Scotland crushed Six Nations whipping boys Italy with an eight-try demolition in Edinburgh as the ill-disciplined Azzurri suffered a 52-10 defeat.
Two tries from hooker David Cherry on his first start, plus a double from Duhan van der Merwe, helped the home side steam to an emphatic win, and Scotland should head to France in good spirits for the finale to their campaign on Friday.
After home defeats to Ireland and Wales earlier in the campaign, either side of a Calcutta Cup triumph at Twickenham, this was a match that coach Gregor Townsend and Scotland knew they must win.
The Italians' last victory in the championship came against the Scots at Murrayfield in 2015, and although a sketchy start from the home team may have had a Scottish crowd worried, in front of empty stands the home side were able to rapidly regroup and overwhelm their visitors.
In 2007, a hapless Scotland team trailed the Italians 21-0 after six minutes at Murrayfield following three tries, on their way to a 37-17 defeat. This time it was 7-0 to the Azzurri at that early stage after hooker Luca Bigi drove over in the left corner and Paolo Garbisi added a magnificent touchline kick.
Cherry burrowed over for a swift response, before Van der Merwe ran in a second Scots try, dashing down the left and taking his time before dotting down under the posts.
Italy lost Federico Mori to a yellow card for a dangerous dash at Sam Johnson, and the Scots took advantage, moving the ball well through hands to allow Darcy Graham and Huw Jones to plunder further tries.
Cherry powered through Italian blue shirts as the Scots drove a maul at the Italian line in the 45th minute, bagging his second try of the game. Stuart Hogg, having missed two of his four conversion attempts in the first half, nailed an excellent kick from just inside the right touchline to give Scotland a 31-10 cushion.
Sebastian Negri was the next Italian to be yellow-carded, and scrum-half Scott Steele boosted the Scotland lead from close range moments later. Monty Ioane followed Negri to the sin bin after picking up Hogg and dumping him to the ground.
Johnson dived in for a try and Van der Merwe streaked away for another to add to the misery of the disorientated Italians, who have now lost on 32 consecutive outings in the championship.
Kyrie Irving is "super excited" at the prospect of having Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin on the same team after the Brooklyn Nets saw a six-match winning streak snapped by the Orlando Magic.
The Nets had lost just once in 15 previous NBA outings before going down 121-113 at the Amway Center on Friday.
Irving scored 43 points and also posted six rebounds and four assists, while James Harden contributed 19 points in the losing effort.
Aaron Gordon had 38 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Evan Fournier drained 31 points and Nikola Vucevic 22 for a Magic side that responded to a loss to the New York Knicks last time out.
Irving said the loss can be a "great learning experience".
"They just got going early and we got down in a hole. And when you're trying to play out of a hole for the rest of the game, obviously when teams are shooting the three — or when a team is shooting the three like they were tonight — it makes it a lot more difficult and you have to be perfect down the stretch," Irving said.
"But they came in off a back-to-back very desperate, and we didn't match their energy so it kind of happens like that, this is what it feels like to lose.
"We don't want too many more feelings like this, so just learn from it and move forward, but great learning experience."
The Nets, second in the East, will soon be reinforced by the return of Kevin Durant, who is absent with a hamstring injury, and Griffin, who is yet to play since signing for Brooklyn on March 8.
Griffin has been contending with a left knee issue and Irving is excited by the impact both men can have on the team.
"I am super excited. You know, it's just high-level talent out there," he added.
"So, when you can just prepare for the game and go over the X's and O's, you can look to your left and right and know the guys next to you have your back and you're able to play at a high level offensively and defensively and make an impact, you've got to look forward to that.
"I look forward to it for sure. And as a competitor wanting to be on the main stage, we want all our guys healthy.
"Hopefully we can hit a stride at the right time and make a run, but this is great practice ground right now to just get as healthy as we can before stepping into the playoffs soon, very soon."
The Chiefs produced a sensational come-from-behind performance to claim a first Super Rugby win in over a year as they defeated the Hurricanes 35-29 at Sky Stadium on Saturday.
