Wing Alex Cuthbert and centre Johnny Williams will make their first appearances of Wales’ World Cup warm-up schedule against South Africa on Saturday.

Williams partners Mason Grady in midfield, while there are also starts for the likes of scrum-half Kieran Hardy and hooker Elliot Dee.

Flanker Jac Morgan will captain Wales for the second time in three games, suggesting he is a firm favourite to skipper Wales at the World Cup.

Taine Basham, meanwhile, is among the replacements for the Springboks’ Principality Stadium visit.

Basham failed a head injury assessment following a shoulder-led tackle to his head by England captain Owen Farrell at Twickenham last weekend.

Farrell was sent off, but in a decision that sent shockwaves throughout the rugby world his red card was overturned by a disciplinary panel.

The Welsh Rugby Union said that Basham “was not a confirmed concussion following completion of all three stages of the head injury assessment (HIA) protocol”.

Even for Luca Cumani it is hard to believe 20 years have passed since the fabulous Falbrav landed the Juddmonte International during a solitary but sensational season on British soil.

Described by his trainer as “the Muhammad Ali of the racing world”, Falbrav had already proven himself a top-class performer by the time he joined the Bedford House maestro, having won two Group Ones in Italy and the Japan Cup under Frankie Dettori the previous year.

That international success at Nakayama proved to be his last for Cumani’s fellow Italian Luciano d’Auria as Falbrav moved to Newmarket for what proved to be his final campaign.

“It doesn’t feel like 20 years ago at all, it feels more like five or six years,” said Cumani.

“The owner had raced him for three years in Italy and he thought it was time to see what he could do on the international circuit.

“I think he came to me in around February of his five-year-old year and we started from there.”

The 74-year-old revealed that while Falbrav’s ability did not immediately shine through, it did not take him long to realise he had something special on his hands.

He added: “It wasn’t immediately obvious how good he was as he was a very laid-back horse who didn’t show you much when he was just cantering, but from the first time he galloped and did a piece of work, you could see that he had instant acceleration and was very powerful.”

Falbrav headed back to the continent to make his first couple of starts for his new trainer, finishing third in the Prix Ganay in April before securing further Group One glory in the Prix d’Ispahan the following month.

He could finish only fifth behind Nayef in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, but turned the tables to win a humdinger of a Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

Another defeat at Ascot in the King George followed, but Cumani never lost faith.

He said: “His run in the Ganay was a good start – he showed that he belonged, but he needed to improve. And sure enough he improved on his second start when he won the Prix d’Ispahan.

“He won the Eclipse in very good style and the mile and a half and the softer ground didn’t really suit him in the King George, but I remember there was some sort of bonus on offer, otherwise we probably wouldn’t have run him.”

Dropping back in trip on a quick surface at York the following month, hopes were high that Falbrav could again bounce back from disappointment in the Juddmonte International.

Always travelling well in the hands of Darryll Holland, Cumani’s ace kicked in the turbo to propel himself two lengths clear of Magistretti, with his old rival Nayef back in third.

Cumani said: “I was certainly hopeful going to York. In the whole of my career, I’ve never been confident as you never know what might happen in a race. My favourite saying was when it comes to horses and women – never confident, always hopeful!

“It definitely was one of his best performances. He sat behind the pace and when Darryll asked him to quicken with three furlongs to go, he put the race to bed immediately.

“Once Darryll gave him a bit of rein he showed a good burst of speed, got to the lead and held on to the line and won by a couple of lengths.”

Following his success on the Knavesmire, Falbrav was beaten a neck by High Chaparral in the Irish Champion Stakes. Connections attempted to have the result reversed on appeal following interference, but were unsuccessful.

Cumani’s charge gained some compensation in the QEII at Ascot, after which he was again trumped by High Chaparral in a Breeders’ Cup Turf for the ages at Santa Anita, before fittingly rounding off his career with an eighth Group One success in the Hong Kong Cup.

“The Irish Champion Stakes was slightly controversial as I think Mick Kinane rode two horses that day – he was riding High Chaparral and Falbrav!” Cumani recalled.

“He held Falbrav tight in a pocket against the rail and Darryll could never really get down to ride the horse properly and we were beaten a neck, so he was a bit unlucky.

