The female employee suspended by Red Bull has appealed against the decision to clear team principal Christian Horner of controlling behaviour, the PA news agency understands.
Red Bull’s investigation dismissed the complainant’s grievance earlier this month but she has lodged a formal appeal with the Formula One team’s parent company GmbH.
The employee is understood to have been suspended on full pay as a direct result of Red Bull’s inquiry, which concluded at the end of last month.
The complainant was told she had acted dishonestly and received a legal letter, which gave her five working days on receipt of the letter, to appeal against the outcome of the investigation.
Horner, 50, who has always denied the claims made against him, was allowed to continue in his role when GmbH cleared him of any wrongdoing.
When asked about the matter before the recent Bahrain Grand Prix, Horner said: “There was a grievance that was raised, it was dealt with in the most professional manner by the group – not by Red Bull Racing but by the owners of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull GmbH – that appointed an independent KC, that is one of the most reputable KCs in the land, and he took time to investigate fully all of the facts.
“He interviewed all of the people involved as well as others of interest. He looked at everything and he came to the conclusion where he dismissed the grievance.
“As far as I am concerned, and as far as Red Bull are concerned, we moved on and we look to the future. The time now is to draw a line under it.”
The PA news agency has approached Red Bull Racing and its parent company GmbH for comment.
Maria Sakkari fought off a Coco Gauff fightback to book a place in the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
She will face top seed Iga Swiatek after beating the American third seed 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-2 in a lengthy, rain-interrupted battle which finished after 1am.
Gauff broke the Greek ninth seed early, but Sakkari fought back to take a first set interrupted by a short rain delay 6-4.
A lengthy break for the weather delayed the start of the second set, Sakkari settling quickest on the resumption and breaking the American twice to lead 5-2.
But she could not serve out the match, despite having a match point, as Gauff broke back and took the set on the tie break.
Gauff broke again at the start of the third set, but Sakkari dug in and rattled off four games in a row to take control again.
And this time she was able to complete the job, breaking Gauff again to complete the win after two hours, 41 minutes on court.
Swiatek’s path to the final, in which she has lost just 20 games, was more straightforward as she saw off Martya Kostyuk 6-2 6-1.
The world number one needed little more than an hour to see off the 31st seed without facing a break point.
Zion Williamson scored 34 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 112-104 win over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers on Friday that tightened the race for the Western Conference's No. 4 seed.
The surging Pelicans moved within two games of Los Angeles for fourth place in the conference and improved to 14-5 since Jan. 31, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets for the best record in the West over that span.
Los Angeles was dealt a third loss in four games despite 26 points from Paul George and 23 from Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers played a second straight game without starting point guard James Harden due to a left shoulder strain.
Williamson recorded 16 of his points during a dominant third quarter in which he went 7 of 7 from the field. The star forward closed out the period with a layup that snapped an 80-80 tie and ignited a 12-3 run that put the Pelicans ahead for good.
Trey Murphy and Naji Marshall each had 3-pointers during the spurt, which Murphy capped with an alley-oop dunk that gave New Orleans a 92-83 lead with 10:24 remaining.
Leonard's hook shot with two minutes left brought the Clippers within 107-102, but Los Angeles came up empty on its next three possessions as New Orleans scored the next five points to put the game out of reach.
The Clippers trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter before putting together a 12-3 run that trimmed the Pelicans' lead to 65-63 with five minutes left in the period.
Heat handle Pistons to end four-game skid
Bam Adebayo recorded 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Miami Heat end a four-game losing streak with a 108-95 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.
Terry Rozier scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half as Miami pulled away in the final two quarters to get back on track and remain 2 1/2 games behind first-place Orlando in the Southeast Division. The Magic also won on Friday, earning a 113-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
After Adebayo's floater in the closing seconds gave Miami a 56-54 lead at the half, the Heat dominated the final six minutes of the third quarter to stretch their advantage.
Miami broke things open with a 15-0 run, which began with six straight points from Rozier and ended with three consecutive 3-pointers by Duncan Robinson. The last of those baskets increased the margin to 83-65 with 2:29 to go in the third quarter.
The Heat maintained a double-digit cushion over the entire fourth quarter to end Detroit's modest two-game winning streak.
Simone Fontecchio led the Pistons, who own the NBA's second-worst record at 12-54, with 24 points. Jalen Duren compiled 15 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.
Jokic outduels Wembanyama, Nuggets top Spurs to stay hot
Nikola Jokić put up 31 points as the Denver Nuggets continued their strong recent stretch with a 117-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a game played in the Texas capital of Austin.
Jokic finished 13 of 19 from the field while adding seven rebounds and five assists to outshine Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, who was held to 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Jamal Murray accumulated 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help Denver improve to 11-1 since the All-Star break. The defending NBA champions have won five straight games.
Jokic and the Nuggets imposed their will early on, as Denver closed out the first quarter on an 18-4 run to take a commanding 37-18 lead into the second. The two-time NBA MVP finished the period with 15 points.