Trailing 26-7 at half-time after an action-packed opening 20 minutes, the Chiefs scored four second-half tries to claim a brilliant victory led by full-back Damian McKenzie.
It meant the Chiefs ended a run of 11 straight defeats against New Zealand franchises, while it was also their first triumph of any kind since overcoming the Waratahs on March 6 last year.
Coming into the game, both sides were winless in the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season after two matches, and the Hurricanes scored four first-half tries to appear in total control.
However, the Chiefs responded with a second-half display that left the hosts shellshocked in Wellington, with Luke Jacobson crossing for the decisive try with five minutes to play.
The Hurricanes got the jump on the Chiefs in the 11th minute when Jordie Barrett broke and passed for Luke Campbell to cross on his starting debut, with Barrett making the conversion.
The visitors immediately responded with Kaleb Trask going under the posts two minutes later with McKenzie converting.
The action-packed opening 20 minutes continued with Ricky Riccitelli scoring out wide for the Hurricanes to make it 12-7.
The Hurricanes went further ahead when Ngani Laumape's wide kick found Salesi Rayasi who showed strength to get down for another try that Barrett converted.
Rayasi got his second shortly prior to half-time to give the Hurricanes a strong advantage at the interval.
McKenzie was denied a try early in the second half by the TMO before the Chiefs started their rally with Chase Tiatia's 56th-minute try.
Shortly after, McKenzie led a break and released Tiatia who combined with Samipeni Finau before scrum-half Brad Weber crossed.
The comeback continued in the 66th minute when Naitoa Ah Kuoi was pushed over the line. McKenzie added the extras to put the Chiefs ahead 28-26.
Barrett stopped the Chiefs' scoring run with a monster penalty goal to restore their lead at 29-28.
But the Chiefs touched down again with five minutes to play when Jacobson crashed over the line, before McKenzie again kicked accurately to seal a stunning win.
World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised into the Mexican Open final with a routine victory over Italian teenage sensation Lorenzo Musetti in Acapulco on Friday.
Tsitsipas triumphed 6-1 6-3 in 79 minutes to get past 19-year-old Musetti, who had beaten third seed Diego Schwartzman and former world number three Grigor Dimitrov on his run to the semis.
The Greek top seed will play second seed Alexander Zverev in Saturday's final after the German got past countryman Dominik Koepfer 6-4 7-6 (7-5) in their semi-final, which was literally rocked by an earthquake.
The broadcast cameras shook mid-point but play continued as a 5.7 magnitude earthquake was registered to the north of Marquelia, which is to the east of Acapulco.
Tsitsipas holds a 5-1 record against Zverev, who is ranked seventh in the world and made last year's US Open final.
"Sascha is someone I've played against in the past and it's never easy. We're both really hungry and we're both very competitive," Tsitsipas said.
The Greek made light work of Musetti, winning five straight games in the opening set after starting at 1-1.
Unforced errors cost Musetti, who had his moments, but Tsitsipas was on song with 17 of 23 winners off his forehand.
Musetti will move into the top 100 of the rankings for the first time on Monday after his breakthrough week.
"We'll definitely see a lot from Lorenzo in the future, he has a wonderful one-handed backhand and creates lots of opportunities. He showed his level this week," Tsitsipas said.
The Brooklyn Nets' six-game winning streak came to a grinding halt with a 121-113 loss to the lowly Orlando Magic, despite the return of Kyrie Irving after groin soreness.
The Magic were coming into the match on a nine-game losing streak, but jumped out of the blocks with Aaron Gordon scoring 21 points in the first half.
Orlando led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter before the Nets closed to trail by only two at the main break, led by Irving, who finished with a game-high 43 points, six rebounds and four assists.
James Harden's output was slightly down, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds and nine assists as Orlando raced away again in the third.
Gordon finished with a season-high 38 points, Evan Fournier scored 31, while center Nikola Vucevic had 22 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists as the Magic pulled off an upset.
The Utah Jazz returned to the winners' list with a thrilling 115-112 triumph over the Toronto Raptors, who have now lost seven in a row.
