Ireland coach Andy Farrell was delighted with his side after they hammered Argentina 53-7 to collect their third win from three games in the Autumn Nations series on Sunday.
The visitors caught Ireland cold when Santiago Carreras danced down the right wing to open the scoring at the Aviva Stadium. However, tries from Josh van der Flier, Andrew Porter and Caelan Doris ensured the hosts led 24-7 at half-time.
Van de Flier bundled over for a second time after the break, with Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Beirne all getting in on the act after Tomas Lavanini's dangerous tackle had seen Argentina reduced to 14 men.
Having overcome New Zealand last time out, the hosts are now unbeaten in eight games since a 15-13 loss against France last February and Farrell reflected on a great performance from his whole squad.
"We are delighted with the win," Farrell told Channel 4 after Ireland's 27th win in 29 games at the Aviva Stadium.
"It is a great day for us because we grow as a group, with players out some people got their chances and did pretty well, it is pretty satisfying overall.
"That's how we train, we make sure we're all across our work, anyone who comes into the hotel on Friday or Saturday has to be ready to play."
Asked how his side will prepare for their next clash with Wales in their Six Nations opener in February, Farrell added: "We will meet and review and take the lessons learned.
"We will watch the lads fight against one another for their provinces over the next couple of months and hopefully they grow as players before they come back in and we hit the ground running for our first game of the Six Nations."
Lewis Hamilton was "really, really grateful" for a Qatar Grand Prix win that closed the gap at the top to eight points, but Max Verstappen is pleased to be pushed all the way for his first Formula One title.
Hamilton is bidding for a record-breaking eighth championship but has work to do to reel in leader Verstappen.
The Briton followed up his Losail pole with victory on Sunday, although Verstappen recovered from seventh – following a grid penalty – to finish second and take the fastest lap, limiting the damage as much as possible.
It was ultimately a day both men could enjoy, even if Verstappen's penalty meant the only real jeopardy for Hamilton was avoiding the fate of others in the field who saw their tyres punctured.
"It was pretty straightforward. It's pretty lonely at the front," Hamilton said. "Of course, I enjoy those races where you're battling through, but we needed those points today.
"It was a really solid job from the team with pit stops and with the car.
"I can't wait to watch the replay of the race to see what happened behind me. I'm not really sure why people's tyres were going – I'm sure it's the kerbs.
"But I'm really, really grateful for these points. It's been a hell of a year, so to be at this point in the year and have back-to-back wins is a great, great feeling. It puts us in good stead for the next two."
Verstappen added: "Of course our starting position was a bit compromised, but luckily we had a really good start. From there, I was quite quickly back into second.
"At the end of the day, to get that fastest lap was very nice. I know it's going to be difficult to the end, but I think that's nice. It keeps it exciting."
Lewis Hamilton celebrated consecutive Formula One wins for the first time since May as a precious victory at the Qatar Grand Prix moved him to within eight points of Max Verstappen.
The Mercedes superstar followed up his Sao Paulo success with another triumph, although Verstappen limited the damage despite a five-place grid penalty due to a yellow-flag infringement in qualifying.
The championship leader recovered to finish second and also took the extra point for the fastest lap, assured of beating Hamilton to that feat due to a late virtual safety car following a series of punctures.
The two title rivals were joined on the podium by Fernando Alonso, the two-time champion's first top-three finish since 2014.
Both he and pole man Hamilton enjoyed strong starts, although Verstappen wasted little time in wiping out his penalty.
Starting from seventh, the Dutchman gained three places from the start but was then shut out by Alonso, who passed Pierre Gasly into second.
Verstappen stayed on Gasly's tail and eased past on lap four before quickly hunting down Alonso, yet Hamilton had already disappeared into the distance.
Hamilton continued to stretch his advantage out towards 10 seconds before Verstappen pitted and the Mercedes man immediately responded, following him in to maintain the lead.
That gap closed very slightly as Hamilton worked his way through the backmarkers, but drama was limited at the front until Valtteri Bottas, running in third, suffered a puncture as he attempted a one-stop strategy.
