Daniel Ricciardo is “ready to go” as he prepares to return from injury for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
The 34-year-old Australian has missed the past five races after he broke his left hand in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25.
Ricciardo, who took part in a Red Bull demonstration run in Nashville last weekend, will be back in his AlphaTauri cockpit for practice at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas on Friday.
New Zealander Liam Lawson, who has impressed as Ricciardo’s stand-in, will make way.
He said: “It’s good to be back! My hand is much better and the simulator was a useful way of assessing it.
“I tried it out in the week before Qatar, but I didn’t feel it was at full potential, so I spent the rest of that week in the UK, spending more time in the sim, and got to a point where I felt ready to go.
“My overall fitness is fine as I kept training as much as I could, although I obviously couldn’t do much with my left hand or arm for a while.
“It was definitely frustrating watching the past few races, especially as I’d gotten myself to a place where I was so ready to go again and race, and then I did two events and had to hit pause again, but actually, the time without racing went quite quickly.”
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Ricciardo was due to take part in only his third comeback race when he crashed in Zandvoort. He was immediately taken to the medical centre before he was transported to a nearby hospital with his left arm in a sling.
A subsequent X-ray confirmed Ricciardo had sustained a break to the metacarpal on his left hand.
Ricciardo was ruled out of the race in Holland and the following rounds in Italy, Singapore, Japan and Qatar.
Ricciardo was handed a second chance by Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri following his dismissal by McLaren at the end of last season.
Despite his injury, AlphaTauri announced last month that they have retained the eight-time grand prix winner winner for 2024 alongside Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda.
Migration will aim to land his second major handicap of the season off top weight when he runs in the Balmoral at Ascot on Champions Day.
Trained by David Menuisier, the seven-year-old won the Lincoln at Doncaster on the opening weekend of the season and is aiming to bookend his campaign in fine style.
He has only run once since, when failing to get involved in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown, but Menuisier hopes the return to testing ground and, more importantly, a big field will see him recapture his best.
“We gave him a break in the summer to try to run him in this race. We know he loves the big fields and it looks like he will have his ground, so we are looking forward to it,” said Menuisier.
“We know he can carry big weights and the hustle and bustle of the big handicaps suit him, so we’ve aimed at it.
“Look, off his weight I’m not saying he’s going to go and win, but I know he’ll give his best and we’ll see where he ends up. I’m not a statistician but I assume winning handicaps off 113 has not been done very often. Hopefully class rises to the top.”
It could be a big weekend for Menuisier who is sending Champagne Stakes second Sunway to France for a Group One, though whether he runs in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud over 10 furlongs or the Criterium International over a mile is not quite decided.
He said: “The plan is for Sunway to run I’m just not sure which race yet. I’ve left him in both races to have a look but sadly it looks as if all the other trainers did the same!
“It’s pretty much the same horses in both races. I think our preference is to run him over a mile but I have little doubt he would stay 10 furlongs.
“I’ll have a chat with the owner but at this stage we’re favouring the mile. His Doncaster run was good and the form, with Rosallion winning the Lagardere and Mountain Bear winning a black type race in Ireland, has worked out.”
A decision on whether Matilda Picotte will race on next season or be sold next month has yet to be made, her trainer Kieran Cotter has revealed.
Third behind Mawj and Tahiyra in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in the spring, the three-year-old made a successful return to the Rowley Mile in last week’s Group Two Challenge Stakes.
Given she has also won a Listed race and a Group Three, the daughter of Sioux Nation is clearly a valuable broodmare prospect and she holds an entry in next month’s Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale at Kildare Paddocks.
However, Cotter has not given up hope of seeing her return to training as a four-year-old next term, when he believes she is capable of striking gold at Group One level.
“She’s come out of Newmarket super, as she always does. She goes and gets the job done and comes home and relaxes – she’s a a super horse,” he said.
“She’s definitely finished for this year and the owners are still mulling it over. She is in the Goffs Breeding Stock Sale, so do they keep or do they sell her?