The Spurs shot 60 per cent in the second quarter to close the gap to 58-49 at half-time, and got Denver's lead down to four when Zach Collins' jumper with 16.7 seconds left in the third quarter made the score 83-79.
Denver's Justin Holiday ended the third with a 3-pointer, however, and had another during a 9-1 run in the fourth that put the Nuggets up 101-84 with seven minutes to play.
The game drew a crowd of 16,223, the largest attended sporting event in the history of Austin's Moody Center.
Anze Kopitar scored two of Los Angeles' four first-period goals as the Kings rolled to a 5-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday to boost their playoff hopes.
Cam Talbot notched his third shutout of the season by stopping all 28 shots he faced from a Chicago team that had scored seven goals in each of its previous two games, both victories.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alex Laferriere and Jordan Spence each contributed a goal and an assist to help the Kings move two points clear of the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Divison.
The Kings dominated the first two periods and wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as Dubois rocketed a rebound past Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom on a power play just 3:10 in.
Laferriere redirected a shot from teammate Matt Roy into the net a mere 2:23 later for a 2-0 lead, and Kopitar added his 19th and 20th goals of the season to cause the Blackhawks to pull Soderblom for Petr Mrazek after a little over 14 minutes.
Spence made it 5-0 with his first goal of 2023-24, a shot that trickled by a screened Mrazek 2:31 into the second period.
Soderblom stopped just 10 of 14 shots before being removed, while Mrazek finished with 22 saves.
Toffoli, Brossoit lead Jets' blowout of Ducks
The Winnipeg Jets, meanwhile, created a three-way tie atop the Central Division by cruising to a 6-0 rout of the floundering Anaheim Ducks.
Tyler Toffoli scored two goals to back a 21-save shutout for Laurent Brossoit as Winnipeg joined Colorado and Dallas in first place in the Central. All three teams have 89 points, though the Jets hold a game in hand on the Avalanche and two on the Stars.
Dylan DeMelo added a goal and an assist and Josh Morrissey recorded three assists as the Jets bounced back from Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.
The Ducks were shut out for a second straight game and now have lost five straight, all in regulation.
Kyle Connor got the Jets on the board with 3:40 left in the first period and Nate Schmidt extended the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal in the second.
Winnipeg then put the game out of reach with a four-goal third, with DeMelo starting the barrage 4:59 into the period.
Toffoli, playing his third game since being acquired by the Jets from the New Jersey Devils at last week's trade deadline, then netted his first two goals with his new team within a span of less than three minutes to increase the margin to 5-0.
Mason Appleton closed out the scoring with a power-play goal with 5.5 seconds left.
John Gibson made 32 saves for Anaheim, which was outshot by a 38-21 margin.
Peter O’Mahony insists further Guinness Six Nations glory means “absolutely everything” to Ireland and stressed his countrymen would have metaphorically sacrificed limbs for such success in the recent past.
Retaining the championship crown has been touted as an anti-climax for Andy Farrell’s side after the holy grail of historic back-to-back Grand Slams was extinguished by last week’s agonising 23-22 loss to England.
Ireland are on the verge of a fifth title in 11 years going into Saturday evening’s Dublin showdown with Scotland, having endured a drought of more than two decades between 1985 and 2009.
Captain O’Mahony, who contributed to each of those successes, remembers the barren era and dismissed the suggestion current expectations have devalued the achievement of winning the tournament without a 100 per cent record.
“No, I don’t think so because it’s so rare,” said the 34-year-old.
“I know we’ve had a few in our most recent history but going back over a long period, we’re way down the list of championships won.
“You’re talking about back-to-back Grand Slams and no one has done it because it’s so hard, that’s why.
“You’ve got to win 10 Six Nations games in a row, win five away from home. It’s unbelievably difficult to win a game away from home in this championship, if you look at the stats across the board.
“So it’s everything to us tomorrow. Absolutely everything to us, another championship.
“It’s probably a manner of the Irish psyche, ‘Jesus, another championship’, you know what I mean? When all of a sudden a few years ago you’d have taken your arm and your leg off for one.
“We’re still in the same boat, it matters a massive amount to us. It’s what we’re here for, that’s the be all and end all of it, we’re here to win a championship for our country and it couldn’t mean any more to us.”
Ireland will be crowned champions by avoiding defeat to Gregor Townsend’s side or claiming two losing bonus points, while a single bonus point is also likely to be sufficient.
However, a pointless defeat would leave Farrell’s men sweating on the outcome of England’s clash with France in Lyon.
Ireland are seeking a 10th-successive win over their rivals, while Scotland have a slim chance of snatching the title but are realistically aiming for a first Triple Crown since 1990.
Munster flanker O’Mahony anticipates another feisty affair following last year’s fiery Rugby World Cup pool-stage clash in Paris, which the Irish won 36-14 to eliminate the Scots.
