William Buick has conceded that despite retaining his champion jockey title, this season has been “different”.
Having claimed his first championship last year with a plethora of Group One victories, his main Charlie Appleby stable had a much quieter time of things this summer.
That did not stop Buick storming to another title, but it meant he spread his net far and wide in the search of winners as he cruised to victory over Oisin Murphy, with a strike-rate of over 20 per cent.
Buick said: “Retaining the championship has been a real highlight, but it has been a very different season, no season is the same, when you set the bar high the expectations are there. Even though the season has been different, my ambition was to retain the championship and work hard for it, which I have done.
“Last year I had lot of good winners including Classics and this year has been slightly different, but none the less this season has been a success.
“I have had lot of domestic and international rides, which are never an easy thing to balance when going for a championship, but like last year I have managed to get that right, and already we are looking forward to next year.”
In an interview with Great British Racing, Buick was asked what motivates him and he replied: “Being champion jockey drives me, no question about it.
“I also think that I am at a point in my career where I think why not keep doing it. I enjoy going racing, the winners, the support, and I enjoy being champion jockey.
“The big races, the Classics, the Derbys, the big Group Ones, the festivals and Royal Ascot are the pinnacle of the sport and that is how we showcase ourselves and the best horses.
“Being champion jockey is great and it should be on everyone’s list, but I have been privileged to race in the big meetings for a while as well and those are the moments that sell our sport.”
Buick was one of four jockeys to ride over a century of winners in the title race, which runs from May 6 to October 21, with Murphy, Rossa Ryan and Tom Marquand the others.
Hayley Turner made it safely to Ascot for Qipco British Champions Day after requiring a dramatic rescue from her flooded car on Friday.
The record-breaking rider is currently hunting down her 1,000th career victory and was hoping to arrive in Berkshire on 999 winners with a fancied ride on Docklands in the closing Balmoral Handicap.
Turner was expecting to ride Run Zarak Run at Redcar on Friday – but never made it to the north-east track after having to place an emergency call when her car was swamped in the midst of Storm Babet.
While Turner emerged unscathed, Run Zarak Run duly romped home under replacement PJ McDonald to add to her woes.
She told ITV Racing: “My dream was nearly in place, but I had a bit of an incident yesterday. Basically my car is floating down the Great North Road somewhere on my way to Redcar.
“I had to call 999 and get the fireman to come and rescue me – I actually got a fireman’s lift out of my car window!
“The horse then won about 15 lengths so a very frustrating day. I’m car-less and win-less as well.”
Frankie Dettori kicked off British Champions Day with a bang by steering Trawlerman to a thrilling victory in the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup.
On the day billed as his final day riding in Europe before heading overseas, the Italian rolled back the years to not only dazzle at Ascot once more, but also register yet another big-race victory in the royal blue silks of Godolphin.
The 52-year-old was eager throughout to not let the outsider Maxident have too much rope on the front end and was the only one to chase Dominic Ffrench Davis’ charge aboard the 9-1 chance, as Owen Lewis pushed the tempo heading downhill.
Having pursued Maxident and hit the front four furlongs from home, Trawlerman was passed by Aidan O’Brien’s staying star Kyprios rounding the home bend with Ryan Moore soon searching for the winning post.
However, Dettori switched his mount and asked for extra and he bravely battled back to haul in Kyprios and prevail by a neck.
It was a third straight victory for John and Thady Gosden’s stayer, who was third in this race 12 months ago, and for Dettori it was the perfect start to his goodbye to British racing.
Dettori said: “I heard the roar of the crowd – oh my god it was special – especially when I was cutting him back, I couldn’t believe it.
“I’ve beaten one of my greatest rivals who I have tremendous respect for in Ryan Moore, on my final day. Sensational.
“He passed me comfortably and I thought he was going to go and win by 20 lengths, but once he didn’t get away from me I thought I maybe had a little bit left. In fairness to the horse he kept going.”
Frankie Dettori’s farewell to Britain got off to a perfect start, as Trawlerman battled back gamely for victory in the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot.
The Italian is enjoying his final afternoon in European action before moving to America – and the first of his five rides ensured racegoers could enjoy a famous flying dismount.
Trawlerman (9-1) was left in front around half a mile from home in the two-mile affair, as pacesetting Maxident dropped away sharply.
Dettori looked a sitting duck as 11-10 favourite Kyprios reeled him in down the straight, passing him with two furlongs to run, but Dettori had saved something and showed all his skill in mounting another challenge.
Reining his mount back in, he switched to Kyprios’ outside and Trawlerman stuck his head out on the line to grab victory.
After delivering a stinging response to his critics by leading Wigan to Grand Final glory last week, Harry Smith is relishing the prospect of winning his second England cap in the first match of a three-test series against Tonga on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Wigan stand-off played an increasingly pivotal role in his club’s surge to the Super League title, culminating in kicking six points in their 10-2 win over Catalans at Old Trafford last weekend in the Betfred Grand Final.