“I suppose where the lads are coming from, there’s 10 of them involved with her and by the time you’ve paid commissions and split it down 10 ways, it’s not going to be a life-changing amount of money.
“They know they’re not going to find another one like her – she’s brought them to places they couldn’t dream of going, so there is that to be factored in as well.”
While Matilda Picotte’s back-to-back Pattern race wins have been achieved over seven furlongs, Cotter is confident his stable star would be capable of contesting top-level sprints in 2024.
He added: “There’ll be a lot of options open to her next year as a four-year-old. If she is here, I’d say we’d look at dropping her back to six furlongs as there aren’t many seven-furlong races open to her at Group One level.
“She showed a lot of pace on Friday – her second and third furlongs were sub 11 seconds, so that’s very, very fast over that trip.
“We’ll keep minding her anyway and see what happens. We’ll enjoy her while she’s here.”
Dermot Weld looks set to make a late call on the participation of his star filly Tahiyra in Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.
The daughter of Siyouni has won five of her six starts to date, her only defeat coming at the hands of Mawj when beaten by half a length in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May.
Tahiyra has since impressed in winning the Irish Guineas, the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown and Weld is keen to pitch her in against the colts on Qipco Champions Day – but admits the prospect of running on testing conditions is a worry.
“It’s pretty clear the filly herself has progressed from each of her Group Ones wins, I’m delighted with her and we want to run – but I do have to put in the caveat that she’s shown excellent speed on fast ground,” the trainer told Sky Sports Racing.
“She’s also won on soft ground and she’s a very adaptable filly, but I do have to advise that if the ground came up very heavy, she’s not a big filly and it would cause concern.
“She’s a brilliant filly and she will handle soft ground well, but I’m concerned about the weather forecast for that part of England, especially Friday night into Saturday.
“She will definitely travel over, (but) she is racing against some of the best colts in Europe and that (ground) is a concern.”
Weld has trained a host of top-class fillies during the course of his long and illustrious career and believes Tahiyra matches up to any that have gone before her.
He added: “She’s right up there. Homeless Songs was a brilliant filly the year before when she won the Irish Guineas and Tahiyra’s half-sister Tarnawa won at the Breeders’ Cup for us.
“I don’t like comparing horses from year to year. On this year Tahiyra is a very brilliant filly.”
Should Tahiyra sidestep Ascot, she would have the option of travelling to America for the Breeders’ Cup, although Weld is refusing to look beyond the weekend at this stage.
He said: “We haven’t even discussed that because it would be wrong to do so. Let’s concentrate on Saturday and let’s hope to be there.
“Champions Day has always been a very good day for me. Fascinating Rock won the Champion Stakes, we won the fillies’ and mares’ race with Sapphire and the Long Distance Cup I’ve won a couple of times with Forgotten Rules and Rite Of Passage.
“Ascot itself as a track has been very good to me. I think I’ve trained 19 Group winners at the Royal meeting and my horses always run extremely well at Ascot.
“Tahiyra is in great form, I couldn’t be happier with the filly, her final piece of work was excellent and her graph has gone the right direction throughout the year.
“I’m just very positive of a big run for Saturday.”
Autism in Racing has teamed up with the National Autistic Society to help find employment opportunities in the racing sector.
Autism-friendly racedays have been staged at a number of tracks and with the support of the Bloomfield Trust, it is hoped the collaboration will help encourage autistic people to work in the racing industry.
According to recent figures from the Office for National Statistics, only 29 per cent of autistic people are in any kind of employment
Bobby Beevers, founder of Autism in Racing, said: “I’m really thrilled that Autism in Racing and the National Autistic Society will partner up through their Autism at Work programme. One of our key aims is to create employment in the industry, and this a huge leap forward to support autistic individuals to find a role in racing.”
Included among the initiatives are webinars and training for those looking to employ autistic people as well as dedicated job coaches and ongoing advice.
