Maro Itoje has committed his future to Saracens by signing a new long-term deal with the club.
The 29-year-old England lock has made 175 appearances to date for Sarries, having made his debut for them in 2013.
He has enjoyed great success, winning five Premiership titles and three European crowns and has played 76 times for his country.
In addition to his new Saracens contract, Itoje has been offered an enhanced Elite Playing Squad (EPS) contract by the Rugby Football Union.
The news is a boost to the domestic game and to England following his team-mate Owen Farrell’s departure to French club Racing 92.
Itoje had himself been linked last year with a move to France but says he “couldn’t be happier” to be staying at the club he has represented for more than a decade.
“Looking back I am very proud of what we have achieved over the last 10 years and it is the best place for me to keep progressing,” he said.
“With the squad we have I really believe we have some massively exciting times ahead and I can’t wait to be a part of it moving forward.”
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said: “Maro has gone from a promising academy prospect to a global figure in rugby. He is a world-class player, but what sets Maro apart is his dedication to his craft; the standard he sets, how he goes about his work – on and off the field – and how this expresses his love for the club and for the game.
“We are delighted he will continue to be at the heart of the Saracens project. We know the best of Maro is yet to come.”
Jamie George insists England are determined to make Twickenham a “horrible” place for opponents to visit while also reassuring fans that their intent is to score more tries.
England open their Six Nations against Italy in Rome on Saturday but George, their captain for the tournament, believes it is the home fixtures against Wales and Ireland that provide crucial opportunities to reconnect with fans.
Head coach Steve Borthwick has highlighted a win ratio of only 50 per cent from the past six Championships as evidence of significant underachievement and George is keen for that to be addressed with a flourish.
“We want to get Twickenham back to being a place that is horrible to play in for opposition,” George told the PA news agency.
“But at the same time we want to love representing England at Twickenham. Steve’s very passionate about that too and it’s a message I love hearing.
“We need to take fans on a journey with us and we have a responsibility for that through the way that we play, the brand of rugby we play and by showing how passionate we are when we’re on the field.
“If we do that it will feed into the crowds and we saw that in the South Africa and Fiji games at the World Cup. That’s the sort of environment we want to try to create.
“Style has a role to play. Ultimately we are a team that makes the right decision at the right time, but the way we play the game is also important to get people off their seats.
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“Constantly throughout the World Cup – and we didn’t achieve it quite as much as we wanted to – how we attacked was a focus point because we want to score more tries.
“You get people on their feet when they see tries being scored. We want to create more chances to score. That for me will lead to more excitement in stadiums.”
A feature of George’s World Cup was the sheer volume of minutes he played due to the inexperience of supporting hookers Theo Dan and Jack Walker.
And with Luke Cowan-Dickie missing the start of the Six Nations for undisclosed medical reasons, the Saracens front row could be set for another heavy workload – a prospect he relishes.
“I was pleased with how the World Cup went. There are certain areas that I need to be better at, but that’s natural,” he said.
“In terms of playing minutes, I want to be on the field in every minute of the game. I would never complain about that because I’ve been on the other side of the coin and sat on the bench for 80 minutes, which isn’t very nice.
“I will never complain about playing too much rugby, I absolutely love it. I will never take it for granted being on the field at any stage. For me, it’s something I love so much.
“A strength of mine has always been my fitness and my ability to stay involved in a game. The more time I spend in a game the better I feel almost.”
Elvis Merzlikins stopped 21 shots and Dmitri Voronkov scored in the third period as the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped the St. Louis Blues’ five-game winning streak, 1-0 on Tuesday.
Merzlikins and Jordan Binnington hooked up in a scoreless duel until Voronkov buried a one-timer off a Zach Werenski pass on an odd-man rush at 4:11 of the third.
Merzlikins’ shutout was the 10th of his career and his first since blanking Carolina on Jan. 13, 2022, ending a 94-game span between shutouts.
Binnington finished with 21 saves as St. Louis was shut out for the second time this season.
Blackwood stops 32 in shutout of Kraken
MacKenzie Blackwood turned aside 32 shots for his first shutout in over two years as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Seattle Kraken, 2-0.
Blackwood earned his first shutout since December 2021 with New Jersey.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic opened the scoring 7:27 into the third period and Jan Rutta added an empty-net goal with 21 seconds remaining as last-place San Jose won for the fourth time in five games.