It marked a glittering end to the season for Smith, who missed out on the prestigious Harry Sunderland man-of-the-match trophy by a single vote, and was all the more impressive given early season concerns over his inconsistency with the boot.
Ahead of the clash at St Helens’ Totally Wicked Stadium, Smith told the PA news agency: “I’m very happy with how the season went in terms of leadership and game management, and winning the confidence of my team-mates and (Wigan head coach) Matt Peet.
“I got a bit of stick due to my kicking, and some of it was probably a bit unfair. I thought my overall performance, creating stuff for the team, was really good.
“I never really over-thought it. I knew the work I was putting in would pay off, and I just had to keep looking forward and not backwards. I feel like I’ve really managed to make those improvements in the last few months.”
Smith made his only previous England appearance in a one-sided 64-0 thrashing of France earlier this year and knows his side face a different proposition against a Tonga squad stacked with talent from Australia’s NRL.
In the absence through suspension of regular captain George Williams, Smith is set to form a new half-back partnership with Hull KR’s Mikey Lewis, one of two potential debutants in coach Shaun Wane’s 19-man matchday squad alongside Leeds’ Harry Newman.
For more experienced members of the squad, the series represents the chance to finally shrug off any lingering disappointment from last year’s dramatic golden point World Cup semi-final defeat to Samoa at the Emirates Stadium.
Smith added: “The Samoa game has not been mentioned much, because there’s obviously quite a lot of players in the squad who were not involved, but there are definitely some who still have that bitter feeling.
“It’s more about how we can move on with the aim of getting to a World Cup final in the future. It’s why we take up the sport, to play in the biggest games, and the difference between this and the France game is obvious.
“You can feel it in training, the intensity is much bigger than before the France game, because not only are you surrounded with really good players, but you know how good those are who you are coming up against.”
St Helens full-back Jack Welsby has been handed the honour of becoming England’s youngest ever captain on his home ground and will come face-to-face with domestic team-mate Will Hopoate in the opposite position.
Saints team-mate Tommy Makinson is another survivor from the Samoa nightmare and he believes Welsby’s ascent to the captaincy, in place of the now-retired Sam Tomkins, has been an inevitability for some time.
“I’m really proud first and foremost,” said Makinson. “It’s been coming and in his performances over the past two or three years, we’ve all seen what Jack can do.
“He’s a back-to-back Man of Steel candidate and all the accolades have come his way. He’s not really very vocal, but he’s honest, hard-working and more than anything he’s a good bloke, and that’s why everyone respects him.”
Ancient Wisdom, impressive winner of the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket last week, is to be supplemented for next Saturday’s Kameko Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.
Trained by Charlie Appleby, the Dubawi colt improved his record to three wins from four outings with a dominant display on the Rowley Mile.
His sole defeat came at the hands of Richard Hannon’s subsequent Prix Jean- Luc Lagadere winner Rosallion in an Ascot Listed race in July.
Following a workout on Saturday morning, he impressed Appleby sufficiently enough to book a ticket to the final Group One of the UK season.
A post on X, formerly known as Twitter, from Godolphin, read: “Ancient Wisdom, brilliant winner of the Group Three Autumn Stakes on Future Champions Day @NewmarketRace, worked well this morning and the intention is to supplement him for next weekends Group One Futurity Stakes @DoncasterRaces.”
New Zealand boss Ian Foster plans to enjoy a bowl of popcorn while watching England’s blockbuster with South Africa after his side eased into the Rugby World Cup final by dispatching Argentina.
Foster can put his feet up for Saturday evening’s colossal semi-final clash between Steve Borthwick’s men and the Springboks thanks to a crushing 44-6 success over Los Pumas in Paris.
The 58-year-old expects an “interesting contrast of styles” in the other last-four fixture and is not bothered who the All Blacks face in next week’s showpiece match at Stade de France.
New Zealand barely broke sweat in booking an unprecedented fifth World Cup final appearance and now have the luxury of an extra day’s rest as they await the identity of their ultimate opponents.
“I’ll be watching it,” said Foster. “I’ll probably have some popcorn and sit there and watch it and I don’t care who wins. We’re very much in a focus-about-ourselves stage.
“One thing that extra day does give us, it gives us a bit of a chance to have a break mentally and not to spend too much juice worrying about if it’s them, if it’s them.
“They’re both good teams. South Africa have been playing some brilliant rugby the last few weeks and are clearly on top of their game.
“But we’ve also seen an English side that just build away quietly and are probably starting to understand how they want to play and they’re starting to get really good at how they want to play and believe in that.
“It will be an interesting contrast of styles.”
All Blacks wing Will Jordan ran in a hat-trick during the seven-try rout in Saint-Denis to lift him above France’s Damian Penaud as the World Cup’s leading try scorer on eight.
The treble also saw the 25-year-old equal the record for tries in a single tournament, putting him alongside Jonah Lomu, Bryan Habana and Julian Savea.