Richmal Maybank, employer engagement manager and Autism at Work lead at the National Autistic Society added: “Employers often ask us what kind of jobs autistic people can do, whilst 68 per cent of employers worry about getting support for autistic people wrong.
“With the right support and adjustments autistic people can thrive across all types of roles and industries.
“The National Autistic Society has had previous links with the Autism in Racing team through their autism-friendly racedays and continue to work towards racecourses achieving the National Autistic Society Autism Friendly Award. This is why we are thrilled to be partnering with the racing industry to seek meaningful employment opportunities.”
England second row Ollie Chessum insists revenge is not a motivating factor for Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa.
The rivals collide for the sixth time in the tournament’s history with the most recent of those meetings taking place in Yokohama four years ago when Eddie Jones’ side were toppled 32-12 in the final.
Having demolished New Zealand a week earlier, England were expected to topple the Springboks but instead they were off the pace from the start and overwhelmed as a consequence.
There should be at least eight survivors from that starting XV who take the field for the rematch at Stade de France, but Chessum denied there was a score to be settled.
“It hasn’t been mentioned much, certainly by me anyway. I wasn’t here in 2019 so it doesn’t motivate me,” the Leicester second row said.
“We have got a new group of players now who are quite happy to leave that in the past and focus on what we can do as this new England group.”
Predictions of the semi-finals being comprised entirely of Six Nations sides have failed to materialise with England the sole European representative and the only unbeaten team left in the competition.
They face one of the great South Africa sides who have been installed as strong favourites to emulate New Zealand by winning back-to-back World Cups in the wake of their victory over France in the previous round.
Defence coach Kevin Sinfield has said that England were “in awe of the physicality they brought” against the hosts and Chessum insisted the Springboks must be matched in the forward exchanges.
“These are the games you want to be a part of – against the biggest teams on the biggest stage in the biggest competition,” Chessum said.
“They have some unbelievable players in their pack. They bring an exceptional level of physicality. It’s up to us to go out on the weekend and compete against that.
“South Africa are unbelievable across the board and we have got to be the same, if not better.
“We are definitely hoping for another step from us. That’s been the nature of the competition. Week by week we have grown as a group and got better in various aspects of our game.
“It’s important that we bring the physicality, but also the level of execution as well.”
England have a settled team and will make only minimal changes to the starting XV that overcame Fiji in the quarter-finals.
The biggest area of debate is at full-back where Steve Borthwick is weighing up the high ball and positional expertise of Freddie Steward against the cutting edge in attack provided by Marcus Smith.
Smith, a converted fly-half, has made only two starts and three replacement appearances in the position and his lack of experience could be exposed by South Africa’s accomplished kicking game.
Owen Farrell’s impressive display against Fiji appears to have brought his duel with George Ford for the number 10 jersey to a conclusion, but Kyle Sinckler could return at tighthead prop.
Daniel Ricciardo will return from injury for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
The 34-year-old Australian has missed the past five races after he broke his left hand in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25.
However, the PA news agency has been told that Ricciardo, who took part in a Red Bull demonstration run in Nashville last weekend, will be back in his AlphaTauri cockpit for practice at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas on Friday.
New Zealander Liam Lawson, who has impressed as Ricciardo’s stand-in, will make way.
Ricciardo was due to take part in only his third comeback race when he crashed in Zandvoort.
He was immediately taken to the medical centre before he was transported to a nearby hospital with his left arm in a sling.
A subsequent X-ray confirmed Ricciardo had sustained a break to the metacarpal on his left hand.
Ricciardo was ruled out of the race in Holland and the following rounds in Italy, Singapore, Japan and Qatar.
Ricciardo was handed a second chance by Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri following his dismissal by McLaren at the end of last season.
Despite his injury, AlphaTauri announced last month that they have retained the eight-time grand prix winner winner for 2024 alongside Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda.
Draymond Green will miss the rest of the preseason but does have a chance of playing in the Golden State Warriors’ regular season opener against the Phoenix Suns.
The Warriors have confirmed the forward will not feature in their final two preseason games against the Sacramento Kings and the San Antonio Spurs this week as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.
