England insist Tom Curry is ready for Friday’s World Cup bronze final as squad and management rally around the flanker caught in a racism storm.

World Rugby is investigating an allegation made by Curry that he was racially abused by South Africa hooker Bongi Mbonambi in the first half of Saturday’s semi-final defeat.

Curry claimed to referee Ben O’Keeffe that he was called a “white c***” by Mbonambi and, after a complaint made by the Rugby Football Union, audio and video footage is being examined for evidence.

If the 25-year-old is picked against Argentina on Friday night it will be his 50th cap and attack coach Richard Wigglesworth is confident the alleged incident will not be a disruption as England prepare to sign off their World Cup.

“Tom is good. I know players will have got around him. Steve and the management team have been all over it. I’m sure he’s getting every bit of support that he needs,” Wigglesworth said.

“I’m not sure you can ever put yourself in those shoes and know that feeling. What I do know is he’s an impressive young man who, if selected on Friday, will pour everything into that England shirt as he has done on the previous 49 occasions.

“It will be dealt with by World Rugby. We get stuck into our prep for Argentina. The process is the process and we have no knowledge of how long that will go on for or the outcome, but we have to get ready for Argentina.

“Every week there is always some sort of thing you could be distracted by. It’s international rugby, there’s a lot you could be distracted by. You want to be in situations where there are distractions.

“This distraction is different, but it’s still noise that isn’t about Friday night, our prep and our desire to finish in the right way.

“World Rugby has been pretty vocal in following up things in the past and they need to do the same again.”

Connections hope to see Art Power shine in the sprint division for seasons to come after his triumph on Champions Day.

The Tim Easterby-trained grey was not especially fancied for the six-furlong Group One as he started at 40-1, but under David Allan he led from an early stage and always looked competitive when clearly comfortable on the soft going.

As the race neared the final furlongs his lead was reduced by the 5-4 favourite Kinross, ridden by Frankie Dettori, and at one point Art Power looked as though he was going to have to accept finishing second.

He did not fold, however, and rallied all the way to the line to prevail by a neck and give owners King Power Racing their first Group One success since Winter Power took the 2021 Nunthorpe.

“We were thrilled, it’s all about winning on those big days on the big occasions,” said Alastair Donald, racing manager to King Power.

“He’s been a great horse for King Power, he hasn’t had much luck in Group Ones as he’s been drawn badly or things have gone wrong for him, so he really deserved that.

“He showed great heart after being headed to come back and win, it was very exciting and I was thrilled for connections.”

The success is a third of the season for the six-year-old, who landed both the Greenlands and the Sapphire Stakes at Group Two level at the Curragh but was luckless when returning for the Flying Five in early September.

“He’s won two Group Twos and then in the Group One in Ireland it was a mess of a race, there’s a huge draw bias and the three hot favourites were all out of the top four,” Donald said.

“Two Group Twos and a Group One in a season, you’d take that with most horses!”

The Ascot victory vindicates the decision to geld the horse, who lost his form at the tail end of last season and was deemed to be a better prospect as a seasoned sprinter than a stallion.

“In his last three races last year he started missing the break and was rather colty, we thought before he went the wrong way he needed to be gelded,” Donald explained.

“His stallion value was low at that point and we thought there’d be more fun in gelding him and having him a racehorse for the next few years, he’s been such a sound horse, touch wood, that he should be around for two or three more seasons.

“He’s very much a favourite, he’s so eyecatching as he gets paler and paler and he’s a horse that people just seem to love watching.”

Former world number one Simona Halep has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against her four-year ban from competition for breaking anti-doping rules.

The 2019 Wimbledon singles champion was suspended by an International Tennis Integrity Agency tribunal in September, having been provisionally suspended in October 2022 after returning a positive test for the banned substance Roxadustat.

The tribunal ruled that the 32-year-old Romanian had committed intentional anti-doping run violations with reference to two charges, but she has now lodged an appeal with CAS for that finding to be overturned.

If the ban is upheld it means she will not be free to compete again until October 2026, by which time she will be 35 years old.

In a statement issued at the time of the ban, Halep said she had “never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance.”