The Jazz had lost four of six coming into the match, but found some form, led by Donovan Mitchell with 31 points and five rebounds, the star pinching the lead late after the Raptors were up by five with 90 seconds to go.
Pascal Siakam put up a three-point attempt on the buzzer which cruelly rimmed out.
Blazers do it again, Wiggins' season high
CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard produced another special performance as the Portland Trail Blazers came from behind again to win their third straight game, 125-119 over the Dallas Mavericks.
McCollum finished with 32 points, including seven three-pointers, while Lillard had 31 points along with six assists as Portland scored 32 points to 21 in the last to win. The victory was also Portland's Terry Stotts' 500th as head coach.
Andrew Wiggins produced a season-high 40 points, including six three-pointers, eight rebounds and four steals as the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 116-103.
Nikola Jokic sparkled with 34 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as the Denver Nuggets edged the Chicago Bulls in overtime 131-127. Jamal Murray also scored 34 for Denver.
Guard Malcolm Brogdon scored 27 points as the Indiana Pacers piled on the points in a 137-110 win over the Miami Heat.
Mason Plumlee had 16 rebounds while Frank Jackson scored 23 points as the struggling Detroit Pistons won back-to-back games, 113-100 over the Houston Rockets, who have lost 19 in a row.
Melo makes history
Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony, 36, scored 18 points in Portland's win but he also brought up the milestone of 27,000 NBA points, becoming only the 11th player to reach the figure.
Eighth seed Ann Li toppled the top remaining seed Zheng Saisai in the quarter-finals of the Monterrey Open on Friday, throwing the field wide open.
Li triumphed 7-5 6-1 over third seed Zheng, who held the highest rank of all remaining players after Sloane Stephens and Nadia Podoroska's first-round exits.
World number 52 Zheng struggled to win on her first serve, with Li converted five of seven break points.
American Li, who is ranked 72nd in the world, will next face Swiss qualifier Viktorija Golubic, who beat Russia's Anna Kalinskaya 6-2 6-4.
On the other side of the draw, Canadian Leylah Fernandez defeated Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova 7-5 6-3 and will face seventh seed Sara Sorribes Tormo in the other semi-final.
Sorribes Tormo, who is now the highest ranked remaining player, defeated Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3 7-5.
An earthquake hit Acapulco during Alexander Zverev's clash against Dominik Koepfer at the Mexican Open on Friday.
The broadcast camera shook mid-point during the all-German semi-final encounter.
A 5.7 magnitude earthquake was registered to the north of Marquelia, which is to the east of Acapulco.
Zverev went on to secure a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) victory over Koepfer to reach the final.
World number one Novak Djokovic has joined Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in deciding not to play at the Miami Open, which begins next week.
The Masters 1000 tournament has not been its usual big draw for the leading men this year, and Djokovic becomes the latest high-profile withdrawal.
The 33-year-old Serbian announced he would enjoy some family time rather than travel to the United States, citing the need for balance in his life as coronavirus restrictions affect globe-trotting sports stars.
Miami's total prize fund is said to have been cut from $16.7million in 2019, the last time it was held, to $6.68m this year.
That drastic reduction, reported by the Tennis Majors website, may or may not have been a partial factor in the withdrawals that have dented the top-tier quality in the men's side of the tournament.
The women's event looks like being a full-strength field, while new world number two Daniil Medvedev is set to be the men's top seed, providing he makes the trip.
Djokovic wrote on Twitter: "Dear fans, I'm very sorry to announce that this year I won't travel to Miami to compete.
"I decided to use this precious time at home to stay with my family. With all restrictions, I need to find balance in my time on tour and at home. I look forward to coming back next year!"
Nadal has been bothered by a back problem and cited it earlier this week as the reason for his withdrawal, as he looks to recover full fitness in time for the clay-court season and a crack at winning a 14th French Open title.