Foster was able to empty his bench long before the full-time whistle due to the emphatic scoreline and opted to keep the sin-binned Scott Barrett on the sidelines for around five minutes longer than required as the Kiwis finished with 14 men.
Asked if those situations could prove advantageous moving towards the final, Foster said: “I don’t think they’ll make a massive difference.
“Finals are finals and whoever we play, they’ll be a hundred per cent.
“It was an opportunity for us to make sure that we looked after our resources as best we could.
“We really didn’t see a need of putting Scooter (Barrett) back on, only from the perspective that if he had another little yellow card incident in the next five minutes, it might have made it a little bit niggly.”
Argentina were a shadow of the side who stunned Wales in the last eight.
A pair of first-half Emiliano Boffelli penalties was all they could muster.
Shannon Frizell’s double, plus further tries from Jordie Barrett and Aaron Smith, added to their punishment.
Los Pumas head coach Michael Cheika felt New Zealand ruthlessly exploited each of his team’s errors and was unhappy with some of the refereeing, particularly during first-half rucks.
The Australian promised his players will respond to a difficult outing in the bronze-medal match.
“It’s not a sad moment; it’s a moment when I’m actually proud of my team,” he said.
“It’s not an easy path that we’ve been on. We’ve invested ourselves a lot in this. But we’ve lost on details. I’m sad for them.
“It’s hard but its a good thing it’s hard. On Friday, we will be there, have no doubt. We will not leave this way.
“We want to finish third. We’ve got things we want to show in the bronze final. Right now, we’re hurting.”
For a second straight night, the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied late to stun the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series.
Arizona scored three times in the eighth inning, highlighted by Alek Thomas' pinch-hit, game-tying two-run homer, to earn a critical 6-5 win over the defending NL champions in Friday's Game 4 that evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.
After losing Games 1 and 2 in Philadelphia by a combined score of 15-3, the Diamondbacks got back into the series with Thursday's 2-1 comeback victory in Game 3, in which they trailed 1-0 in the seventh inning and won it on Ketel Marte's run-scoring single off Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth.
Kimbrel came on in the eighth of Game 4 to protect a 5-3 Phillies' lead and again faltered. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. led off Arizona's half of the inning with a double and two batters later, Thomas drove a pitch into Chase Field's swimming pool in right-centre field to tie the contest.
Marte later singled with two out and Kimbrel hit Corbin Carroll with a pitch to set the stage for Gabriel Moreno, who greeted reliever Jose Alvarado with a single to center that drove in Marte for a 6-5 Arizona edge.
Philadelphia got the tying run in scoring position in the ninth when Kyle Schwarber doubled with two out, but Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald struck out Trea Turner to end the game and keep the momentum in Arizona's favour.
In a series where the home team has won every time thus far, the Diamondbacks will host Game 5 on Saturday.
Arizona took a 2-0 lead on Emmanuel Rivera's RBI single in the second inning and Moreno's base hit in the third that also plated Marte, but the battle-tested Phillies responded with five runs over the next four innings to forge ahead.
Schwarber got them on the board in the fourth with his fourth home run of the series and Brandon Marsh doubled home J.T. Realmuto in the fifth to create a 2-2 tie. The Phillies then took advantage of wildness and a defensive miscue by the young Diamondbacks to score twice more in the sixth.
Andrew Saalfrank, one of eight Arizona pitchers used on the night, walked Schwarber, Turner and Bryce Harper in succession to load the bases for Alec Bohm, who delivered an infield single to send home Schwarber with the go-ahead run. Third baseman Rivera threw errantly to home plate on the play, allowing Turner to score as well and put Philadelphia ahead 4-2.
The Phillies tacked on another run when Johan Rojas tripled in the seventh and scored on Turner's sacrifice fly.
Both Schwarber and Bohm had two hits and an RBI for the Phillies. Moreno finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs for Arizona, while Marte had two hits and scored twice.
England are ready for scheming from South Africa at the Stade de France on Saturday but believe the World Cup will be decided in other areas.
Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus is accomplished at what Warren Gatland describes as “dark arts”, such as using mind games to give his side an edge, especially through the use of social media to “control the agenda”.
The most recent example is the suggestion that the Springboks used HIAs in their quarter-final victory over France last Sunday to give forwards Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Bongi Mbonambi a rest – a claim denied by Erasmus.
Attack coach Richard Wigglesworth insists England know they will be targeted in the last-four showdown in Paris and even believes that their media output is being monitored closely.
“I’m sure that, with the smarts of their coaching team, they will try to throw stuff at us, no doubt. Will that be the winning and losing of this game? Probably not,” Wigglesworth said.
“It will probably be the big bits of the game that decides that and then they’ll give those little nuances a chance.
“I wouldn’t like to guess what they are going to try and do because I know they will watch and hear everything we say. I wouldn’t like to try and give anyone a head start.”
South Africa are aiming to win their fourth World Cup and enter the second semi-final as overwhelming favourites, while few people are giving England a chance.
“If there is pressure on South Africa, then they’ve shown they can deal with it,” Wigglesworth said.
