Coco Gauff came through a three-hour battle with Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time.
The US Open champion had cruised through to the last eight but was pushed very hard by first-time grand slam quarter-finalist Kostyuk before clinching a 7-6 (6) 6-7 (3) 6-2 victory after three hours and eight minutes.
Gauff trailed 5-1 in the opening set before fighting back to win it, saving two set points.
She served for the match at 5-3 in the second set but now it was Kostyuk’s turn to surge back, and it was not until the third set that Gauff took control of the match, opening up a 5-0 lead.
The 19-year-old is the youngest American to reach the women’s semi-finals in Melbourne since Mary Joe Fernandez back in 1991, and she is now two wins away from making it back-to-back slam titles.
If she is to achieve that, she will surely need to play at a consistently higher level than here, with the pair making a combined 107 unforced errors.
“It was a fight,” said Gauff. “I think today was definitely a C game, so I didn’t play my best tennis, but I’m really proud that I was able to get through today’s match. Hopefully got the bad match out of the way and I can play even better.”
Kostyuk, 21, was immediately able to put the result into perspective, saying: “I think it’s just a tennis match. I’m here to grow, to learn, to be better.
“I’m very proud of myself. I won for myself today, and I think it’s the most important thing. It’s just the beginning of the season. I’m looking forward for what’s ahead.”
Kostyuk and countrywoman Dayana Yastremska both made the last eight – Yastremska may yet go further – while Elina Svitolina reached the fourth round, and all have used the opportunity to highlight the ongoing plight of Ukraine.
“I think the girls did really well,” said Kostyuk. “I hope we will be able to succeed in most of the tournaments, especially the big ones where there is a lot of media. I think people should be reminded.
“I was texting with some people from Kyiv. I said, ‘How is it? How are you guys?’ They said, ‘Well, we were looking between your score and where the missiles are flying. So it’s still there. My parents are still there. My sister is still there.”
Charlie Coyle had a goal and an assist to back 20 saves from Jeremy Swayman as the Boston Bruins remained hot with Monday's 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets in a clash of division leaders.
Jake DeBrusk scored short-handed in the third period to help Boston to a fifth consecutive victory, while Brad Marchand and Jakub Lauko added goals for the Atlantic leaders.
The Central-leading Jets lost for just the second time in 12 games and had a streak of 34 straight games allowing three goals or fewer halted. The run was one short of an NHL record in a single season during the expansion era, as the Minnesota Wild did so in 35 in a row from Jan.-April 2005.
After Lauko and Winnipeg's Vladislav Namestnikov traded early goals, Coyle put the Bruins back ahead by redirecting Hampus Lindholm's shot past Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with 1:34 left in the first period.
DeBrusk fired a loose puck by Hellebuyck with the Jets on a power play to increase the lead to 3-1 with 5:25 left to play, and Marchand sealed the win with an empty-net goal inside the final minute.
Hellebuyck stopped 17 of 20 shots for Winnipeg.
Devils' Toffoli has hat trick, overtime winner against Golden Knights
Tyler Toffoli scored with 2:25 left in overtime to cap his second hat trick of the season and give the New Jersey Devils a thrilling 6-5 comeback win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
New Jersey trailed 5-3 late in the second period before getting two unanswered goals from Toffoli and another from Curtis Lazar to halt the defending Stanley Cup champions' three-game winning streak.
Lazar also scored in the first period and Nico Hischier added a goal to help the Devils avoid a fourth loss in five games.
Jonathan Marchessault had two goals and an assist for Vegas, which also received a goal and two assists from Nicolas Roy and one goal and one assist from Chandler Stephenson.
Toffoli started New Jersey's rally by ripping a shot past Knights goaltender Logan Thompson with 15.8 seconds left in the second period. Lazar's second of the night created a 5-5 tie midway through the third, and Toffoli completed his three-goal outing by converting a feed from Luke Hughes with the Devils on a 3-on-2 rush in overtime.
Hischier and Lazar each struck in the first period after Pavel Dorofeyev gave Vegas a 1-0 lead 6:12 in. Toffoli extended the margin to 3-1 with just 1:37 elapsed in the second, but the Knights scored four times before the end of the period to move ahead.
Marchessault tied the game at 3-3 with a pair of goals 2:21 apart, and Stephenson scored just 48 seconds after Marchessault's second before Roy gave Vegas a 5-3 edge in the final minute of the period.
Thompson finished with 32 saves while Vitek Vanecek stopped 27 shots for the Devils.
Canucks' Demko blanks Blackhawks for fifth shutout
Thatcher Demko turned aside 31 shots to record his fifth shutout of the season and lead the red-hot Vancouver Canucks to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The All-Star goaltender tied Arizona's Connor Ingram and Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry for the NHL's lead in shutouts while sparking Vancouver to its third straight win. The Pacific Division-leading Canucks are now 8-0-1 over a nine-game point streak.
Vancouver got all its scoring in the opening period, as Pius Suter knocked in a feed from Andrei Kuzmenko 1:47 in and Quinn Hughes blasted a shot over the shoulder of Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek less than five minutes later. Kuzmenko was credited with an assist on that goal as well.
Demko stopped 10 shots in the second period and 12 more in the third to keep the Canucks' lead intact.
The Blackhawks, who had won two of their last three games, were shut out for the fifth time this season. Mrazek finished with 27 saves.