The Spaniard's great rival Federer, a fellow 20-time grand slam winner, has only just returned from a year away from the tour after knee surgery, and beat Dan Evans in his first match back at the Qatar Open before losing to Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Federer then elected not to play in Dubai and will not be in Miami, where he is the men's reigning champion, having taken the 2019 title. The 2020 tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Andrey Rublev's ATP 500 winning streak came to an end at the hands of Aslan Karatsev on a history-making day at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Rublev had won 23 consecutive matches at this level, second only to Roger Federer (28), but Karatsev finally ended the Russian's remarkable run to progress to his first ATP singles final.
Karatsev, who incredibly went from qualifying to the semi-finals of the Australian Open this year, defeated his compatriot 6-2 4-6 6-4.
He became the first Wild Card to reach the final since Thomas Muster in 1997, doing so by hitting 41 winners and forcing 16 break points – of which he won four – during two hours and 12 minutes on court.
"It was a really tight match [against a] tough opponent," Karatsev said in his on-court interview.
"It was an unbelievable performance [from Andrey]. He didn't lose a match at an ATP 500 in [one year]. Everything was decided in one or two points, I feel happy."
The championship match will be between two first-time Dubai finalists after Lloyd Harris stunned Denis Shapovalov in the other semi-final.
World number 81 Harris, who overcame top seed Dominic Thiem, 14th seed Filip Krajinovic and former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori to reach the last four, came from a set and 4-2 down to defeat world number 12 Shapovalov.
He prevailed 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) to reach a maiden ATP 500 final and become the first qualifier to reach the showpiece in Dubai.
"I don't have many words right now. I am super happy with that win," Harris said on court afterwards.
"Being a set and 2-4 down is mentally and physically a little bit troublesome for me, but I found my best tennis from there. I am just extremely happy with the result right now."
Daria Kasatkina and wildcard Margarita Gasparyan sank the top two seeds at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy, where the semi-finals will be all-Russian showdowns.
Ekaterina Alexandrova, the number one seed, fell 6-2 7-5 to Gasparyan, before former top-10 star Kasatkina continued her recent revival by landing a 1-6 6-1 6-2 victory against Veronika Kudermetova.
Friday marked the first time at a WTA tournament that as many as seven of the final eight players have been Russian, and the day's opening clash produced a significant upset.
It was a valid reminder of what might have been for world number 126 Gasparyan, who like Alexandrova is 26 years old but has struggled massively with injuries over the years.
Gasparyan was particularly helped by her superior form on first serve in the opening set, putting 72.7 per cent in court to 44 per cent by her opponent and winning 75 per cent of points when landing that delivery.
A topsy-turvy second set saw a total of seven breaks between the two players, but Gasparyan's 4-3 advantage in that respect helped her clinch a first WTA 500 semi-final appearance.
Up next for her is 36-year-old Vera Zvonareva, the former world number two who beat Anastasia Gasanova 6-3 6-1, saving six of seven break points en route to victory.
Romania's Jaqueline Cristian was the final non-Russian player left in the draw and she certainly tested Svetlana Kuznetsova, but ultimately the 35-year-old fourth seed prevailed 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3.
Next for former US Open and French Open winner Kuznetsova will be Kasatkina, who rounded off the day by shaking off a slow start to look highly impressive against second seed Kudermetova.
The 23-year-old Kasatkina has endured a couple of lean years since entering the top 10 in October 2018 but landed a title last month at the Phillip Island Trophy.
Asked about how she came back from being trounced in the opening set by Kudermetova, Kasatkina said on Amazon Prime: "I think it's just women's tennis and this is what tennis is all about.
"It took me some time to get into this match but at the end I won it."
As for how Saturday's clash with Kuznetsova might play out, Kasatkina said: "We trained many times together but never played in an official match so it's hard to say."
Matt Toomua contributed 18 points as the Rebels piled more misery on the winless Waratahs in a 33-14 victory at AAMI Park.
New South Wales are bottom of the pile in Super Rugby AU with just a single point, although they belatedly showed some fight on Friday.
All 14 visiting points came in the final five minutes, but a rare fast Melbourne start had long since taken the game away from the Waratahs, who have now equalled their worst Super Rugby run against Australian opposition with four straight defeats.