Golden State plays its first game of the NBA season at home against the Suns on October 24, with coach Steve Kerr saying his status for that contest is questionable, which is an upgrade to what was previously thought.
Whether the four-time NBA champion is ready to face the Suns or not, Kerr is glad Green is close to a return and will not rush him back prematurely.
"Opening night is questionable," Kerr said to 95.7 The Game.
"He’s not going to play [in preseason] this week. But he is doing really well and moving much better. He went on the trip with us over the weekend and got in some individual workouts.
"I’m not overly concerned about whether he plays opening night or the second week of the season, whenever it comes.
"It’s a long year. We just want Draymond healthy because obviously, we need him. When he’s out there, we become one of the best defenses in the league.
"I just talked to him and he felt good in his [Tuesday] workout. He's moving around, he's doing some drill work on the court and by the end of the week hopefully he is playing some 3-on-3. We'll reevaluate at that point."
Green played in 73 NBA games last season but regularly battled minor ailments, while he missed a month of the 2021-22 campaign with a back injury.
The 33-year-old agreed to a new four-year, $100 million contract with the Warriors in June.
Highclere Thoroughbred Racing are set to head into Saturday’s Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes with two chances of Ascot glory via Spycatcher and Believing.
Both are proven performers on soft ground, so there are no concerns about the rain that is forecast to fall in Berkshire this week.
Spycatcher claimed a Group Three victory at Deauville in July before going down by just a short-head to King Gold in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at elite level there the following month.
Karl Burke’s five-year-old gelding has since been a beaten favourite in the Park Stakes at Doncaster over seven furlongs but is expected to enjoy dropping back down in distance here.
“He’s had a wonderful season and I’ve spoken to Karl, who says he is in great form,” said Highclere’s managing director Harry Herbert.
“He loves this type of ground and a stiff six furlongs on soft going is very much his bag.
“It was unfortunate that he was denied a Group One win at Deauville, it really was just about who was in front on the line.
“Stepping up to seven furlongs last time didn’t work out, but Saturday should be ideal and hopefully he’ll be competitive.”
Believing has also secured a Group Three success this term, landing the Prix Texanita at Chantilly, as well as claiming Listed-class triumphs at Chelmsford and Pontefract.
The George Boughey-trained filly was last seen running a stormer at big odds in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock, coming home less than a length behind Regional when finishing third of 16.
Herbert added: “Believing has done absolutely nothing wrong all year. She ran a terrific race at Haydock and again showed just how tough she is.
“To pick up a Group Three win in France and then be placed in a Group One is a real thrill.
“She’s a daughter of Mehmas and races like him; she just really puts her head down and has a tremendous attitude.
“You never know with a filly at this time of the year, but we’ll give it a go and hope she’s got one more big run in her.”
Fly-half Handre Pollard says the pressure of representing South Africa at the World Cup is a privilege as he bids to inflict more misery on England.
Pollard kicked 22 points in the 2019 final to guide the Springboks to glory with a 32-12 win and still remembers the disappointment etched on the faces of Eddie Jones’ men.
The fit-again Leicester playmaker is competing with Manie Libbok to start Saturday’s Paris semi-final after initially being overlooked for his country’s squad due to a calf injury.
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Pollard expects England, now led by Jones’ successor Steve Borthwick, to take their intensity and physicality to a “whole new level” but insists the heavily-fancied reigning champions are ready for it.
“You could see on their faces four years ago the disappointment and I’ve been part of a squad that’s fallen out in a semi-final in a World Cup (in 2015) and it sits with you the rest of your life,” he said.
“There’s a lot of things you look back (on) and regret and maybe think you could have done differently, and I’m sure they will come with that mindset this weekend.
“I think they will be ruthless, I think they will take their intensity and physicality to a whole new level.
“But that being said, we’re prepared for that, we’re ready for that and we enjoy that.
“That’s always a part of the game we love and if there’s going to be beef, there’s going to be beef.