CAS has not given a timeframe for the appeal to be considered, but noted that she would be free to appeal the court’s decision via the Swiss Federal Tribunal if it is unfavourable.

The next World Cup will be expanded to 24 teams as part of a new global calendar approved by World Rugby’s council.

The change that will come into effect for Australia 2027 is intended to provide more qualification opportunities for emerging nations as well as regional competitions.

Further details of the revised format for the group stage will be announced at a World Rugby press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

A new bi-annual international competition is also to be launched in 2026, comprising of two divisions of 12 teams with promotion and relegation commencing from 2030.

The matches will take place in the July and November international windows.

Poptronic is likely to bow out at the top following her thrilling success in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot.

Karl Burke’s four-year-old was sent off at a rather unfancied 22-1, but produced a career-best effort in the hands of Sam James, showing real bravery as she made every yard for a first success at the highest level.

It was a welcome return to form for the Lancashire Oaks scorer, who had disappointed in her two previous starts and Burke believes the switch to the inner track allowed her stamina to come to the fore in testing conditions on British Champions Day.

“She was brilliant and did very well,” said Burke.

“She has always been a very good filly and was given a great ride by Sam James.

“I think the switch to the inner track was to her advantage. It was half a furlong shorter and the way the race was run we got our own way in front. It all worked out brilliantly well.

“She’s a strong stayer over a mile and a half and over one-three and a bit we could make more use of her. She’s a galloper, but a high-class galloper.”

Poptronic’s Ascot success means she now has victories in every season she has been in training at Spigot Lodge, with the final act of her on-track career seeing her add a Group One triumph to her enviable CV.

Owned and bred by David and Yvonne Blunt, the daughter of Nathaniel is catalogued to be sold at Tattersalls later in the year where she will be one of the features in the Sceptre Sessions during the December Mare Sale.

“She’s got a date at the sales and as far as I know she will be going there at the beginning of December,” continued Burke.

“The owners were on a high on Saturday and thinking that over, but I think it is probably the right thing to do with her.

“She’s a winner at two, three and four with a couple of Group races in there and we’ve been very happy with her.”

Jerome Reynier was delighted with Facteur Cheval after his tenacious second-placed performance in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot.

The bay travelled over from France for the mile showpiece to round off a consistent season in which he had never been out of the top three.

In five Group-level starts prior to Ascot, the gelding had not been beaten more than a length and a half, finishing third to Anmaat in the Prix d’Ispahan, second to Paddington in the Sussex Stakes and third to Sauterne in the Prix du Moulin.

Big Rock was the runner-up on the latter occasion and on soft ground in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes it was the same horse who flew home to secure a six-length success.

His compatriot ensured the race was a French-dominated affair, however, with Facteur Cheval giving chase to make up a huge amount of ground from last place when finishing second ahead of a group of quality horses.

Reynier was thrilled with his horse, who was a 14-1 chance under Mickael Barzalona and did the stable proud on his final run as a four-year-old.

“It was great,” said the trainer. “He didn’t get the best run, as he was in a good position early on but he had to go behind Paddington and he ended up going backwards, unfortunately.

“He had to come back from behind and go around all the horses, it was almost impossible to make the second place but he was very courageous to give his all and go and beat the Aga Khan filly (Tahiyra) – it was just unbelievable.

“I thought he was going to struggle to finish but he is a swimmer, he loves that kind of ground.

“It feels like a win because Big Rock was unstoppable, we did what we could and finishing second was the maximum of his ability on the day.

“We weren’t too far from Big Rock on quick ground, so maybe one day we will be able to compete with him.”

Facteur Cheval will be given a break over the winter and could then be on his travels again in 2024, with Dubai and Newbury both mentioned as possible targets.

“It’s an amazing four-year-old campaign that he’s had, he’s been very consistent, even though he didn’t win a race this year,” Reynier added.

“He’s been second in the QEII, second in the Sussex, third in the Ispahan, third in the Moulin, they have been amazing achievements and we can’t wait for him to have a bit of a holiday and start off next year in good shape.

“He deserves a break, we could go to Dubai with him for the Dubai Turf for his reappearance.