Seattle got 20 saves from Joey Daccord and has lost six of eight following a nine-game winning streak.
Donte DiVincenzo scored 33 points with a career-high nine 3-pointers and the New York Knicks rolled to their eighth straight victory, 118-103 over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
Jalen Brunson had 29 points and nine assists and Precious Achiuwa matched a season high with 18 points as the Knicks concluded a 14-2 January. That is their most wins in a month since going 14-0 in March 1994 and just one short of their most ever, a 15-3 record in December 1968.
New York was again without starting forwards Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, but Josh Hart had his first career triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best 10 assists and Isaiah Hartenstein added 14 points and 12 boards.
Collin Sexton scored 22 points for the Jazz, who lost in New York for the second straight night to close their road trip at 2-4.
The Knicks took control by outscoring Utah 36-24 in the third quarter, turning a 57-49 halftime lead into a 93-73 cushion entering the fourth.
Tatum lifts Celtics over Pacers
Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and came up with two blocks in the final 30 seconds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 129-124 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Jaylen Brown had 25 points and Derrick White added 24 for Boston, which won its fifth in six games to improve the NBA’s best record to 37-11.
Kristaps Porzingis contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds in his return after missing two games with a sprained left ankle.
Aaron Nesmith had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Pascal Siakam added 23 as Indiana had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Curry leads Warriors as Embiid limps off
Stephen Curry scored 37 points with eight 3-pointers and the Golden State Warriors sent the Philadelphia 76ers to their fourth straight loss, 119-107.
Jonathan Kuminga added 26 points and Andrew Wiggins had 23 to help the Warriors win for just the third time in nine games.
Tobias Harris had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia and Embiid scored 14 points before limping to the locker room with 4:04 remaining after Kuminga fell on his left knee.
Curry, who also had eight rebounds and seven assists, shot 12 for 17 from the field in his third straight 30-point game. It was his third consecutive game with at least six 3s with 25 or more points.
John P. Angelos has agreed to sell the Baltimore Orioles to private equity billionaires David Rubinstein and Mike Arougheti in a deal valuing the club at $1.725 billion, according to multiple reports.
Rubinstein is reportedly set to be the control person of the new Orioles' ownership group. He is a Baltimore native and the co-founder and chairman of the private equity firm the Carlyle Group.
Major League Baseball’s other owners will receive the official details of the sale at the annual owners' meeting next week. There reportedly isn’t a timetable for the deal to be completed.
According to one report, the deal will be structured to give the new owners 40 percent of the team, with the sale of the remaining stake to come following the death of patriarch Peter Angelos. Angelos, who purchased the Orioles in 1993 as the leader of a group that paid $40 million, he reportedly been incapacitated for years by an illness.
The Orioles are coming of the franchise’s best regular season in over four decades after winning the American League East with 101 wins before falling to the eventual champion Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series. They still boast the No. 1 prospect in baseball in Jackson Holliday and arguably the strongest farm system.
That success came despite Baltimore having the second-smallest payroll in baseball, and the team only added veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel on a one-year contract in the offseason.
Rory McIlroy says he has “changed my tune” on players facing punishment if they wish to return from the LIV Golf Series to the traditional tours.
The world number two has been one of the strongest advocates for the PGA and DP World Tours, but admits he has softened his stance on sanctions against players as the sport looks for a deal between the tours, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund – which backs LIV – and Fenway Sports Group.
“I think life is about choices,” said McIlroy ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. “Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here.
“If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back.
“I think it’s hard to punish people. I don’t think there should be a punishment.”
In June, after plans for a merger between the rival tours were announced, McIlroy said “the people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this Tour” and “we can’t just welcome them back in”.
“Obviously I’ve changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties,” he said.
“It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game.
“That’s my opinion of it. The faster that we can all get back together and start to play and start to have the strongest fields possible, I think, is great for golf.”
McIlroy, who served on the PGA Tour board before stepping down in November, was speaking in the wake of LIV naming England’s Tyrell Hatton as its latest recruit and said he had spoken to his Ryder Cup colleague before the announcement.
“I’ve talked to him quite a bit about it over the past month,” he said. “It got to the point where they negotiated and got to a place where he was comfortable with and he has to do what he feels is right for him.
“I’m not going to stand in anyone’s way from making money and what they deem life-changing money.”
McIlroy is making his seasonal PGA Tour debut at Pebble Beach this week, having started the year by finishing second to Tommy Fleetwood at the Dubai Invitational and winning the Dubai Desert Classic.