“It’s Test rugby, it’s 80 minutes and we’ve just got to go out and play the game.”
South Africa are seeking to reach their fourth World Cup final, having lifted the trophy in 1995, 2007 and 2019.
Pollard believes the Springboks’ enviable ability to deliver when it really matters can partly be attributed to adversity some players face during childhood.
“It’s just the way we’re brought up,” he said. “We love it.
“It’s not always been easy for a lot of our guys in our squad growing up so when we get to this position and get to this point where there should be a lot of pressure on us, we refer back to it a lot, this is not really pressure, this is more privilege to be a part of these occasions.
“I think our game model and the way we play the game suits World Cups pretty well. We’re comfortable in this environment.
“As a group we just enjoy it, really enjoy that pressure. We always say it’s a privilege to have this pressure on our shoulders playing for our country.”
South Africa progressed to the last four by upsetting hosts France 29-28 on Sunday.
That epic contest included Cheslin Kolbe successfully charging down a Thomas Ramos conversion and Damian Willemse calling for a scrum off a mark inside his own 22.
Earlier in the tournament, the Springboks attracted attention for a bold selection of a seven-one split of forwards and backs on their bench for the Pool B loss to Ireland.
Pollard says players fully embrace the innovative tactics cooked up by director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and head coach Jacques Nienaber.
“Nothing that they do is for no reason, it’s all thought of, it’s all tick-list planned,” he said.
“We trust them because they’ve earned our trust over the years from what they’ve done and how they’ve prepared.
“So when they come up with these ideas, there are no questions asked.
“They give us a reason why we do whatever we do and then we just back it and we’re all in and we all just trust each other, players to coaches and coaches to players.”
Oisin Murphy has been booked to partner Via Sistina after trainer George Boughey confirmed the Qipco Champion Stakes as the intended target for his star mare at Ascot on Saturday.
A brilliant winner of the Group Two Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket in the spring, the daughter of Fastnet Rock subsequently secured Group One glory in the Pretty Polly in Ireland and has since been placed in the Falmouth Stakes and beaten a nose in the Prix Jean Romanet in France.
Connections decided against contesting the Prix de l’Opera on Arc weekend due to the prevailing fast ground and have a choice of engagements this weekend, with Via Sistina also holding an entry in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes over a mile and a half.
But with rain forecast to hit the Berkshire track, Boughey is planning on running his five-year-old against the boys on British Champions Day – and with regular rider Jamie Spencer in Australia to ride Simon and Ed Crisford’s West Wind Blows in the Caulfield Cup, three-time champion jockey Murphy has been called up.
Boughey said: “It (Champion Stakes) looks very much the plan at the moment. Ten furlongs I think is her optimum trip and it looks like the ground might be in her favour.
“The forecast for France looked like it was going to dry up ahead of the Prix de l’Opera and it certainly did. Steve and Becky Hillen (owners), and fair play to them, they wanted to wait for Ascot and thankfully the rain looks like it’s coming.
“There’s a chance the race may be held on the inner loop and there could be 50 per cent more runners in the fillies’ and mares’ race, so it could get messy. I think the Champion looks the right spot for her.
“The more time she has between her runs, the better she is as well. I still think her best performance of the year was on very soft ground at Newmarket, having had a long break through the winter.
“She’s very fit and very fresh and ready to rock and roll.”
Via Sistina is set to lead a small but select Boughey team into battle at Ascot, with Believing an intended runner in the Qipco British Champions Sprint and Baradar and Raadobarg both set to contest the concluding Balmoral Handicap.
Of the latter pair, Boughey added: “The trip is a bit of a question mark for Baradar – William (Buick) will need to be very patient on him, I think. He has a good record on the horse and knows him well.
“He won well the last day and he seems to have found another leg for the cheekpieces. We know he handles very soft ground, he won the International at Ascot earlier in the season and he comes here in as good a shape as I’ve had him all year, but it’s going to be a long final furlong for him, I’d say.
“Raadobarg takes his racing very well and seems to have come out of his run in the Darley Stakes the other day (finished third) in super shape.