The Rebels had conceded just one first-half try in the 2021 competition, the fewest of any team, but also scored only one. By the break on Friday, they had crossed twice more.
Toomua kicked the first points from the tee after five minutes and the breakthrough try soon followed as Lachie Anderson crashed over from close range.
There were two more penalties from the boot of Toomua, before the fly-half ended the opening 40 minutes with a superb solo try, chasing his own kick to cross in the corner.
With Melbourne comfortable, their star performer was replaced after 51 minutes and Reece Hodge assumed kicking duties, adding a fourth penalty prior to Jordan Uelese touching down in what appeared a routine second half.
The result was never in doubt - a third Rebels win in four against the Waratahs - but NSW enjoyed some late cheer at least, twice picking apart their opponents for Jeremy Williams and Jack Maddocks to score in quick succession.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has thanked Dana White and the UFC for their support and understanding as his retirement was confirmed.
Khabib, who boasts a 29-0 record in the UFC, announced after his most recent victory against Justin Gaethje last October he was quitting the sport.
The fighter's father and coach, Abdulmanap, passed away earlier in 2020 and Khabib said: "There's no way I'm going to come here without my father."
UFC president White retained hope of changing his star performer's mind, but he accepted defeat on Thursday.
White posted on Twitter following a meal with Khabib that he was "officially retired".
The UFC chief also thanked for the Russian for his efforts, and those feelings of gratitude were reciprocated by Khabib in his own social media post.
"It was a good dinner with some great people," he wrote on Instagram. "@danawhite thank you so much brother and the entire @ufc team for the opportunity to prove myself, you guys have changed many live forever because of this sport.
"Dana - I'll never forget your attitude towards me, my father did not forget and my sons will remember you. Today there was a real conversation between real men.
"Also thank you to all team, sparing partners (sic) and all fans. I hope you will accept my decision and understand me."
Anthony Edwards' confidence is flowing after a phenomenal performance in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 123-119 win over the Phoenix Suns, adamant his form is not a surprise to him.
Rookie Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns were in devastating form on Thursday, ensuring two players scored 40 points in the same game for just the second time in Minnesota franchise history.
The 42 posted by Edwards was a career high, while Towns added 41 to the board as the Timberwolves clinched their third win in five since the All-Star break.
That personal-best haul was not the only achievement of note for Edwards, however, who at 19 years and 225 days joined illustrious company as he became the third-youngest player to have a 40-point NBA game and set a new record for a Timberwolves rookie.
Kevin Durant (19y, 200d) and LeBron James (19y, 88d) are the only players who ever reached that mark younger than Edwards, who made 15 of 31 shots on Thursday.
Nevertheless, it was Juancho Hernangomez's late dunk that secured the win with 2.5 seconds remaining, and as such Edwards dismissed the idea that the Timberwolves are relying on just himself and Towns.
"I wouldn't say that, we're just playing together," Edwards said. "If I've got it going some nights, of course they're going to lean on me, but if I haven't got it going then we go another route and I'll find what I find.
"So, it doesn't really matter who's getting more minutes, who's scoring, it's about winning. Me and KAT [Towns] scoring 40 and losing, it would be a different vibe, but scoring 40 and won so it's nothing but excitement and enjoyable."
While Edwards spoke well of his team-mates, particularly Towns and Hernangomez, his self-assuredness was obvious – the 19-year-old simply is not shocked by his trajectory.
"I put in the work for it, it always shows. I work in the dark, it should come to the light," he continued. "I'm not surprised at all, I put in work for it.
"People who know, like really know me, who's close to me, they know all I do is go to the gym and workout, all season that's all I do.
"Early morning, late at night, whatever time we're going to workout, we're going to workout. People who know me know this is what's supposed to be happening."
Understandably Edwards is in the conversation for Rookie of the Year, though he stresses this is not something he is spending much time thinking about.