Joel Embiid set a Philadelphia 76ers' franchise record with 70 points in a dominant performance that powered the Eastern Conference contenders to a 133-123 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
Embiid broke Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain's team single-game record that had stood for over 56 years while also setting a season high with 18 rebounds. The reigning NBA MVP finished 24 of 41 from the field and 21 of 23 from the foul line.
Chamberlain's previous franchise record of 68 points took place against the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 16, 1967.
Embiid began his historic night with 24 points in the first quarter and had 34 by half-time, though the 76ers held a slim 62-58 lead at the intermission.
The superstar centre didn't let up in the third quarter, as he recorded 25 points for the period to help Philadelphia pull away for its sixth straight victory.
Kelly Oubre Jr. capped a 12-4 run with a 3-point play with 6:38 left in the third to stretch the lead to 85-72, and the Sixers maintained a double-digit advantage for nearly the entire rest of the way.
Embiid re-entered the game midway through the fourth quarter and hit the 70-point mark with a steal and layup with 1:41 remaining.
Victor Wembanyama had an impressive game of his own in Embiid's shadow, as the Spurs' rookie sensation posted 33 points and seven rebounds in just 28 minutes.
Devin Vassell added 22 points for San Antonio, which had snapped a four-game losing streak with Saturday's 131-127 win over the Washington Wizards.
Timberwolves lose to Hornets despite Towns' team-record 62 points
Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns had a prolific record-setting performance of his own Monday, though his 62 points still weren't enough to prevent the Timberwolves from a stunning 128-125 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
The Hornets, currently in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, overcame an 18-point deficit late in the third quarter to shock the Western-leading Timberwolves and win for the second time in three games.
Towns made 10 of 15 attempts from 3-point range and ended 21 of 35 overall from the field to surpass his own Timberwolves' single-game record of 60 points, set against San Antonio on March 14, 2022.
The three-time All-Star had 58 points through three quarters as Minnesota owned a seemingly comfortable 107-92 lead, but the Hornets hit five 3-pointers while opening the fourth on a 21-7 run to quickly pull to within one.
Minnesota was clinging to a 121-120 edge with 3 1/2 minutes left before Charlotte scored six straight points, capped by Brandon Miller's jumper off a LaMelo Ball steal that gave the Hornets a 126-121 advantage with two minutes to play.
Miller scored seven of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, while Miles Bridges had 28 points for the Hornets and Ball compiled 18 points and 13 assists.
The Timberwolves have lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season, previously doing so from Jan. 1-3.
Merrill's hot shooting gives Cavaliers' eighth straight win
The Cleveland Cavaliers remained the league's hottest team by rolling to a 126-99 rout of the Orlando Magic to extend their winning streak to eight games.
Sam Merrill went 8 of 13 from 3-point range to lead Cleveland with 26 points, while Donovan Mitchell had 25 points along with 13 assists in a game the Cavs never trailed and were up by as many as 36 points.
Merrill scored 20 of his points in the first half as Cleveland cruised to a 72-47 lead at half-time. The Cavaliers shot 59.5 per cent for the first two quarters and 59.1 per cent in the third to move into the fourth holding a commanding 107-74 advantage.
Paolo Banchero led the struggling Magic with 18 points and Franz Wagner added 17. Orlando has now lost nine of its last 13 games and is 7-14 since Dec. 15.
Coco Gauff came through a three-hour battle with Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time.
The US Open champion had cruised through to the last eight but was pushed very hard by first-time grand slam quarter-finalist Kostyuk before clinching a 7-6 (6) 6-7 (3) 6-2 victory after three hours and eight minutes.
Gauff trailed 5-1 in the opening set before fighting back to win it, saving two set points.
She served for the match at 5-3 in the second set but now it was Kostyuk’s turn to surge back, and it was not until the third set that Gauff took control of the match, opening up a 5-0 lead.
The 19-year-old is the youngest American to reach the women’s semi-finals in Melbourne since Mary Joe Fernandez back in 1991, and she is now two wins away from making it back-to-back slam titles.
If she is to achieve that, she will surely need to play at a consistently higher level than here, with the pair making a combined 107 unforced errors.
The Tennesee Titans are in the process of finalising a contract with Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to be the team's next head coach, multiple outlets reported Monday.
Callahan will be replacing Mike Vrabel, who led the franchise to three consecutive playoff appearances from 2019-21 but was fired by owner Amy Adams Strunk on Jan. 9 following a second straight losing campaign.
The 39-year-old Callahan spent the past five seasons as the Bengals' offensive coordinator and helped Cincinnati to back-to-back appearances in the AFC championship game in 2021 and 2022. The Bengals defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 edition before losing to the Rams in Super Bowl 56.
Callahan, the son of former NFL and college head coach Bill Callahan, is also credited for assisting in developing Joe Burrow into one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks over the course of the 2020 No. 1 overall pick's four seasons in Cincinnati.
He'll now be overseeing the progress of a new young quarterback in Tennessee, which selected Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 draft and had the rookie start nine games during Vrabel's final season.
Callahan has been an NFL assistant since 2010. He spent the first six years of his coaching career with the Denver Broncos and was on the offensive staff during that team's 2015 run to a Super Bowl title in iconic quarterback Peyton Manning's final NFL season.
