The Philadelphia 76ers supporters may have jeered Doc Rivers, but the Milwaukee Bucks coach took the hostile reception in his stride as his new team won big on Sunday.
Rivers was dismissed by the Sixers eight months ago following a disappointing end to a season in which Joel Embiid was named the NBA's MVP.
Yet Rivers came out smiling after his return to Philadelphia on Sunday, with the Bucks having run out 119-98 victors.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (30) and Damian Lillard (24) combined for 54 points as the Bucks followed up their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves with a statement victory over a rival in the East.
And while Rivers received a frosty reception, he was all smiles after the game.
"I didn't even hear it, to be honest. That means I was back at home," he quipped.
"It was awesome. Really. I had three good years here, not talking about basketball, just in life. I enjoyed my stay here and made friends for life here.
"The fans were good, too. There were a couple of hilarious comments. One guy told me that Larry David was looking for me to golf. I thought that was pretty funny."
Reflecting on his tenure in charge of the Sixers, Rivers added: "I'm happy with it overall, I just wish we could've gone further.
"I wish we could have had a chance to have Joel healthy in the playoffs.
"But overall, Joel became an MVP, and we established this team as a championship contender. That wasn't said the year before.
"You think about it, we had the James Harden trade, the Ben [Simmons] stuff. Some was under my control, some was out of my control, but overall, for me, if you don't win a title, you're never exactly happy. That's why we all do this."
The Bucks are 5-7 under Rivers, who replaced Adrian Griffin in January. Antetokounmpo, though, is relishing the challenge under his new coach.
"I love him," Antetokounmpo said. "It's been incredible playing for him. He just explains to me, what he wants from me.
"You respect him because he's been 25 years in the league. You've got to respect what he's done in the league, won a championship, won a lot of games, but when he comes in the locker room, he keeps it simple."
The Bucks are third in the East, four wins ahead of the 76ers with a 37-21 record.
"I thought we were consistent," Lillard said. "We got into the paint, we were willing to make the extra pass to find the open guy and we got quality looks.
"To play good offense you find quality shots and have a lot of mix. I thought that’s what we did."
Rivers added: "We had been putting such an emphasis on defense.
"The last few games we’ve been terrific. When you have Giannis on your team, if you can get stops and get him in transition, Giannis in transition is a problem for everybody."
Shark Hanlon is set to make a decision later this week on who will partner his stable star Hewick in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Jordan Gainford is the nine-year-old’s regular rider and steered him to a hat-trick of big-race victories in 2022, landing the bet365 Gold Cup, the Galway Plate and the American Grand National.
However, injuries have meant the young rider has not been on Hewick’s back competitively since his fall two fences from home in last year’s Gold Cup, with Rachael Blackmore steering him to a subsequent win at Sandown and Gavin Sheehan in the saddle for his most recent triumph in the King George at Kempton.
Having been sidelined since suffering damaged vertebrae in a fall at Naas in mid-December, Gainford made his return aboard the unplaced Fury Road in Saturday’s Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse and also had two rides for his boss Gordon Elliott at Naas on Sunday, but without success.
With the Cheltenham Festival now only a fortnight away, Hanlon is clearly keen for Gainford to enjoy a confidence-boosting success before making a final call on whether he will be recalled.
“We’re going to leave it until later on in the week, we’ll see if Jordan can ride a winner or two before we make a decision,” the trainer said on Monday morning.
“I was talking to the owner last night and that’s what we decided.”
Myles Turner scored a season-high 33 points and the Indiana Pacers pulled away in the fourth quarter to end the Dallas Mavericks' seven-game winning streak with Sunday's 133-111 victory.
Tyrese Haliburton added 17 points and 10 assists for Indiana, which broke open the game with a 20-4 run in the fourth quarter to earn a third consecutive win and hand Dallas its first defeat since Feb. 3.
The Mavericks got 33 points from Luka Dončić and 29 from Kyrie Irving, but failed to get late stops as the Pacers shot a sizzling 63.2 per cent from the field over the final 12 minutes.
Dallas cut an 11-point deficit early in the fourth quarter down to four when Irving got a jumper to fall with 8:56 to go to bring the Mavs within 104-100.
The Pacers then caught fire from beyond the arc, as they hit 5 of 7 attempts from 3-point range during the pivotal spurt Haliburton capped with a layup that gave Indiana a commanding 124-104 lead with 4:15 to go.
Rookie Ben Sheppard scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and went 5 of 5 on 3-point attempts to lead Indiana's reserves. The Pacers also received a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double from Bennedict Mathurin, while Turner grabbed eight rebounds in addition to finishing 10 of 15 from the field.
Bucks cruise past 76ers in Rivers' return to Philadelphia
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished just short of a triple-double while amassing 30 points as the Milwaukee Bucks made head coach Doc Rivers' return to Philadelphia a triumphant one by rolling to a 119-98 win over the host 76ers.
Rivers coached the 76ers for three seasons before being fired at the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign after the team lost in the second round of the playoffs for the third consecutive year. The accomplished veteran was hired by Milwaukee after the Bucks dismissed Adrian Griffin on Jan. 26.