“We’ll maybe come back to England for the Lockinge, he likes races with a lot of pace and sometimes in France he doesn’t get the pace he likes, we’ll see – we’ll talk to connections and we’ll decide together which is the best route to take.”

Richard Kingscote has paid a heartfelt tribute to Desert Crown after last year’s Derby winner was put down on Monday.

Kingscote had not long since ended his lengthy association with Tom Dascombe to ride for Sir Michael Stoute whenever Ryan Moore was unavailable in August 2021 when he partnered Desert Crown to a debut victory at Nottingham three months later.

The Nathaniel colt was not seen again until the following May in the Dante Stakes at York, where he impressed and then headed to the Derby as the favourite.

He cruised around Epsom, running out one of the most impressive winners in recent years, but sadly only made it to the track once more and eventually his injuries caught up with him.

Kingscote took to social media to say: “I have been asked about my thoughts on Desert Crown a few times.

“Firstly I’m most sorry for the staff at Sir Michael’s who adored him and who are all heartbroken.

“Secondly I’m sorry to racing fans in that we will never get to see how brilliant he could have been. And that I don’t have the vocabulary to explain how amazing he was.

“I will always be grateful to him for looking after me on those two big days last summer, he was a gentleman and an awesome racehorse.

“I feel blessed and somewhat embarrassed that it was me who got to feel his brilliance. RIP DC.”

Storm Babet continues to affect racing in Britain and Ireland, with this afternoon’s meeting at Yarmouth and tomorrow’s card at the Curragh the latest casualties.

There are also now inspections planned at Fontwell ahead of tomorrow’s fixture and at Clonmel for Thursday.

Yarmouth were forced to abandon their seven-race Flat card after an early-morning inspection, as “considerable rainfall overnight” left the track waterlogged.

Officials at the Curragh have cancelled Wednesday’s meeting following 21mm of rain last night, with the course currently unfit for racing and facing an unfavourable weather forecast.

Clerk of the course Brendan Sheridan said: “The forecast is for a further 5mm of rain today with the possibility of more rain moving in tomorrow, so there was no prospect of the situation improving here prior to racing.

“We’ve had a total of 77mm in the last week and the ground has been heavy since entries closed last Thursday.”

Fontwell have called a precautionary inspection for tomorrow morning at 7.30am.

The going is currently described as soft, good to soft in places, but “further significant rain” is expected this evening and early on Wednesday.

At Clonmel, the ground is heavy but currently fit for action ahead of racing on Thursday.

However, clerk of the course Lorcan Wyer reported: “Having spoken with Met Eireann, there is the possibility of a further 5-10mm of rain and some spot flooding tomorrow afternoon which will be on top of the 54mm of rain the track has had in the last week.

“With that additional rain forecast for tomorrow, we felt it was prudent to let people know as early as possible that we will need to have a precautionary inspection at 7.30am on Thursday morning.”

Last Saturday’s scheduled meetings at Stratford and Market Rasen were lost to the weather, along with Wednesday’s Worcester card and four upcoming fixtures at Southwell.

The Texas Rangers are through to their first World Series since 2011 with an 11-4 victory over the Houston Astros in game seven of the American League Championship Series.

The Rangers will come up against either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Arizona Diamondbacks, who face off for a place in the final in their deciding game seven on Tuesday.

Corey Seager’s early home run helped Texas grab the initiative straight away as they raced into a commanding lead.

Rangers led 4-2 in the third innings and they hammered in four more runs in the top of the fourth to secure a comfortable triumph as Houston were denied a third-successive World Series appearance.

Texas are the oldest club in Major League Baseball to not have a World Series to their name but will have the opportunity to get their first by playing four of the seven games at their home stadium in Arlington.

Former England winger Christian Wade announced his retirement from rugby union at the age of 27 on this day in 2018 as he looked to launch an American football career.

Wade, the fourth highest tryscorer in English club rugby on 82, was granted early release from his Wasps contract after nine years at the club to join NFL team the Buffalo Bills.

In doing so he halved his salary from the £250,000 a year he was earning in the Gallagher Premiership. The move never took off on the field either as he failed to make the Bills’ roster.

Slough-born Wade, who won his only England cap in 2013 against Argentina, described the decision to leave rugby as the hardest in his life.