After stints as a quarterbacks coach with the Detroit Lions (2016-17) and then-Oakland Raiders (2018), Callahan joined the Bengals as part of current head coach Zac Taylor's initial staff in 2019.
Burrow emerged into an elite passer under Callahan's tutelage, as the former Heisman Trophy winner threw for a Bengals' season-record 4,611 passing yards in 2021 and set another team season best with 35 touchdown passes in 2022. Burrow's career completion rate of 68.0 per cent is the highest of any quarterback in NFL history with at least 1,500 pass attempts.
Callahan takes over a Titans team that finished last in the AFC South with a 6-11 record this past season and often struggled to move the football. Tennessee's average of 289 total yards per game ranked 28th in the NFL and it finished 27th in total points.
Three of this offseason's eight head coaching vacancies have now been filled with Callahan's hiring. The New England Patriots promoted assistant Jerod Mayo to replace the legendary Bill Belichick on Jan. 12, while the Las Vegas Raiders removed the interim tag from head coach Antonio Pierce last week.
Owen Farrell could have played his last game for England after French club Racing 92 confirmed that he will join them next season.
The Saracens fly-half and captain will link up with the Parisians from July 1 on a two-year deal.
It will bring to an end his long and successful Saracens career that began in 2008 and has been littered with European and Premiership titles.
Farrell, 32, had already announced that he would miss this season’s Guinness Six Nations in order to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being.
And he will become ineligible for international selection when he moves to France due to Rugby Football Union rules that do not permit players who ply their trade abroad to be selected for the national team.
His last England appearance was the World Cup bronze medal match against Argentina in Paris on October 27, which England won narrowly.
Racing are coached by Stuart Lancaster, who gave Farrell his Test debut in 2012 when he was England boss.
Farrell has gone on to win 112 caps, lead his country in the last two World Cup campaigns and is England’s record international points-scorer.
He would be 34 if he leaves Racing after two years and returns to England, suggesting any international return would be unlikely.
Farrell, though, would be on the British and Irish Lions’ radar for their 2025 Australia tour, which will see his father Andy fill the role of head coach.
A statement from Racing read: “Racing 92 formalises the signing of Owen Farrell within its professional men’s team.
“The English international player is committed to two sporting seasons and will join the Ciel et Blanc squad from July 1, 2024.”
Farrell will link up with the likes of South Africa’s double World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi at Racing, along with exciting England back Henry Arundell.
Speaking after he announced his Six Nations squad last Wednesday, England head coach Steve Borthwick said: “I think what’s important is that Owen makes a decision that is right for Owen and his family.
“Will a player of Owen’s calibre be missed if he chooses to play outside of England? Yes, of course.
“Do I want him in some point in the future to come back? Yes. But I also want him to do what’s right for him and his family and have the experiences and the memories that he wants to make.”
Farrell’s decision will be a major blow for Saracens, although Racing’s announcement will not have caught them on the hop as Saracens rugby director Mark McCall recently revealed that he knew what decision Farrell had made.
Farrell apart, a number of players who were key to Saracens’ sustained European and Premiership successes over the past 10 years are unlikely to be involved after this summer.
Some will be out of contract and departing, and others retiring, and McCall said last week: “Everybody realises the adventure we’ve been on is coming to an end, and there is a new adventure about to start with a group of younger players we are incredibly excited about who have signed up for the longer term.
“Players are going to retire or they are in the twilight of their careers – it is just the cycle of a team.
“I suppose all good things come to an end, and there is a re-energising effect and impact of a new group.
“We have met with the players who we believe will grab hold of it over the next three or four years. We have met with them regularly over the past couple of months.
“There is a new dawn coming, and it is exciting for everybody.”
Saracens have lost five of their last eight games and slipped outside the Premiership top four.
But they recovered from a record 55-15 European defeat against Bordeaux-Begles to book an Investec Champions Cup round-of-16 place by beating Lyon on Saturday.
French club Racing 92 have confirmed England fly-half Owen Farrell will join them next season.
The 32-year-old will leave Saracens after 15 seasons to move across the Channel after agreeing a two-year contract.
Farrell, who is to miss the Six Nations in order to prioritise his mental well-being, will become ineligible for international selection due to Rugby Football Union rules.
The RFU does not allow players who are plying their trade abroad to be selected for England.
Racing are coached by Stuart Lancaster, who gave Farrell his Test debut in 2012 when he was England boss.
A statement from the Paris club said: “Racing 92 formalises the signing of Owen Farrell within its professional men’s team.
“The English international player is committed to two sporting seasons and will join the Ciel et Blanc squad from July 1, 2024.”
Jamie George has been named England captain for the Six Nations.
The Betfair Ascot Chase is seen as the perfect stepping stone to the “greatest race of the season” by connections of L’Homme Presse, as they plot a course to the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
There were emotional scenes in the Lingfield winner’s enclosure on Sunday, after Venetia Williams’ nine-year-old defied a 391-day absence with a victorious return to action in the Fleur De Lys Chase to put himself firmly in the Gold Cup picture.
But before the blue riband, L’Homme Presse could drop back to two miles and five furlongs at Ascot and seek a third Grade One triumph on February 17.
“He’s won at Ascot before, he won the graduation chase there, so we know he likes it there,” said Andy Edwards, who owns L’Homme Presse in partnership with Peter Pink
“It’s a lovely, big galloping track and the fences take proper jumping and he’s a good jumper.