Antetokounmpo added 12 rebounds and nine assists to help the Bucks keep pace with first-place Cleveland in the Central Division. The Bucks remain a game behind in the standings after the Cavaliers defeated the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
Damian Lillard scored 11 of his 24 points in the first quarter as Milwaukee opened up a 35-21 lead after 12 minutes. Bobby Portis had 11 of his 17 points in the second as the Bucks stretched their advantage to 69-48 at half-time.
The 76ers, still without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid due to a knee injury, cut into their deficit early in the second half and closed the gap to 93-82 near the end of the third quarter. They never got any closer, however, and dropped to 4-11 since Jan. 25.
Philadelphia shot just 37.1 per cent from the field for the game, while the Bucks connected on 54.1 per cent of their field goal attempts.
Tyrese Maxey paced the 76ers with 24 points and seven assists, while De'Anthony Melton had 16 points off the bench.
Jokic extends triple-double streak, leads Nuggets over Warriors
Nikola Jokić compiled 32 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists for his third consecutive double-double to help the Denver Nuggets earn a season sweep of the Golden State Warriors with a 119-103 win.
Behind another massive performance from Jokic and 27 points from Jamal Murray, the Nuggets recorded their fourth victory over Golden State in as many meetings in the season series between teams that have won the last two NBA titles.
The Nuggets overcame a 16-point second-quarter deficit in this latest matchup, as the Warriors failed to hold on to a 56-40 lead they held 5 1/2 minutes before half-time and saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
Denver got back in it by outscoring Golden State by a 21-5 margin to close out the first half. Murray accounted for 10 points during the surge, and his 3-pointer with 15.8 seconds left forged a 61-61 tie at the intermission.
The game remained tight into the fourth quarter before the Nuggets broke things open with a 10-2 flurry - capped by 3-pointers from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Christian Braun - that turned a three-point edge into a 105-94 advantage with six minutes remaining.
Golden State shot just 29.4 per cent in the final period as the Nuggets maintained a lead of at least nine points the rest of the way.
Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 23 points off the bench and Stephen Curry had 20 for Golden State, though the two-time NBA MVP made just 1 of 10 tries from three-point range on the night.
Maria Sharapova used an article in Vanity Fair to announce she was “saying goodbye” to tennis, on this day in 2020.
Sharapova had struggled with chronic shoulder problems for some time and the five-time grand slam champion and former world number one had dropped to 373rd in the rankings.
The then-32-year-old said it would be a wrench to walk away, writing: “How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known?
“How do you walk away from the courts you’ve trained on since you were a little girl, the game that you love – one which brought you untold tears and unspeakable joys – a sport where you found a family, along with fans who rallied behind you for more than 28 years?
“I’m new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis – I’m saying goodbye.”
Having announced her talent by winning Wimbledon at the age of just 17 in 2004, Sharapova went on to establish herself as one of the greats of her era – among her contemporaries, only Serena and Venus Williams won more slam singles titles.
Sharapova added the US Open title in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008 before twice lifting the trophy at Roland Garros, in 2012 and 2014. She is one of only 10 women to achieve the career Grand Slam.
Her impact on court was trumped by her profile off it, with the Russian the world’s highest-earning female athlete for much of her career.
In 2016 came the bombshell announcement that she had failed a doping test for the cardiac drug meldonium, which had been added to the banned list at the start of that year.
Sharapova was banned for two years, reduced to 15 months on appeal.
She returned to action in April 2017 but was unable to reach her previous heights, peaking at a high of 21 in the rankings and reaching just one more grand slam quarter-final.
In July 2022, Sharapova became a mother with the birth of her son Theodore and has taken up pickleball in her post-retirement life.
Earlier this month, she partnered up with John McEnroe to take on Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf – in Pickleball Slam 2 – losing out on the one million USD (£789,000) prize.
The Columbus Blue Jackets got three second-period goals and a sensational 38 saves from Elvis Merzlikins to end the New York Rangers' 10-game winning streak with Sunday's 4-2 victory.
Jack Roslovic scored the tie-breaking goal during the second-period surge and added an assist to help the Blue Jackets, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference, prevent the conference co-leading Rangers from establishing a new franchise record for consecutive wins. Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov also had a goal and an assist for Columbus.
After the Rangers tied the game at 2-2 on Adam Enstrom's goal with 8:49 left in the second period, Roslovich put Columbus back ahead just 46 seconds later when he buried a pass from Johnny Gaudreau past New York goaltender Jonathan Quick on a 2-on-2 rush.
Roslovich later set up Ivan Provorov's goal with 1:25 left in the period that extended the margin to 4-2, and Merzlikins made the lead stand by coming up with 18 saves in the third period.
Voronkov's power-play goal 4:34 into the contest gave the Blue Jackets an early advantage, but the Rangers drew even later in the first period on Artemi Panarin's 33rd goal of the season.
Columbus went back ahead when Marchenko scored off a behind-the-net feed from Voronkov just 18 seconds into the second.
Quick finished with 37 saves and had a personal four-start winning streak snapped.
Red Wings' Kane scores overtime winner in return to Chicago
Patrick Kane capped his return to Chicago with a dramatic goal 1:43 into overtime as the former Blackhawk great lifted the surging Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 come-from-behind win over his ex-team.