He said: “After playing nine years of professional sport for Wasps, I’ve decided to leave for personal reasons.

“I would like to thank Wasps chairman Derek Richardson and Dai (Young, director of rugby) for their support, consideration and understanding in what is the most difficult decision of my life.

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“Rugby has privileged and honoured me with so many wonderful memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Wasps were third in the Gallagher Premiership and bottom of their Heineken Champions Cup group when Wade, who as well as winning one England cap also represented the 2013 British and Irish Lions on their tour of Australia, announced he was leaving.

“It’s very disappointing to lose a player of Wadey’s quality at this stage of the season,” Young said.

“The club held numerous discussions with him to try and convince him to keep pushing forward with Wasps but in the end it was clear this is the path he wished to go down. The club nevertheless wants to wish him all the best with his future career path.”

Using the NFL’s international player pathway program to facilitate the switch, Wade made waves by scoring a 65-yard touchdown as a running back in pre-season, but a regular season game eluded him.

The experiment lasted three years and in September 2022 he returned to rugby after agreeing a deal to join French side Racing 92.

Adolis Garcia homered twice and drove in five runs to set an MLB post-season record for RBIs in a series, and the Texas Rangers rolled to an 11-4 victory over the rival Houston Astros in Monday's Game 7 of the American League Championship Series to secure their first World Series appearance since 2011.

Garcia went 4 for 5 to cap a sensational ALCS in which he amassed 15 RBIs, the most by any player in a play-off series in MLB history. The Cuban slugger homered in each of the final four games and was an obvious choice for series MVP.

Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe also homered and rookie Evan Carter had a two-run double for Texas, which won Games 6 and 7 in Houston to improve to 8-0 on the road in these playoffs, tying an MLB record for consecutive away wins to begin a single post-season set by the 1996 New York Yankees.

Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy made history as well by becoming the first manager to win a League Championship Series with three different teams. The 68-year-old previously guided the San Francisco Giants to World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and led the San Diego Padres to the 1998 Fall Classic.

He'll now try to end the Rangers' 61-year drought without a World Series title, the longest of the six current MLB franchises that have never won one. Texas lost to Bochy's Giants in the 2010 World Series and to the St. Louis Cardinals the following year in their lone other previous appearance.

The defending World Series champion Astros were bidding to become the first team to win three consecutive league pennants since the Yankees did so in four straight seasons from 1998-2001.

They fell behind early, however, as Texas scored three times off Cristian Javier in the first inning.

Seager started the scoring with a one-out homer and Carter singled and stole second before coming home on Garcia's base hit for a quick 2-0 lead. Garcia then stole second and came around on a single by Mitch Garver.

Javier was pulled after recording just one out and allowing three runs on four hits. The right-hander entered Game 7 with a 1.69 ERA while winning both of his two previous starts in this post-season.

The Astros got a run back in the bottom of the first when Jose Altuve doubled off Max Scherzer and later scored on Jose Abreu's single, but Garcia's first homer of the night restored Texas' three-run advantage in the third.

Alex Bregman got Houston back within two with a solo homer off Scherzer in the bottom of the third, but the Rangers scored four times off J.P. France in the fourth to break the game open.

After loading the bases with one out on two singles and a walk, Carter doubled to right to bring in two runs and Garcia drove in two more with a single that pushed the lead to 8-2.

Scherzer permitted two runs in 2 2/3 innings before being removed in favour of Jordan Montgomery, who tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his second win of the ALCS.

Lowe's two-run homer in the sixth stretched Texas' lead to 10-2. The Astros got a run back on Yordan Alvarez's RBI single in the seventh before Garcia went deep again in the eighth for the Rangers' final run.

 

Jake Allen made 36 saves and the Montreal Canadiens scored twice in the third period to earn a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.

Brendan Gallagher recorded the tie-breaking goal and Tanner Pearson scored on the power play in the third period to help the Canadiens to a second straight win and third in four games. Both also had an assist.

Gallagher gave Montreal a 2-1 lead by poking a loose puck past Buffalo goaltender Eric Comrie 3:31 into the third period, and Pearson made it a two-goal advantage with 3:07 remaining with his third tally in four games.