“The timing is almost exactly four weeks to Ascot and then the same to the Gold Cup, so everything is right for him and that is where we would like to go really.”
Having successfully blown any cobwebs away on his eagerly-awaited return in the Winter Million Festival feature, the L’Homme Presse team are determined to leave no stone unturned in their quest to have their charge arrive at the Gold Cup primed to perfection on March 15.
“When we discussed this with Venetia and the other owners Pat and Peter (Pink) and Pam (Edwards, wife), they are racehorses and they love their racing and are ready to race,” continued Edwards.
“If we had one or two runs before Christmas, we might be saying we will wait for the Gold Cup, but this was our first run of the season and a stepping stone, and Ascot will be another stepping stone to what is the greatest race of the season, the Gold Cup.
“There’s nowhere to hide and you can’t be ring-rusty when you go to the Gold Cup, you have to be spot on.
“Yes there’s an element of taking your opportunities when they arise because as we found last year something small can upturn the apple cart, but it is another stepping stone and we felt along with Venetia that this is the right way to go.”
The Fleur De Lys showdown between L’Homme Presse and Dan Skelton’s Protektorat lived up to its top billing as the focal point of Sunday’s Winter Million card, with the duo embroiled in a titanic tussle all the way up the Lingfield home straight.
The winner is reported to have bounced sprightly out of his return to action, while Edwards is also keen to point out it takes two to make a great race, with the sportsmanship of the Protektorat team coming to the fore post-race.
“I went down to see him first thing this morning and he’s tip-top, everything is fine he has come out of the race for well,” he added.
“The best horse on the day won and it could easily have been Protektorat. He had race-fitness on his side and he gave us 4lb for that race fitness. It was a great spectacle for everyone and for the sport.
“As the horses were going out I went over to Dan Skelton and we both had these big silly grins on and wished each other the best of luck and hoped it would be a great spectacle and everyone comes home happy.
“He was then one of the first people to come up to me and congratulate me in the winner’s enclosure afterwards and that speaks volumes of him. His horse was marvellous, Protektorat jumped like a stag and I imagine all his connections and the staff at Dan’s yard are really proud of him, as they should be, and as we are of L’Homme Presse.
“It was a proper horse race from two excellent racehorses.”
It had been a long and anxious 13-month wait to see L’Homme Presse back on the track since an injury discovered shortly after his run in the 2022 King George VI Chase crushed dreams of competing in last year’s Gold Cup.
His comeback triumph was met with rapturous applause by those in attendance at Lingfield and L’Homme Presse’s journey back to racecourse action was credited as the cause for the emotional post-race scenes as Edwards reflected on an unforgettable afternoon at the Surrey venue.
Edwards added: “You’ve all seen me in tears (on television) – sometimes you don’t need words, the emotions speak volumes in their own way.
“Thirteen months has been a long time, and the King George and Boxing Day was a horrible day for all of us. You can only dream of having a runner in the King George and for it to end in such a sad way that day, from there until now has been a long road and a long journey. I think if we weren’t emotional, I don’t think we should be in it (racing).
“The cameras never showed everyone else in tears outside of the winner’s enclosure – people who knew me or may have had dealings with me – but a lot of people were in tears because what a great emotion it is when you see a story or journey like that. It should be emotional.
“The amount of well-wishes and warmth I received from people wanting him to run well was fantastic and Martin Cruddace (CEO of Arena Racing Company) said to me the roar he got when he won and came back to the winner’s enclosure, it made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. You could really feel the love for the horse.”
Jamie George insists he is ready for the pressure that accompanies the England captaincy despite seeing the toll it took on his close friend Owen Farrell.
George will lead England into the Guinness Six Nations in what he describes as the “greatest achievement of my life”, starting against Italy in Rome on February 3.
When first offered the role by Steve Borthwick earlier this month, the 33-year-old Lions hooker was told to take a weekend to make his decision in a nod to recent events that have seen Farrell take a break from Test rugby that could yet be permanent.
It was the fierce online scrutiny of Farrell leading into the World Cup and his booing by fans in France that compelled him to rule himself out of the Six Nations in order to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being.
Borthwick turned to one of England’s most influential figures to take over and having considered all aspects of the captaincy, George knew he only had one choice.
“When you’re given the weekend to go and think about things, the obvious thing to do is to go and look at both sides of the coin,” George said.
“And for me, there are so many positives that come with this. This is the greatest achievement of my life. Stepping out on the field in Rome is going to be one of the best moments that I will ever experience.
“And I felt like it was a decision that if I had turned down for other reasons I would have absolutely regretted because I’m at a good stage of my career to step up and take this on.
“I have a good understanding of what might be out there to come, but at the same time I’m also hopeful that we’ve learned a lot of lessons from the Owen situation.
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“A lot of people out there have a better understanding of the reality of life, the reality of professional rugby players, that we are all human beings. So I’m hopeful for a much more positive environment to be able to work in.
“I’m not hiding away from the fact there is additional pressure and responsibility.
“I personally think that pressure is a privilege.
“I spoke to Owen about it. He was probably one of the first people I told when Steve asked me. That was the natural thing to do because Owen and I are very, very close.
“The only thing he said to me was that if I needed anything, he is the first person I should call and that he would always be there to have a conversation. That is invaluable to me.”
