don't want to overthink things. And you don't take anything for granted."
Payton Pritchard chipped in with 19 points for the Celtics, while Derrick White had 23 and Jaylen Brown finished with 21.
"Everybody always had talked about his shooting," Mazzulla said of Pritchard.
"But I think this year, in particular, he’s been impacting by his rebounding, impacting by his defense, his pace.
"He's just becoming a really well-rounded player who knows he can have a positive impact on the game in many different ways, and it's a huge asset for us."
Pritchard, meanwhile, said he was motivated by an insult dished out to teammate Luke Kornet by the Bucks' Patrick Beverley, who seemingly mocked the Boston man for his height.
"It kind of lit a fire under me," said Pritchard.
"He's trying to clown one of our teammates. So I definitely took it a little personally."
Fergal O’Brien’s Dysart Enos is on track to shine at Aintree after a late setback scuppered her Cheltenham Festival hopes.
The six-year-old has a flawless record under rules and capped last season with Grade Two success in a highly competitive renewal of the Nickel Coin bumper at Aintree when beating Jeremy Scott’s Golden Ace.
Her hurdles career has been equally prolific and in three starts over obstacles she has been a straightforward winner every time, making her a real prospect for the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival.
An overreach injury prevented her from lining up at the meeting in a totally luckless week for the O’Brien stable, who lost Highland Hunter and were disappointed to see the well-fancied Crambo underperform in the Stayers’ Hurdle.
Dysart Enos’ setback was a minor one, however, and she is now on track to return at Grade One level in the Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree next month.
“She’s back riding out and she’s got her shoe back on, it was just an overreach the day before the Festival at the bottom of the gallops,” said O’Brien.
“It was nothing major, but it was enough to stop her as she was lame on the bulb of her heel, hopefully now we can roll on to Aintree.
“I do try to be philosophical about these things, as disappointed as I was, it was hard telling Paddy (Brennan) and the owners but sometimes these things happen for a reason and you have to tell yourself that.”
Golden Ace was the winner of the race in the absence of Dysart Enos, a boost to their Aintree bumper form and no surprise to O’Brien as he already held that mare in high regard.
“I did a few previews before Cheltenham and I said I thought Jeremy Scott’s horse would not be far away, I loved her two runs at Taunton and the fact that she didn’t have a penalty like us, she ticked a lot of boxes,” he said.
“It’s the two-mile Grade One we’re going for (at Aintree) and I think that’s where Jeremy’s going with his too, so we’ll get our chance again.”
Crambo will also be given another shot at Aintree as he is headed for the Liverpool Hurdle in a bid to return to the form he showed earlier in the season.
“Crambo will go to Aintree, we couldn’t really make head nor tail of his disappointing run,” O’Brien.
“With the disappointment of Dysart Enos not getting there because she was lame in the morning and Crambo running a bit flat, it wasn’t our finest week.
“Johnny Burke looked after him and he’s won over two and a half (miles) round Aintree, so hopefully with the sun on his back he’ll run more respectably than he did at Cheltenham.”
Katie Boulter reached the third round of the Miami Open for the first time after opponent Brenda Fruhvirtova retired with illness.
The British number one, who received a first-round bye as the 24th seed, was leading 7-6 (5) 1-0 15-0 when 16-year-old wild card Fruhvirtova, who appeared to be struggling with the heat, headed to her chair.
The young Czech, who was short on tennis coming into the tournament having been under the weather, called the doctor for the first time leading by a break of serve at 5-4 in the opening set.
Boulter eventually took the set in a tie-break and had broken to start the second before Fruhvirtova called the doctor again and then decided she could not continue.
She is not the first player to struggle in Miami this week, with Frenchman Arthur Cazaux collapsing on court during a qualifying match, while Matteo Berrettini looked close to fainting against Andy Murray on Wednesday.
Boulter had made a shaky start and admitted she found it hard to concentrate amid her opponent’s difficulties, telling Sky Sports: “I actually think it’s one of the toughest things to do.
“Halfway through the match I’m seeing her coaches telling her to pull and then she’s not, so obviously there’s a lot going on. One minute she’s struggling to put the ball in the court and the next she’s running 10 shots side to side so it’s a tough mental game.