That was the first of several such issues, meaning Verstappen took no risks and pitted a second time soon after, with Hamilton again heading in on the next lap.
Sergio Perez questioned Red Bull's call to bring him in twice as he pursued a podium, and it was a move that ultimately did not pay off as he failed to reel in Alonso due to the virtual safety car.
BOTTAS BLOW ADVISES STRATEGY
Mercedes expected a two-stop from Verstappen, so promised Bottas there would be "opportunities" if he went longer and took care of his tyres. Unfortunately, that strategy failed.
Bottas, who qualified in third, was penalised to sixth and then fell to 11th, had recovered to third place on lap 36 when he sustained a puncture and was forced to limp back to the pit, ruled out of contention entirely as he re-emerged in 14th. He later retired, just as Williams pair George Russell and Nicholas Latifi each also suffered punctures to the same front-left tyres.
Perez might have been less than impressed, but the single stops proved a huge gamble.
ADD LOSAIL TO LEWIS' LIST
Hamilton already held the record for poles (30 of 34) and wins (29 of 34) at the most different circuits and added to both tallies at the first ever Qatar Grand Prix.
Alonso also enjoyed his Losail bow, collecting points at the 34th of 34 tracks in real style.
Formula One title leader Max Verstappen was handed a five-place grid penalty for Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix after a yellow-flag infringement in qualifying.
The Red Bull driver was due to start second in Lusail behind Lewis Hamilton, but he instead started from seventh as a gripping title race took another twist.
Verstappen had been under investigation, along with Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz, for not slowing down under yellow flags near the end of Saturday's qualifying session after Pierre Gasly suffered a puncture on the pit straight.
The stewards confirmed the Dutchman's grid drop around 90 minutes before Sunday's race, while Bottas was docked three places to put him sixth due to his breach being under single waved flags.
Sainz avoided punishment as he "made a significant reduction in speed".
Explaining the decision to penalise Verstappen, a statement released by F1 ahead of the race read: "Notwithstanding the fact the team argued that the turning off of the yellow sector on the FIA marshalling system some 34 second prior to the driver reaching the yellow flag, signified that it was 'play on', it was the driver's responsibility to take the appropriate action when entering what was a double yellow flag area.
"The driver acknowledged his awareness of the presence of Car 10 on the right side of the track.
"Having seen a disabled car, it is reasonable to expect, as was the case of the driver of Car 55 [Carlos Sainz], that there was a potential danger and that a yellow flag situation probably existed and therefore to take the appropriate action (i.e. to reduce speed)."
Verstappen leads Hamitlon by 14 points in the standings.
Jimmy Butler criticised the Miami Heat's complacency after they blew a 16-point lead in Saturday's defeat to the Washington Wizards.
The Heat had won four straight games coming into Saturday's trip to the capital, but that run has now been bookended by collapses.
Against both the Los Angeles Clippers (17 points) and the Wizards, Miami have led by double digits only to lose. Earlier this season, the Heat let leads of 12 and 11 slip to the Utah Jazz and the Brooklyn Nets respectively, although they rallied again to win on both occasions.
Of those four games, only the Utah victory was at home.
This latest setback was particularly painful due to the late nature of the collapse; the Heat had a 10-point lead with just over four minutes remaining but went down 103-100.
Miami were the victim of three fourth-quarter double-digit comebacks last season, and Butler is concerned the Heat – now 11-6 and behind the 11-5 Wizards in their division – are not dealing well with praise following a strong start.
"[The collapses are] probably because we stopped doing what we were doing to get those leads," he said.
"We tend to get comfortable, and that's a bad thing when you're comfortable. You get complacent and you just think the games going to keep going that way.
"For us, at least, it doesn't."
Butler, who led Miami with 29 points, added: "When everybody's giving you this praise all the time, you think you deserve it. You think you're supposed to be talked about like that – and that's not the case.
"This league is very humbling. It's fragile, and just as soon as you think you're good and you're high on yourself, you get hit like this.