“They dealt with it at the last World Cup and dealt with it in numerous games. It’s not something that we’ve been clinging on to.
“I’m super-impressed with them as an outfit. They’ve evolved a little bit but without changing their DNA, which we know is incredibly physical with a good kicking game on the back of a rush defence.
“That’s stuff that we’re going to have to deal with, but we also need to make sure that we’re giving them some food for thought.”
Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid scored 21 points in his 2023-24 preseason debut to help the Philadelphia 76ers to a 120-106 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
Embiid shot just 3 of 12 from the field, but went 14 of 15 from the free-throw line in the 76ers' final tune-up prior to Thursday's season opener against the Bucks in Milwaukee. The star center added five rebounds and two blocks in 33 minutes.
Starting in place of the disgruntled James Harden, De'Anthony Melton contributed a game-high 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting to aid in the 76ers' victory. Tyrese Maxey chipped in 12 assists and three steals along with 15 points.
Harden's status for the regular season remains in question after the 2017-18 NBA MVP did not show up for team practices earlier this week. Harden requested a trade in the summer due to his displeasure over not receiving a contract extension.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 19 points and 10 assists but shot just 5 of 16 from the floor. The Hawks open their season on the road against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
The Bucks will also enter their showdown with the 76ers off a win, as Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points and Damian Lillard had 19 in Milwaukee's 124-116 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Desmond Bane shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range and put up 24 points for Memphis, which begins its season Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans as star guard Ja Morant begins a 25-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the league.
Elsewhere on the NBA's final night of preseason games, Kyrie Irving posted a 17-point, 11-assist double-double as the Dallas Mavericks earned a 114-104 win over the Detroit Pistons.
The Mavericks rested Luka Doncic as they prepared for Wednesday's anticipated visit to San Antonio to take on the Spurs in Victor Wembanayama's official NBA debut. Josh Green started in Doncic's place and recorded 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a 4-of-5 performance from 3-point range.
In Houston, rookie Amen Thompson compiled 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists to help the Rockets to a 110-104 win over the Miami Heat.
Thompson, the No. 4 pick in this year's draft, will make his regular-season debut Wednesday when the Rockets visit the Orlando Magic.
Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green added 20 points for Houston, which also received 16 points and 12 rebounds from Alperen Sengun.
In Toronto, the Raptors completed a 4-0 preseason with a 134-98 rout of the Washington Wizards behind Scottie Barnes' 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
Pascal Siakam finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists in Toronto's final game before Wednesday's opener against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jose Altuve's go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning put the Houston Astros a win away from another World Series trip with a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers in Friday's pivotal and testy Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.
Altuve's blast off Rangers closer Jose Leclerc highlighted a wild late-game sequence that also contained a benches-clearing incident between the two AL West rivals when Houston's Bryan Abreu hit Texas' Adolis Garcia with a pitch in the eighth inning.
Garcia had belted a three-run homer off Astros starter Justin Verlander in his previous plate appearance, with the sixth-inning shot giving the Rangers a 4-2 lead.
After tempers cooled and order restored following the altercation, which led to the ejections of Abreu, Garcia and Astros manager Dusty Baker, Houston put two on with none out in the ninth after Yainer Diaz singled and Leclerc walked pinch-hitter Jon Singleton.
Altuve then sent Leclerc's 0-1 pitch over the left-field wall for his 26th career post-season homer and a 5-4 Houston advantage.
The Rangers did threaten in the bottom of the ninth when Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim opened their half of the frame with singles. However, Astros closer Ryan Pressly retired Texas No. 1-3 hitters - Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Evan Carter - in succession to give the defending World Series champs their third straight win of the best-of-seven series after dropping the first two games.
Houston can capture a third straight AL pennant at home in Saturday's Game 6. The visiting team has won every game of the series thus far, however, and the Rangers are 6-0 on the road during this post-season.
The Astros controlled the early part of Game 5 behind Verlander, who allowed just three hits and one walk through the first five innings as Houston held a 2-1 lead.
Texas' bats then came to life in the sixth, as Seager laced a one-out double and Carter singled in front of Garcia's towering homer that put the Rangers in front.
Alex Bregman's solo homer off Jordan Montgomery in the first gave Houston an early advantage they held until Nathaniel Lowe homered off Verlander in the fifth.
The Astros went back ahead in the sixth when Bregman walked, took third on Yordan Alvarez's single and scored on Jose Abreu's base hit to center.
Montgomery allowed two runs on five hits through 5 1/3 innings, while Verlander surrendered four runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings.
New Zealand boss Ian Foster plans to enjoy a bowl of popcorn while watching England’s blockbuster with South Africa after his side eased into the Rugby World Cup final by dispatching Argentina.
Foster can put his feet up for Saturday evening’s colossal semi-final clash between Steve Borthwick’s men and the Springboks thanks to a crushing 44-6 success over Los Pumas in Paris.