Even when offering the ultimate position in English rugby, Borthwick made it clear that it comes with challenges.
“We sort of tip-toed our way around the captaincy conversation, but we also laid the foundations for it,” George said.
“We spoke a bit about what it might look like and then Steve was amazing and said ‘take the weekend to have a think about it because it can have a big impact on you, as we’ve seen’.
“It was a bit like a proposal! At the time I wanted to snap his hand off and say yes, but it was good to be able to speak to my family over the weekend and get their thoughts on it all. I phoned him first thing on the Monday to accept.”
Warren Gatland has paid new Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins a major compliment by saying he expects to see him “in the mould of Alun Wyn Jones”.
Jenkins has won many admirers through his captaincy of Exeter Chiefs, with the Gallagher Premiership club in title contention and progressing to the Investec Champions Cup knockout phase.
The 21-year-old will take charge for Wales’ Guinness Six Nations opener against Scotland on February 3, with Gatland enthused by his potential.
“We’ve got a young captain who I think will be an outstanding professional,” Gatland said.
“I expect to see him in the mould of Alun Wyn Jones. He doesn’t say a lot, but he leads by example.
“He is last out of the gym, he does his analysis and he has got an edge to him. I don’t mind that. He’s got a group of good men that will be there to support him too.”
Jones made a world record 170 Test match appearances for Wales and the British and Irish Lions, ticking every box as a true great of the game.
He retired from Test rugby in May last year and, with the likes of fellow Welsh Lions Justin Tipuric, Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny also exiting the international game, Jenkins now heads up a new generation.
“The edge is about someone who doesn’t back down,” Gatland added.
“You are looking for someone who doesn’t back down from anyone, someone who gets excited by challenges.
“When I look back on my time in rugby, the best player I coached in that was Lawrence Dallaglio. The bigger the occasion, the more excited he got.
“He absolutely loved it. He would get pumped up for a challenge.
“I think Daf will be like that, going forward. Whatever he is up against, he is not going to fear anything.
“I think with captains, you get different personalities and people. I suppose that is the beauty of it.
“With someone like Daf who has come into that role, it is about how much we support him from a coaching perspective as staff and also the experienced players, like Gareth (Davies) and George North.
“I think we’ve got some quality men in the team and that makes a big difference to me. What I like about this group of people is they are good people.
“If you galvanise them and bring them together, work hard and they will play for each other.”
Gregor Townsend expects Jamie Ritchie to respond positively to losing the Scotland captaincy as he challenged the Edinburgh flanker to get back to “his top level” and book himself a starting berth for the opening Guinness Six Nations match away to Wales.
The 27-year-old replaced Stuart Hogg as skipper for the 2022 autumn Tests and also led the Scots in last year’s Six Nations and at the World Cup in France.
However, with Ritchie no longer guaranteed a starting place amid intense competition in the back-row, it was revealed on Sunday that Townsend had appointed Bath stand-off Finn Russell and Glasgow flanker Rory Darge as his new co-captains ahead of the upcoming championship.
“He’s reacted really well,” said Townsend, when asked on Monday at the Six Nations launch in Dublin how Ritchie had taken the news. “I’ve been in communication for a few weeks now around his game and also the captaincy.
“He was well aware that we were going to leave this decision until the weekend. The focus for him is about getting into the team that plays Wales and he’s really determined to do that. That will be tough because the competition we have in the back-row right now is at a high level.
“We’re all optimistic that this (relinquishing the captaincy) will bring out the best in Jamie and he can be one of our best players, back at his top level.
“We saw on Friday night when he came off the bench against Scarlets, there was a real hunger and intent about how he went through his game. The competition in the back-row and the ability to just focus on that at training should be a positive for him leading into the Wales game.”
“He can be one of our best players but he is competing with some guys who are in really good form at openside and blindside. Jamie will be a key leader for us if he’s in the 23 or the XV.”
Glasgow back-rower Darge is hopeful of being fit for the start of the tournament despite concerns he might be out until late February with a knee injury sustained against Edinburgh at the end of December. The 23-year-old declared on Monday “I’m aiming for one of the first two games.”
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“We got good news on Rory on Friday that he’s able to start that rehab process and we’ll assess how he goes after a week’s rehab,” said Townsend.
The prognosis is not so promising for free-scoring Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham, who will miss at least the first two games against Wales and France with a quad issue.
“He’s obviously very disappointed,” said Townsend.
“He played against Gloucester (on January 13) and was tight around the quad area so we thought it would be worth getting a scan, hoping it would be a week to two-week injury at most because that’s what happened when he had the same problem during the World Cup warm-up games.
“But it was actually more significant. We’re hopeful he’ll be available for round three (at home to England on February 24) but it all just depends how it reacts when he starts rehab again.”
Ground conditions at Doncaster are likely to dictate whether Famous Bridge is rerouted to Saturday’s Great Yorkshire Chase after the weather scuppered his planned return to Haydock last weekend.
The eight-year-old, who runs in the colours of the late Trevor Hemmings, has won his last two starts over fences at the latter venue, most recently landing the Tommy Whittle Handicap Chase pre-Christmas.
He was due to bid for a hat-trick on Merseyside in Saturday’s Peter Marsh Chase, but the abandonment of Haydock’s card has forced trainer Nicky Richards back to the drawing board.