“For me it was challenging today and I probably wasn’t the kindest to myself but we live and learn.”
Ollie Sangster’s Shuwari has been ruled out of the Qipco 1000 Guineas after suffering a setback.
The daughter of New Bay advertised her potential when striking at Listed level on just her second start and wemt on to bank plenty of Newmarket experience when second in both the Rockfel Stakes and Fillies’ Mile in the autumn.
Those performances marked her out as a Classic contender and her handler was relishing the prospect of setting her a big-race assignment back on the Rowley Mile on the first weekend in May.
However, a small issue that will take some time to resolve has come to light, putting Shuwari’s three-year-old campaign on hold.
“She’s had a setback and there will be no Guineas,” said Sangster.
“She was training great and had wintered well. She had grown and strengthened up and her work had been very good this spring. She was in very good shape and we were looking forward to it (the Guineas).
“I’m not sure on a timescale, we will just have to see how the rehab goes in the next few weeks and then we will have a better guide on it.”
As well as Shuwari, Per Contra made headlines for Sangster during his first season in the training ranks.
The Wathnan Racing-owned colt impressed in his first two appearances and, although slightly underwhelming in his first try in Group company, the Manton handler is keen to see how he returns at the start of his three-year-old campaign.
“He’s in good form, he’s going galloping tomorrow and Monday and then we will begin plotting a bit of a route for him,” continued Sangster.
“I think he will go up in trip this year. I don’t think he will be a big stayer but he will go up to 10 furlongs anyway. I think he is off quite a nice mark, so we will see.”
George Boughey is working back from the French 1000 Guineas with Chic Colombine following her spectacular reappearance at Saint-Cloud last weekend.
The daughter of Seahenge enjoyed an excellent juvenile campaign last season, winning four successive races in the space of three months before signing off with fourth place in the Group Three Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket in October.
Sent across the Channel for a Listed race on her three-year-old debut, Chic Colombine ran out an impressive six-length winner in the hands of Billy Loughnane and Boughey is excited to see what the rest of the season has in store.
“She was good, I think the fashion of her win was a bit surprising but it didn’t surprise me that she won,” said the Newmarket handler.
“She’s done as well as anything over the winter, she was a frame of a horse last year and she’s going to go back to France for the French 1000 Guineas trial – the Prix de la Grotte at ParisLongchamp.
“She’s come out of her race really good, she’s eligible for French premiums and I didn’t put her in the English Guineas intentionally as we’re working back for the French Guineas.”
While Chic Colombine’s comeback victory was achieved in heavy ground, Boughey does not believe testing conditions are essential.
He added: “She obviously handles slow ground but I look forward to seeing her on some better ground in time. William Buick rode her in her first handicap, he said she was better than a handicapper and it was decent ground that day.
“I think she’s versatile ground-wise, Highclere (Thoroughbred Racing) have got another nice filly and it’s great to get that bold black type early in the season.”
George North will miss the rest of this season after suffering a ruptured Achilles during Wales’ Guinness Six Nations defeat against Italy.
North, 31, went off two minutes from the end as Wales crashed to a fifth successive Six Nations loss this season that meant their first wooden spoon since 2003.
It was the Wales and Ospreys centre’s final appearance before retiring from international rugby.
“Ospreys can confirm that George North will miss the remainder of the season following surgery on a ruptured Achilles injury sustained whilst playing for Wales v Italy,” the Ospreys said on X.
“We’d like to thank George for his time at the club and wish him the best for the future.”
North, who will leave the Ospreys and join ambitious French club Provence this summer, added on X: “Not everyone gets the fairytale ending.
“A ruptured Achilles wasn’t the way I wanted to bow out of international rugby.
“Still, I have loved every second. Can’t thank everyone enough for the support and kind messages. On the recovery train now.”
A ruptured Achilles can mean several months on the sidelines, and it was a cruel way for North to leave the Test arena.
He won 121 caps – only Alun Wyn Jones and Gethin Jenkins have played more times for Wales – and scored 47 tries for his country.
North also helped Wales win four Six Nations titles, including two Grand Slams, while he also played in four World Cups.
Nicky Richards’ Famous Bridge is preparing for a Scottish Grand National bid after his fourth-placed effort in the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham.