He will play more tournaments in the build-up to the US Masters this year, starting with a first appearance at Pebble Beach since 2019.
“You need to keep it fresh,” he said. “I don’t find that (keeping motivated) overly difficult.
“I think there’s always things that you want to achieve and that you can get better at.
“Trying to have a growth mindset to goal-set and try to achieve certain things is something that I’ve just learned to do as my career has progressed.”
With the country basically in a rebuilding phase where getting swimmers back on the Olympic stage is concerned, Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) president Lance Rochester says the immediate focus of his administration is to provide the necessary backing to top level athletes, who boast the potential to achieve the feat.
Apart from decorated five-time Olympian Alia Atkinson, only Timothy Wynter and Keanan Dols, who showed at the 2016 and 2020 Games in Rio and Tokyo respectively, have made the step forward in recent times. But with all three now retired, it is left to be seen if and when other Jamaican swimmers will appear on that big stage.
While there are a number of prospects namely Kito Campbell, Zaneta Alvaranga, Sidrell Williams, Emily MacDonald, Sabrina Lyn, Nathaniel Thomas, Kaheem Lozer and Kyle Sinclair, Rochester is well aware that along with hard work, the swimmers –particularly those in universities –also require support, financial and otherwise, to bring their Olympic dream to fruition.
Outside of Williams, who will be hunting qualification to this year’s Paris Olympic Games at the 28th Karl Dalhouse Memorial Invitational Meet, the others are first- and second-year students all in strong university programmes, which include gym and sports psychology.
However, financial assistance could provide an avenue for those swimmers to travel to highly-competitive swim meets in the Americas to further improve their craft.
“Swimming has very, very bright prospects for Jamaica. Not just swimming, but all aquatic sports. What we're focused on now is providing the best investments to those athletes at the elite level who are vying for placement within the Paris Olympic Games and the Olympic cycle right after that,” Rochester told SportsMax.TV during the launch of the Karl Dalhouse meet on Tuesday.
“So, the question is how to invest in them, how to provide them with the right competition experience, locally and overseas, and also the investments in terms of technology and high performance that they will need, so that’s what we are focused on that right now,” he added.
At the same time, Rochester explained that they also have sights set on a long-term project which includes an expansion of swim programmes to both unearth and develop talent right across the island.
“So, we are meeting with regard to our expansion programme targeting more pools, to find the talent that exists in our learn to swim programme and develop it appropriately over time. This of course is a 20-year project, but we're embarking on that starting now,” he shared.
On that note, Rochester pointed to the significance of swim meets such as the Karl Dalhouse Memorial Invitational in the development of age group swimmers, in particular.
This year’s staging of the meet hosted by Y-Speedos Swim Club, serves as a qualifier to the Paris Olympic Games, and will see over 500 swimmers, including those from four clubs in the Cayman Islands and Florida, parade their skills over three days from Friday (February 2) to Sunday (February 4).
“The Karl Dalhouse meet is exceptionally important and has been for many athletes over the years. Many coaches will time this meet in terms of qualification needs for bigger events. Many coaches will time this meet to ensure their athlete peaks at the right time. It's exceptionally well-organized, well supported by some very fast swimmers overseas and it augurs well for the development of our swimming in Jamaica that we have meets as important as these and others as well,” the president declared.
Finally, Rochester, who recently took office stressed the need for corporate sponsorship, which he said will be critical in terms of achieving their goals to invest in swimmers among other things.
“We are looking to demonstrate to corporate Jamaica why the ASAJ is a great investment opportunity. Swimming, yes, but all our eight aquatic disciplines, how we manage our governance our transparency, our accountability, what we're able to deliver to our athletes with learn to swim, nutrition, sports psychology and producing great athletes over the long term. So, we're encouraging our partners to come on board with us and support us in this mission to develop Jamaica,” Rochester ended.
Anthony Edwards claimed the Minnesota Timberwolves were "playing eight-on-five" due to the "terrible" officiating in their win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of the West.
The T-Wolves opened up a lead to the Thunder at the top of the conference courtesy of a 107-101 victory in which Edwards scored 27 points.
But rather than revel in that win, Edwards focused on the referees after the game, furious with one particular call that saw a potential foul go unpunished after he drove to the basket inside the final two minutes.
The former first overall pick accepted he would be punished for his comments but did not appear to care.