The 58-year-old expects an “interesting contrast of styles” in the other last-four fixture and is not bothered who the All Blacks face in next week’s showpiece match at Stade de France.
New Zealand barely broke sweat in booking an unprecedented fifth World Cup final appearance and now have the luxury of an extra day’s rest as they await the identity of their ultimate opponents.
“I’ll be watching it,” said Foster. “I’ll probably have some popcorn and sit there and watch it and I don’t care who wins. We’re very much in a focus-about-ourselves stage.
“One thing that extra day does give us, it gives us a bit of a chance to have a break mentally and not to spend too much juice worrying about if it’s them, if it’s them.
“They’re both good teams. South Africa have been playing some brilliant rugby the last few weeks and are clearly on top of their game.
“But we’ve also seen an English side that just build away quietly and are probably starting to understand how they want to play and they’re starting to get really good at how they want to play and believe in that.
“It will be an interesting contrast of styles.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took pole position for the United States Grand Prix after Max Verstappen’s lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Verstappen looked to have qualified first in his Red Bull at a sizzling Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, only to see his lap – five thousandths of a second quicker than Leclerc – chalked off by the stewards.
Verstappen dropped from first to sixth with Lando Norris taking second for McLaren ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz finished fourth with George Russell fifth for Mercedes.
Verstappen, who wrapped up his third world title in Qatar a fortnight ago, is bidding to join Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel by reaching 50 victories.
But the Dutchman’s quest will start from back down the grid after he put all four wheels off the track at Turn 18 following a rare mistake.
Verstappen headed into the final runs a quarter of a second down after he took aim at his team for putting him on track too close to Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull.
“Well f****** done there,” he yelled over the radio. “What the f*** was that in the last corner?!”
His subsequent error then allowed Leclerc to take the 21st pole of his career, 0.130 sec ahead of Norris, who finished nine thousandths clear of Hamilton.
Daniel Ricciardo is back in the saddle after missing five races with a broken hand sustained in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25.
The 34-year-old Australian progressed to Q2 before lining up in 15th, one second off the pace and four places behind Yuki Tsunoda in the other AlphaTauri.
Aston Martin have brought a number of upgrades across the pond, but both their drivers were sent for an early bath.
Fernando Alonso managed only 17th with team-mate Lance Stroll – on a torrid run of form – two places further back.
Meanwhile, American rookie Logan Sargeant, whose seat with Williams has not been confirmed for next season, will line up from last position at his home race.
New Zealand booked an unprecedented fifth World Cup final appearance after blowing away Argentina 44-6 at the Stade de France.
A week after successfully emerging from an thunderous quarter-final against Ireland, this resembled more of a training ground exercise for the All Blacks against opponents who were a shadow of the side that edged out Wales.
Instead, this was the Argentina that laboured through Pool D in a poor advert for the weaker half of the draw and the World Cup in general as a muted atmosphere watched New Zealand plunder seven tries.
Worryingly for either South Africa or England, who meet in Saturday’s second semi-final, they will face a side who barely broke sweat and whose bench had been emptied with 14 minutes to go.
Wing Will Jordan ran in a hat-trick to lift him above France’s Damian Penaud as the World Cup’s leading try scorer on eight, placing him level with Jonah Lomu’s record of tries scored in a single tournament.
It was an impressive feat that underlined New Zealand’s attacking genius, but they were assisted by willing victims who were mesmerised by the shapes unfolding in front of them.
Jordan struck from the All Blacks’ very first drive downfield when defenders sucked in by carries after a line-out maul presented an overlap that provided a simple run in.
It began to look grim for Argentina when Jordie Barrett went over, finishing a try that began deep inside New Zealand’s half with precise handling and clever running lines resulting in attackers pouring into space.
Emiliano Boffelli’s early penalty was already a distant memory as Argentina were repeatedly overrun at the breakdown with Sam Cane their chief destroyer, while any attack was met with an impregnable wall of black shirts.
A spell of battering away on the line produced only another Boffelli penalty when there was a sense far more would be needed to halt New Zealand’s march towards the final.
Patient All Blacks play paid off when they renewed their assault, methodically working their way into a threatening position and when the moment came they pulled the trigger, Mark Telea almost crossing before Shannon Frizell strolled over.
It was becoming a procession and while the favourites were being looked on favourably by referee Angus Gardner at times, there was no denying their ascendency in every facet of the game.
Aaron Smith was the next over via a brilliant step, exploiting a Pumas maul defence that was short on manpower, and then even Frizell muscled his way over despite the attention of three would-be tacklers.
Jordan moved past Penaud with New Zealand’s sixth try and his hat-trick score in the 74th minute was a thing of beauty as he slipped through a non-existent Argentina defence, gathered his own kick and scored.
When the final whistle blew the Pumas sank to their knees, aware they had not shown up on only their third semi-final appearance.
Rotherham’s Championship game with Ipswich on Friday has been postponed due to Storm Babet.
The area has been hit with torrential rain over the last 24 hours and the River Don, which runs behind the AESSEAL New York Stadium has burst its banks.