“It was fantastic, that win in Hong Kong again showed what a good horse he was. He did it very easily and showed his trademark turn of foot with a couple of furlongs to run.”

Falbrav ran in 10 top-level races in the space of eight months for Cumani, winning five.

The trainer feels his overall record of eight Group One wins achieved in five different countries is testament to the horse’s class and constitution.

He said: “He had an amazing year with all the travelling he had to do, going to America and back and Hong Kong after that.

“He was a bull of a horse – I always used to say he was the Muhammad Ali of the racing world.

“He would definitely have to be one of the best horses I trained.”

Stuart McInally’s rugby career is over after the long-serving Edinburgh hooker was one of four players cut from Scotland’s 33-man World Cup squad.

The 33-year-old, who captained the national team at Japan 2019, announced at the end of last season that he would retire after this autumn’s showpiece in France to become an airplane pilot but, after being part of the training squad this summer, he has not made the final selection.

Scrum-half Jamie Dobie, tighthead prop Murphy Walker and back-row Josh Bayliss are the other three players who have been released from the squad.

The omission of the latter trio was not a major surprise given they have only accumulated 10 caps between them so far.

McInally won his 49th and final cap in last Saturday’s 30-27 defeat by France in Saint-Etienne.

First-choice number nine Ben White is in the squad, indicating that he has been given the all-clear after seeing a specialist this week about the ankle injury that forced him off against France a week past Saturday.

Fourteen of the 33 players Gregor Townsend has selected were also in his squad for the last World Cup, while four of them – Grant Gilchrist, WP Nel, Richie Gray and Finn Russell – will be going to the tournament for a third time.

Rookie Bobby Miller pitched one-hit ball over six innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to their ninth straight win, 6-2 over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.

Miller allowed his only hit to the first batter he faced and earned his first win since July 22. He struck out four and walked one before Ryan Yarbrough pitched three innings for his first career save.

The Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs in the sixth to knock out starter Adrian Houser.

J.D. Martinez doubled off the wall in left to score Will Smith, who reached on a throwing error by third baseman Andruw Monasterio.

Pinch-hitter Kike Hernandez singled home a pair of runs off reliever Hoby Milner and scored on Miguel Rojas’ single before Mookie Betts’ RBI single made it 6-1.

Los Angeles has outscored opponents 54-21 during the nine-game streak to open a nine-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West.

Carlos Santana homered for NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which had a four-game winning streak snapped but remained 3 ½ games of the Cubs and Reds.

Elder goes 7 as Braves 1-hit sliding Yankees

Bryce Elder was nearly unhittable for seven innings, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna went deep and the Atlanta Braves beat the struggling New York Yankees 5-0.

The Yankees’ only hit of the night was a second-inning DJ LeMahieu single off Elder, who bounced back from losses in his previous two starts to pitch his best game of the year.

A.J. Minter and Kirby Yates pitched an inning each to complete the one-hitter for the MLB-best Braves, who have won seven of their last nine.

Acuna stayed on his MVP-caliber pace by hitting his 26th home run and scoring two runs. He is hitting .368 this month with a 1.040 OPS.

The last-place Yankees continued their slide, falling to 11-18 since the All-Star break and dropping to .500 for the first time since May 1.

Mariners recover to beat Royals

Ty France singled home a pair in the 10th inning and the Seattle Mariners topped the Kansas City Royals 10-8 after blowing a seven-run lead.

Seattle took an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth but were unable to hold a late lead for the second straight night.

An error and two walks loaded the bases with two outs before Michael Massey delivered a two-run single. Salvador Perez followed with another hit to make it 8-8.

Seattle scored seven runs in the fourth inning off Jordan Lyles, starting with back-to-back home runs by Eugenio Suarez and France before Teoscar Hernandez followed Cal Raleigh’s walk with a longball of his own.

Jose Caballero doubled home a run later in the inning and scored on Josh Rojas’ first home run of the season.

Hernandez tied a career high with five hits and had three RBIs, while France went 4 for 6 with three RBIs.

Kansas City cut the deficit to 7-5 in the fifth, highlighted by Bobby Witt Jr.’s second grand slam in 18 days.

Dan Evans’ preparations for the US Open hit another stumbling block with a first-round defeat at the Western and Southern Open.

Evans began the US hard-court swing in sublime fashion by winning the biggest tournament of his career in Washington but lost in the first round in Toronto last week.