The eight-year-old runs in the silks of the late Trevor Hemmings and has developed into the classic chasing type associated with those colours.
After taking a good handicap chase at Haydock in November, the gelding returned to the same track to win the Tommy Whittle the following month.
He was pulled up in the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster and then parted ways with Sean Quinlan when going well in the Grand National Trial at Haydock last month, but put both runs behind him when lining up at Cheltenham.
A 25-1 chance for the three-mile-one-furlong Ultima, Famous Bridge came home fourth of 21 runners to set up a possible Scottish Grand National run to round off his campaign.
“He seems fine, we’ll just see how he is for the next week or 10 days or so, if he’s all right and the ground’s all right, we’ll go for the Scottish National,” said Richards.
“He ran a decent race in the Ultima, he’s a very tough and consistent horse, we were pleased with him.
“He’s had a busy season running in competitive races, so he’ll go up there to Scotland and that’ll be his last run this time.
“He’s had a grand year, it’s a shame he unseated at Haydock but there you go, he’ll make up for that next year and we’ll train him with the National in mind.”
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is King Of Steel’s main objective in the first half of the new Flat season, with Roger Varian lining up one run before a tilt at a second Royal Ascot triumph.
The Champion Stakes hero thrived at the Berkshire venue during his Classic season, with both of his victories coming at the track.
He followed up his brave second to Auguste Rodin in the Derby by winning the King Edward VII Stakes at last year’s Royal meeting and although having to settle for third in the King George back at the Berkshire venue in July, he then triumphed on British Champions Day.
The Amo Racing-owned colt finished his campaign with a fifth-placed effort in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita and after a well-earned winter break is back at Carlburg Stables tuning up for the season ahead.
“He’s in great form and has wintered very well. He looks a picture and we’re very happy with him,” said Varian.
“He looks stronger and he’s entitled to be – he’s a big horse with low mileage so he’s entitled to be getting stronger. It looks that way and hopefully with strength comes some improvement, so we will see.”
With Varian eyeing just one outing for King Of Steel before returning to Ascot in June, the Newmarket handler has identified either the Curragh’s Tattersalls Gold Cup on May 26 or a trip to Sandown for the Brigadier Gerard Stakes three days earlier to tune-up for Prince of Wales’s Stakes action.
He continued: “We will be very much looking at the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot with one run before, either in Ireland or here. That will be his primary target for the first half of the season.
“We wouldn’t be looking to get him started before May and I guess closer to the time we will make a decision between going to Ireland for the Tattersalls Gold Cup or staying closer to home and going for the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown.
“The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is the obvious early season race for him, he’s been successful twice at the track and the only time he wasn’t he was a fine third in the King George.”
Although there is still a while for racing fans to wait before King Of Steel makes his return, Varian’s star stayer Eldar Eldarov is set to reappear in the Group Two Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan on World Cup night.
The Classic winner was last seen adding the Irish St Leger to the Doncaster version he landed during his three-year-old season and the son of Dubawi is reported to be in rude health ahead of his slated overseas comeback.
The five-year-old has been partnered throughout his career by David Egan, but there will be a new man in the saddle out in the Middle East with James Doyle beginning what Varian hopes will become a fruitful association with the yard aboard the dual St Leger hero.
Varian added: “He’s scheduled to ship on Saturday and has done all his work now. He’s training well and looks a picture and we’re looking forward to getting his season started out there.
“James Doyle will ride him and a lot of our horses this year when available and when it works out for us and for him. He will be riding Eldar at Meydan and we’re looking forward to that.”
Marlie Packer will make her 100th England appearance on Sunday when she captains the side in their Six Nations opener against Italy in Parma.
Red Roses head coach John Mitchell announced his squad on Thursday and Packer will become the seventh woman to reach the milestone for England.
Mitchell said the 34-year-old Saracens back-row, who made her senior international debut in 2008, “epitomises what it is to be a Red Rose”.
He added: “Reaching 100 caps for your country is an awesome achievement. Talking to Marlie about her journey, she has had to overcome adversity since her Test debut.
“What has been evident since I first met her is that her determination to succeed has been ingrained in her over the past 16 years, helping her achieve what she has in the game.”
Packer is one of only five players who have retained their starting places following England’s 33-12 win against New Zealand when sealing the inaugural WXV1 title in November last year.