"Whoever's picking the rookie of the year, the votes or whatever, that's not my focus," Edwards claimed. "I'm trying to win, get better, trying to grow. I'm still a rookie. There's still a lot of stuff that I don't know and that Ricky [Rubio] is going to teach me, so if I win it, I win it, and if I don't – on to the next season.
"As long as I know how good I am and the work that's going in… I don't really care about that one."
Russell Westbrook took pride in leading by example as the Washington Wizards upset the form book with a 131-122 win over the Utah Jazz.
Westbrook became the first player in Wizards' franchise history to record 35 points, 15 rebound and 10 assists in a game.
The nine-time All Star's 13th triple-double of the season and Bradley Beal's 43-point haul inspired Washington to break a five-game losing streak.
They were also mired in a nine-game slump against Utah, who have now lost four of six this month but still boast the NBA's best overall record of 29-11.
"It's part of my job, it's part of leadership, as the season goes on you figure out what you need to do in certain games and certain nights," Westbrook told reporters.
"I make sure I do my part and can bring my team-mates along, win or lose."
Westbrook was shown putting these words into practice after power forward Rui Hachimura was stripped by Jazz centre Derrick Favors before being able to get shot off in the first quarter.
During the next huddle, Westbrook gave Hachimura some pointers and could be seen instructing the 23-year-old to keep the ball higher up at various points for the remainder of the contest.
"It takes time. When you get to a new team you have an opportunity to learn about a person, not just about basketball," said Westbrook, who was traded to Washington from the Houston Rockets in December.
"Leadership starts off the floor. On the court I might see things that can help him out, but for me I want to be the lead and leave an imprint on the people I meet.
"It takes a little time, to understand what he likes and what he doesn't like, where he's comfortable and isn't comfortable – not just on the court but talking to him off the floor, explaining the game and understanding things he may or may not know
"He's young and I've been in the league for some time and know a little bit more about the games, the ups and downs and that's part of my job as a leader."
Wales need a victory against France in Paris to reclaim the Six Nations crown, and complete a Grand Slam in the process.
Wayne Pivac's team have enjoyed a sensational turnaround in fortunes this year and last week's 48-7 thrashing of lowly Italy made it four wins from four.
With France subsequently losing to England at Twickenham, Wales will wrap up the title with a win on Saturday, while even a losing bonus point could be enough, though that may still leave the door open for Les Bleus to snatch glory should they win their postponed fixture against Scotland.
England are well out of the race, but their captain Owen Farrell is eyeing up a points landmark when the 2020 champions take on Ireland in Dublin.
Scotland, meanwhile, round off what will ultimately go down as a frustrating campaign against Italy.
We use Opta data to preview the round-five, Super Saturday encounters.
SCOTLAND V ITALY
FORM
Scotland have won their last five Six Nations games against Italy – the previous 10 clashes between the sides had seen them share five wins each.
Italy have lost 52 of 54 away games in the Six Nations, with their only two victories on the road coming in Scotland in 2007 and 2015.
That victory at Murrayfield in 2015 was Italy's last in the competition. Their losing streak now stands at 31 games, and they will pick up the wooden spoon for the 16th time in Six Nations history.
ONES TO WATCH
Scotland have the best tackle success rate (92 per cent) of any side in this year's competition. Hamish Watson leads the way in that regard, completing all 44 of his attempted tackles – he has made 133 consecutive tackles in the tournament without missing one, the second-longest such run in Six Nations history, behind Lionel Nallet's 154 for France.
Italy's Sebastian Negri has made 127 post-contact metres in the 2021 Six Nations, the most of any forward in the championship.
IRELAND V ENGLAND
FORM
England have won their last two meetings with Ireland in the Six Nations and could win three in a row against them for only the second time, after doing so between 2012 and 2014.
Ireland lost to France in their last home game, only once before have they suffered defeat in back-to-back home games in the Six Nations – in 2010 versus Scotland at Croke Park and 2011 versus France at the Aviva Stadium.
Jones' England have won their last four Tests against Ireland, preventing them from scoring any first-half points in their last two meetings and scoring an average of 4.3 tries per game in that run.