"I'm going to take the fine, because the refs did not give us no calls tonight," he told the television broadcast, adding to ESPN: "The refs were bad tonight. Yeah, they were terrible. We were playing eight-on-five."
Edwards could at least take comfort in the result, saying: "The cat got their tongue tonight, so it's all good. It's not fair, but it's all good."
The 22-year-old was not alone in taking issue with the officiating in the NBA on Monday as Anthony Davis argued Dillon Brooks should have been ejected in the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Houston Rockets.
Houston were already well on their way to a 135-119 win when Brooks tussled with LeBron James and left the Lakers superstar on the floor holding his face, while the same Rockets player appeared to shove Jarred Vanderbilt in the air before the LA man was himself ejected following an altercation between the pair.
"You take a hard foul," said Davis. "It's part of basketball.
"But you're just not going to blatantly push someone in their back when they have no control of their body in the air. I think he should have got ejected for that.
"And then obviously you know that him and Bron have their whatever, and from what I saw, it was just a blatant hit on LeBron to the face."
Andy Murray has no immediate plans to call time on his career and vowed: “I won’t quit.”
The two-time Wimbledon winner, 36, was dumped out of the first round in both the Brisbane International and Australian Open and remains winless in 2024 following his third defeat of the new year.
Murray let slip a one-set lead against Benoit Paire to lose 6-2 6-7 3-6 in his opening match of the Open Sud de France and has not won a competitive match since his victory over Yannick Hanfmann in Basel in October 2023.
After the match, some questioned whether it was time for Murray to bring his playing career to a close, but the Scot has pledged to keep on fighting.
Murray responded to a post on X, formerly Twitter, by saying: “Tarnishing my legacy? Do me a favour. I’m in a terrible moment right now I’ll give you that.
“Most people would quit and give up in my situation right now. But I’m not most people and my mind works differently.
“I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the performances I know I’m capable of.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo has full faith in new Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers despite his opening defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
Rivers made his Bucks bow on the sideline in Denver after replacing first-year coach Adrian Griffin, but Milwaukee were beaten 113-107 by another of the NBA's best teams.
An NBA champion as coach of the Boston Celtics in 2008, Rivers is vastly experienced but is taking over a team in the middle of a season for the first time.
There will be an adjustment period, but that is something superstar Antetokounmpo is prepared for.
"He was great," the two-time MVP said of Rivers. "Everybody has to have patience. It's new – the way we play, the way we defend, it's going to take a while to get used to.
"We're slowly, slowly adjusting, changing a couple stuff. Coaching staff have got to have patience with the players; players have got to have patience with the coaching staff.
"But I feel like for the first game, it was good."
Indeed, for all the criticism of the Bucks' defense, Rivers felt the blame for the loss to the Nuggets lay with an offense led by Antetokounmpo and offseason signing Damian Lillard.
"I told our guys: anyone who told you that you couldn't play defense lied," Rivers said afterwards. "You proved that tonight. You competed tonight. Our half-court defense was excellent.
"I think tonight was an offensive loss. I didn't think we were crisp offensively.
"Dame and Giannis have played 40 games together in their life, Joker [Nikola Jokic] and [Jamal] Murray have played... you know?
"And if you looked at the game tonight, they had it going, our guys couldn't get it going, and that was the difference."
If not for Rivers' return to the coaching arena, the focus in this game would have been on a battle between Antetokounmpo and Jokic that the Nuggets center edged, finishing with a triple-double of 25 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists.
"That's why I play, to play these kinds of games, to play under the pressure, to play tight games," Jokic said. "I like to play under those circumstances."
England are reeling from the loss of Marcus Smith for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Italy because of a calf problem.
Smith suffered the injury at the squad’s training camp in Girona on Monday and England are waiting for a second opinion on the scan before confirming a return date, raising the possibility that he could miss additional matches.
The 24-year-old was in strong contention to start the Rome showdown at fly-half, competing with George Ford and Fin Smith for the jersey.
“He won’t make this weekend sadly,” assistant coach Kevin Sinfield told reporters.
“It is a calf injury. We got the scan report through but we are waiting to understand exactly what that means for us moving forward. He’s not fit for this weekend.
“It just happened in training, the early part of the session. Just one of those things. The boys have had two days off (for) recovery and Marcus being the bundle of energy that he is was doing his thing.
“Unfortunately these things happen. We are gutted for him because he’s been amazing to work with and we hope it will not be too long.”