When asked whether it was the plan to run Famous Bridge in the Great Yorkshire Chase, the Greystoke handler said: “It is and it isn’t. Mick (Meagher, racing manager) said to put him in, so we confirmed him, but we’ll just be keeping an eye on the ground. If it’s windy and dry all week and it’s edging towards good ground, I’m not quite sure what we’ll be thinking.
“He’s in grand form and it’s a shame Saturday was off (at Haydock). I don’t know why they couldn’t reschedule for Sunday, but I suppose in the circumstances that wouldn’t have been very pleasant either.
“A bit of good to soft ground wouldn’t bother him. I wouldn’t like to pigeon-hole him and say he’s just a Haydock horse or anything like that. He’s won two around Wetherby, he’s won at Kelso and Ayr – this horse would go around anywhere.
“He’s just a proper National Hunt horse, a fairly big boy and a strong horse, so we’ll just keep an eye on the weather and the ground and see where we are later in the week.”
Richards – whose yard was feeling the effects of Storm Isha on Monday, being without power for large parts of the day – has also confirmed Universal Folly, who has won three times and finished second on four occasions from only eight chase starts, and the trainer feels a sound surface may bring him into the equation off a light weight.
He added: “His owner is away on holiday, he’s in Barbados, I think, and I think I woke him up this morning when I gave him a call and asked him what he thought about entering for Doncaster.
“There is also the Edinburgh Grand National at Musselburgh for him and if it’s softer ground at Doncaster, the Musselburgh race might not be as strong, so we’ll just see what the weather does.
“If it’s a windy, dry week, I know it will take a lot of winning the Great Yorkshire, but it might take a bit less winning if it’s on good ground as a lot of other trainers might be thinking like we’re thinking with Famous Bridge.
“We’ll just see how the week pans out, but he’s in grand form as well and is ready to run somewhere.”
The Richards pair are among 27 horses still in the mix for the £100,000 contest, with the weights headed by Jamie Snowden’s Ga Law, who looked the likely winner when falling at the final fence 12 months ago.
Snowden could also saddle Git Maker, while ante-post favourite Victtorino is set to represent Ventia Williams following back-to-back wins at Ascot.
Other hopefuls include Anthony Honeyball’s Forward Plan and the Nicky Henderson-trained Mister Coffey, who finished first and second over the course and distance last month, and the improving Surrey Quest from Toby Lawes’ stable.
The only remaining Irish contender is the Emmet Mullins-trained Sweet Will.
Persistence paid off for Hayley Turner after she bounced back from being unshipped leaving the paddock to ride Flag Carrier to victory at Kempton.
The 41-year-old was thrown off in dramatic fashion ahead of the Try Unibet’s Improved Bet Builder Handicap and the Harry Eustace-trained gelding had to be walked down to the start on his own.
Turner only got back on board her mount in the stalls and the three-year-old continued to cause her problems by pulling hard in the early stages.
However, when Flag Carrier finally settled down to business in the home straight of the seven-furlong contest, he picked up well from mid-division and went on to score by a length at 3-1.
“I think what’s happened is that he’s run with the blinkers on quite a lot and I just think it might have got the better of him today,” Turner told Racing TV.
“He’s been here before but he’s just got himself into a tizzle, so I think the guys have done a really good job of actually getting him to the start in one piece.
“I should probably give them my riding fee, because actually in the race he was a little bit keen but did it quite comfortably in the end.”
It was the first time Turner had partnered Flag Carrier, who broke his duck at the seventh time of asking, and she was happy to laugh off his unruly behaviour beforehand.
“He wasn’t the most straightforward and that’s not him generally, but he just had a bee in his bonnet today,” added the jockey.
“He still won despite that and at least I got a nice fall, because I landed in the hedge. The hedge hasn’t done very well out of it, but I was fine!”
Warren Gatland says he is excited about developing a new generation of talent that will start with this season’s Guinness Six Nations campaign.
Gatland has named five uncapped players in his squad for the tournament, with 21-year-old Exeter lock Dafydd Jenkins taking over from an injured Jac Morgan as captain.
Morgan and his World Cup co-skipper Dewi Lake are long-term absentees, while injury has also sidelined number eight Taulupe Faletau, star wing Louis Rees-Zammit has quit rugby to try and forge a career in American football, and the likes of Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny have retired from Test rugby.
Almost half of Gatland’s 34-strong squad have not yet hit double figures in terms of caps, and that collective inexperience has contributed to Wales being written off in many quarters as genuine Six Nations contenders.
“What I have looked at with where we are at right now is we have a group of really talented young players and a couple who are injured at the moment in Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake, who I think are going to be world-class,” said Wales head coach Gatland, speaking at the Six Nations media launch in Dublin.
“I see this as a chance to mould some talented youngsters and give them an opportunity to take control of how they want this team to operate in terms of working with the coaches and setting standards. That is what really excites me.
“We go into the Six Nations with people probably not having too much expectation on us or writing us off, and that is always a nice position to be in.
“It is often said about Wales that you write us off at your peril, because we will work incredibly hard.
“It’s one game at a time, and if we start well against Scotland we will build confidence and momentum. The thing with Welsh players is they become incredibly tough to beat, and that is what I am pinning my hopes on anyway.”
Although Welsh regional rugby is currently operating in a testing financial climate that continues to hit all four professional teams, Gatland is upbeat about developing a largely new-look playing group.