“He deserves his place in the line-up. He’s a big price, but arguably he might be one of the classier horses in the race and we know he handles the ground.”
Leeds have pulled off a double coup for next year’s Betfred Super League with the signings of Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers.
Half-back Croft, who won last year’s Steve Prescott Man of Steel, and England international hooker Ackers have put pen to paper on three-year deals.
Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington said: “It is our biggest investment in one go since we signed Iestyn Harris in 1997 when Iestyn came and made a significant difference to our squad.
“I am sure that Brodie and Andy will both do that.”
Leeds endured a disappointing season, finishing eighth – two points behind seventh-placed Salford – and missed out on the end-of-season play-offs.
Croft is confident he and Ackers can bring some vibrancy to Rohan Smith’s side as they attempt to revive their new club’s fortunes.
The Australian said: “I can’t wait to get started in pre-season and get to know the Leeds boys.
“When I found out that Gary and Rohan were keen to bring Andy with me from Salford, I was really excited. For me, he is the best hooker in Super League and we have a great relationship on and off the field.”
Ackers added: “The club have shown their ambition with the squad for next season and I will be looking to play my part.”
Zion Williamson scored 10 of his 16 points in the first quarter and Brandon Ingram had 18 to lead the New Orleans Pelicans a 104-92 preseason victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
Williamson finished the opening quarter with 10 points, four steals, two assists and a rebound and shot 6 of 8 in 16 minutes overall before exiting for good.
Franz Wagner led the Magic with 19 points and brother Moritz Wagner added 16. The brothers combined to shoot 15 of 21 while the rest of the team shot 20 of 63.
Elsewhere in the NBA, Jayson Tatum poured in 28 points with five of his team’s 23 3-pointers and Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points in the Boston Celtics’ 123-110 win over the New York Knicks.
Jaylen Brown scored 17 points for Boston, which connected on 23 of 52 from long range.
Quentin Grimes paced the Knicks with 22 points, including 7 of 12 on 3-pointers.
In Oklahoma City, Josh Giddey scored 19 points and Chet Holmgren had 18 to propel the hot-shooting Thunder to a 124-101 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Giddey was 9 of 12 from the field and Holmgren was 7 of 8 as part of the Thunder’s 56.5 percent (48 of 85) shooting effort that included 18 of 39 from 3-point range.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes, while Damian Lillard scored just five points on 2-of-11 shooting in his second game with Milwaukee.
Jenson Button won the Formula One world title on this day in 2009 after a fifth-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
A combination of brilliant driving and dramatic incidents saw the Brawn GP driver elevated into fifth spot at Interlagos, while rivals Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello finished fourth and eighth, respectively.
That left Button with a 15-point cushion over Vettel, with Barrichello two points further back with just one race remaining.
He became the 10th British driver to win the top prize in motor racing, inheriting the crown from compatriot Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 champion.
The 29-year-old Button may not have wrapped it up in the way he would have liked, having won six of the first seven races of the season, but his Brawn team also claimed the constructors’ title just over 10 months after they appeared to be on the scrapheap when Honda pulled out of the sport.
The tears and the champagne flowed at the end of 71 laps, with Button’s father John admitting he and his son “cried like babies” when they
embraced each other after the race.
“You don’t win the world championship and feel relief, you feel ecstatic,” Jenson Button said.
“All the memories, good and bad, go through your mind, not just from this year, but previous years in the sport, especially this year.
“I had such a great start to the season and then the last few races were pretty stressful for me because the pace was there, but we struggled a few times.
“This team has done staggeringly well and what we’ve achieved this season after the winter we’ve had is exceptional, and I don’t think there has been a season like it in Formula One.
“It’s great to be sat here as world champion and I personally think I thoroughly deserve it. I’ve been the best over 16 races and that’s what world titles are all about.”
Button completed the 2009 season with a third-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix two weeks later, finishing 11 points clear of Vettel.