The others are Harlequins full-back Ellie Kildunne, Trailfinders wing Abby Dow, Loughborough centre Helena Rowland and Bristol hooker Lark Atkin-Davies.
Saracens fly-half Zoe Harrison, Loughborough centre Emily Scarratt and Bristol second-row Abbie Ward all return to the starting line-up for the first time since England’s 34-31 defeat to New Zealand in the 2022 World Cup final.
Saracens prop Kelsey Clifford is poised for her maiden Test start and Exeter flanker Maddie Feaunati could make her England debut off the bench.
Loughborough flanker Sadia Kabeya and Harlequins scrum-half Lucy Packer will both start against Italy after missing WXV through injury.
England have lost only three of their last 60 Test matches and after completing the Six Nations Grand Slam last year, they finished the 2023 season unbeaten.
Mitchell said: “We are excited to get going in what is an awesome tournament. We are focused on improving our performance.
“We want to get quicker at our game, we want to create more pressure on the opposition and we want to present attacking opportunities. Italy is our first opportunity to put into practice what we are aiming to achieve.”
England team to face Italy: Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins), Abby Dow (Trailfinders), Helena Rowland (Loughborough), Emily Scarratt (Loughborough), Jess Breach (Saracens), Zoe Harrison (Saracens), Lucy Packer (Harlequins), Hannah Botterman (Bristol), Lark Atkin-Davies (Bristol), Kelsey Clifford (Saracens), Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), Abbie Ward (Bristol), Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough), Marlie Packer (Saracens), Sarah Beckett (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Replacements: Connie Powell (Harlequins), Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury), Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury), Maddie Feaunati (Exeter), Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury), Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury), Holly Aitchison (Bristol), Megan Jones (Leicester).
Top-weight Hewick has been officially scratched from the Randox Grand National, with trainer Shark Hanlon instead targeting the Aintree Bowl two days earlier.
Following his thrilling victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, connections had been planning a huge spring double with both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the world’s most famous steeplechase on Merseyside in their sights.
However, Hanlon made the difficult decision to withdraw his stable star from last week’s blue riband due to the rain-softened ground and admitted afterwards he was considering switching his focus at Aintree to give him the best opportunity of having another shot at Gold Cup glory next term.
The County Carlow handler now confirmed that plan, with an appearance in the Bowl potentially set to be followed by an outing in the Punchestown Gold Cup in early May.
“I’m going for the Bowl and then after that it’s quite possible we’ll come back to Punchestown for the Gold Cup there,” said Hanlon.
“I want to go for the Gold Cup next year, so he can go for a National next year, and the Bowl looks the race now as a lot of the horses out of the Bowl have run in the Gold Cup and our lad will be going there fresh.
“What have you going for the Bowl? Paul Nicholls’ horse (Bravemansgame) will probably go again, but he got a hard race in Cheltenham, and you don’t know how Nicky Henderson’s horse (Shishkin) is.
“It’s a £250,000 race, so it’s worth a lot of money, and that’s our aim.”
Hewick’s defection from the Grand National means Gordon Elliott’s Conflated now heads the Aintree field.
Silvestre De Sousa returns to the big stage in Britain as Johan bids for more success in the William Hill Lincoln at Doncaster.
Jack Channon’s seven-year-old won the season-opening showpiece back in 2022 – when he was trained by the handler’s father Mick – and will have what appears optimum conditions on Town Moor as he attempts a repeat.
De Sousa was in the saddle for that 2022 success and after a spell in Hong Kong blighted by a 10-month suspension, the three-times British champion jockey is set for his biggest mount since his UK comeback earlier this month.
“James Doyle rode him when he won (at Goodwood) last year but with him not being back, it was an obvious choice for me,” said Channon on De Sousa’s return to the saddle.
“Silvestre got on well with him the year before and it’s nice to have someone who knows the horse. He’s very straightforward, but it’s still nice to have someone who knows him.
“We know he handles cut in the ground and I think if we get a couple of dry days that will be ideal for him, just soft, good to soft will be absolutely ideal for him, but we know he handles it really soft as well so ground shouldn’t be a problem for him.”
A full field of 22 will head to post for the one-mile event that starts the Flat turf season and Johan is joined by defending champion Migration towards the top of the weights.