Tyrrell Hatton has become the latest player to join LIV Golf and will make his debut in Mexico this week as part of Masters champion Jon Rahm’s team.
The world number 16 has career earnings of more than £20 million, having won six times on the DP World Tour and the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational, but has not lifted an individual title for three years.
The 32-year-old had entered this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour, but will now contest the Saudi-funded breakaway’s first event of 2024 in Mayakoba.
Hatton is joined on Rahm’s Legion XIII team by former top amateur Caleb Surratt and Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent, who won his place via the LIV Golf Promotions event.
“I’m really excited for this next chapter, to link up with Jon Rahm and Legion XIII and to get started this week in Mexico,” Hatton said.
Hatton and Rahm won both of their matches together in last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome, the fiery characters earning the nickname of “Team Angry” as they helped Luke Donald’s European side regain the trophy.
Hatton’s defection will therefore be of huge concern to Donald as he attempts to spearhead a first Ryder Cup win on away soil since 2012 at Bethpage next year.
As things stand, Hatton will be eligible to qualify or receive a wild card as long as he remains a DP World Tour member, which requires him to play in four regular tournaments per season.
He will also earn points towards qualification through major championships, but faces fines and suspensions for playing in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” releases from the DP World Tour.
In April last year, an arbitration panel ruled that the Tour had the right to sanction players for such “serious breaches” of its code of behaviour, a case sparked by 12 players appealing against fines of £100,000 and suspension from the Scottish Open for playing LIV’s inaugural event in June 2022.
It is understood that fines and suspensions are assessed on a case-by-case basis, with former LIV player Bernd Wiesberger having regained his DP World Tour membership after serving a ban and paying all of his fines.
Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood resigned their memberships in the wake of the arbitration panel’s decision, while Henrik Stenson was sacked as Ryder Cup captain after joining the Saudi-funded breakaway.
It remains to be seen if the LIV rebels will be handed a route back to the Ryder Cup via the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf.
The initial December 31 deadline for the Framework Agreement to be formalised has been extended, but the PGA Tour is also reported to being on the verge of a deal with a consortium of US-based investors which includes Boston Red Sox and Liverpool owner John Henry.
Mistergif continued Willie Mullins’ successful January as well as the hot run of owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede with an impressive success on his Irish debut at Limerick.
Although banking plenty of experience in France, he arrived at Closutton a maiden, but nevertheless was sent off the 8-13 favourite for the Follow Limerick Racecourse On Twitter (C & G) Maiden Hurdle over two miles on testing ground.
The result was a formality as the five-year-old made all and cruised to an impressive 18-length success in the hands of Kieran Callaghan to give Mullins his fourth straight success in the race and also follow in the footsteps of State Man who was victorious in the 2022 renewal before marching to County Hurdle glory at the Cheltenham Festival.
Mistergif holds entries for both the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park and although connections may want to see more before he gets his ticket stamped for March, he brought up Mullins’ 40th winner for the month while adding to the recent victories of Zarak The Brave, Jasmin De Vaux and Anotherway in the ‘double green’ colours.
“He’s a horse by a stallion we like in Zarak,” said Anthony Bromley, racing manager to the owners, who will have the likes of El Fabiolo in action at the Dublin Racing Festival this weekend.
“He jumped very smoothly today, that was impressive the way he jumped. The horse in second was only rated 106, so we must not get too carried away.
“I think he will have to have another run to see where we are and in terms of if he’s a Festival horse or not. But he’s a really exciting prospect and it comes hot on the heels of Anotherway yesterday and the bumper horse on Sunday, so they are just hitting their stride at the right time.
“I don’t think there is any necessarily big targets for him, but we will have to run again and see where we are.”
Winning rider Callaghan added: “It was very straightforward. He had experience around Auteuil and loads of runs on the Flat as well as a younger horse.
“I was just worried that he was doing a bit too much early, but he was very good the way he picked up from the back of the second-last.
“He hit the line hard and I was at the first hurdle down the back pulling him up so it’s definitely a good sign on that ground.
“He couldn’t have done it much easier, and he has a chance of being a nice horse.”
No Flies On Him will head to Punchestown to continue his hurdling education next month after connections elected to miss the Dublin Racing Festival with the top novice prospect.
Trained by Edward O’Grady and owned by JP McManus, the five-year-old beat Nicky Henderson’s Grade One scorer Jango Baie in the pointing field before impressing on his rules debut at Leopardstown over the Christmas period.