And he suffered another swift exit in Cincinnati, going down 6-4 6-3 to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.

The match was supposed to be played on Monday but was cancelled due to inclement weather and Evans will be wishing the rain had returned.

It was a tough draw against the world number 18 and the first set could have gone either way.

Evans started off inconspicuously and was broken in the opening game but recovered to level at 4-4.

But the British number two immediately lost his serve as Musetti again took control.

Evans did not give up, though, and forced two break points to level at 5-5, but the Italian held him off to take the first set.

A double fault from Evans handed his opponent a break early in the second set and there was no coming back, with a second break enough to send Musetti through.

Andy Murray had been set to face 11th seed Karen Khachanov, but tournament organisers announced he had withdrawn late on Monday night because of an abdominal strain.

The former world number one had also pulled out of his last-16 match at the National Bank Open in Toronto last week.

Murray is aiming to recover in time for the US Open, which starts on August 28.

Super-lightweight boxer Adam Azim has set his sights on becoming the first British-Pakistani undisputed world champion and wants to use his platform to inspire his community.

Azim, who is gearing up for his September 2 bout with Aram Fanyan, admitted he wants to follow the path of his childhood hero Amir Khan by being a role model to the next generation of athletes from Asian backgrounds.

The 21-year-old Azim, who boasts an 8-0-0 undefeated record, wants to become world champion at a young age like Khan, who did so in 2009 aged 22 when he beat Andriy Kotelnik in Manchester.

“Our relationship is really strong (Azim and Khan), he is like a big brother to me, he was my inspiration growing up,” Azim told the PA news agency.

“I’ve told him that ‘I want to be a young world champion just like you’ and that one day I’ll be the only British-Pakistani undisputed world champion, it will be good to become undisputed because that’s my dream, that’s my goal.

“He was a massive inspiration for me because he (Khan) was the only British-Pakistani in that era and everyone was massive fans of him because of his great hand speed and he was always in big entertaining fights.

“It’s a big thing for me (to represent British-Pakistanis) – I want to become a role model for the younger generation coming through and for both the Pakistani and British communities as well.”

Azim partnered with the Shazad Yaseen Foundation in 2022 to provide relief to impoverished areas within Tanzania.

And the Slough fighter aims to continue his charity work in less fortunate areas and wants to use his platform to launch his own “big charity organisation” in the future.

“I want to keep working hard in the ring and also help with my charity work as well,” he added.

“After this next fight I will be flying out to Africa to do some charity work, I want to be more passionate about charity work because there are a lot of unfortunate people who need food and money.

“We partnered with SYF because I really want to make a big charity organisation myself and it’s important to give back to those people who need it more.”

Azim is confident he can lead by example in the ring to inspire more young people from ethnic minority backgrounds to take up the sport.

He said: “I just need to keep fighting so more and more people watch me, I’m on the rise as a British Pakistani and there are others on the rise too so if we keep doing what we’re doing everything will improve (more diversity in the sport).”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 15.

Harry Kane worked hard in Munich.

Neymar touched down in Saudi Arabia.

New surroundings for Gary Neville and the MNF team.

A post shared by Gary Neville (@gneville2)

Christian Eriksen made a young fan very happy.

Manchester City headed to Greece for the Super Cup.

Bethany England was preparing for the World Cup semi-final.

Shots fired!

George Russell was living his best life in the summer break.

Valtteri Bottas was out enjoying a bike ride.

Frank Bruno wants a happy breakfast show.

Respect from Campbell Hatton.

Huw Jones is adamant Scotland are not fazed by sharing a heavyweight World Cup group with the might of Ireland and South Africa.

The fact the draw was made in 2020 has led to a top-heavy pool B containing three of the five best teams in the world on current form.

With Ireland ranked number one, and world champions South Africa fourth on the list, the burgeoning Scots – despite being up to fifth themselves – will be up against it to reach the knockout phase.

However, three tightly-contested games against second-ranked France this year – including last Saturday’s agonising 30-27 defeat in Saint-Etienne – allied to strong periods against the likes of New Zealand and Ireland over the past year – have given the Scots genuine hope that they can finish in the top two in their section and progress to the latter stages.