Wales kick off their campaign against Scotland on February 3 – then face successive appointments with England, Ireland and France – and Gatland knows that momentum is key.
“There is a bit of doom and gloom, and people will take that narrative, but I don’t see it like that,” he added.
“I see it as a reset of the regions financially, with the support of the union (Welsh Rugby Union), and the 19, 20 and 21-year-olds now have an opportunity they wouldn’t have had in the past.
“Of all the Tier One nations we are the one with the smallest playing base, so when we see some talent sometimes we’ve got to expose them and see if you can fast-track them.
“It is not about age or experience, it is about allowing that talent to develop.
“It is definitely thinking about the future – not just for this cycle and the next World Cup, but the one after.
“We’ve got five new caps and eight who have never played in the Six Nations. They will learn and develop from that experience, but that doesn’t mean we are not taking the competition seriously.
“Our first game against Scotland is incredibly important. It is one game at a time, and the first one is hugely-important for us at home.”
Fergal O’Brien is happy with his plan to send Long Walk hero Crambo straight to the Stayers’ Hurdle, as he begins to step up his star performer’s work ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.
Owned by Jared Sullivan and Chris Giles, the seven-year-old advertised his potential with some fine performances in handicap company, including when winning last year’s EBF Final at Sandown.
However, he announced himself as a major player in the staying division when outbattling the stalwart Paisley Park to claim Grade One honours at Ascot prior to Christmas.
Crambo is as short as 6-1 for Cheltenham success in the spring, but while some of his Stayers’ Hurdle counterparts will tune-up for Festival action in Saturday’s Cleeve Hurdle, O’Brien is content to prepare his charge at his Ravenswell Farm base.
“Crambo is in great form and he had a hard race at Ascot, so he’s just stepping up his work again and tipping away,” said O’Brien.
“Eve, who looks after him and rides him, is very happy with him and he actually did his first piece of work on Saturday since he won and we were very happy with him.
“He was in a proper battle with those boys at Ascot and he doesn’t need to do that again until Cheltenham, so fingers crossed he will turn up at Cheltenham in the same form as Ascot and do the job for us.
“What I loved about Ascot was he jumped the last and looked like he was going to go away and win and Paisley Park thought ‘I’m not giving this up’ and actually got back ahead of him.
“Five or six strides from the line, he managed to get back in front and started to go away again, so it will give him huge confidence and give Johnny (Burke, jockey) confidence in him.
“He doesn’t show anything at home but he just has a fantastic will to win.”
O’Brien is still to taste success at National Hunt’s showpiece meeting but will head to Prestbury Park with one of his strongest hands to date, as alongside Crambo, he is also poised to saddle Dysart Enos, who is one of the leading fancies for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.
The Grade Two bumper winner has maintained her unbeaten record since switching to timber this term and is in line to complete her Festival preparations at Doncaster on Sunday in the Download The At The Races App Novices’ Hurdle.
“She hopefully goes to Doncaster on Sunday for just an ordinary novice,” continued O’Brien.
“Fingers crossed, she can have a nice clear round there, do her job and then go to Cheltenham.
“She wouldn’t be able to wait until Cheltenham, it would be too long for her, but we’ve been very happy with her.”
Givemefive looks set to take his famous golfing owners to the Cheltenham Festival after maintaining his unbeaten record over obstacles with a runaway success at Warwick.
The four-year-old carries the colours of Smash Racing, a syndicate that includes a couple of Major champions in Northern Ireland’s 2010 US Open hero Graeme McDowell and his American colleague Brooks Koepka, who claimed back-to-back victories in the same event in 2017 and 2018 and has also won three PGA Championships.
A winner on the Flat for Johnny Murtagh in September, the Holy Roman Emperor gelding was subsequently snapped up to pursue a jumping career with Harry Derham.
Derham recalled how winning a challenge with McDowell during a Pro-Am contest led to him getting the two golfing stars on board.
He said: “I’ve known Graeme for a long time and the conversation about owning a racehorse came about at a Pro-Am event. He said if I got closer to the pin than him then he would buy a horse and I somehow managed to get it within a few feet of it and beat him.
“Graeme then got the other guys involved and they are both very engaged in all the conversations about the horse on WhatsApp.”
With Koepka’s friend Daniel Gambill also an owner, Givemefive made a successful debut for his new connections at Market Rasen last month and was a 2-1 shot to follow up under a penalty in the Hazelton Mountford Insurance Brokers Juvenile Hurdle.
Derham had been eyeing the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at the Festival prior to his second jumping start – and while that still looks his most likely Cheltenham target, the trainer admitted he will also have to look at the Triumph Hurdle following a dominant 18-length victory in the hands of Paul O’Brien.
It could be a big weekend for Gary Moore’s juveniles as Irish Derby fourth Peking Opera is pencilled in to begin life over obstacles at Fontwell on Sunday.
The son of Galileo was a Listed winner for Aidan O’Brien on the Flat before going on to finish just over nine lengths adrift of Auguste Rodin at the Curragh in the summer.
He also saw Group One action in the Grand Prix de Paris before finishing his spell at Ballydoyle with a third behind Vauban in the Ballyroan Stakes.
The four-year-old is now set to try his hand at a new discipline and, having been picked up for 100,000 guineas at the sales, has joined Gary Moore to run in Steve Packham’s colours, made famous by Goshen.