"I don't think we should have lost this game. We did. You can say we'll learn from it, we'll go back to the drawing board. I'm hoping this is the last time that this happens, but I can't guarantee that."
Giannis Antetokounmpo revealed that watching tape of his struggles on the glass had provided the catalyst for his superb showing in the Milwaukee Bucks' win over the Orlando Magic.
Antetokounmpo collected 20 rebounds as the NBA champions claimed a 117-108 victory in Milwaukee, adding 32 points for good measure.
Mike Budenholzer's men have now won three in a row for the first time this season, with Antetokounmpo leading the way.
The Finals MVP became the fifth player to reach 32 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks in a game over the past 40 seasons, following in the footsteps of DeMarcus Cousins, Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon.
"I watched a lot of clips and I was losing rebounds," said Antetokounmpo.
"That frustrates me and I wanted to do a better job, using my body, being in the right spots.
"I know if I can get the rebounds, we can get on the offense; it's faster and I can get myself going that way."
Bobby Portis added a season-high 24 points along with 15 rebounds, earning warm praise from Antetokounmpo.
"He creates space on the floor for everybody, not just me but for Khris [Middleton] and Jrue [Holiday], for Grayson [Allen]," said the 26-year-old.
"A lot of guys are worried about him, they know he's capable of making the open shot. He helps us find more driving lanes, he just makes the court bigger.
"It's great that he's feeling good. When he's open, you pass him the ball and he's probably going to make it.
"We need him to keep playing like this, we need him to keep being aggressive, to keep leading – he's one of the leaders in this team – we need his energy, and we need everything he's doing moving forward."
With the Bucks now 9-8 for the season, Antetokounmpo hopes this winning streak can continue.
"It feels good, but we've got to stay humble and keep getting better," he added.
"Khris is going to keep getting more involved and getting into his spots, Jrue is going to do the same. Bobby is playing great, competing.
"We're getting better and that ends up with wins, but we've got to keep going and get more wins."
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic does not know if he will defend his crown due to the COVID-19 mandate in Victoria.
It remains to be seen whether world number one Djokovic will fly to Melbourne in January amid vaccination requirements.
The state of Victoria, where the year's opening grand slam takes place at Melbourne Park, has introduced a vaccine mandate for professional athletes and across most industries due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As doubts over Djokovic's participation linger, the 34-year-old superstar was asked about his Australian Open plans after losing to Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals on Saturday.
"I haven't been talking to [Tennis Australia], to be honest," nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic told reporters after his 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3 defeat in Turin.
"I was just waiting to hear what the news was going to be. Now that I know, we'll just have to wait and see."
The 2021 Australian Open went ahead, albeit in February instead of January, and without fans for most of the tournament following a snap lockdown of Melbourne due to COVID-19.
Djokovic – winner of a joint-record 20 grand slam titles – was among the players critical of the conditions athletes endured prior to this year's Australian Open, with strict quarantine measures introduced.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's monster performance helped the Milwaukee Bucks top the Orlando Magic 117-108 in the NBA on Saturday.
Antetokounmpo posted 32 points and collected 20 rebounds to fuel the NBA champions at home to the lowly Magic in Milwaukee.
The Finals MVP became the fifth player to reach 32 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks in a game over the past 40 season, following in the footsteps of DeMarcus Cousins, Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Bobby Portis added a season-high 24 points along with 15 rebounds as the streaking Bucks (9-8) celebrated their third consecutive victory.
Lillard leads Blazers
Damian Lillard had a season-high 39 points as the Portland Trail Blazers outlasted the Philadelphia 76ers 118-111. Portland improved to 8-1 at home to his season. The 76ers, who continue to be without MVP runner-up Joel Embiid (COVID protocol), were led by 28 points apiece from Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey.
All-Star pair Rudy Gobert (21 points and 14 rebounds) and Donovan Mitchell (26 points) inspired the Utah Jazz to a 123-105 victory away to the Sacramento Kings.