“It’s a competitive game and both teams always get stuck in and that’s what you want, isn’t it? You want both teams flat out,” he said.
“We’re not playing tennis or golf, you know what I mean? It’s a physical game and you’ve got to get stuck in and you’ve got to be on the edge – and that’s rugby.
“It will be very special if we win it.”
Rory McIlroy’s bid for a second Players Championship victory suffered a potentially fatal blow as Scottie Scheffler played through the pain barrier to keep his hopes of an historic title defence alive.
McIlroy held a share of the overnight lead following an opening 65 at Sawgrass, but could only add a second round of 73 to slump eight shots behind US Open champion Wyndham Clark.
An erratic start saw McIlroy card three birdies and three bogeys in the first six holes and, after reaching the turn in 35 with a birdie on the ninth, the world number two bogeyed the 12th, birdied the 13th and double-bogeyed the next in a frustrating inward nine of 38.
Scheffler had earlier received treatment from a PGA Tour physio during a second round of 69 which left him six behind Clark, who reached halfway at 14 under par thanks to a second-consecutive 65.
“I hit a shot on my second hole today and I felt a little something in my neck,” Scheffler, who had started from the 10th hole, explained.
“Then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12 and that’s when I could barely get the club back. So I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much labouring to get the club somehow away from me.
“I did what I could to kind of stay in the tournament today and hopefully it’ll loosen up and then I’ll be able to make somewhat normal swings tomorrow.
“The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing, so yeah, good fight out there.”
Scheffler, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots on Sunday, is bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the Players Championship title in its 50-year history.
Clark made eight birdies – including five in six holes around the turn – to end the day four shots clear of Olympic champion Xander Schauffele and Canada’s Nick Taylor, with Matt Fitzpatrick and Maverick McNealy another stroke back.
“My iron play’s been very solid, I’ve rolled in a handful of putts and then I’ve really been mentally strong so I’d say all of those things are why I’m sitting where I am right now,” Clark said.
England’s Fitzpatrick held the outright lead when he carded his fifth birdie of the day on the third, his 12th hole, to reach 10 under par, only to find the water with his approach from the rough on the next to run up a double bogey.
“I felt the lie was good enough to kind of hack it on to the right side (of the green),” said Fitzpatrick, who birdied his final hole of the day to add a 69 to his opening 66.
“I was aiming at the right bunker, which if you kind of go back there, you realise how far right it was. It just kind of snagged me and went left.
“Otherwise I felt like I did everything well. Just felt like I played solid overall. Made a couple of putts when I needed to, drove the ball well and my approach play was good as well.”
Asked about trailing Clark by five shots, Fitzpatrick added: “Anything can happen over the weekend, there’s still two days, so you never know.
“Another couple of six-under rounds over the weekend and you never know what can happen. So, for me it’s just about trying to stay patient, just keep doing what I’m doing and go from there.”
Galopin Des Champs’ brilliant Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup double left bookmakers licking their wounds at the end of the Cheltenham Festival.
Willie Mullins’ defending champion was sent off the well-backed 10-11 favourite and barely gave his supporters a moment of worry as he stormed to back-to-back triumphs in the blue riband.
It means that three of the four feature-race favourites obliged over the four days and although the layers received temporary relief on day two when El Fabiolo fluffed his lines in the Champion Chase, Galopin Des Champs’ victory only compounded the misery inflicted by State Man and Teahupoo earlier in the week.
“When the Festival’s leading trainer Willie Mullins and jockey Paul Townend team up on the reigning Gold Cup champion and hot favourite in the biggest betting race of the week, victory for the combination is never going to be anything other than bad news for the bookmakers,” said Coral’s David Stevens.
“Overall it’s been a rollercoaster week for us, but Galopin Des Champ’s Gold Cup double means plenty of punters have ended this huge week on a high.”
BoyleSports were another firm losing on the Gold Cup, with spokesperson Lawrence Lyons adding: “It was already a bruising week with so many Mullins winners going in, but he rubbed salt in our wounds on Friday and Galopin Des Champs was the knockout blow as he was the best backed horse of the week.”
However, it was not all bad news for the old enemy, with BetVictor relieved to escape relatively unscathed after an up and down week.
Sam Boswell of the firm explained: “After a bruising day one and day two – which could have been much worse if El Fabiolo had obliged for the many multiple bets – days three and four proved fruitful for the bookmakers with only Galopin Des Champs being a significant negative result.
“It is safe to say both bookmakers and punters had lots of fun at this year’s Festival and it is more or less honours even, perhaps a small win for the punters, over the last four days.”
Paddy Power’s Paul Binfield echoed those sentiments adding: “El Fabiolo’s unfortunate defeat in the Queen Mother was the turning point of the week.
“It went downhill from there for punters and the books have come out on top after a rather worrying start.”
World number one Scottie Scheffler played through the pain barrier to keep his hopes of an historic title defence alive in the Players Championship.