That has left areas around the stadium flooded and after discussions with the Safety Advisory Group and the English Football League, the game has been called off.
There was no problem with the pitch at the stadium, with the game due to have been shown on Sky Sports.
A club statement read: “Rotherham United’s Sky Bet Championship fixture against Ipswich Town has been postponed on the grounds of supporter safety following discussions with representatives from the Safety Advisory Group and the EFL which took place shortly after 4:30pm on Friday.
“After the River Don – which courses around the perimeter of AESSEAL New York Stadium – burst its banks, urgent discussions between representatives from the Safety Advisory Group/Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and club safety personnel and the EFL – were held with the conclusion deeming the weather conditions and their subsequent effect on the surrounding area a danger to supporters.
“This coupled with continued rainfall resulting in the flood waters rising and Don Street being closed to the public left the authorities with no choice but to postpone the game.
“Throughout the day the pitch at AESSEAL New York Stadium has remained playable but with the safety of everyone attending the match at the height of our priorities, the difficult decision to postpone the fixture has been taken.
“The decision was relayed to the EFL and our counterparts at Ipswich Town with all parties in agreement that postponing the fixture was the only possible way to ensure the safety of players, staff and supporters.
“It goes without saying that we are obviously disappointed for supporters due to attend and those set to watch at home given the game was being broadcast live on Sky Sports.”
Two cinch Premiership matches are among six Scottish league games which have been postponed amid severe weather warnings.
Aberdeen’s home match against Dundee and Motherwell’s trip to face St Johnstone have fallen foul of the storm.
The news came after a second person died in Angus as a result of the storm, which has brought floods and high winds, and after warnings of a risk to life were extended to all day Saturday as more heavy rain is forecast.
The Championship game between Arbroath and Raith Rovers, in the worst-hit area of Angus, has been called off.
Cove Rangers against Montrose has been postponed along with two games in League 2 – Elgin versus Forfar and Stenhousemuir against Peterhead.
The games all involve teams in the north east of the country and Perth and were all due to take place on Saturday.
The Scottish Professional Football League called off the games on safety grounds following discussions with police, clubs and other authorities with people being advised not to travel in large areas of the country.
SPFL chief operating officer Calum Beattie said: “We have been in close contact with Police Scotland and our clubs and it’s clear that we continue to face very severe weather, particularly in the north east, in the coming days.
“We never postpone any matches lightly, but our discussions with the emergency services left us in no doubt that this was the correct decision.”
The SPFL added that it would continue to monitor the situation involving the remaining fixtures across the country.
St Johnstone had told supporters their game was going ahead as it stood less than three hours before the wider decision was taken.
A club statement early on Friday afternoon said: “Whilst heavy rain has affected the local area, our dedicated ground staff and officials have been working tirelessly to ensure the pitch is in optimal condition, and we’ve taken all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of both players and spectators.”
Altrincham’s home game against Dorking in the Vanarama National League on Saturday has also been postponed.
Friday’s jumps fixtures at Fakenham and Uttoxeter were called off as Storm Babet continues to bring heavy rain and strong winds across the country.
Both tracks had called inspections for 7.30am but neither venue held their respective cards due to the weather conditions.
Uttoxeter had 12mm of rain overnight, with clerk of the course Richard Fothergill anticipating a further 20mm at least over the day.
Saturday’s National Hunt card at Stratford has been cancelled due to a waterlogged track, with 31mm of rain overnight and more forecast, while Market Rasen have also called off their meeting.
Catterick, Newton Abbot and Leopardstown have all called precautionary morning checks to assess conditions.
The Chicago Bulls have "unfinished business" after missing out on the NBA Playoffs in five of the last six seasons, according to Andre Drummond.
The Bulls were expected to improve on a promising 2021-22 term this time last year, but they finished 40-42 for the regular season before missing out on the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago were beaten by the Miami Heat in April's play-in tournament, bringing a premature end to an inconsistent campaign in which they never once posted a four-game winning streak.
Their woes were compounded by seeing guard Lonzo Ball sit out the entire season with a knee injury which has now required multiple surgeries. Having last taken to the court in January 2022, Ball will also miss the 2023-24 campaign after being forced to undergo a cartilage transplant.
Despite Ball's absence, Drummond believes Chicago can look forward to a more positive time of things this season, having kept a familiar core intact.
"It's definitely been one of my better offseasons, I feel like I got a lot done," Drummond told Stats Perform. "I got some good insight into what is expected of me, so that's what I worked on this summer.
"With the Bulls I feel like we have some unfinished business, which is one of the reasons why I ended up coming back here to Chicago, picking up my player option.
"We started off really good at the beginning of last year, and I feel like we let a lot of things slip, some due to injuries and some due to just not really having any real chemistry yet.
"Losing Lonzo, a lot of our decision-making has been spread out throughout our team, for guys that aren't used to doing it.
"I think with a year under our belts now, we know how each other play and we know each other a little bit better, we will be able to really build that chemistry."