“It is a tough pool, and if people see us as underdogs we don’t mind that,” said centre Jones. “We know how good we can be and a game like Saturday’s, against a side ranked second in the world, gives us a lot of confidence.

“We think we can beat anyone, it’s just about putting together a complete performance. We’re not fazed by the group, we’re really looking forward to it, but we know we need to be at our best to beat the top teams and get out of our pool.”

The Scots have lost 32-21 and 30-27 in their two away matches against the formidable French this year, while they defeated Les Bleus 25-21 at Murrayfield earlier this month.

All three matches against the highly-fancied World Cup hosts incorporated strong fightbacks from Gregor Townsend’s side and Jones feels if they can cut out the minor issues that are leaving them trailing in the first place, they are playing well enough to fancy their chances against any opposition.

“We weren’t really happy with our first-half performance at home to France but we were a lot better in the second half,” said Jones.

“Then in Saint-Etienne, against France’s strongest team, it was a more complete performance in terms of the full 80 minutes, although it’s still about those small margins for us.

“We feel like we’re there and thereabouts but there’s also stuff we can work on. I think Saturday will spur us on to improve even more.

“We always want to win but I think a narrow loss like that away to one of the top teams in the world is good for the confidence. We know we can go toe-to-toe with the best and we feel we can win those games.

“We take confidence from that but we also know there are areas we have to tighten up in and not make a couple of silly errors that can cost us close games.

“Going out to France twice this year and running them so close in those games gives us real confidence, especially as the World Cup is out there.”

As long as there are no slip-ups against Georgia in their final warm-up match at Murrayfield a week on Saturday, the Scots will head out to France at the start of September on the back of an encouraging summer campaign in which they have already defeated Italy and France in Edinburgh.

“We’re feeling good,” said Jones. “It’s been a tough pre-season.

“The fitness is there and the game fitness is coming along. We’ve got one more game against Georgia to really sharpen up and then we’re into the tournament.

“I think we’re in a really good place but we want to win that game against Georgia and put in a really good performance, which will give us confidence going into that first game against South Africa.”

Alflaila could be supplemented for the Irish Champion Stakes rather than take on fellow Shadwell-owned runner Mostahdaf in next week’s Juddmonte International at York.

Trained by Owen Burrows, Alflaila is on a four-race winning streak and landed the Group Two York Stakes over the same course and distance as the International last time out.

The highlight of the opening day of the Ebor meeting would look a logical next step but Angus Gold, Shadwell’s long-serving racing manager, feels it could be prudent to split the pair up.

“It’s unlikely at this stage that we would run the two against each other, I would think,” he said.

“God willing, Mostahdaf stays in good shape – he’ll be the one to represent there. Obviously, we will leave Alflaila in just in case something went wrong.

“Sheikha Hissa may decide to run the two together. But at the same time if he didn’t go there, we may look to supplement Alflaila for the Irish Champion.”

The John and Thady Gosden-trained Mostahdaf is second favourite behind Paddington currently, but his rating of 128 makes him one of the best in the world.

“Mostahdaf was very impressive at Ascot. We’ve freshened him up, just given him a little break after Ascot and hope we can get him to York in as good a form as he was at Ascot,” said Gold.

“Frankie (Dettori) rode him the other day and was very happy with the horse. And John and all the team there have been happy. On paper, it’s a fascinating clash. Let’s hope it lives up to its billing.”

Another big hope for the famous blue and white silks on the Knavesmire is Roger Varian’s Al Husn, who is set to step up in trip for the Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks.

“She’s never run over this trip before and nobody has ever particularly said she needs that trip,” said Gold.

“She’s so tough and she’s such a little star of a filly that she might well stay. On pedigree, the mare (Hadaatha) I think would have stayed – she was by Sea The Stars out of a Linamix mare. And Al Husn’s by Dubawi – they can do anything.

“She a very easy filly to ride and she’s got a heart the same size as her. So, she might well get it and it would be fun to try it, but we’re in the luxurious position of her already being a Group One winner now, so we’ll just see how Roger and his team feel she is and whether she’s ready to go again.”

Running Lion will be bidding to serve a reminder of her quality when she lines up in the British EBF 40th Anniversary Upavon Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury on Wednesday.