Scheffler received treatment from a PGA Tour physio during a second round of 69 at Sawgrass which left him six shots behind clubhouse leader Wyndham Clark, the US Open champion carding a second-consecutive 65.
“I hit a shot on my second hole today and I felt a little something in my neck,” Scheffler, who had started from the 10th hole, explained.
“Then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12 and that’s when I could barely get the club back. So I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much labouring to get the club somehow away from me.
“I did what I could to kind of stay in the tournament today and hopefully it’ll loosen up and then I’ll be able to make somewhat normal swings tomorrow.
“The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing, so yeah, good fight out there.”
Scheffler, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots on Sunday, is bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the Players Championship title in its 50-year history.
Clark made eight birdies – including five in six holes around the turn – to reach 14 under par and enjoy a five-shot lead over the man he succeeded as US Open champion, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick.
“My iron play’s been very solid, I’ve rolled in a handful of putts and then I’ve really been mentally strong so I’d say all of those things are why I’m sitting where I am right now,” Clark said.
Fitzpatrick held the outright lead when he carded his fifth birdie of the day on the third, his 12th hole, to reach 10 under par, only to find the water with his approach from the rough on the next to run up a double bogey.
“I felt the lie was good enough to kind of hack it on to the right side (of the green),” explained Fitzpatrick, who birdied his final hole of the day to add a 69 to his opening 66.
“I was aiming at the right bunker, which if you kind of go back there, you realise how far right it was. It just kind of snagged me and went left.
“Otherwise I felt like I did everything well. Just felt like I played solid overall. Made a couple of putts when I needed to, drove the ball well and my approach play was good as well.”
Asked about trailing Clark by five shots, Fitzpatrick added: “Anything can happen over the weekend, there’s still two days, so you never know.
“Another couple of six-under rounds over the weekend and you never know what can happen. So, for me it’s just about trying to stay patient, just keep doing what I’m doing and go from there.”
An attempt to emulate three-time winners Arkle and Best Mate is uppermost in Willie Mullins’ mind for Galopin Des Champs having watched his stable star smoothly add a second Boodles Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
While last year’s race had its moments of concern before he eventually stamped his class on the contest, this time around it was much more straightforward.
In fact, the biggest worry was when Fastorslow, his nemesis from the Punchestown Festival and the John Durkan Chase earlier in the season, loomed up alongside him – the difference being this time his old foe had unseated earlier in the race and was riderless.
“The loose horse was obviously a worry, I was trying to work out if it was an English or an Irish one! But I could tell by Paul’s body language that he was comfortable throughout,” said Mullins.
For Mullins, the old saying ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again’ certainly rings true where the Gold Cup is concerned.
Before Al Boum Photo won the first of his two Gold Cups in 2019, the master trainer had finished second in the blue riband an incredible six times.
“The two horses don’t really compare, Al Boum Photo was more of a galloper who would stay all day while this fellow has a bit of class but he’s still able to pull it out at the end of three and a quarter miles,” said Mullins, who was winning his fourth Gold Cup in six years.
“We’ve been very lucky that after six seconds we’ve now won four in six, we’re also very lucky to have Paul. He’s level with Pat Taaffe now (on four winners), that’s esteemed company.
“To win the 100th Gold Cup is amazing. The horses have been running so well, the jockeys have been riding so well, it’s like a perfect storm, that’s what it is, just the perfect storm.”
Where Al Boum Photo came up short in his bid for a third Gold Cup, Galopin Des Champs’ biggest test may come from within in the shape of Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase winner Fact To File.
“The aim now has got to be to get him back next year and go for a third and I imagine we’ll run a similar type of programme as we did this year,” said Mullins.
“Looking at the amount of horses he’s beaten, he’s probably run more times than most Gold Cup horses but I’m a believer that if you’ve got a good, sound horse and the prize-money is there, run them.
“I’m sure it’s a big help that we got those runs into him early in the season. He took the runs really well and gave us no reason not to run and that enabled us to come with race fitness rather than hope.
“It’s awesome that it looks like we might have other Gold Cup horses coming through, but we know through bitter experience how hard it is to get three-mile chasers back to the track, it’s a tough game. It would be great to bring him back but if he doesn’t, hopefully we have A, B and C as well.”
For Townend, who you sometimes feel would rather be anywhere else than the centre of attention, he has, as Mullins pointed out, matched the Gold Cup record of Arkle’s legendary rider.
“He’s felt stronger this year so we were able to ride him differently, he’s more grown up, he’s tough,” said Townend.
“It was more straightforward this year, last year we sort of had to fight our way through but this was a different race on a different day.
“You obviously never know what a loose horse is going to do, but he actually behaved himself quite well and my horse was very professional. He was also something for me to race with.”
For Mullins, the Gold Cup was his ninth winner of the week in a year he brought up an incredible 100th Festival success and put the seal on yet another remarkable meeting.