Justin Barron put the Canadiens ahead 2:56 into the contest, but the Sabres drew even on Jeff Skinner's power-play goal with 7:13 elapsed in the first period.

Allen was impenetrable from there, however, making 17 saves in the second period and 13 more in the third.

Comrie finished with 24 saves for Buffalo, which finished 2-2-0 on a four-game home-stand. 

Two first-half touchdowns from rookie Jordan Addison set the Minnesota Vikings on the way to a 22-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Christian McCaffrey, an injury doubt ahead of the game, matched him with two scores of his own but it was not enough as the 49ers slipped to a second successive defeat.

Kirk Cousins found Addison either side of McCaffrey’s opening score, the second from 60 yards on the brink of half-time.

Field goals from Greg Joseph stretched the Vikings’ lead to 18-7 early in the third quarter.

And Joseph struck again from 54 yards after McCaffrey had claimed his second touchdown on a 35-yard pass from Brock Purdy.

Jake Moody landed a field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut the gap, but Purdy was intercepted twice to stall any late revival.

After starting the season with five straight wins, the 49ers fell to 5-2 to leave last year’s Super Bowl rivals the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles as the only teams with a 6-1 record.

Merrill Kelly and four relievers shut down the Philadelphia Phillies' powerful lineup as the Arizona Diamondbacks forced a deciding Game 7 of the National League Championship Series with Monday's 5-1 win.

With the Diamondbacks facing elimination at a hostile Citizens Bank Park, Kelly rose to the occasion by striking out eight over five innings and holding the potent Phillies to one run on three hits. The veteran right-hander ended his stellar Game 6 performance by retiring Philadelphia sluggers Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper in order, with two of the outs via strikeout.

Ryan Thompson, Andrew Saalfrank, Kevin Ginkel and Paul Sewald limited the Phillies to three singles the rest of the way to send the series to Tuesday's winner-take-all game in Philadelphia, where the defending NL champion Phillies outscored Arizona by a 15-3 margin in winning the first two matchups.

The underdog Diamondbacks, the NL's sixth and final playoff seed, will send rookie Brandon Pfaadt to the mound opposite Ranger Suarez in a rematch of Game 3 starters. Arizona won that contest, 2-1, with Pfaadt throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings.

Tommy Pham and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit back-to-back solo homers in the second inning to back Kelly's strong outing, while Ketel Marte had two hits and two RBIs.

Pham and Gurriel's consecutive blasts of Aaron Nola gave Arizona a 2-0 lead, and the Diamondbacks tacked on another run in the second when Alek Thomas followed with a walk and scored on Evan Longoria's double.

The Phillies got a run back in their half of the second when J.T. Realmuto doubled and scored on Brandon Marsh's single, but provided few offensive threats the rest of the way to lose for the first time in seven home games this post-season.

Philadelphia has homered three times in each of its three wins in this series, but has just one combined in the three losses.

Nola didn't make it out of the fifth inning, as Marte ended his night with a one-out RBI triple that extended Arizona's advantage to 4-1. The right-hander, who went 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA over his first three starts of this year's playoffs, was tagged for four runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Marte also drove in the Diamondbacks' final run with a seventh-innng single that brought in Geraldo Perdomo, who reached on a single and stole second.

 

The Milwaukee Bucks and star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo have agreed to a three-year, $186million extension, multiple media outlets reported Monday, keeping him under contract through the 2027-28 season.  

The final year of the deal, when the seven-time All-Star is scheduled to make $66.8million, reportedly carries a player option.

Antetokounmpo, who had previously said that he planned on waiting until next offseason to sign an extension, hinted at the deal earlier Monday with a post on social media that included a picture of him holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy after the 2021 Finals. The caption read: “MILWAUKEEEEEEEEE!! Let’s get it!!!! #BucksInSix #Extended.”

Antetokounmpo’s max extension – along with the offseason acquisition of Damian Lillard – should quiet any rumours of the two-time MVP’s desire to leave Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo made comments earlier this offseason that were generally supportive of the team’s direction but left open the possibility of future discontent.

“But at the end of the day, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career, as long as we are winning. It’s as simple as that,” Antetokounmpo said on media day earlier this month. He later added that the Bucks were “definitely” committed to winning another championship.