Kane added an assist on a game-tying goal in the third period by Alex DeBrincat - another former Blackhawk - in the nine-time All-Star's first appearance in Chicago since being traded by the Blackhawks to the New York Rangers almost exactly one year ago.
The 35-year-old Kane spent the first 15-plus seasons of his NHL career with Chicago and was part of three Stanley Cup champion teams.
DeBrincat's goal on a bad-angle shot tied the contest at 2-2 with 4:16 left in regulation, and the forward later found Kane all alone for a breakaway that the veteran finished with a shot over the shoulder of Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek that gave the Red Wings a fifth consecutive win.
Chicago, which has now lost four straight and 12 of 13 (1-9-3), took a 2-1 lead on second-period goals by MacKenzie Entwistle and Nick Foligno after Daniel Sprong's power-play tally late in the first period put Detroit ahead.
James Reimer recorded 33 saves for the Red Wings, while Mrazek stopped 28 shots.
Crosby's four points help Penguins hold off Flyers
Sidney Crosby recorded a goal and three assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins scored three times in the third period to earn a wild and much-needed 7-6 win over the rival Philadelphia Flyers.
Bryan Rust added two goals and an assist to help Pittsburgh to its second straight victory as it continues to fight for a playoff berth. The Penguins currently sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and are nine points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final wild card spot.
The Flyers were dealt a third loss in four games despite receiving two goals and an assist from both Tyson Foerster and Scott Laughton. Philadelphia was outshot by a 32-21 margin, however, as the Penguins prevailed despite a shaky 15-save performance from goaltender Tristan Jarry.
Pittsburgh struck twice early in the third period to take a 6-4 lead, as Drew O'Connor blasted a close-range shot past Philadelphia goaltender Cal Petersen 6:41 into the session and Rickard Rakell deposited a Crosby feed into the Flyers' net less than two minutes later.
Cam York's goal with 9:50 remaining got the Flyers back within one, but Kris Letang restored Pittsburgh's two-goal cushion by firing a loose puck by Petersen with 4:47 left to play.
Foerster's power-play score with 2:03 to go cut the deficit to 7-6, but the Flyers were unable to get a shot on goal over the final stages.
Goals from Crosby and Rust that followed Laughton's first of the day gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 edge after one period, but Foerster scored just 55 seconds into the second to tie the game.
Rust and Emil Bermstrom scored 2:23 apart later in the period to put the Penguins up 4-2, though the Flyers would answer with two quick goals of their own before the intermission. After Travis Sanheim rocketed a shot past Jarry off a faceoff win, Laughton converted a chance with Philadelphia shorthanded to knot the score at 4-4 just 1:03 after Sanheim's goal.
Petersen finished with 25 saves.
Rookie Jake Knapp held on to claim his maiden PGA Tour title, despite seeing his four-shot overnight lead wiped out early in the final round of the Mexico Open.
The 29-year-old American’s level-par 71 was enough to hold off the challenge of Finland’s Sami Valimaki, who hit a closing 69 to finish two shots back.
Knapp saw his four-shot buffer halved as he bogeyed two of the first three holes, Valimaki moving within one with a birdie on the fourth.
The Finn eagled the short par four seventh to draw level as Knapp claimed his first birdie of the day.
He added just one more on the 14th, but Valimaki had dropped three shots by then and could not close the gap again.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre finished six shots back in a tie for sixth after a closing 69, but England’s Matt Wallace – who shared the halfway lead – slipped to tied 33rd with a 74.
Knapp’s win earns him a place at the US Masters, PGA Championship and the five signature events remaining on the PGA Tour.
Andy Farrell feels a “top drawer” defence is fuelling Ireland’s pursuit of successive Grand Slam titles as he turns his attention to nullifying England’s new blitz approach.
The reigning Guinness Six Nations champions limited Wales to a penalty try during Saturday’s 31-7 success in Dublin after nilling Italy 36-0 in round two on the back of beating France 38-17.
Ireland, who have scored 15 tries across the three bonus-points wins, travel to Twickenham on March 9 seeking to keep their championship clean sweep quest on track before hosting Scotland on the final weekend.
Head coach Farrell expects England to “go harder” as they get to grips with adopting an aggressive defensive strategy orchestrated by coach Felix Jones, who joined Steve Borthwick’s staff after helping South Africa retain the Rugby World Cup in the autumn.
“It’s the South African defence and I know that Felix will constantly try and put his stamp on implementing that,” said Farrell.
“There’s always going to be teething problems at the start but they’ll go harder because that’s their philosophy.
“Our defence is top drawer, there’s no doubt about that.
“It has been for quite some time now.
“It was unbelievably fitting that we kept them (Wales) out because of the fight and want to be able to do that.
“I thought our defensive shape wasn’t very nice at times but our intent certainly on the line said a lot about how much they love defending for one another.”
Following two Twickenham defeats in the first year of the Farrell era, Ireland have beaten England four times in a row.
Borthwick’s men were minutes away from reaching the World Cup final in October but have made an unconvincing start to the championship with narrow wins over Italy and Wales followed by Saturday’s 30-21 Calcutta Cup loss in Scotland.
While Ireland will be favourites in south-west London, Farrell is aware matches can quickly change course after seeing Wales briefly gain the upper hand at the Aviva Stadium having trailed 17-0 at the break.