He can be backed at a best price of 20-1 for the Triumph Hurdle, but before thoughts of the Cheltenham Festival enter the picture, he will have to pass his first assignment, having been handed an entry for the Join The Vickers.Bet Free Bet Club Novices’ Hurdle.
“If everything is all right, we might run on Sunday at Fontwell,” said Moore.
“We’re running tight on time and I need to get a run into him.”
Although Peking Opera has yet to jump a hurdle in public, stablemate Salver has already put down a marker when romping to a wide-margin victory in Chepstow’s Finale Juvenile Hurdle over Christmas.
A best price of 14-1 for the Triumph, he is unbeaten in three over obstacles and holds an entry for the Grade Two JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday although ground conditions at Prestbury Park are set to determine his participation.
“The horse is very well and he has an entry just in case the ground came up soft,” said Moore.
“He’s probably not going to get his ground and if it did come up soft, he would go there, but if it isn’t then he won’t go.
“It’s a stiff two-mile-one and I thought I would just make the entry, but he would be 50-50 – it would have to be good to soft or softer at least. I wouldn’t even want too much good in it, I want it proper soft ground.
“I’m very mindful of the fact he has improved with every time he has run and it will also depend on how he works in the morning more than anything.”
Wigan’s sold-out World Club Challenge clash with Penrith Panthers next month could herald the start of a new golden era for the reigning Super League champions, according to executive director Kris Radlinski.
The club announced on Monday that no more tickets are available for the February 24 showdown, a level of interest seldom seen since almost 37,000 packed into the old Central Park to watch Ellery Hanley inspire an 8-2 win over Manly in 1987.
Wigan will be looking to emulate St Helens’ stunning win over the NRL champions in Australia at the start of last season and further tilt the balance of power in the global club game in favour of the northern hemisphere.
“To sell out so far in advance is unprecedented and I’ve probably not felt this kind of excitement for 30 years,” Radlinski, who made 322 appearances for the club between 1993 and 2006, told the PA news agency.
“It’s a great opportunity for our players to write their names into the Wigan history books against one of the best teams the NRL has produced. The Manly game was an “I was there” moment, and it’s exactly what we need more of in our sport.
“I’ve been in the game long enough to experience ups and downs but there’s a great spirit in the club at the moment. We’ve got a real connection with the fans and an outstanding head coach, and it really does feel like something special.”
Close-season additions of the likes of former Leeds pair Kruise Leeming and Sam Walters plus Catalans Dragons winger Adam Keighran, who started his career with Penrith, have cemented Wigan’s status as the team to beat for the 2024 campaign.
And they are relishing the prospect of kicking off by testing themselves against a Penrith side still smarting from last season’s loss to Saints, when Lewis Dodds’ golden point drop-goal claimed an implausible 13-12 win in Sydney.
“The Super League owes a massive thank you to St Helens for what they did, not just against Penrith but over the last four years in pressurising the rest of us all to raise our standards,” added Radlinski.
“It was an outstanding match last year when Saints won it, and the pressure is now on us to try to repeat the feat. Whatever happens it is going to be an outstanding occasion and the anticipation around the town is something else.”
Steve Borthwick admits England’s recent record in the Guinness Six Nations is unacceptable having repeatedly failed to deliver on expectations.
Borthwick offers a damning win ratio of only 50 per cent from the last six Championships – a sequence that has included two fifth-place finishes under his predecessor Eddie Jones – as evidence of underperformance.
Starting with their opener against Italy in Rome on February 3, Borthwick is determined for England to use his second Six Nations as head coach to ignite a revival.
“We want to make sure this England team is competing in every single game, which is not something you can say about recent years,” Borthwick said at the tournament launch in Dublin.
“The expectations of supporters are a lot higher than what the team have actually achieved – and quite rightly.
“The team is really well aware that we haven’t performed in the Six Nations for a period of time.
“Ireland and France have been the dominant teams and everybody is trying to compete with those two sides.
“What’s happened in the past is that lots is talked about England prior to the tournament, but England haven’t then achieved.
“Our intent is to hit the ground running in Rome the way we want with the intensity that we want to, which again is something that England have not done in recent years.
“At times we have not jumped into this tournament and have been caught in that first game.
“We want this to be a different mindset for England, a different way of approaching the game and the tournament. And we will approach our camp in Girona differently.
“We’re taking a different approach because we need different results to previous tournaments.”
England depart for their pre-Six Nations training camp in Girona on Tuesday nursing a number of minor injury concerns, especially to their back five.
Hot on the heels of George Martin being ruled out for a number of weeks because of a knee problem, his fellow Leicester lock Ollie Chessum failed a head injury assessment on Champions Cup duty on Saturday while flankers Ben Curry and Sam Underhill are struggling with ankle problems.
Borthwick is optimistic that each of them will be able to play full roles in preparation to face Italy, as will hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, centre Oscar Beard and wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who are also in the treatment room.
England’s head coach was present at the Six Nations launch in Dublin in defiance of Storm Isha, which has caused travel chaos across Great Britain and Ireland.
Borthwick’s newly-appointed captain Jamie George was prevented from travelling from London by cancelled flights, while France were unable to attend in any capacity because of the weather.
Six Nations chief executive Tom Harrison was also missing from the event, which forms the annual centrepiece of the build-up to the tournament.
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