Antetokounmpo also said during media day that he did not plan to sign a contract extension until next offseason, when he could have secured a larger deal.

“I said that it did not make sense to sign the contract right now because money’s not important – a lot of money is important. So I’m going to sign it next year,” Antetokounmpo said with a laugh. “But, no, at the end of the day, again, it doesn’t make sense. It does not make sense for me to sign it right now. I’ve got to always look at what’s best for me and my family, for my situation.”

Bobby Marks, ESPN front office insider and former assistant GM with the Brooklyn Nets, explained on social media that Antetokounmpo may make more in the long run by signing this extension.

Antetokounmpo, 28, set a career high last season by scoring 31.1 points per game. The Bucks finished first in the East with a 58-24 record but were eliminated by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, beginning a crucial offseason for a team just two years removed from an NBA title.

Milwaukee fired coach Mike Budenholzer and hired Adrian Griffin as his replacement. The team was also able to sign Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to long-term contracts before making the blockbuster trade that brought in Lillard and ended Jrue Holiday’s tenure with the Bucks.

Antetokounmpo has averaged 22.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 719 career games since the Bucks drafted him 15th overall in 2013.

Lillard will make his Bucks debut Thursday when Milwaukee kicks off their 2023-24 season by hosting reigning MVP Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The reigning NFC champions may have just gotten even better.

The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a trade Monday, acquiring two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard from the Tennessee Titans for safety Terrell Edmunds.

The Eagles are also sending a 2024 fifth- and a sixth-round round draft pick to the Titans in the deal.

Byard, who was selected to the AP All-Pro team after the 2017 and 2021 seasons, joins a top-10 Eagles defense that allows 290.3 yards per game.

Born in Philadelphia, Byard has 27 career interceptions in 120 games since being drafted in the third round by the Titans in 2016.

Reports of the trade surfaced during coach Nick Sirianni’s press conference, but he was unwilling to comment on the deal yet.

“I obviously want to get with everybody and talk before I say anything here,” Sirianni said.

Philadelphia is tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the best record in the league at 6-1 after the Eagles’ 31-17 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night.

Despite another fast start to the season, the Eagles felt they needed help in their secondary after the offseason departure of C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency.

Edmunds was a late first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018 and has five career interceptions. He joined Eagles on a one-year deal last offseason after the Steelers opted not to re-sign him.

Jaden McDaniels played a big role in the success of the Minnesota Timberwolves last season and is being rewarded.

A day before the start of the NBA season, McDaniels and the Timberwolves agreed to a five-year, $136million extension.

The deal was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic on Monday.

McDaniels averaged a career-high 12.1 points on 51.7 per cent shooting to go with 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in starting all 79 games he played for Minnesota in 2022-23. Though he doesn't shoot a high volume of 3-pointers, he is a reliable shooter from beyond the arc, connecting on 39.8 per cent from 3-point range.

With averages of 0.96 blocks per game and 0.94 steals, McDaniels is also considered one of the NBA's top wing defenders.

Minnesota went 42-40 in 2022-23, and much of the team's success came down to McDaniels' scoring output.

When McDaniels scored at least 12 points, the Timberwolves went 26-13, but when he scored 11 or fewer, the team went 15-25.

A first-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, McDaniels is entering his fourth pro season - all with Minnesota.

With McDaniels firmly in the fold, the Timberwolves boast a talented core of Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.

Minnesota has made the playoffs each of the last two seasons and opens this year Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors.

 

Former Ireland international Jean Kleyn acknowledges being on the verge of becoming a world champion with his native South Africa was “outside the realm of thinking” just months ago.

Munster lock Kleyn represented Ireland under Joe Schmidt at the 2019 World Cup in Japan after qualifying on residency grounds.

But, having been repeatedly overlooked by Schmidt’s successor Andy Farrell, the 30-year-old was in June cleared to switch allegiance back to the Springboks before being included in Jacques Nienaber’s squad for France.

Reigning champions South Africa are on course to retain their crown going into Saturday’s final against fellow three-time winners New Zealand in Paris.

“I think I’ve caught myself thinking about it probably too often,” Kleyn said of his curious Test career.