“Going to Twickenham, everyone knows how difficult a task that is,” he said.
“It’s not just as simple as saying we need to be better to win.
“Of course we always want to play better but the game is what it is, from minute one.
“For example, we’re winning the penalty count hands down at half-time (against Wales) and then all of a sudden within minutes of the second half, it has evened up.
“That could happen in two weeks’ time, role reversal. The game takes its own shape but there’s parts of our game we obviously need to improve.”
Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday to repair a tear of the radial collateral ligament in the fifth finger of his left hand. He will re-evaluated in four weeks.
The team said Young sustained the injury in Friday's loss to the Toronto Raptors and an MRI on Saturday revealed a tear.
It’s a devastating loss for the playoff-hopeful Hawks, who at 24-32 lead the Brooklyn Nets by three games for 10th place in the Eastern Conference and a berth in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Young leads Atlanta with 26.4 points per game (11th in the NBA) and ranks second in the league with 10.8 assists per contest.
He was named an All-Star for the third time in his career this season and led the East with seven assists in a 211-186 win over the Western Conference last Sunday.
Paolo Garbisi apologised for missing the injury-time penalty that denied Italy a slice of Guinness Six Nations history in France.
The scores were level at 13-13 when Garbisi stepped up from 38 metres, with Italy a successful kick away from their first Six Nations Championship away win against Les Bleus.
There was added drama as the ball toppled off its tee and, with just a few seconds left on the shot clock after it had been replaced, Garbisi rushed his kick and struck the right-hand post.
“I was thinking about trusting my process really, it’s part of my job to put the kick over,” said Toulon fly-half Garbisi.
“I take full responsibility for that and I’m sorry for the team because I thought they were amazing.
“Also for all the Italian supporters, that’s my bad, and I will work on it.”
Italy had lost 45 of their previous 48 games against France with their only victory on French soil coming in 1997, three years before joining the Championship.
The Azzurri had also won only once in 44 Championship attempts, away to Wales in 2022.
Italy were forced to defend for long periods in the first half but only trailed 10-0 when France centre Jonathan Danty was dismissed for making head-to-head contact in tackling Ignacio Brex.
Danty’s yellow card on the stroke of half-time was upgraded to red during the interval by the bunker review system.
In the second half, Garbisi cut a 13-3 deficit with a penalty before his touchline conversion levelled matters after full-back Ange Capuozzo ended a fine Azzurri move.
Garbisi said: “The performance was good overall. If you get to 13-13 in the last minute with France, I think you’ve done pretty well.
“The extra man helped us in the second half. First half we spent too much time in our half, because with the possession we were not that great.
“Second half with one more man we could attack more and find space, but it all comes down to the last kick really.”
While Italy remain bottom of the table, level on three points with Wales but with an inferior points difference, France stay fourth, nine points behind runaway leaders Ireland.
France’s underwhelming championship has seen them routed at home by Ireland and claiming a narrow victory over Scotland after a controversial decision not to award the hosts a try in the last action of the match.
“We were probably overplaying a little bit at the end of the game and took one too many risks and gave a penalty away,” France defence coach Shaun Edwards told ITV.
“Fortunately he missed the kick but we’re disappointed with the draw. We expected to beat Italy here.
“We had all the ball in the first half, total domination of territory and possession.
“The second half was almost the total opposite. To concede 13 points with 14 players is not too bad, but we’re disappointed we didn’t get the win.”
Ireland and Scotland savoured victories in the third round of the Guinness Six Nations and Italy claimed an historic 13-13 draw against France, the first time the Azzurri have avoided Championship defeat away to Les Bleus.
Here, the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the weekend’s action.
Mouthguards concern
New technology surrounding mouthguards are concerning Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend. Scotland temporarily lost a second player in successive Six Nations matches for a head injury assessment triggered by the new technology. This championship is the first time elite male players have worn ‘instrumented’ mouthguards that send alerts whenever a ‘head acceleration event’ with G-force that exceeds 70g and 4,000 radians per second squared is detected. But Townsend said after Calcutta Cup success: “There’s a bit more work to do before this technology is correct.”
Ireland appear unstoppable
No side has managed back-to-back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era, but Ireland are within two games of doing so and it would take a brave punter to bet against them. Ireland recorded an 18th straight home win with a routine 31-7 success over Wales, equalling England’s Six Nations record of 11 consecutive victories. Andy Farrell’s side did not even have to produce their best to claim a third bonus-point win from three games – and now only England at Twickenham and Scotland in Dublin can stop Ireland holding another Grand Slam party.
Scotland have England’s number
The last time Scotland won four Calcutta Cups in a row Queen Victoria was on the throne and Lord Salisbury was Prime Minister. The year was 1896 and England failed to get on the board in a 11-0 Glasgow defeat. Over a century on, England slid to a 30-21 loss as Duhan Van Der Merwe supplied the Murrayfield magic in front of Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Van Der Merwe became the first Scotland player to score a Calcutta Cup hat-trick in moving to within one of the country’s all-time record try-scorer Stuart Hogg.