He looked to be in line for a return to the Irish capital for the Grade One Tattersalls Ireland 50th Derby Sale Novice Hurdle on Sunday, but his name was missing from the list of acceptors at Tuesday’s confirmation stage.
Instead O’Grady will point his talented charge towards Kildare next month, where he will step up to Listed level in the Madigan Group Irish EBF Sheila Bourke Novice Hurdle.
“The horse is absolutely fine and in excellent shape, but we have decided to wait for Punchestown on February 18,” said O’Grady.
“We were pleased with what he did (on debut). I don’t know (if he’s improved) but we will find out.”
No Flies On Him holds an entries for both the Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle – for which he is as short as 12-1 – and the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
When asked if a positive display at Punchestown could tee up a trip to Prestbury Park in March, O’Grady said: “I hope so, yes.”
Wales assistant coach Jonathan Humphreys knows from personal experience how “noisy and intimidating” the Principality Stadium can be for visiting teams.
And Scotland – Wales’ opening Guinness Six Nations opponents in Cardiff on Saturday – have found it tougher than most.
They have lost 11 successive games in the Welsh capital – nine Six Nations fixtures, a World Cup warm-up match and an autumn Test.
Humphreys was part of the Scotland coaching staff for two of those losses, a 51-3 reversal when Stuart Hogg was sent off in 2014 plus a 27-23 defeat two years later.
It is 22 years since Scotland last won at the venue, when current head coach Gregor Townsend lined up in a team that won by five points courtesy of injury-time penalties from Brendan Laney and Duncan Hodge.
The Scots did claim an away victory four years ago but that encounter was played at Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, with the Principality Stadium being turned into a hospital during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think people underestimate the stadium – how noisy and intimidating it is,” former Wales captain Humphreys said.
“When you are the other side of that it hits you. It is not a nice place to come, especially if Wales are on the front foot and going well and the crowd are behind them.
“That is a challenge in itself. I know lots of people talk about the atmosphere.
“When the stadium was built, there were a few of us who were asked our opinion from the old stadium, and what we wanted was the ability still to be enclosed like the old Arms Park was.”
Despite recent history, the bookmakers are confidently predicting a Scottish win against a Wales team without many familiar faces.
Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny retired from Test rugby after the World Cup, Liam Williams is playing in Japan and Louis Rees-Zammit has quit rugby union to try and forge an American football career.
Injuries have also hit Wales, with World Cup co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake set to miss the whole Six Nations along with 104 times-capped number eight Taulupe Faletau.
Almost half of Wales’ 34-strong Six Nations squad have cap totals in single figures, while they are captained for the first time by 21-year-old Exeter lock Dafydd Jenkins.
On the squad newcomers, Humphreys added: “It has been good. There is loads of energy, and they are lapping it up.
“The reason they are in here is because we feel they can play international rugby, and their form with the clubs has shown that.
“They are super-keen, super-hungry and they will have experience of Test rugby during this campaign.
“The level of expectation within the group is high. You are still expected to perform, you are still expected to win.
“We want to get these boys up and running as quick as we can, we want them to experience success as quick as we can. Whenever that comes, the sooner the better, really.
“It is difficult to tell people what it’s like to run out in front of 70,000 people in a Six Nations game.
“You can’t really prepare that. All you can do is try and mimic the intensity of what it is in training, and try and make it more intense and make sure this game does not pass you by.”
Connections of Lossiemouth are content to stick to the process and head to the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival after dazzling in her Trials day return to action.
Last year’s Triumph Hurdle scorer had not been seen since adding to her Grade One haul at the Punchestown Festival, with trainer Willie Mullins electing to tread a different path with his juvenile graduates this season and keep them under wraps until turning five at the turn of the year.
Sent to the Unibet Hurdle for her seasonal bow – on the same day stablemate and regular adversary Gala Marceau headed to Doncaster – she delivered a breathtaking display to dominate her elders and firmly dispatch Love Envoi, who was left trailing the best part of 10 lengths behind in second.
The manner of victory opened up the tantalising prospect of Lossiemouth taking on the likes of Constitution Hill and State Man in the Champion Hurdle.
However, Plan A has always been to head to the Mares’ Hurdle 40 minutes later on the opening day of the Festival, where as a best price of 4-5 favourite, she would have a fine chance of following in the footsteps of Vroum Vroum Mag (2016) and Benie Des Dieux (2018) by winning the Grade One contest for owners Rich and Susannah Ricci.