“It’s a strange one because if you’d asked me six months ago if I at all thought I had any chance of being here at the World Cup final playing for the Springboks, I would have told you you are absolutely insane.

“I’ll probably wake up when it’s all said and done and think, ‘was that a dream or did it actually happen?’. It was outside the realm of thinking.

“It’s been a fantastic journey for me. It’s been an absolute pleasure being part of it.”

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Kleyn, who joined Munster from the Stormers in 2016, played five times under Schmidt in 2019, with his final cap coming in Ireland’s 47-5 pool-stage win over Samoa in Fukuoka.

His lengthy spell in the international wilderness allowed him to revert to the Springboks, a decision he feared may be met with a backlash.

But the response in his adopted nation has been overwhelmingly positive and grown since Ireland’s quarter-final exit at the hands of the All Blacks.

“I’ve been absolutely inundated with messages from Munster supporters – obviously only after Ireland fell out,” said Kleyn.

“Then they really came after us and said, ‘listen, you’re our second team now, guys’.

“The support was really heartfelt from a lot of Munster fans and it made it a lot easier for me because I thought it would be quite a negative reaction when I declared for the Springboks.

“From my history with Irish media, I figured there would be a few negative articles but it was resoundingly positive, so I was really happy about that.”

Kleyn may have to settle for a watching brief at Stade de France this weekend as he has been restricted to just one start during the tournament – South Africa’s 76–0 success over Romania.

His only other appearance was off the bench in his country’s 13-8 Pool B loss to Ireland.

While the Springboks lost that epic battle, they could still win the war.

“Obviously it was a pity for us the result didn’t go our way but here we are in the end still,” said Kleyn.

“No-one really looks back and says ‘you’ve lost a pool game’. They’re going to look if you win the World Cup.

“We were disappointed with the result back then but happy with where we are now. It was a fantastic game to be a part of. I enjoyed every minute.”

James Doyle has been booked for the plum ride on Kameko Futurity Trophy favourite Diego Velazquez at Doncaster on Saturday.

His trainer Aidan O’Brien has an enviable record in the Town Moor Group One and is responsible for five of the 11 possibles.

The Ballydoyle handler has won the race a record 11 times already and is going for three in a row on the back of Luxembourg (2021) and Auguste Rodin last year and also has Battle Cry, Chief Little Rock, Capulet and Henry Adams engaged.

Doyle partnered O’Brien’s Warm Heart to a Group One double this season in the Yorkshire Oaks and Prix Vermeille.

“Diego Velazquez looks the main one for the Futurity Trophy on Saturday,” said O’Brien.

“We are very happy with him since his last run and James Doyle has been booked for him.  We will probably run one other horse in the race and we are looking forward to it.”

Charlie Appleby and Godolphin supplemented impressive Autumn Stakes scorer Ancient Wisdom as expected having pleased in a weekend workout.

Appleby said: “He has come out of that piece of work in good shape so we were keen to supplement this morning. The ground is looking like it will be soft at Doncaster and I feel like he is going to be a very strong contender.”

Roger Teal is looking forward to taking on the big guns with Dancing Gemini, who followed up a Newbury maiden win by romping away with the Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes on Town Moor.

“Everything seems spot on with him and it’s all good at this stage,” said the Lambourn trainer. “He was very impressive at Doncaster last time and we’re looking forward to giving it a go.

“I think the mile will suit him, as he certainly wasn’t stopping there over seven furlongs – and when he won at Newbury, he was only just getting going in the closing stages.

“Soft ground obviously wouldn’t be a problem as it was pretty testing up there last month but, looking at the weather forecast, it could well end up heavy and that is always a bit of an unknown.

“But all we can do is roll our sleeves up and get on with it. It’s a good race and something like this is never going to be easy, but we’ll be giving it a real go.”

John and Thady Gosden could be represented by God’s Window, a course and distance maiden winner on soft ground when getting the better of Ben Brookhouse’s Redhot Whisper, who could reoppose.

David Menuisier will bid to follow up Sunway’s Group One success in France on Sunday by saddling Devil’s Point and outsider Deira Mile could make his debut for Owen Burrows after being switched from Charlie Johnston.

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