He moved to McLaren the following season and was runner-up to Vettel in the 2011 title race. He retired from F1 in 2017.
Australia’s cricketers have thrown their weight behind the country’s netballers, creating a “fighting fund” to help them through a pay dispute with their governing body.
Australia’s Diamonds captured the Netball World Cup in August amid a background of disharmony and Super Netball players have been out of contract since September 30.
Now the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), which represents the country’s male and female cricketers, has vowed to support the netballers in their quest for a revenue-sharing model.
The support includes the creation of the fund to help netballers during the spell of unemployment and the ACA said it is in talks with the Australian Athletes’ Alliance and other player associations to join the initiative.
ACA chief executive Todd Greenberg pledged to stand with the netballers until their campaign is successful and called on Netball Australia to develop a long-term growth model with a partnership model akin to the five-year deal the cricketers have negotiated with Cricket Australia.
Describing the revenue-sharing model as a “win-win”, he said: “The netballers are leaning on friends and family for financial support.
“What is disappointing is that the netballers’ requests are modest and affordable for the sport.
“The ACA believes they should be given the same partnership opportunities as our players – the same opportunities that have seen cricket thrive.”
Australia are in their midst of the four-match Constellation Cup series against local rivals New Zealand, winning the first two matches on home soil despite continuing turmoil between the Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA) and Netball Australia.
ANPA chief executive Kathryn Harby-Williams said: “Australian netballers are brave and resilient people. When your minimum wage is 40,000 dollars (£20,940) you have to show a lot of courage to take a stand.
“That’s why this expression of support is so welcome. It lets the netballers know they are not alone.”
Netball Australia said its latest offer, rejected by the ANPA, would increase investment by 1.275 million dollars (£670,000).
The ANPA said the players wanted a revenue-sharing agreement and said “we’d like to share in the good times we help build and we will share in the risk when times are tough”.
England forwards Helen Housby and Eleanor Cardwell, part of the team beaten in the World Cup final, are among those unable to sign new contracts for the next Super Netball season.
Kyle Schwarber hit a pair of home runs to back Aaron Nola’s stellar start and the Philadelphia Phillies rolled to a 10-0 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday for a 2-0 lead in the NL Championship Series.
Trea Turner also went deep and J. T. Realmuto drove in three runs to help the Phillies improve to 7-1 in these playoffs, including 6-0 at home.
Philadelphia will try to move closer to a second straight World Series appearance when the series shifts to Arizona for Game 3 on Thursday.
Nola gave up three hits over six innings without a walk and struck out seven. He is 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in three playoff starts this season.
Turner’s one-out home run in the first off Merrill Kelly got Philadelphia started and Schwarber extended the lead in the third with his first blast of the night.
The Phillies tacked on four runs in the sixth and knocked out Kelly.
Schwarber led off with another home run and Turner walked before Kelly got the next two outs. Joe Mantiply relieved and surrendered Bryson Stott’s single and Realmuto followed with a two-run double into the gap in left-centre.
Brandon Marsh then doubled home Realmuto for a 6-0 advantage.
Alec Bohm had a two-run double, Realmuto singled home another run and Nick Castellanos added a sacrifice fly in Philadelphia’s four-run seventh.
The Phillies have hit .315 with 28 runs and 15 homers in the past four games.
Marcus Smith is now viewed as a “world class” option at full-back by England after Kevin Sinfield was blown away by his defensive heroics against Fiji.
England are hopeful that Smith will be passed fit for Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa after he was placed on modified training alongside Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Tom Curry, Courtney Lawes and Dan Cole.
The converted fly-half ended the last-eight victory over Fiji on Sunday with a fat upper lip and bandage around his head after he was the victim of a dangerous tackle by wing Vinaya Habosi, forcing him to depart for an HIA which he passed.
Once again he is competing with Freddie Steward for the number 15 jersey and, after two starts in the position, Sinfield sees a player who has the bravery to match his attacking brilliance.