Lowry struggles from the floor
The Miami Heat's prized recruit, Kyle Lowry had an off night in the team's 103-100 loss at Eastern conference rivals the Washington Wizards. The NBA champion was just three-of-12 shooting – making one of only seven three-pointers in a seven-point display.
The Charlotte Hornets had their five-game winning streak snapped by the Atlanta Hawks, who prevailed 115-105. Charlotte tasted defeat, despite big performances from Miles Bridges (35 points and 10 rebounds) and LaMelo Ball (15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds).
World number one Novak Djokovic revelled in his "phenomenal" year, despite his ATP Finals exit to Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic's season came to an end on Saturday, the 20-time grand slam champion beaten 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3 by Zverev in the Turin semi-finals.
A five-time winner of the season-ending tournament, Djokovic missed out on the chance to claim a record-tying sixth Finals title after falling to Olympic Games gold medallist Zverev.
While his year did not end the way he wanted, Djokovic reflected on another successful campaign, which saw the 34-year-old equal the record for most major trophies thanks to wins at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
Djokovic also missed out on becoming just the third man to complete the Grand Slam – a feat last achieved by Rod Laver in 1969 – after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final.
"It was a great season, no doubt. I did not play many tournaments, but still managed to end the year at number one for the seventh time, broke records for the year-end number one, historic number one, won three out of [the] four Slams," said Djokovic, who surpassed Pete Sampras for most year-ending number ones.
"The year was phenomenal. Maybe could have done better in some other ATP events. But all in all really good ending of the season as well with a title in Paris and semi-finals here."
On the match against Zverev, Djokovic said: "Of course we want to win against each other, but there is that respect and appreciation for each other that is more important than winning or losing.
"That's something that I always had with Sascha. I really appreciate that. I wish him all the best. He's a great guy, fantastic tennis player, I'm sure soon to be a Grand Slam champion."
It will be the first Finals decider without a player aged over 25 since 2005, when David Nalbandian beat Roger Federer.
Zverev – the third seed – is bidding to become the first player to beat the world number one and two in the semis and final since Andre Agassi in 1990.
Russian number two Medvedev stands in his way and Zverev added: "Every time we play it takes hours. I have not spent more time on court with anybody other than him [Djokovic] this year.
"I am happy with the win and happy to be in the final here and to give myself the best chance for tomorrow [Sunday]."
Novak Djokovic fell at the semi-final stage of the ATP Finals for a second year in succession as he was defeated by Alexander Zverev on Saturday.
World number one Djokovic was hoping to reach the final of the season-ending tournament for the eighth time but came up against Zverev in exceptional form, the third seed winning 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3.
Neither player managed to get a break point until the 10th game, such was the quality of serving, and it was Zverev who was put under pressure. He responded well, though, with an exceptional serve before saving himself and denying Djokovic a one-set lead.
Zverev then wasted two break points of his own in the next game, the set ultimately going to a tie-break, and the match's first double fault from Djokovic handed the advantage to his opponent, who came out on top in a lengthy rally and then saw a blistering serve give him the set.
Djokovic initially looked rattled and frustrated at the start of the second set, yet a bad miss from Zverev let him off the hook as the five-time champion avoided suffering an early break.
Zverev took just 58 seconds to win the fifth game and go 3-2 up and his next service game was also won to love, but Djokovic finally got the elusive first break to make it 5-4 before converting his fifth set point.
Djokovic could not take that momentum into the decider and, although it went with serve for the first three games, a sloppy showing in game four allowed Zverev to pounce for his first break of the match.
He survived a brief wobble and a break point before eventually closing out a wonderful victory, serving to love again as he set up a final clash with the defending champion Daniil Medvedev.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Djokovic – 27/29
Zverev – 35/24
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Djokovic – 15/1
Zverev – 14/1
BREAK POINTS WON
Djokovic – 1/4
Zverev – 1/4
New Zealand were beaten for a second week in a row after losing 40-25 to France in an exhilarating final game of the Autumn Nations Series for both teams.