John and Thady Gosden’s three-year-old was well-fancied for the Oaks earlier this year having racked up an impressive four-race winning sequence, but her Epsom dreams were dashed when she was withdrawn at the start having got upset in the stalls.

Given the chance to gain Classic compensation she headed to Chantilly for the Prix de Diane, but struggled to make a telling impact from an unhelpful draw and was eased down in the closing stages by regular partner Oisin Murphy.

Running Lion is one of 13 fillies who head to post in the Listed heat, with Roger Varian’s Ameynah tackling 10 furlongs for the first time having blown away the cobwebs with a respectable return from a long absence in the Valiant Stakes at Ascot.

The daughter of Exceed And Excel had not been seen since finishing sixth to Cachet in last year’s 1000 Guineas and with only four career starts to her name, she could have plenty more to give.

“We were pleased with her comeback run at Ascot and we have a lot of belief she is a nice filly,” said Varian.

“She looks to have come forward nicely from that run and we’ve always thought 10 furlongs would be within her compass, so we’re looking forward to running her.”

Another filly returning from a break is Sparkling Beauty, who placed in the Group Two Prix du Calvados when trained by Richard Hughes last term and has been sighted just the once this campaign.

She is now trained by Dominic Ffrench Davis and the handler is confident of a bold showing from the Amo Racing-owned filly on her stable bow.

“She came to us earlier in the year and Richard Hughes did a very good job with her,” said Ffrench Davis.

“She won a nice maiden at Goodwood, the same one we won with Ornellaia the other week and she was then Group Two placed and I just think she disappointed a little bit earlier on in the year and could do with a break.

“She’s done nothing wrong with us and is coming to the boil nicely and I think she will run a big race.”

Owen Farrell has been cleared to lead England into the World Cup after his red card against Wales was unexpectedly overturned by an independent disciplinary hearing.

Progressive Rugby, a player welfare lobby group, reacted to the shock decision by declaring it had “made a mockery of World Rugby’s claim that player welfare is the game’s number one priority”.

Farrell was initially shown a yellow card for his shoulder-led tackle to the head of Taine Basham in the second-half of Saturday’s 19-17 victory over Wales at Twickenham.

However, it was upgraded to a red by the Bunker review system, triggering a three-and-a-half hour hearing that took place on Tuesday via video link-up.

Farrell was expected to receive a ban in the region of six matches, minus mitigation, that would have ruled him out of the World Cup opener against Argentina on September 9.

The 31-year-old Saracens fly-half has missed a total of 11 games because of suspensions incurred for the same offence across three previous incidents, but is now free to take part in England’s clash with Ireland on Saturday.

The all-Australian judicial committee decided that his offence warranted a yellow card only and should not have been lifted to a red by the Bunker.

Its verdict hinged on Jamie George’s attempted tackle on Basham which it claimed caused the Wales flanker, who subsequently failed a head injury assessment, to change direction just before Farrell made his challenge.

“The committee determined, when applying World Rugby’s head contact process, that mitigation should be applied to the high degree of danger found by the foul play review officer,” a statement read.

“The committee found that a late change in dynamics due to England #2’s interaction in the contact area brought about a sudden and significant change in direction from the ball carrier.

“In the committee’s opinion, this mitigation was sufficient to bring the player’s act of foul play below the red card threshold.”

Progressive Rugby condemned an outcome that has sent shockwaves through the sport as it continues its drive to become safer.

“Today’s astounding decision to overturn the red card given to Owen Farrell for his tackle on Taine Basham has made a mockery of World Rugby’s claim that player welfare is the game’s number one priority,” a statement read.

“Additionally, despite protestations in the judgement to the contrary, it has critically undermined the newly introduced Bunker process before a global tournament and eroded confidence in the game’s judicial process which is meant to help protect those playing the game.”

In coming to its verdict, the panel said no criticism was being made of the Bunker review system – which is currently being used on a trial basis only and has yet to be confirmed for the World Cup – given the time available to make a decision.

However, it now calls into question the viability of the system if it does not have the time to make accurate calls.

Farrell’s most recent suspension was for an illegal challenge on Gloucester’s Jack Clement in January, which was reduced from four to three games after he completed tackle school, enabling him to face Scotland in the Six Nations opener.

The decision to overturn the red card is sure to anger anti-concussion campaigners, among them former Wales international Alix Popham who described it as a “shocking challenge”.