Last year’s runner-up Awaal is amongst the market leaders for Simon and Ed Crisford, while Chazzesmee is an interesting runner for Fozzy Stack having landed the Irish equivalent at the Curragh on Monday and will be attempting the double under a 5lb penalty for that success.
Fellow Irish challenger Blues Emperor was a narrow second in the Irish Cambridgeshire on his penultimate start and represents Johnny Murtagh, with Karl Burke’s track-and-trip winner Liberty Lane and Charlie Johnston’s Balmoral winner The Gatekeeper other names of note.
Irish Lincolnshire third Raadobarg and John and Thady Gosden’s Mostabshir, were the key names not declared on Thursday morning for the £150,000 event.
Owen Farrell possesses the drive to one day resume his England career and could remain in rugby for the rest of his life, according to Saracens boss Mark McCall.
Long-serving England captain Farrell will become ineligible for international selection under Rugby Football Union rules when he joins French club Racing 92 on a two-year contract in the summer.
After sitting out the Guinness Six Nations to prioritise his mental health, the 32-year-old is set to return to competitive action on Saturday in the Gallagher Premiership clash with London rivals Harlequins.
Saracens director of rugby McCall believes Farrell is capable of remaining at the top level for the foreseeable future, including eventually adding to the 112 caps he was won for his country.
“There are very few players who can and I think he is one of them,” said McCall.
“But you have got to have the drive to do that, you’ve got to have the competitive spirit to do that – I think he has that.
“He can keep going for as long as that drive and competitive spirit is there.”
Fly-half Farrell has spent his entire career with Saracens and is poised to make his 250th appearance for the club in this weekend’s derby against Quins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“Regardless of what happens over the next 10 weeks, his legacy is firmly established here,” said McCall, who joined Sarries in 2009 when Farrell was still a teenager.
“He’s done everything and achieved everything here.
“And to go and explore the opportunity that he is in France and experience something different with his family, I think is a great thing to do at this stage of his career.
“I can’t imagine Owen Farrell not being in rugby for the rest of his life, to be honest.
“Given the rugby IQ that he has, the motivational ability that he has, the brilliant communicator that he is, the good person that he is, you could see him stepping into coaching very readily and we hope in time that might be here.”
Farrell opted to step out of the limelight after last year’s Rugby World Cup in France following intense scrutiny.
“The break was important for him,” said McCall. “He’s had a personally very difficult time.
“Maybe it’s him being brave enough to talk about it, which is not easy to do for most people, certainly not somebody like Owen.
“I think at least it’s maybe changed the dial a small bit.
“When people talk about England now, it’s never as bad as people are saying and it’s never as good as some people are saying. It’s somewhere in the middle but no one ever reports it that way.
“I think Owen’s bravery in telling people how he felt was a good thing.
“We almost forbade him from coming (into training) because he needed some respite and needed to go and do some things with his family, some things that were not rugby related. He is now free to throw himself into the rest of the season.”
McCall revealed Saracens have identified a replacement for Farrell and expects an official announcement in the coming weeks.
“It has been a fascinating project trying to find the right person,” he said.
“We wanted to look for someone that we believed had the potential and the personality to be part of this team for a while. We think we have found the right person.”
Iran’s Hossein Vafaei edged out Ronnie O’Sullivan in a thrilling final frame to reach the quarter-finals of the World Open in Yushan.
O’Sullivan fought back from behind on four occasions, the last time with a break of 125, but ran out of position on a break of 62 in the decider.
The world number one still looked set to win when he later potted the final red to lead by 26 points, but missed a difficult black along the cushion instead of opting to leave Vafaei snookered on the yellow.
That decision came back to bite the seven-time world champion as he left the yellow over a corner pocket in escaping from a snooker and Vafaei held his nerve to clear the table and secure a 5-4 victory.
Defending champion Judd Trump, who won the tournament when it was last staged in 2019, also reached the last eight with a 5-3 win over David Lilley, while Barry Hawkins made breaks of 129, 67, 71 and 54 as he reeled off five frames in succession to beat Stephen Maguire 5-1.
In the final match of the morning session, Kyren Wilson made a break of 119 in the deciding frame to beat Ben Woollaston 5-4.
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