Fabien Galthie's men matched the effort of Ireland, who beat the All Blacks last week 29-20 in Dublin, and once again the visitors did not have an answer to an intense showing against northern hemisphere opposition.
Three converted first-half tries at the Stade de France put the hosts in a commanding position at half-time, and despite a better second-half effort from New Zealand, they were unable to overcome a determined Les Bleus side.
France began with a bang by scoring their first try after just two minutes as a driving maul gave Peato Mauvaka the chance to place the ball down.
Two penalties from Jordie Barrett brought New Zealand back to within one point before 10 minutes had even been played, but just two minutes later France had their second try.
Determined work from Romain Ntamack saw him burst through a wobbly All Blacks defence to cross the line, which Melvyn Jaminet converted with ease.
A French penalty made it 17-6 after 25 mins, before another try from Mauvaka followed. It was the 24-year-old's fifth try in his last three games and meant that France led 24-6 at the break.
The 18-point deficit was the most New Zealand have ever trailed by in a Test, so it was no surprise to see them determined to fight back in the second half.
Barrett managed to work a try for New Zealand in the corner six minutes into the second half, though was unable to convert from out wide, but the comeback looked on four minutes later when Rieko Ioane raced down the right to score closer to the posts, which Barrett this time converted to cut the lead to six points.
Jaminet put another penalty through the posts shortly after to extend the French advantage, but a third All Blacks try from Ardie Savea, also converted by Barrett, brought the game to within two points with 20 minutes still to play.
The drama continued shortly after as Ntamack sensationally began a counter-attack after saving the ball from behind his own try line, leading to another French penalty - which Jaminet converted - and a yellow card for Savea.
France stretched the lead further with 12 minutes to go as a sloppy pass from David Havili was intercepted by Damian Penaud for a simple try under the posts, and a final Jaminet penalty with the final kick of the match to take his total to 20 points rounded off a famous win.
France finally beat New Zealand on home soil
Les Bleus had lost their last 14 games against New Zealand – only against Wales had they lost more consecutive Tests (15 between 1908 and 1927), and this was their first home win against the All Blacks since November 2000.
The French were fully deserving of their win, with fewer bad passes (3-8) and handling errors (5-10).
All Blacks defence all over the place
New Zealand have now lost three games in 2021, and it is the first time they have lost to three different nations (South Africa, Ireland and France) in a calendar year since 2000 (Australia, South Africa and France).
They have conceded 69 points in their two defeats to Ireland and France, leaving their often devastating attack far too much to do at the other end.
Max Verstappen heads into Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix well off the pace of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes and under investigation by the stewards, with the fallout over the title rivals' battle in Brazil refusing to die down.
Verstappen is under investigation for refusing to slow down under waved yellow flags in qualifying.
The world championship leader has been summoned to the stewards having apparently failed to respond to single waved yellows on his final lap after Pierre Gasly suffered a puncture on the pit straight.
If found guilty, he will likely face a grid penalty having qualified second behind Hamilton, who set a blistering time of 1:20.827.
Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas (third) and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz (seventh) are also under investigation for the same offence.
Qualifying came after an elongated drivers briefing that lasted over an hour as they sought clarification over what represents fair driving following the tussle between Verstappen and Hamilton in Sao Paulo, which saw the latter forced off track as they fought for the lead.
Asked if the FIA had succeeded in clarifying the issue, Verstappen told the drivers' media conference: "I think it's always trying to align everyone in having the same process in the way you think, everyone.
"Everyone is different, right? And everybody I think has their own way of racing and defending and overtaking, and of course very hard for the FIA as well to, how do you say it? To get everyone on the same line.
"Of course, they decide but every driver has a different opinion. And I think yesterday [Friday] it was all about sharing their opinions, and then the FIA explaining their process of thought behind it. So, I think we came a long way, and it was a very long briefing. So, yeah, I think at the end it was pretty clear."
Hamilton, though, had a very different view.
"It's not clear. Every driver, except for Max, was asking just for clarity, most drivers were asking for clarity, but it wasn't very clear," he said.