In June, two-time All Star Drummond exercised his $3.36million option to remain with the Bulls, who open their season at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
He will again be teaming up with Nikola Vucevic, who signed a three-year, $60m contract extension with Chicago in June, and Drummond is enjoying working with his fellow center.
"The relationship I have with Vuch is unique because he's somebody I've battled against for almost a decade, just playing against this guy year in, year out," Drummond said.
"Then being team-mates with him now and just seeing him on a day-to-day basis, I just really formed a new respect for him, watching how hard he works and how he prepares for each and every game.
"Being here with him has been a lot of fun. We have two different games, which is why our games work together on the same team.
"He's more of the outside shooter and I'm more of the brute force down low that gets all the rebounds and does all the dirty work, so our games clash very well."
Vucevic averaged 17.6 points, 11 rebounds and 3.2 assists while playing in all 82 games throughout 2022-23, also shooting 52 per cent from the field, his highest rate since 2014-15.
Lewis Hamilton raised the prospect of challenging Max Verstappen for pole position at the United States Grand Prix after he finished third in practice.
Hamilton trailed Verstappen by 0.281 seconds in the sole running before qualifying later on Friday with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc splitting the rivals.
But the seven-time world champion, in his upgraded Mercedes, clocked the fastest first and second sectors before hitting traffic in the final part of his speediest lap at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
Verstappen claimed his third world title in as many years at the previous round in Qatar.
But Hamilton’s early pace at a track where he has enjoyed so much success over the years suggests he might be able to give the Dutchman a run for his money in qualifying for Sunday’s 56-lap race.
Leclerc could also be a contender in the Lone Star State after he finished just 0.156 sec behind Verstappen.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez took fourth spot, three tenths back, a place ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen with George Russell sixth for Mercedes.
Oscar Piastri survived a hairy moment when he temporarily lost control of his McLaren through Turn 8.
The Australian rookie, who won the sprint race in Lusail a fortnight ago, looked destined for the barriers after he ran on to the grass at high speed.
Piastri wiggled one way to the next but managed to catch his out-of-control machine to avoid a big shunt. He sustained minor damage to the floor of his McLaren in the accident and finished only 19th.
Lance Stroll was rooted to the foot of the time charts after he completed just five laps following a brake failure on his Aston Martin.
Qualifying takes place at 4pm local time (10pm BST).
Kevin Sinfield has demanded England’s players empty the tanks in Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa to ensure they are not left with lifelong regrets.
For eight of the starting XV it is the chance to avenge their defeat to the Springboks in the 2019 final when the expectations generated by a thumping victory over New Zealand a round earlier were ground into the Yokohama Stadium turf.
Steve Borthwick’s England were given little hope of challenging for South Africa’s crown due a dismal series of warm-up fixtures which extended their losing run to five defeats in six Tests, yet they are the only unbeaten side left in the tournament.
Defence coach Sinfield sees the benefit of continuing to confront adversity head on at the Stade de France.
“I am certainly not overwhelmed. I understand the challenge in front of us,” the English rugby league great said.
“But I don’t mind being backed into a corner, don’t mind being written off, don’t mind being slammed, don’t mind being in the thick of a pretty tough circumstance.
“I just think that we’re in a World Cup semi-final, there is a lot of good in us, there are a lot of things to be excited about.
“Coming up against South Africa will let us know where we’re at. But for our players, they are so excited to be out there.
“Rewind eight weeks to the end of August and it was pretty grim for us, but we want them to absolutely rip into it on Saturday night.
“We want them to give everything they’ve got, otherwise you end up with a load of regrets for the rest of your life.
“We are really looking forward to this – we are coming up against the best team in the world at the weekend.”
England have a mix of ages in their squad ranging from 22-year-old George Martin to 36-year-old Dan Cole and Sinfield believes that the final message to the squad before they take the field needs to be delivered with more subtlety in the modern era.
“It’s probably more subtle than Churchillian speeches and understanding that leadership has changed and this generation is different,” Sinfield said.
“Gone is the big Churchillian leader. They do exist but they’re quite rare.”
South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is adept at what Warren Gatland describes as “dark arts”, such as using mind games to give his side an edge.
The most recent example is the suggestion that the Springboks used HIAs in their quarter-final victory over France to give forwards Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Bongi Mbonambi a rest – a claim denied by Erasmus.
Attack coach Richard Wigglesworth insists England are ready for any scheming but believe the match will be decided in other areas.
“I’m sure that, with the smarts of their coaching team, they will try to throw stuff at us, no doubt. Will that be the winning and losing of this game? Probably not,” Wigglesworth said.
“It will probably be the big bits of the game that decides that and then they’ll give those little nuances a chance.
“I wouldn’t like to guess what they are going to try and do because I know they will watch and hear everything we say. I wouldn’t like to try and give anyone a head start.”
Roger Varian only has one runner on British Champions Day – but it is a headline one and he is happy to feel a bit of pressure ahead of King Of Steel’s bid for glory in the Qipco Champion Stakes.