Feyi-Waboso hits right notes
New England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is known to tickle the ivories and apparently impressed head coach Steve Borthwick with his piano-playing at the team hotel. Borthwick would also have admired the way Feyi-Waboso sped through for his first Test try after coming on as a Murrayfield replacement. The powerful 21-year-old, who was born in Cardiff to Nigerian parents, spotted space and cut a delicious line to score. It was a touch of class to a predictable attacking performance from England, and calls for a starting spot are now set to be deafening.
Winnett is a winner
Full-back was potentially a problem position for Wales heading into the Six Nations, with Liam Williams unavailable due to club commitments in Japan, Leigh Halfpenny having retired from Test rugby and the versatile Louis Rees-Zammit quitting rugby union to try and forge an American football career. But step forward Cameron Winnett, who looks to the manner born just three games into his Test career. The 21-year-old has excelled in all areas and he was arguably Wales’ best player against Ireland. Nothing seems to fluster him.
Italy were within the width of a post of the biggest upset in Six Nations history as they drew 13-13 against 14-man France in Lille.
Paolo Garbisi had a last-gasp penalty attempt from 38 metres to register Italy’s first-ever Championship win in France.
But the ball toppled off its tee and, with just a few seconds left on the shot clock after it had been replaced, Garbisi rushed his kick and struck the right-hand post.
France – who had won 45 of their previous 48 Test matches against Italy, including the past 14 in a row – had lost Jonathan Danty to a red card on the stroke of half-time for a high shot on opposite centre Ignacio Brex.
Les Bleus thrashed Italy 60-7 at last year’s World Cup but a repeat of that one-sided encounter did not materialise as the Azzurri underlined their improvement under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada.
Italy remain bottom of the Guinness Six Nations, level on points with Wales, while France stay in fourth place, with their title dream over.
France started at breakneck pace and were rewarded with a seventh-minute try.
Italy were unable to stop a series of pick-and-go’s through the middle of their defence and skipper Charles Ollivon got the ball down under a pile of Azzurri bodies.
Thomas Ramos dispatched a simple conversion and swiftly added a penalty as France suggested the game could be effectively over by half-time.
Italy spent most of the first half hanging on by their fingernails, and were not helped by a risky strategy of trying to escape their 22 with ball in hand.
Fly-half Matthieu Jalibert was stopped near to the line and 19-year-old lock Posolo Tuilagi almost celebrated his first Test start with a try.
But Tuilagi was held up over the line and the contest took a dramatic turn in the final play of the first half as Italy launched a rare attack.
There was clear head-on-head contact between Danty and Brex, and English referee Christophe Ridley reduced France to 14 men with a yellow card.
Martin Page-Relo provided further punishment to France from long range, and Ridley confirmed after the interval that the bunker review system had upgraded Danty’s yellow to red.
France made light of their numerical disadvantage as their forwards rallied for Ramos to land his second penalty.
Tommaso Menoncello went close to an Azzurri try, kicking ahead before running out of ground, but Garbisi cut the gap to seven points again with a straightforward penalty.
Italy drew level 10 minutes from time after building through the phases for Leonardo Marin to find Ange Capuozzo with a superb offload.
Garbisi converted but then failed to top it as Italy, with only two Six Nations wins over France since joining the Championship in 2000, fell agonisingly short of a second success in 45 matches.
Italy were within the width of a post of the biggest upset in Six Nations history as they drew 13-13 against 14-man France in Lille.
Paolo Garbisi had a last-gasp penalty attempt from 38 metres to register Italy’s first-ever Championship win in France.
But the ball toppled off its tee and, with just a few seconds left on the shot clock after it had been replaced, Garbisi rushed his kick and struck the right-hand post.
France – who had won 45 of their previous 48 Test matches against Italy, including the past 14 in a row – had lost Jonathan Danty to a red card on the stroke of half-time for a high shot on opposite centre Ignacio Brex.
Les Bleus thrashed Italy 60-7 at last year’s World Cup but a repeat of that one-sided encounter did not materialise as the Azzurri underlined their improvement under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada.
Italy remain bottom of the Guinness Six Nations, level on points with Wales, while France stay in fourth place, with their title dream over.
France started at breakneck pace and were rewarded with a seventh-minute try.
Italy were unable to stop a series of pick-and-go’s through the middle of their defence and skipper Charles Ollivon got the ball down under a pile of Azzurri bodies.
Thomas Ramos dispatched a simple conversion and swiftly added a penalty as France suggested the game could be effectively over by half-time.
Italy spent most of the first half hanging on by their fingernails, and were not helped by a risky strategy of trying to escape their 22 with ball in hand.
Fly-half Matthieu Jalibert was stopped near to the line and 19-year-old lock Posolo Tuilagi almost celebrated his first Test start with a try.
But Tuilagi was held up over the line and the contest took a dramatic turn in the final play of the first half as Italy launched a rare attack.
There was clear head-on-head contact between Danty and Brex, and English referee Christophe Ridley reduced France to 14 men with a yellow card.
Martin Page-Relo provided further punishment to France from long range, and Ridley confirmed after the interval that the bunker review system had upgraded Danty’s yellow to red.
France made light of their numerical disadvantage as their forwards rallied for Ramos to land his second penalty.
Tommaso Menoncello went close to an Azzurri try, kicking ahead before running out of ground, but Garbisi cut the gap to seven points again with a straightforward penalty.