“We’d all agree he’s a world class 10, but last weekend I felt he was a world class 15 as well,” England’s defence coach said
“You’ve got to remember this guys has played around 100, 120 minutes as a full-back in Test rugby so far.
“What he’s done on the training field for us has been outstanding. You’re blown away by what he does now that he’s being given more time and space.
“If there was any doubt how brave and courageous he is then you saw it with your own eyes. The bloke got his face smashed in and threw his body into tackles.
“The guys are in full admiration for him – he’s just got his face smashed all over the place yet he wants the ball. He’s just a brave guy.
“And not just because he’s physically tough and brave, because to be put on a world stage in a quarter-final and deliver what he delivered was an absolute credit to him. What a great kid.”
Steward was dropped from the 23 against Fiji altogether and now England face the choice of reverting to his high ball and positional expertise or rolling the dice by retaining Smith in the hope he will provide a cutting edge.
South Africa possess a far smarter kicking game that could expose Smith’s inexperience at full-back, pointing to Steward’s likely return when Steve Borthwick names his team on Thursday.
“I’ve worked with Fred for some time now and thankfully I’ve not had to have many of these conversations where I’m trying to pick him up,” Sinfield said.
“Clearly he was disappointed, as anyone would be, missing out on a quarter-final, but he’s responded as we’d expect him to.
“He is a great lad, you know what he’s about, he works incredibly hard at his game, he cares and he is unbelievable full-back too.
“We are in a pretty fortunate position where we have three world class 10s and two world class full-backs.
“Our team has changed every game throughout the World Cup and Steve selects the team he thinks it will give us the best chance of winning that game.
“Just because Fred wasn’t selected last week doesn’t mean he does anything wrong, he has actually done a lot of great things and a lot of things right, but Steve and the coaching team thought it was the right thing to go with Marcus against Fiji.”
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Rassie Erasmus expects semi-final opponents England to have “some beef” with South Africa due to their defeat in the final of the last World Cup.
Springboks director of rugby Erasmus began the mind games ahead of Saturday’s Paris showdown by listing Steve Borthwick’s potential team selection.
England are out for revenge after being beaten 32-12 by Erasmus’ side in the 2019 final in Japan when they were coached by Eddie Jones.
Reigning champions South Africa are overwhelming favourites for victory and expected to face New Zealand, who take on Argentina in the other last-four fixture, in the final.
“To talk about the All Blacks would be disrespectful to England because they’re a massive, massive speed bump for us to get over,” said Erasmus.
“More so a pothole than a speed bump because I was just looking at the possible teams I think can play.
“They have so many experienced players that played against us last time.
“I think because they’ve played us in the World Cup final they will have some beef with us. I think they were be very physical, I think they will definitely step it up at all set phases.”
Erasmus moved into his current role after guiding his country to glory at the expense of England four years ago in Yokohama, with Jacques Nienaber replacing him as head coach.
The 50-year-old went into specific statistical detail of the two teams he believes will take to the field at Stade de France.
He then, when prompted, listed England’s possible matchday 23.
“I think we have averaged 200 minutes per player, they 260,” said Erasmus.
“I think the average caps of our team will be about 54, they’ll be about 59. I think the average age of our team is 30, the average age of their team about 29. And then the average weight is 104 (kilograms) and 105.
“England are unbeaten, they stuck to their guns since he (Borthwick) has been appointed, and they kept believing in what they’re doing and it’s paying off.
“You can see their team is full of belief and they will definitely be hurting from not just last year when we beat them (27-13 at Twickenham) but also from the World Cup in 2019.
“So they will be a very, very desperate team and a team which we respect.”
Asked for the England team written down on his sheet of paper, Erasmus replied: “We’re guessing obviously.
“Genge, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Chessum, Lawes, Curry, Earl, Mitchell, Farrell, Daly, Tuilagi, Marchant, May and Marcus Smith or Steward then Marler, Cole, George (Martin), Billy (Vunipola), Ben Youngs or Danny (Care), George Ford and Ollie (Lawrence), that’s who we think.
“But we might be totally wrong.”
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