“The team were pretty happy she was in great form beforehand and she clearly was, but I think the manner of the victory surprised all of us,” said the owners’ racing manager Joe Chambers.
“That was great to see and hopefully the patient approach we have taken with her will reward us as well as the season goes on.
“That (Mares’ Hurdle) has been the plan all along and continues to be the plan today. Things can change, but I think we will be leaning towards the Mares’ unless a number of things occurred to change our mind. She’s odds-on for one and 8-1 for the other.”
Meanwhile, there was a positive bulletin on Monkfish, who also sports the famous pink and green silks and made a winning return from 272 days off the track in the Galmoy Hurdle.
A Cheltenham Festival winner in both the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, injury has meant he has not visited Prestbury Park since he was victorious in 2021.
He holds entries for both the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle and the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup this time around and although connections are set to make a late call on which race gets the nod, a return to fencing for a crack at the blue riband is a real possibility for the 10-year-old.
“It was magic to see (him win the Galmoy) and he did well on his return,” continued Chambers.
“Touch wood he has been sound since and we will try to keep him sound between now and March.
“Our inclination has always been to go back over fences, but let’s see how things shape up and the respective races shape up between now and March. A lot could change, but if we can keep him in one piece we look forward to running him wherever that may be.
“It could be (the Gold Cup) and that’s what we would like to do, but we are still six and a half weeks out from that and we will probably leave that decision to the week of Cheltenham.”
Galopin Des Champs and State Man will both face a maximum of four rivals in their respective bids for back-to-back victories at this weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown.
Having bounced back to winning ways with a dominant display in the Savills Chase over the Christmas period, Galopin Des Champs will be a warm order to successfully defend his crown in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup before aiming to do the same in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.
His biggest threat on Saturday appears to be a familiar rival in Martin Brassil’s Fastorslow, who took his measure in last season’s Punchestown Gold Cup and the John Durkan at Punchestown in December before sidestepping the Savills on account of the prevailing testing conditions.
As well as Galopin Des Champs, Willie Mullins could saddle I Am Maximus, while the potential field is completed by Gordon Elliott’s 2022 Irish Gold Cup hero Conflated and his stablemate Coko Beach.
Mullins is responsible for six of the nine horses still in contention for the first of eight Grade Ones over the course of the two days – the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle – with Predators Gold and Loughglynn the two at the top of the market.
The Closutton handler also dominates the Spring Juvenile Hurdle, with runaway Punchestown winner Storm Heart and French recruit Salvator Mundi – second to last weekend’s brilliant Cheltenham winner Sir Gino on his only start in France – two of eight Mullins entries in a field of 13.
The only Grade One favourite not under the tutelage of the champion trainer is Barry Connell’s Marine Nationale, who will put his unbeaten record on the line in the Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase.
Mullins has left in Facile Vega, Gaelic Warrior, Il Etait Temps and Sharjah, although all four also retain the option of running in the the longer Ladbrokes Novice Chase on Sunday.
Gaelic Warrior and Sharjah both carry the familiar colours of Rich and Susannah Ricci, and their racing manager Joe Chambers has hinted the former could avoid a clash with Marine Nationale at this stage.
He said: “There isn’t any other options for him this side of Cheltenham and we will see what he is like going left-handed (over fences), whether that be two miles or over two-miles-five. It’ll be interesting to see how that pans out, especially down the back straight.
“He won over two miles there last year, albeit in a handicap hurdle, but Marine Nationale is a class act and I don’t see why we would want to take him on until we have to.
“With that being said, there are only eight left in the Irish Arkle, of which he and Sharjah are two. We will see and there is a long time until Saturday.”
Saturday’s action concludes with the Grade Two Future Stars (C & G) I.N.H. Flat Race, in which last year’s winner A Dream To Share is the star attraction among 13 confirmations.
On Sunday, State Man will be cramped odds to win his second Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle, with his stablemate Impaire Et Passe set to be in opposition again after chasing him home in the Matheson Hurdle last month.
Mullins could also run Echoes In Rain, while a resurgent Bob Olinger would be an intriguing challenger for Henry de Bromhead. Elliott’s Fils D’oudairies will be a huge outsider.
Joining Facile Vega, Gaelic Warrior, Il Etait Temps and Sharjah in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase is another Mullins ace in Fact To File, who is priced up as favourite at this stage.