"So, yeah, it's still not clear what the limits of the track are. It's clearly not the white line anymore, when overtaking but… yeah, we just go for it. We just ask for consistency. So, if it's the same as the last race then it should be the same for all of us in those scenarios and it's fine."
With victory, Hamilton could trim Verstappen's lead to seven points were the Dutchman to finish second, and he has every reason for confidence with his Mercedes taking pole by a gap that surprised even himself.
"Probably the last three races in qualifying we have been ahead of them, which has been a bit of a surprise," added Hamilton.
"Today definitely wasn't expecting to have as big a gap as that. I looked, I was relatively comfortable and was around tenth or so ahead throughout the session, but to be able to pull out that extra time felt great and it's a great showing of the hard work, all the guys, as I said we were here until midnight last night. The guys were here even later than that. Really great work from everyone.
"Long-run pace is good. We always end up getting closer… or our pace closes up to each other when it comes to race pace and yeah, I think the car is in a good place. It's a difficult circuit to follow so, yeah, I'm looking forward to the start."
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has welcomed a video released by China state-run media that appears to show tennis star Peng Shuai, but continued to raise concerns about her safety.
Peng has been widely considered to have been missing since making sexual assault allegations against Zhang Gaoli, the ex-vice premier and member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee.
The video was posted on Twitter by Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Global Times, who said it was taken on Saturday and shows Peng with her coach and friends in a restaurant in Beijing.
A statement released by WTA chairman and chief executive officer Steve Simon on Saturday said: "I am glad to see the videos released by China state-run media that appear to show Peng Shuai at a restaurant in Beijing.
"While it is positive to see her, it remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or external interference.
"This video alone is insufficient. As I have stated from the beginning, I remain concerned about Peng Shuai's health and safety and that the allegation of sexual assault is being censored and swept under the rug.
"I have been clear about what needs to happen and our relationship with China is at a crossroads."
Earlier on Saturday, Hu Xijin had claimed that Peng was safe and well in her own home and will soon "show up in public" to allay concerns about her wellbeing.
Three purportedly new pictures of Peng have been reportedly posted on Chinese messaging app WeChat, along with a "Happy Weekend" message.
A last-gasp penalty from Rhys Priestland denied 14-man Australia a memorable comeback against Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Smarting from a 32-15 defeat to England last time out, the Wallabies were up against it when Rob Valetini's red card and a 10-point deficit left them staring at a potentially heavy defeat.
However, Wales – who survived a scare against Fiji after despite Eroni Sau's red card – were pegged back and it required steely nerves from Priestland beyond the 80-minute mark to secure a 29-28 win.
Australia began in brilliant fashion as Andrew Kellaway collected a grubber and touched down, although Dan Biggar quickly reduced the deficit with a penalty, but the match swung firmly Wales' way when Valetini was shown red for a dangerous high tackle that left Adam Beard bleeding, Biggar then kicking a further three points.
Although James O'Connor's penalty put the 14 men ahead, Kurtley Beale was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on and Ryan Elias scored Wales' first try after good work at the resulting lineout.
O'Connor and Biggar exchanged further penalties and the latter converted after Nick Tomkins intercepted a pass and scored a simple try, with a TMO check allowing it to stand.
Then came the threat of a late surprise. Nic White finished a fine move involving Beale, and although Biggar's boot stretched Wales' lead again, Filipo Daugunu touched down in the corner with O'Connor's kick striking the post to spare the hosts.
Beale's kick then put Australia ahead with two minutes to play, but after winning a penalty inside the visitors' 22 in the 81st minute, Priestland kept his nerve to send Cardiff into raptures.
Marcus Smith nailed a last-gasp penalty as England rounded out their November internationals with a 27-26 win over South Africa in a barnstorming Twickenham Test.
Making only a third Test start, the unflappable Smith made the decisive contribution in a match that looked like getting away from the White Rose after an enterprising performance was mixed with ill-discipline.