ONES TO WATCH
CJ Stander announced his retirement this week, with the 31-year-old set to hang up his boots at the end of the season. This will be his final appearance for Ireland, having won his 50th cap in the 27-24 win over Scotland in round four.
Owen Farrell, son of Ireland coach Andy, is the top scorer in the Six Nations this year (44) and is just six points away from 500 in the championship. Only Ronan O'Gara (557) has reached that milestone exclusively in the Six Nations (since 2000).
FRANCE V WALES
FORM
Wales are bidding to win a sixth Six Nations title (since 2000), only England (seven) have won the championship more often. If they win this match it would be their fifth
Grand Slam – no other side has more than three.
Recent history is on Wales' side heading to the Stade de France. They have won three of their last four away games against Les Bleus in the Six Nations (L1), triumphing in their last trip to Paris (24-19 in 2019) despite trailing by 16 points at half-time – the biggest comeback for a team in the competition.
Indeed, pre-tournament favourites France have won only two of their last nine Six Nations games against Wales (L7) after winning nine of the previous 12 (L3).
ONES TO WATCH
Antoine Dupont already has four try assists in this Six Nations, only five players have ever recorded more in an edition of the championship, with Frederic Michalak
(seven in 2006) the only Frenchman to do so.
Louis Rees-Zammit is the joint top try scorer in the 2021 Six Nations (four, level with England's Anthony Watson). Shane Williams (six in 2008) is the only Welsh player to score more than four in an edition of the tournament.
Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was made to sweat but got past Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets to reach the Mexican Open semi-finals on Thursday.
World number five Tsitsipas, who was a semi-finalist at last month's Australian Open, defeated seventh seed Auger-Aliassime 7-5 4-6 6-3 in Acapulco.
In a tight contest, back-to-back double faults from Canadian sensation Auger-Aliassime in the eighth game of the third set proved costly as Tsitsipas broke after the pair had held serve throughout the last.
"It got really tight," Tsitsipas said in his post-game interview. "I got a bit lucky with the double faults towards the end of the match.
"I was just persistent. Towards the end I had zoned in 100 per cent. Both of us brought an amazing energy out on the court. Felix is someone I've played a lot and I have huge respect for him."
Greek star Tsitsipas will next play emerging Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti for a spot in the ATP 500 tournament decider.
Qualifier Musetti, who upstaged third seed Diego Schwartzman in the first round, stunned fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in the final match of the day.
The 19-year-old Musetti will now contest his maiden ATP 500-level semi-final as he prepares to enter the top 100 on the men's tour after just his fourth main-draw appearance.
Alexander Zverev – the German second seed – progressed to the semi-finals with a walkover after eighth seed Casper Ruud withdrew due to a wrist injury sustained in practice.
Zverev will play countryman Dominik Koepfer in the final four after he defeated Cameron Norrie 7-5 6-4, maintaining his run of not dropping a set all tournament.
LeBron James believes he should have more than four MVP awards as the Los Angeles Lakers superstar staked his claim for another NBA honour on Thursday.
James posted 37 points to lead defending champions the Lakers past the Charlotte Hornets 116-105 in Los Angeles.
The 36-year-old has been averaging 25.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game for the Lakers, who have won four straight games since the All-Star break.
James was crowned the NBA's best player in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 and as the four-time league champion contends for this year's honour, he feels worthy of more.
"I should have more than four... But I don't, and I don't sit around crying about it," James told reporters post-game.
Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (both five) have won more MVP awards than James.
Since James last claimed the honour in 2013, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry (twice), Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo (twice) have been named the league's best.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel strongly endorsed James as the 2020-21 MVP, adding: "He's the MVP of the league so far, in my opinion.
"He's the best player to ever play the game, in my opinion.
"It's a mistake on the voters' part to go season after season without voting the best player in the league."
In the absence of injured star Anthony Davis, the Lakers have returned to form following the All-Star Game.
The second-placed Lakers (28-13) are only one and a half games behind the NBA-leading Utah Jazz (29-11) in the Western Conference.