Italy drew level 10 minutes from time after building through the phases for Leonardo Marin to find Ange Capuozzo with a superb offload.
Garbisi converted but then failed to top it as Italy, with only two Six Nations wins over France since joining the Championship in 2000, fell agonisingly short of a second success in 45 matches.
Barry Connell issued a positive update on Arkle favourite Marine Nationale after scoring with another potential star in William Munny at Naas on Sunday.
A field of five previous winners went to post for the Download The BetVictor App (Pro/Am) Flat Race, which features top-class performers like Killultagh Vic (2014), Carefully Selected (2018) and Gerri Colombe (2021) on its roll of honour.
Wingmen was an even-money favourite to provide the latter’s trainer Gordon Elliott with a fifth successive victory in the two-mile contest, but after racing keenly on the front end, he weakened late on and had to make do with minor honours in third.
William Munny, a short-head winner on his racecourse debut at Navan last month, was a 13-2 shot to double his tally in the hands of Finny Maguire and showed a sharp change of gear to run down both Wingmen and eventual runner-up Fleur In The Park to score by an impressive five lengths.
Connell said: “I’m astonished the price this horse went off. I thought he should have been even-money favourite on the back of his form.
“The horse of Willie Mullins’ that he beat the last day (C’est Ta Chance) was backed as if money was going out of fashion and they were clear of the rest.
“He’s hardly having a blow there and it was like a piece of work.”
While Connell has no doubt William Munny has what it takes to make it to the top, he will resist the temptation to run in next month’s Champion Bumper at Cheltenham, but could go for the corresponding race at the Punchestown Festival later in the spring.
“He’s very unusual for a Westerner, as they normally don’t win bumpers, they improve when they get a hurdle and a fence,” he said.
“I’m definitely not taking him to Cheltenham. I don’t like giving them more than two runs in winner’s bumpers but I’m going to bring this lad to Punchestown for the Champion Bumper there, and I think he’s the one to beat in it.
“In my view, he’s the best bumper horse in the country and I’m hoping he’ll be a Grade One horse over a hurdle next year.”
One Connell inmate who most definitely has a trip to Cheltenham on his agenda is stable star Marine Nationale, winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the showpiece meeting last season.
Following a foot-perfect chasing debut at Leopardstown over Christmas, he blotted his copybook for the first time with a disappointing showing in the Irish Arkle at the same track earlier this month, but his trainer is keeping the faith ahead of his return to the Cotswolds.
Connell added: “Marine Nationale was in Fairyhouse yesterday. We brought the two Cheltenham horses, him and Enniskerry. Enniskerry runs in the Grand Annual.
“We brought the two of them for an away day. They didn’t do a whole pile, just jumped the four fences up to Ballyhack and they are all set now the two of them.
“All we need now is a bit of spring ground, and nine times out of 10 we get it in Cheltenham.”
Connections of Noble Birth also harbour Cheltenham Festival dreams following his 16-1 triumph in the Pertemps Network Group Handicap Hurdle.
Conor McNamara, representing his father Eric, said: “Things just didn’t quite go to plan in Musselburgh the last day, but it was lovely that he came right today.
“He ran a blinder at Cheltenham back in November and was just too keen. It was my fault to put the cheek pieces on him, but we left them off him today and he relaxed lovely.
“He was a few pounds out of the handicap today. If he gets into the Pertemps (Final) at Cheltenham, he’ll go – and if he doesn’t, we might look at Mallow (Cork) in a month’s time and see if we can get him qualified for the Final of the Full Circle Series in Punchestown.”
Father and son Conor and Charlie O’Dwyer teamed up to win the Listed Nas Na Riogh Novice Handicap Chase with the JP McManus-owned Battle It Out (6-1).
“The conditions suited him. He wants soft ground and a bit of a trip. He jumped unbelievable,” said O’Dwyer senior.
“We’ll see what Frank (Berry, racing manager) and JP want to do and be led by them.”
Willie Mullins unleashed yet another promising recruit in the Naas Racecourse Business Club Maiden Hurdle, with French import Tounsivator (7-2) winning with a little more in hand than the official margin of a length and a quarter might suggest in the hands of Paul Townend.
The champion trainer’s son and assistant, Patrick Mullins, said: “Paul said he was a bit keen, but being an ex-Flat horse, you’d expect that. His jumping was good bar he stood on himself after the last. To recover and win after losing all momentum was impressive.
“I’m sure he’ll go for novice hurdles at Fairyhouse and Punchestown.”
Freddie Gingell is set to keep the ride aboard shock Clarence House Chase winner Elixir De Nutz when he takes a shot at the Queen Mother Champion Chase on day two of the Cheltenham Festival.
The 18-year-old has struck up a fine relationship with Joe Tizzard’s resurgent 10-year-old this season.
After collecting the Grade Two Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter and a valuable Newbury handicap before Christmas, the duo reunited to deliver a small blow to Jonbon’s Champion Chase hopes when downing Nicky Henderson’s leading two-mile chaser in the rearranged Grade One event at Prestbury Park.
A first triumph at the highest level was a notable feather in the cap of Gingell and with owner Terry Warner keen to stay loyal to one of the weighing room’s youngest stars, he is set for his first taste of a championship event at the Festival.