Ballyburn is a short price for the champion trainer in the Tattersalls Ireland 50th Derby Sale Novice Hurdle, with Elliott’s Royal Bond victor Farren Glory clear second best in the market.
Following the abandonment of the original Clarence House Chase at Ascot, El Fabiolo will be widely expected to land the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase on his way to the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Mullins could also run Dinoblue, last year’s winner Gentleman De Mee and Saint Roi, De Bromhead has Captain Guinness and Brassil has left in Fastorslow as a back-up option to the Irish Gold Cup.
The Mullins theme continues in the concluding Coolmore N.H. Sires Hurricane Lane Irish EBF Mares I.N.H. Flat Race, with Aurora Vega and Baby Kate two of his major hopes.
Ruth Jefferson has pencilled in a February comeback at Haydock for Sounds Russian as she looks to get her stable star back on a racecourse for the first time since last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The nine-year-old enjoyed a fine campaign over fences last term, winning at Kelso before finishing fourth in the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree and filling the runner-up spot in both the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby and the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham.
Jefferson’s charge was a 50-1 shot for the blue riband last March, but was still in contention when he was brought down by the fall of fellow northern challenger Ahoy Senor and subsequently had to undergo surgery to repair a knee injury.
After coming through a pleasing workout with Saturday’s Grade Two-winning stablemate Kerryhill last week, Sounds Russian is closing in on a competitive outing.
“We were very happy with his first piece of work the other day, but he hasn’t schooled yet, I think that will happen next week,” said Jefferson.
“There isn’t a lot for him really, he’ll probably have to go to Haydock on February 17. I think there’s three races he can run in that day and apart from that there’s not much.
“He’s still a novice over hurdles or he could run in a handicap or there’s the Rendlesham Hurdle, which is obviously a Grade Two.
“His next run will be over hurdles. He’s about ready to run, whether he’ll be fully fit I don’t know and you’re obviously taking on fit horses at this time of year.”
While cautiously optimistic about the chances of Sounds Russian returning to the racecourse in the coming weeks, she is certainly not counting her chickens before they hatch.
She added: “He won’t be getting any entries over fences for the time being as it’s all about seeing how his knee holds up. At the moment he’s fine, but he might school and not be fine.
“Nothing’s guaranteed with him, he might run once and that might be it, you just don’t know. It’s a really funny situation to be in with him.
“We’ll just see, but I think all being well Haydock on February 17 will be where he’ll start – so it better be on!”
Sebastian Negri insists Italy are determined to show the World Cup was an aberration by delivering the upsets needed to make their Guinness Six Nations a success.
The Azzurri are overseen by new head coach Gonzalo Quesada, whose first assignment is plotting the downfall of England in Saturday’s opener at the Stadio Olimpico.
Quesada must repair the damage caused by heavy defeats to New Zealand and France – 96 points were leaked against the All Blacks – at last year’s World Cup, results that stalled the clear progress being made.
Wales and Australia were toppled in 2022 and in the ensuing Six Nations it was only a lack of conviction and accuracy that cost them in near misses against France and Scotland.
“The World Cup hurt, it really hurt. It was a setback but the good thing is that we’ve got the opportunity to make it right against some of the best teams in the world,” Negri told the PA news agency.
Italy have a win rate of only 11 per cent since joining the Six Nations and the powerful back row added: “It’s a tough tournament for us but what keeps us going is the belief that we can get the results we want.
“It’s hard. Judged on results, it is what it is at the end of the day. We have a responsibility in the Six Nations to get a couple of results and to keep on building on what we’ve built over the last 12-18 months.
“We had a few setbacks at the World Cup but we’ve come a long way in the way we play and we’re hoping to have a good, balanced Six Nations.
“We want to keep building because we’re on to something special, we have a really good group of young players who are gaining more and more experience.
“I wouldn’t be playing international rugby if I didn’t believe in the process we are going through.”
It would be a seismic upset for Italy to topple England for the first time in 31 meetings even if Steve Borthwick’s team are rebuilding after winning the bronze final at last autumn’s World Cup.
“England are a physical side with a really good set-piece and kicking game. We’ll have to match that and not go off the boil and start chucking the ball around,” Negri said.
“We need a balanced approach and if we underestimate them we’re in trouble. They showcased what they can do at the World Cup. They maybe don’t play the prettiest brand of rugby but they get results and that’s what counts.”
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