"We haven't really talked about it," James said of the conference race. "If it gets to a point where we can capture it, why not? But we haven't talked about seeding all year.
"We've gotten better since the break, but the most important things for our ballclub is playing championship basketball every night and being healthy."
Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook made history in a shock 131-122 win over the NBA-leading Utah Jazz.
Westbrook posted 35 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists for his 13th triple-double of the season to guide the struggling Wizards past the high-flying Jazz on Thursday.
Former MVP Westbrook became the first player in franchise history to record at least 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a game as the Wizards snapped a five-game losing streak.
Wizards team-mate Bradley Beal had a game-high 43 points at home to the Jazz, who were led by Donovan Mitchell's season-high 42 points.
Joe Ingles added 34 points for the Jazz, who still have the league's best record at 29-11 despite the loss.
LeBron James flexed his muscles with 37 points as defending champions the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Charlotte Hornets 116-105.
James also had eight rebounds and six assists to help the Lakers to their fourth straight win since the All-Star break – Dennis Schroder chipped in with 22 points of his own.
Rookie of the Year contender LaMelo Ball recorded a team-high 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Hornets in his first meeting against James in Los Angeles.
Edwards sets franchise record, Randle stays hot
It was an unforgettable outing for Anthony Edwards, who posted a career-high 42 points in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 123-119 win at the Phoenix Suns. It set the record for most points by a rookie in franchise history, eclipsing Zach LaVine's 37 in 2015. Timberwolves team-mate Karl-Anthony Towns also had 41 points and 10 rebounds in a monster performance. Devin Booker put up 35 points for the Suns, but it was not enough.
Julius Randle had 18 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks past the Orlando Magic 94-93. His third triple-double of the season saw the All-Star become the first Knicks player with three-plus triple-doubles in a season since Michael Ray Richardson (seven) in 1981-82.
Damian Lillard followed up his season-high 50 points with 36 in the Portland Trail Blazers' 101-93 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans. Fellow All-Star Zion Williamson recorded a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans.
The Atlanta Hawks soared to their seventh straight win thanks to a 116-93 success against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder.
Thunder struggle from the floor
The Thunder went down to the Hawks behind a poor shooting display. Oklahoma City were at just 36.2 per cent from the field, compared to Atlanta's 54.0 per cent. Aleksej Pokusevski finished two-for-11 from the floor, while missing all three of his attempts from beyond the arc for four points. Veteran Al Horford (11 points) was three of 13.
C.J. McCollum struggled in Portland's win. He was just three-of-16 shooting for 11 points in 21 minutes. He also made three of six three-pointers at home to the Pelicans.
LeBron says no!
James was at his brilliant best at both ends of the floor, denying the Hornets with a block late in the fourth quarter.
Thursday's results
Washington Wizards 131-122 Utah Jazz
Atlanta Hawks 116-93 Oklahoma City Thunder
New York Knicks 94-93 Orlando Magic
Minnesota Timberwolves 123-119 Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers 101-93 New Orleans Pelicans
Los Angeles Lakers 116-105 Charlotte Hornets
Nets at Magic
The red-hot Brooklyn Nets (28-13) will put their six-game winning streak on the line when they visit the struggling Magic (13-27) on Friday.
UFC president Dana White said Khabib Nurmagomedov is "officially retired" as he thanked the unbeaten star.
Khabib stunningly announced his retirement after beating Justin Gaethje to defend the lightweight title at UFC 254 in October last year as he improved to 29-0.
White had retained hope of Khabib returning to the UFC, previously talking up the Russian trying to reach a flawless 30-0 record.
But White used Twitter on Thursday to end hopes of a blockbuster comeback for Khabib.
White wrote, with an accompanying picture alongside Khabib: "29-0 it is.
"He is officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib.
"Thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend."
Khabib had fuelled speculation he could make a return to the octagon earlier this week.
The undefeated champion posted a photo to Instagram, alongside former UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, with the words: "It was good to see you Lorenzo.
"@danawhite send me location."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