“Fred will keep the ride and Terry Warner is keen to stick with him,” said Tizzard, who is also the rider’s uncle.
“He’s got on with him really well this season and he will definitely keep the ride.
“He keeps getting a good tune out of the old horse and it will do Fred well for the future to just keep getting rides in these big races, so he gets a feel for what goes on in them.
“It’s a lovely opportunity for both of them.”
Elixir De Nutz is enjoying somewhat of an Indian summer in the veteran stage of his career and having landed his second Grade One prize five years after his first, Tizzard believes he is at the peak of his powers ahead of his Champion Chase bid.
“He’s had a cracking season; the Haldon Gold Cup was good and he’s just got better ever since,” continued Tizzard.
“He likes a small field and there is not going to be a massive field (at Cheltenham). We’ve tried him in those big handicaps and that doesn’t work, so he deserves to take his chance after last time.
“We’re not going there thinking we have a real good chance of winning, but he’s in the form of his life and he’ll have a great each-way chance.”
Tizzard will also be flying the flag for the home team in the My Pension Expert Arkle Novices’ Chase, where JPR One lines up off the back of a clinical display at Lingfield last month.
He is the shortest British-trained entrant with a best price of 11-1 and his handler would like to see the recent wet weather disappear, so the seven-year-old can experience optimum conditions at Prestbury Park.
“He is in good form in his work and obviously his last run was a lovely performance,” added Tizzard.
“We go there in the form of our lives and with a nice chance, but I still respect the Irish and if Marine Nationale got back on good ground, then he was an impressive winner of the Supreme last year.
“I wouldn’t mind it drying out so I can get my horse there in the best shape I can and then we will see what happens on the day.”
Ferny Hollow made a triumphant return from over two years on the sidelines with a dominant display in the Newlands Chase at Naas – but appears unlikely to be seen in action at next month’s Cheltenham Festival.
It is fast approaching four years since the Willie Mullins-trained nine-year-old carried the Cheveley Park Stud colours to success in the Champion Bumper at the showpiece meeting in the Cotswolds and injuries had restricted him to just three subsequent appearances.
He made a winning hurdling debut at Gowran Park the following season, but was then off the track for over a year, and while he made a smooth transition to jumping fences following his comeback with successive wins, including a Grade One at Leopardstown in December 2021, he had not been seen since.
Despite his 791-day absence, Ferny Hollow was a 2-5 favourite for this Grade Three assignment, and in truth odds-on backers will have had few concerns for the duration of the two-mile contest.
Paul Townend’s mount raced exuberantly and jumped neatly in the main and moved ominously into the wing mirrors of the three horses in front of him from the home turn.
Once angled out into clear daylight, the Westerner gelding soon swept to the lead and only had to be pushed out after safely negotiating the final obstacle to seal a comfortable five-and-a-half-length verdict.
Mullins said: “I was happy with him to do that after such a long lay-off. Hopefully, now he stays sound so that we can keep him that way.
“He popped over a few hurdles and a few fences yesterday morning and I was happy with him. The conditions of this race suited him a bit better than last week (Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park).
“I think he’s still young enough to put in a career best over fences. He just has to overcome this first run and come back sound and we’ll see where we go.”
Coral cut Ferny Hollow to 8-1 from 12-1 in their non-runner money back market for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham, but with that race only 17 days away, Mullins is set to keep his powder dry for the other major festivals in the spring.
“He’s entered in Cheltenham. It may be a big ask on his second run, but we’ll have a look. It may come a bit soon,” he added.
“He settled lovely and even though he’s free going, once you settle him in, he listens and responds to you. We were happy to use those tactics and hoped that if he got around safe and sound that he’d be the fastest horse in the straight, which he was.
“It will be all about how he comes out of the race in the next week, and we’ll probably look for easier options for the time being.”
Cam Redpath has challenged Scotland to win their last two Guinness Six Nations matches and give themselves a chance of championship glory for the first time in 25 years.
The Scots made it two victories out of three on Saturday as they defeated England 30-21 to claim the Calcutta Cup for a fourth year in succession – a feat they had not previously achieved since the 1890s.
Gregor Townsend’s side conclude their campaign with away matches against Italy and on-song tournament favourites Ireland next month and victories in both matches might be enough to secure them a first championship triumph since 1999, depending what happens in the next round of fixtures.
Even if the Six Nations title proves beyond them, though, Scotland can still land a first Triple Crown since 1990 and achieve four victories in a championship for the first time in the Six Nations era.
“We’ve just got to keep pushing on, we want to win the next two games,” said centre Redpath.
“We’ve got to push again to get a good performance in Rome and then go to Dublin in the last weekend.
“We’ve definitely still got plenty to play for. If we win the next two games, we’ve got a great shot at winning this tournament, there’s no doubt about that.”
Redpath entered the fray seconds into the second half as a replacement for Sione Tuipulotu, who limped off with a knee injury that could place his involvement in the closing two matches in jeopardy.
If the Glasgow centre is unable to recover in time for Rome and Dublin, Redpath would be the likeliest candidate to step into the starting XV after delivering what head coach Gregor Townsend described as an “outstanding” second-half performance.
A little over four minutes after coming on, the on-form Bath centre produced a magnificent pirouette on the half-way line to eliminate most of the England defence and create an opening that led to Duhan Van Der Merwe completing his historic, match-definining hat-trick.