“The other morning before we came, we were all in the office and I said to them all ‘is it me or is everything in place this year’. The horses we were running at home were winning and the ones that were coming here were all in tip-top order and that has proved to be the case,” he said.
“It’s hard to say which is bigger, 100 winners or another Gold Cup, but there’s a Gold Cup every year – not many people will train 100 winners. I never dreamt I would and I didn’t aspire to do it, but you hope to have a Gold Cup winner.
“I obviously tried for a lot of years and couldn’t do it, but a few years later here we are with four out of six. You dream it would happen, but you don’t dream what has happened to Closutton in the last 20 or 25 years.
Townend, who had the misfortunate of being compared to Ruby Walsh when he took the top job, has now established himself as the man for the big occasion.
“It’s been an amazing journey and it’s all down to Willie, he gave me a lot of experiences as a young rider behind Ruby and I’m just grateful to be able to repay him with winners this week and every year,” he said.
“He gives you huge confidence riding the horses because if it’s not going to Plan A, you have the confidence to be able to go and do something else. I don’t remember us ever having a row!”
Comparing Townend to Walsh, Mullins said: “Totally different rider, different style of riding and a different way of viewing a race, but it works. I always admire Paul’s style of riding for different reasons – and he’s really settled into the top job hasn’t he.”
Mullins also had a poignant word for his late parents, Paddy and Maureen, the latter having died last month at the age of 94.
“I would have loved to have had my mother and my father here, for the whole week, not just the Gold Cup, but it’s not to be,” he said.
When asked what was left for him to achieve now, Mullins said: “Paul alluded to it coming in after winning on Absurde when he said ‘what the hell were you doing down in Melbourne with him!’.
“We’d like to go back. In the context of Flat racing, we’re never going to win a Guineas so we target the staying races and the Melbourne Cup is the one I’d really like.”
Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, considered one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, has announced his immediate retirement from playing.
Donald, who turns 33 in May, played for 10 seasons in the NFL, all of them with the Rams, and helped the team win the Super Bowl in 2022.
“Cheers to what’s next,” Donald wrote on social media platform X. “Extending a big thank you to the Rams and all of the fans for your support.”
The timing of the announcement from Donald, one of three players to have been named the NFL’s defensive player of the year three times, has come as a surprise.
The Rams took Donald with the 13th overall pick in the 2014 draft and he was named defensive rookie of the year in his first season.
Donald helped the Rams reach the Super Bowl in 2019, only to suffer a 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots, but they returned three years later and beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.
The eight-time All-Pro selection finishes his career with 117 sacks, having become the fastest defensive tackle to reach 100 sacks in NFL history.
“Throughout my career, I have given my everything to football both mentally and physically – 365 days a year was dedicated to becoming the best possible player I could be,” Donald added.
“I respected this game like no other and I’m blessed to be able to conclude my NFL career with the same franchise that drafted me. Not many people get drafted to a team, win a world championship with that team and retire with that team. I do not, and will not, take that for granted.”
England captain Jamie George has given his players a simple message ahead of their Guinness Six Nations clash with France – do not believe the hype.
England travel to Lyon on Saturday with an outside chance of snatching the title from Irish hands having stunned Andy Farrell’s favourites 23-22 in round four through a last-gasp Marcus Smith drop goal.
It was their finest performance since routing New Zealand in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, but that seismic victory was followed by crushing final defeat to South Africa week later.
Seeing the potential parallels for the last two rounds of their Six Nations, George and head coach Steve Borthwick have taken steps to ensure England are not seduced by the acclaim that greeted their statement win against Ireland.
“We believed the hype in 2019, we kept living it for three or four days afterwards,” George said.
“You’re in a World Cup final week and I had every distraction under the sun. People wanting to come over, thousands of people asking you for tickets, people from school coming out the woodwork who I hadn’t spoken to for 10 years.
“It’s great but it can be really distracting and I probably learnt that the hard way. We definitely got it wrong in 2019.
“You could see it in our energy and our life. Often you can see it in your work off the ball.
“It’s a World Cup final so you think you’re going to be absolutely buzzing. I was buzzing mentally, it was almost a situation that I was trying to convince myself that I was buzzing rather than having anything in my legs to be able to go and do it.
“We didn’t reach the highs of the week before and what I learnt is that you need to be able to give yourself the space to get away from things and reflect. Do what you’ve got to do.
“Steve was very conscious about it. It was one of the first things I spoke to him about when we met up again last Sunday and he was already all over it.
“Not many teams come to France and win. We haven’t done that since 2016. We’re very aware of that.
“We achieved something special last weekend, everyone felt that, but being able to back it up is a huge motivation for me. Good teams react well to setbacks, great teams make sure they back it up.”
England’s 2003 World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson has revealed that ‘Le Crunch’ was his favourite rivalry and the fixture also gets George’s competitive juices flowing.