England outscored South Africa three tries to one but a penalty count of 18 allowed the Springboks to stay in the game and the visitors were leading until the last minute.
However, the win marks a measure of revenge for Eddie Jones' side, who were beaten in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final the last time these two sides went head-to-head.
England were dominant in the first half and Manu Tuilagi crossed after fine work from Smith opened the play for Henry Slade to make the long pass.
The nerveless Handre Pollard put South Africa on the board prior to Freddie Steward showing great power to bundle over from close range and extend England's lead.
But England's lack of composure at the breakdown meant the lead was only five points at the break, with Pollard nailing three more kicks to Smith's one, and more poor discipline saw South Africa inch ahead thanks to Pollard and Elton Jantjies kicks.
A fine breakaway score from Joe Marchant was answered by an unconverted score from Makazole Mapimpi after Will Stuart was sin-binned, and Frans Steyn kicked another penalty for South Africa.
But Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi saw yellow himself, before another penalty in front of the posts in the final minute allowed Smith to have the final say.
Smith, Steward offer bright glimpse of the future
Smith may only be in the infancy of his international career but he already looks an assured presence at this level.
Full-back Steward put in a fine performance at full-back too. The pair look a very exciting prospect for an England side who played with plenty of attacking intent and backed up a fine win over Australia last time out.
Young front row survives the test but penalties a worry
Much of the narrative ahead of this one was whether the inexperienced duo of hooker Jamie Blamire and prop Bevan Rodd could cope against South Africa's pack.
For the most part they passed the test superbly, but for all their endeavour England were guilty of giving away far too many cheap penalties. On another day, and against a player of the quality of Pollard who hurt them so badly in the World Cup final, it could have been far more costly.
Max Verstappen conceded Red Bull are struggling for pace after a "beautiful" lap from Lewis Hamilton saw the Mercedes driver take pole for the Qatar Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who cut Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship to 14 points with his victory in Sao Paulo last time out, was quickest on Saturday with a blistering lap of 1:20.827.
Verstappen could not get close to that and was left to settle for second for the first Formula One race in Qatar, the Dutchman finishing 0.455 seconds off the pace.
Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes, with Red Bull's setback of Verstappen being unable to get ahead of Hamilton on the grid exacerbated by Sergio Perez failing to make it out of Q2.
Perez will start in 11th, meaning it is Hamilton who has a clear edge going into another crucial race.
Speaking after qualifying, Verstappen said: "[We're] lacking a bit of pace, it's been just a bit more tricky for us, again, in qualifying.
"It just shows we're struggling a bit more than normal. All to play for, but I wish we could have fought for more.
"There's a lot of unknowns, we just need to work on our start and we'll see where we end up."
The difference between Hamilton and Verstappen marked the largest pole margin in dry qualifying this year, with things looking up for the seven-time world champion after a challenging week.
"Yesterday was a really difficult day, Thursday and Friday I wasn't feeling too well, really had to dig deep," said Hamilton.
"I was here until midnight last night, working with the engineers, we found a lot of areas where I could improve.
"We didn't have any traffic, that last lap was beautiful, this track is amazing to drive.
"I felt fantastic today, slept really well last night, that made a big difference."
Asked about strategy for the race, Hamilton added: "It's not the easiest of circuits to follow, but it's also not massively degrading on the tyres.
"It could be a one or two [stop], we'll find out tomorrow. It's nice and wide into turn one, so we'll be giving everything."
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.455s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0.651s
4. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +0.813s
5. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +0.843s
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.904s
7. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +1.013s
8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +1.054s
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +1.201s
10. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +1.958s
Daniil Medvedev will defend his ATP Finals crown on Sunday following a commanding straight-sets victory over Casper Ruud in the semi-finals.
Reigning champion Medvedev cruised through to the final after wrapping up a 6-4 6-2 win in one hour and 20 minutes in Turin.
The world number two will face Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev as he aims to become the ninth different player to successfully defend this title.
Medvedev reached the semi-finals of the year-ending championship with a match to spare, winning three out of three in the Red Group, and did not offer up a single break point against Ruud, who he had beaten in both of their previous meetings.