Runner-up to Auguste Rodin in the Derby at Epsom, the giant grey went on to win the King Edward VII Stakes over 12 furlongs at the Royal meeting, as well as run with great credit in the King George and the Irish Champion Stakes.
He now tries again to secure his first top-level success and given he is Frankie Dettori’s final mount on his last afternoon in European action, there is an extra expectation on his team. But Varian is happy to be part of one of the Flat calendar’s marquee events.
“It’s a day you want to be involved in,” he said.
“Unfortunately we have only got the one runner this year, but we have done well at the meeting in the past. We’ve won the Balmoral once or twice and the last two years we’ve picked up Group One races and we would love to come home with a big prize again this year.
“We’re looking forward to it and it’s exciting. You feel a bit of pressure on the day because you should do, it matters, it’s a big deal. He’s a good horse and we want him to win a big race.
“There will be a little bit of pressure on the day, but that comes with being represented by one of the fancied horses in one of the big races. It’s a position we want to be in and we’re looking forward to it.”
King Of Steel was beaten just a length when dropping to back to a mile and a quarter in the Irish Champion Stakes and Varian is taking heart from a return to Ascot.
“We’ve been very happy with him since Leopardstown,” he said.
“We’ve consciously spread his races out, but he’s had hard races because he’s been racing at the top level and he’s not run a bad race all year.
“Saturday won’t be any easier, it’s a tough field assembled, but he very much deserves to be in the race and we think the stiff 10 furlongs will help him
“I think we can gain some confidence and positivity, but in fairness he’s gone left-handed, he’s gone right-handed, he’s gone up and down Epsom and he’s handled Leopardstown.
“Neither of them are easy tracks and he’s also gone well at Ascot, so I would say he’s an agile horse who is versatile in terms of what kind of track he runs on.
“Yes, it’s nice to know he has run well at Ascot previously, but I suppose any track would not concern me too much knowing the horse.”
John and Thady Gosden’s Mostahdaf was ridden to victory by Dettori in the Juddmonte International at York in the absence of the suspended Jim Crowley.
Crowley is back this weekend and Mostahdaf’s connections were certainly pleased the race has been moved to the inner course given his dislike of testing ground.
“John Gosden and I will walk the course in the morning. We’re very keen to run, it’s not his favoured surface, we know that, but we’ve got to make sure it’s not too soft,” said Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell.
“I realise there are other people who disagree, but from our point of view switching the courses has to help and from the race’s point of view, as a spectacle, you want the best horses so to attract them you have to run it on the best ground possible. I don’t think the soft ground horses will be inconvenienced anyway.
“We’d be lying if we thought he’d do what he did in Saudi (won by seven lengths) and since then he’s won the two top 10-furlong races on the calendar.
“It was probably our fault he hadn’t been able to show how good he was. He did only lose once at three, but we tried stretching him out to a mile and a half (last year). Clearly 10 furlongs is his trip.”
Last year’s winner Bay Bridge has perhaps not had the season anticipated by connections but Sir Michael Stoute’s five-year-old ran with credit when sixth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Assistant trainer James Savage said: “We’ve been very pleased with how Bay Bridge came out of the Arc, which was a tough race on ground that dried out throughout the day. He’s been working well since and he’s in good order.
“He ran well at Longchamp and was only beaten about six lengths, having done a little bit too much in Richard’s (Kingscote) hands in the early and middle parts of the race. We are pretty sure he stayed the mile and a half, as he did at Kempton, but you’d have to say that going back to Ascot in conditions we’ve been waiting for all year, he’d have a great shout.”
Horizon Dore has made giant strides this season and is among the favourites after winning the Prix Dollar on Arc weekend, his fourth successive victory.
The gelding is trained by Patrice Cottier and partly-owned by Le Haras De La Gousserie, whose manager Pauline Chehboub told Sky Sports Racing: “He is doing well, he is in good form with some freshness. The trainer is very happy with him and we can’t wait to watch him on the track again.
“He is stronger than at the start of the season. He needed time this year so we chose to stay in France for the first part of the season, with success, and now it’s time to travel and see him at Group One level.
“Just after his win in the Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud in July, (when) he showed plenty of acceleration, we chose to target Champions Day for the end of the year and now we are excited to go.”
George Boughey’s Via Sistina is another in the mix having run with credit all season. Connections plumped for this race rather than the QEII and there would be nothing better than victory in the final British Champions Series race of the year.
“Although she was in both races this has been the plan for her for a long time,” said Boughey.
“I think 10 furlongs is her optimum, and we know that she’s ground-versatile as she won the Pretty Polly on arguably the fastest ground she has ever run on, having previously impressed on soft ground in the Dahlia.
“She looks amazing for this time of year and her best performances come after a break, which she’s had since Deauville two months ago. Oisin (Murphy) already knows her well, having ridden her work when she was with Joe (Tuite). She’s a very high level performer and Oisin is a very good replacement for Jamie (Spencer), who has other commitments.”
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