“I love it. I really respect how they see the game,” the Saracens hooker said.
“For me as a front-row forward going into this fixture I know exactly what is coming – it’s a physical battle, the confrontational element of it.
“There’s a line in the sand, it’s me versus you. What a great opportunity that is. I’ve loved playing French teams throughout my career, not just at international level but at club.
“There’s a consistency with how they judge the game and I’d agree with Martin in that respect – this is a game that is as big a rivalry as there is.”
Josh Adams says that Wales must not “shy away” from what awaits them in the pressure-filled cauldron of a wooden spoon decider against Italy.
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium has played host to Six Nations title successes and witnessed Grand Slam glory, but the contrast this weekend could hardly be greater.
There is no silverware at stake, just the Guinness Six Nations’ mythical “prize” for finishing bottom of the table. And this season it is a straight shoot-out between Wales and Italy.
Wales, currently four points adrift of their fifth-placed opponents, must win to have any chance of avoiding a first wooden spoon since 2003.
Even victory might not be enough if bonus points come into play, and Wales wing Adams accepts that the heat is on.
“It is a bit of a different pressure,” he said.
“Pressure when you are in a game to win something, it feels a little bit different. There is something at the end of it, whereas this is a situation where we can’t afford to lose.
“We have to have the mindset that international rugby is all about winning, and we haven’t been able to do that yet. We are desperate to win.
“I have been in a relegation battle in the Premiership with Worcester. We lost our first seven games of the season and we were miles adrift at the bottom.
“It came down to a game against London Irish, where it was pretty much whoever won would stay up. This is similar in a way.
“You have to embrace it and not shy away from it. We can’t go in our shells and cover up.
“We have had the mentality of ‘let’s take this head-on, let’s be at our best this weekend and let’s finish with what we feel we deserve, which is a good victory’.
“Sometimes you learn best from your losses, but there are only learnings if you show improvements the following week, otherwise there is no point.
“I won my first Test at home against Scotland, then lost away against England and I didn’t lose for nine Tests after that. I was in a team that didn’t know how to lose.
“That is the sort of journey we are going to have to get to where it becomes second-nature where we understand how to close games out, how to squeeze opposition better and see tough Test matches out.
“International rugby is a cut-throat business, and you need to perform at your best every week if you want to win.”
Wales’ last Six Nations victory was against Italy in Rome 12 months ago, while the Azzuri triumphed 22-21 on their most recent Cardiff visit in 2022 when try-scorer Adams was named player of the match and promptly gave his medal to visiting full-back Ange Capuozzo.
That match was Alun Wyn Jones 150th Wales cap and Dan Biggar’s 100th, while this time around the game is George North’s farewell appearance before retiring from Test rugby.
“I would like to think we can send off George with a win and not have a repeat of the result when Dan and Al reached their incredible milestones,” Adams added.
“It is important we do something for George. He has had so many memorable moments for Wales, and his contribution to Welsh rugby has been incredible.
“There are no real words to sum him up. I would just like to say ‘thank you’ for the way he has helped me.”
Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday, ending one of the most decorated careers in league history for a defensive player.
The three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year announced his decision on social media, thanking the Rams organisation and the Kroenke family.
“I’m thankful for the people I’ve met along the way, the relationships I’ve built and the things I’ve accomplished with my teammates and individually,” Donald said in his post.
Donald was drafted 13th overall in 2014 by the St. Louis Rams and was already one of the team’s best players when the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 2016.
Donald was selected to the Pro Bowl after each of his 10 NFL seasons, all with the Rams, and he was voted an All-Pro eight times. He was also a driving force in Los Angeles’ 2021 play-off run and had two sacks in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I’m blessed to be able to conclude my NFL career with the same franchise that drafted me,” Donald said in his post. “Not many people get drafted to a team, win a World Championship with that team and retire with that team.
“I do not, and will not, take that for granted.”
At 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds, Donald fell in the draft due to his lack of size for an interior lineman, but his rare combination of quickness and strength made him a disruptive force almost immediately.
Donald was voted Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 after accumulating nine sacks and 18 tackles for loss in just 12 starts.
Donald was voted the league's top defender after the 2017, 2018 and 2020 seasons, and his 20.5 sacks in 2018 rank among the top 11 seasons ever for a pass-rusher.
In 154 career games, Donald tallied 111 sacks, 176 tackles for loss and 24 forced fumbles.
Scotland co-captain Rory Darge hopes channelling the dejection of a shock defeat to Italy can help topple title-chasing Ireland and clinch an overdue Triple Crown.
Gregor Townsend’s side run out in Dublin on Saturday seeking to salvage silverware from a Guinness Six Nations campaign which disastrously unravelled in Rome.
While Scotland retain an extremely slim chance of snatching the title, the consolation of defeating Ireland, England and Wales in a single championship for the first time since the 1990 Five Nations appears to be the realistic extent of their ambitions.