The US Open champion took early command, breaking in game three and holding before serving to love to take the opening set.
The winner of five ATP Tour titles in 2021, world number eight Ruud was aiming to become the third debutant to lift this trophy in five years after Grigor Dimitrov (2017) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (2019).
However the Norwegian, who squeezed past Andrey Rublev on Friday, was broken twice in the second set as Medvedev surged into a 5-2 lead, before serving out to complete a ninth straight win at this event.
Should Djokovic beat Zverev, it will bring up a fourth meeting of 2021 between the world’s top two players. The Serbian beat Medvedev at the Paris Masters earlier this month and in the Australian Open final at the start of the season, but went down in straight sets at Flushing Meadows in September.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Medvedev – 20/16
Ruud – 16/26
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Medvedev – 3/2
Ruud – 1/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Medvedev – 3/9
Ruud – 0/0
Collin Sexton will miss the rest of the NBA season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus, the Cleveland Cavaliers have announced.
The Cavs guard was injured in the 126-109 win over the New York Knicks on November 7 and the severity of the issue has now been confirmed.
A team statement read: "Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton sustained a season-ending left knee injury on Sunday Nov. 7th at New York, later confirmed on Nov. 8th after an MRI administered at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health.
"Sexton underwent successful surgery on Nov. 17th to repair a meniscus tear after additional evaluation over the past week determined that surgery was the best course of action to treat the affected area."
The release added: "His return to basketball activities will be updated as appropriate."
It marks a significant blow for a Cavs team who started the season well but have been hampered by injury issues. Six regulars were unavailable against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
Sexton was second for the Cavs in scoring, averaging 16 points before his injury. He was also averaging 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in Cleveland's opening 11 matches.
Tennis star Peng Shuai is safe and well in her own home and will soon "show up in public" to allay concerns about her wellbeing, a leading Chinese state media journalist claimed on Saturday.
Peng has been widely considered to have been missing since making sexual assault allegations against Zhang Gaoli, the ex-vice premier and member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times, said two-time grand slam doubles champion Peng "didn't want to be disturbed".
Three purportedly new pictures of Peng have been reportedly posted on Chinese messaging app WeChat, along with a "Happy weekend" message.
They show her sitting in a room surrounded by soft toys, lifting up a grey cat, and holding a toy panda. In each of the pictures, which have not been externally verified as being recent, Peng appears to be well and content.
Hu wrote on Twitter: "I confirmed through my own sources today that these photos are indeed Peng Shuai's current state.
"In the past few days, she stayed in her own home freely and she didn't want to be disturbed. She will show up in public and participate in some activities soon."
There have been fears expressed for Peng's safety from within tennis and beyond, and the veracity of subsequent messages from Peng – both on email and posted in her name on Weibo – has been questioned.
There has also been early scepticism expressed about the latest pictures of the 35-year-old.
United States president Joe Biden on Friday called for China to provide "independent and verifiable proof of her whereabouts and that she is safe".
WTA stars Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka are among leading figures to have spoken of their concern for Peng, and men's world number one Novak Djokovic weighed in on Friday, saying he would support any move by the women's tour to back out of events in China.
French sports daily L'Equipe on Saturday led its front page with the question "Ou est Peng Shuai?" – Where is Peng Shuai? – as global concern continued to escalate.
Australia's former doubles world number one Paul McNamee said it was vital that hard evidence is produced to confirm she is safe and well.
McNamee wrote on Twitter: "Peng Shuai, an independent woman of substance, is someone I got to know pretty well. Along with everyone else in the tennis community, I am very worried, as we long to see her and, I reiterate, hear her voice in person."
WTA chairman Steve Simon was quoted on Friday by the BBC as saying his organisation still had not heard from former French Open and Wimbledon doubles winner Peng directly and warned it would have no issue backing out of events in China without proof the player was safe.
The authenticity of an email said to have been sent from Peng this week to the WTA has been questioned, leading Simon to say it "only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts".
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