“I didn’t really think about it, I could feel someone getting close to me and I just kind of spun and found myself in a little bit of space,” said Redpath. “It happens in rugby, there’s always a bit of space, and luckily I found it.”
Redpath, 24, won his 12th cap on Saturday – three years after his debut in an 11-6 away win over England – but he has started only three matches for his country to date.
Injuries in addition to the form of established starters Tuipulotu and Huw Jones have restricted his opportunities in the past few seasons but he has big ambitions at international level.
“I want to play in big games and show people I can do it on this stage,” he said. “I know a lot of the England boys, I play against a lot of them and I play with some of them, so it (the Calcutta Cup) is always a big game for me.
“It’s a goal of mine to be starting more for Scotland but we’ve got some brilliant centres at the minute, who are right up there, so it’s always going to be tough.
“They’ve proved it time and time again, and they did again for the first try when Sione put Huw through for the first try and Duhan finished it off. It’s good competition to have.”
Hughie Morrison is eyeing a first tilt at Ascot’s Gold Cup this summer for his star stayer Quickthorn.
The seven-year-old won the Group Three Henry II Stakes at Sandown and a Group Two in France a couple of seasons ago, before registering a stunning 14-length victory in the Lonsdale Cup at York.
He produced a similarly dominant front-running display to lift the Goodwood Cup last term – and while Morrison has doubts about his stamina, he is happy to give him his chance in the Royal meeting’s two-and-a-half-mile showpiece in mid-June.
“Quickthorn is back in and has done well over the winter. He came in earlier actually because he was a bit naughty at home, possibly because it’s been so wet,” said the trainer.
“He’s started cantering and although I’m not convinced he’ll stay the Gold Cup trip, I think we’ll have a go at it this year. He’s another year older and the older they are, the further they’ll stay.
“That will be our main target this year and I might be tempted to wait and give him his first run at Sandown (Henry II Stakes).
“We seem to get three or four months out of him and that’s it really, so we possibly don’t want to start too early, but we’ll play it by ear.”
Another horse for whom Morrison holds top-level aspirations is Stay Alert, who ran in Group One company on four occasions last season, with her best effort being a runner-up finish behind Via Sistina in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh in July.
Morrison added: “The owner has decided to have another go with Stay Alert, which is exciting. She’ll be campaigned in those mile-and-a-quarter fillies’ races on genuine good ground.
“We’ve also got Mistral Star, who was second in a Listed race last season, and I’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t win a Group race this year.”
Bottler’secret may have earned himself a late call-up to Gavin Cromwell’s Cheltenham Festival squad after making a successful debut over obstacles in the Winning Fair Juvenile Hurdle at Naas.
Winner of two of his three starts on the Flat for Ciaran Murphy, the four-year-old was thrown straight into Grade Three company for his hurdling bow, albeit the race was rendered significantly less competitive after the unbeaten five-time winner Wodhooh was declared a non-runner.
In her absence, Bottler’secret was a 6-5 favourite to get the better of three rivals in the hands of Sean Flanagan and travelled sweetly for much of the way.
After being nudged into the slipstream of Wodhooh’s front-running stablemate Pacini early in the home straight, the Dragon Pulse gelding came back on the bridle on the run to the final flight before pulling 11 lengths clear on the run-in.
Paddy Power cut Bottler’secret to 12-1 from 20-1 in their non-runner money back market for the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham and while Cromwell admits pitching his inexperienced youngster in against this season’s top juveniles would be a big ask, he will consider letting him take his chance.
“He’s a nice horse. It might not have been the greatest renewal of a Grade Three but for his first day he jumped well. He was a little bit big and slow early on but the further he went, the better he got,” said Cromwell.
“It would have been nice if we’d got more experience into him. I thought we’re getting on in the year and we’d pitch him in at the deep end. If he didn’t win, he’d be a novice next year.
“He’s in the Triumph Hurdle, but I don’t know if he’ll go there. If he had a bit more experience he would, but it is what it is at this stage – I wouldn’t rule it out.
“There are plenty of options at Fairyhouse, Aintree and Punchestown.”
Top-class filly Nashwa is being readied for a trip to Meydan next month, with the Dubai Turf pencilled in as her planned comeback target.
Winner of the French Oaks and the Nassau Stakes as a three-year-old in 2022, the John and Thady Gosden-trained daughter of Frankel notched a third Group One win in last season’s Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket, as well as being placed in the Nassau, the Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion Stakes.
She was well beaten on her final start of the year in a soft-ground Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, but owner Imad Al Sagar has sportingly brought her back for another campaign.
“The plan at the moment is to head for the Dubai Turf,” his racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said.
“There doesn’t seem to be an ideal race for her beforehand, so she’ll probably have a racecourse gallop, just to make sure she’s in good shape.
“She’s won Group Ones at a mile and a mile and a quarter, so in between (nine furlongs) should be ideal.
“She’s wintered well and is really just beginning her preparation. She’s a lovely, scopey filly and very important to Imad and his Blue Diamond Stud – and it’s exciting to have her back in full work.
“She ran some really top-class races last year, she had quite a hard end to the season but she seems to have got over it well and we’re looking forward to this season.”
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