“Coming here to get a result is going to be a tough ask but we’ve got a lot to play for,” Darge said at the Aviva Stadium on Friday afternoon.
“It’s 30-odd years since the Triple Crown for a Scottish team and obviously after a loss like last weekend, the first thing you want to do is get back out there and put things as right as you can. That’s what we’re looking forward to.
“The fuel is the result (against Italy, a 31-29 defeat). The fuel is how gutted we were after the game. It was a quiet changing room.
“A tough weekend to process what went on but that’s the fuel for me – and the Triple Crown.
“The opportunity to come to Dublin and beat one of the best teams in the world, that’s enough motivation.”
Scotland must beat Ireland with a bonus point and deny their opponents one while overturning a 76-point deficit in points difference to have a chance of finishing top of the table.
That improbable scenario seems even more unlikely given the reigning champions have won 13 of the last 14 meetings between the nations and are chasing a 10th success on the spin.
Glasgow flanker Darge insists the Scots have “full belief” they can cause problems for Andy Farrell’s men.
“Tomorrow, all we can do is focus on ourselves and then hopefully prove something for you,” he told reporters.
“In recent years, it’s not been the case but we’ve got full belief that if we do everything we can we’ll put the pressure on them. Every moment is going to be huge.
“If you aren’t in a moment or you switch off, they’re likely to make you pay for it.
“That’s an area that we have had a lot of growth and there’s still an area of growth for us – staying in every moment and the mental space of it.
“They seem to be able to deal with a lot that’s thrown at them.
“We just need to focus on what we can do better from the Italy game but also what we think might put them under a bit of pressure.
“We’ve had a lot of learnings as you can imagine over this last week and it’s just about putting it out there.”
All reads lead back to the Randox Grand National for Corach Rambler after Lucinda Russell’s pride and joy “ran his socks off” to finish third in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The 10-year-old is a dual Festival winner having claimed back-to-back victories in the Ultima Handicap Chase, an achievement only bettered by his dominant success in the world’s most famous steeplechase at Aintree last spring.
Corach Rambler disappointed on his first start of the current campaign at Kelso, but an encouraging third in Haydock’s Betfair Chase in November was a step in the right direction and he had been kept fresh for his return to Prestbury Park.
Settled at the rear of the field for much of the way by Derek Fox, the Scottish raider began to make inroads racing down the hill and just for a fleeting moment halfway up the home straight the dream that he may achieve the extremely rare feat of landing National Hunt racing’s two biggest prizes was alive.
Ultimately his late thrust got him the bronze medal behind Galopin Des Champs, but he nevertheless received a rapturous reception from both his connections and the crowd after returning to the parade ring and he is now as short of 6-1 to successfully defend his National crown on April 13.
“I’d say on Tuesday we weren’t going to run, but I don’t want to run him ever, ever, ever, I just want to pat him and look after him,” Russell said afterwards.
“But he’s a racehorse and he loves his job and yesterday evening I said to Scu (Peter Scudamore, partner) ‘what are we going to do’ and he said ‘look, it’s going to be safe (ground) and as long as it’s safe it’s fine’, and he ran his socks off.
“When he was at the top of the hill I thought he was a little bit further back than usual and then when he came down the hill I thought ‘can he do it again?’. Maybe if the ground had been a little bit better, I don’t know, all I know is I’m delighted with him, to be third in the Gold Cup is fantastic.
“I can’t get over the way the people appreciate him, he’s just lovely – he’s the horse of a lifetime.”
Splitting Galopin Des Champs and Corach Rambler in second was the Gordon Elliott-trained Gerri Colombe.
The eight-year-old was blown away by his conqueror in Leopardstown’s Savills Chase over Christmas, but closed the gap to three and a half lengths on the day that mattered most.
Elliott said: “There was no excuse, the winner was very, very good, but we’re very proud of our horse. He ran a great race and we’re very happy.
“He was up against a superstar. It’s always disappointing when you lose, but the horse that beat him is exceptional.
“The loose horse didn’t help us, but I don’t think it made the difference between winning and losing.”
Back in fourth was the Venetia Williams-trained L’Homme Presse, who for a long way disputed the lead with The Real Whacker and those still in contention into the home straight.
His emotional co-owner Andy Edwards said: “Amazing, he served it up to them. Charlie (Deutsch) just said the ground is really tacky and the speed he had at Lingfield he just couldn’t show it in that.
“He’s jumped fantastically and he’s enjoyed it. I’m so proud.
“I was standing there calm and I could just see his stride shorten a touch just before the second-last, I knew that was tough for him. He’s had an interrupted season really and for him to finish fourth in the Gold Cup, bloody hell – it’s amazing isn’t it?
“It was brilliant ride from Charlie. If you watch it, they were as one – it wasn’t a horse and a jockey, they were one entity.
“I’m delighted, proud and I’m going to go and have a good cry.”
There was a winner for the north at the Cheltenham Festival as Fiona Needham’s Sine Nomine edged out 11-8 favourite Its On The Line in a thrilling finish to the St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase.
The market leader’s jockey Derek O’Connor was attempting to enter the record books by winning all three amateur rider events in the same week, but it was Catterick clerk of the course Needham who added herself to the race’s roll of honour for a second time.
Needham rode Last Option to victory in 2002 for her father Robin Tate and Sine Nomine, who cost just £2,400 as a three-year-old, sported the same Tate colours here.
The eye was drawn to Sine Nomine throughout the contest as the eight-year-old travelled with real zest in the hands of John Dawson but there was still plenty of work to do as David Christie’s long-time leader Ferns Lock gave way on the run to two out and eventual third Time Leader took things up.
Dawson elected to make his challenge up the inner where O’Connor was working away urging last year’s runner-up and having found himself short of room after the last, Dawson had to switch and regather his mount before launching one last assault up the Cheltenham hill.
It was a challenge timed to perfection as although Its On The Line soon had Time Leader covered, he had no answer to Sine Nomine’s late thrust as the gallant grey became the toast of Yorkshire at odds of 8-1.
Cameron Payne felt the Philadelphia 76ers found "the right juice" against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, but it wasn't enough as Giannis Antetokounmpo led the championship hopefuls to victory.
Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and added 11 rebounds as the Bucks rallied for a 114-105 win over the 76ers, who had led 83-80 at the start of the fourth quarter.
However, the Bucks inched ahead of their short-handed visitors with eight minutes on the clock, then AJ Green added three free-throws and a 3-pointer to open up a commanding lead.
The Sixers have now lost 13 of 20 games without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who hopes to return before the end of the season after undergoing surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee.
However, both Payne and head coach Nick Nurse sought to take the positives from Thursday's performance.
"I feel like we had the right juice today. We had fun and it showed on the court," Payne said after finishing with 13 points in support of Tyrese Maxey, who had 30.
Nurse echoed that view, saying: "I think the effort was really good. We were doing a lot of things we wanted to do. We turned them over a bunch in the first half.
"Probably the difference in the game was that we didn't quite get to as many turnovers in the second. But I thought we did a lot of really good things."
The victory – Milwaukee's third in a row on home turf – improved the Bucks to 43-24, a record which is good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference behind the 52-14 Boston Celtics.
"They were the instigators throughout the entire first three quarters," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought in the fourth quarter it flipped."
Emma Raducanu has been named in Great Britain’s team to face France in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round next month.
The 21-year-old former US Open champion will compete in the event for the first time in two years.
British number one Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart and Heather Watson make up the quartet.
Captain Anne Keothavong told the LTA website: “I’m delighted to be travelling with a full-strength team off the back of some terrific results recently.
“The French side will present a significant challenge as always, but we all know how representing GB inspires us and each year we are getting stronger and better as a team.”
The qualifying round takes place in Le Portel, France, on April 12-13, on indoor clay.
Great Britain missed out on the finals last year after losing to France in Coventry.
Topsy Ojo believes the best is yet to come from England after their dramatic 23-22 triumph over Ireland in the Six Nations.
Marcus Smith’s drop goal claimed an last-minute win at Twickenham, keeping their tournament hopes alive going into the final weekend.
Broadcaster and former player Ojo believes Steve Borthwick’s men can still go up a gear ahead of their Lyon showdown with France on Saturday.
“There are more gears for them and they will definitely say the same too,” Ojo told the PA news agency.
“The big one is consistency of performance and whether they will be consistent week on week. That is what England are striving for.
“How do England regenerate that emotional and physical high, because it was a bruising encounter and they really put everything into that.
“It was incredible, it was a brilliant Test match.
“They’ve been working hard behind the scenes and making small steps after the defeat to Scotland. Sometimes you need a lot of factors to conspire to deliver that performance.”
Last week’s match at Twickenham handed Ireland their first defeat since October.
England will need them to lose at home to Scotland without a bonus point and claim a bonus-point victory over France if they are to complete the unlikely task of lifting the trophy.
Ojo admitted: “The odds will be low.
“Anything from a win or a losing bonus point will do it for them (Ireland), they’re back at home and after the disappointment of the weekend where they had the championship in their hands before England snatched it away, you would like to think they will finish strongly.
“Last weekend did show that anything is possible.”
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has been ruled out of the tie after he reported concussion symptoms on Monday.
Ojo talked up the Exeter winger’s impact and admitted his absence will be a shame going into the final gameweek.
Ojo said: “He’s a talent no doubt and it’ll be a shame that he won’t be able to carry on that performance against France on the weekend.
“He’s got himself in the squad because he’s a handful and makes things happen, he was allowed to do that on Saturday. He showcased his strengths and he was one of the most dangerous players. It was brilliant to see.
“He went out and did the things I’ve seen him do in the Premiership. His maturity off the field is impressive as well.”
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