Zach LaVine poured in a career-high 51 points, but it wasn’t enough as the hot-shooting Detroit Pistons came away with a 118-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
LaVine, who was a game-time decision with back spasms, surpassed his previous career high of 50 points, set against Atlanta on April 9, 2021, also a loss.
He shot 19 of 32 from the field – 7 of 13 on 3-pointers – and was 6 of 8 from the free-throw line.
LaVine became the first Bulls player with at least 50 points and no assists since Michael Jordan did it against Miami on Nov. 6, 1996.
Jalen Duran had 23 points and 15 rebounds and Cade Cunningham added 25 and 10 assists as the Pistons ended a 15-game losing streak to the Bulls.
Detroit shot 60.5 percent from the floor in the first half and finished at 52.3 percent (45 of 86).
DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points and Nikola Vucevic had 12 as the only other Bull to reach double figures.
76ers coach Nurse gets 1st win
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 34 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Toronto Raptors 114-107 to give coach Nick Nurse his first win against his former team.
Nurse was fired by the Raptors in April after five season that including the 2019 NBA championship. He lost his 76ers coaching debut at Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 points and Tobias Harris had 15 for Philadelphia, which again played without star guard James Harden, who hopes to be traded.
Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 24 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 17.
Nesmith leads Pacers past short-handed Cavaliers
Aaron Nesmith scored 17 of his career-high 26 points in the first half and the Indiana Pacers took advantage of the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers in a 125-113 victory.
Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, while Myles Turner added 20 and 12 boards for Indiana, which outscored Cleveland 29-12 in the second quarter.
The Cavaliers were without starters Donovan Mitchell (right hamstring soreness), Darius Garland (left hamstring strain) and Jarrett Allen (left ankle bone bruise).
Evan Mobley had 33 points and 14 rebounds for Cleveland.
The Arizona Diamondbacks bounced back from losing game one in extra innings to tie the World Series with a 9-1 rout of the Texas Rangers.
Pitcher Merrill Kelly proved dominant as he allowed just three hits over seven innings and the Arizona bats completed the job.
Gabriel Moreno put the Diamondbacks – who were two runs up in the ninth inning before losing in extra innings the previous night – ahead with a home run in the fourth and they never relented.
A three-run eighth inning included a two-run single for Ketel Marte, who set a new record of 18 consecutive post-season games with a hit.
Tommy Pham had four hits, rookie Corbin Carroll driving in a pair of runs as Arizona won their first World Series match away from home – their only previous appearance coming in 2001.
Evan Longoria, playing in his first World Series since 2008 at the age of 38, also drove in a run.
Rookie Brandon Pfaadt will pitch for the Diamondbacks when the series resumes with game three in Arizona on Monday night, facing three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer who will be pitching for his third different team in the World Series.
Merrill Kelly shut down the Texas Rangers for seven innings and Ketel Marte extended his postseason hitting streak to a record 18 games as the Arizona Diamondbacks rolled to a 9-1 win on Saturday night, evening the World Series at one game apiece.
Gabriel Moreno opened the scoring in the fourth inning with a solo home run off Jordan Montgomery and Tommy Pham went 4 for 4 with a pair of doubles as Arizona rebounded from Friday’s 6-5, 10-inning loss.
The Diamondbacks went 6 for 14 with runners in scoring position and broke open the game with three runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth.
Marte had a two-run single in the eighth to break a tie for the longest playoff hitting streak with Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez and Hank Bauer.
Kelly pitched three-hit ball with nine strikeouts and no walks and allowed his only run on Mitch Garver’s leadoff homer in the fifth.
Montgomery suffered his first postseason loss after allowing four runs and nine hits in six innings.
The series shifts to Arizona for Game 3 on Monday in the first World Series game in Phoenix since 2001.
Charles Leclerc saw off team-mate Carlos Sainz by just 0.067 seconds as Ferrari locked out the front row for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen improved on his final run at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez but could not usurp the Ferrari drivers, finishing 0.097 sec adrift.
The triple world champion faced a nervous wait to see if he was moved down the grid after being summoned to see the stewards.
Verstappen, charged with impeding on the pit exit, was among four drivers hauled in front of the race officials.
Lewis Hamilton, disqualified from finishing runner-up to Verstappen at the United States Grand Prix a week ago, was also summoned after failing to slow under yellow flags. Hamilton finished only sixth, 0.288 sec back.
George Russell, who qualified eighth, and Fernando Alonso, 13th on the grid, were called to see the stewards, too, for blocking on the pit exit in Q1.
However, it was announced three hours after the conclusion of qualifying that the quartet escaped without penalties.
Verstappen’s bid for pole unravelled when he hit the kerb at Turn 8 in his first attempt in Q3 to leave him trailing Leclerc by 0.120 sec.
The Red Bull man, who has won 15 of the 18 rounds so far, produced a quicker last lap, but could not prevent Leclerc from sealing his second pole in as many weekends.
“I didn’t expect to be on pole because we looked to be lacking quite a bit of pace after practice,” said Leclerc.
“But for some reason once we put everything together it went well and on the new tyres we gained a lot.
“I’m already focusing on tomorrow’s race because we have had many pole positions this season, but we need to convert it into victory and that is going to be very difficult.”
Nearly 400,000 spectators will pass through the gates at the high-altitude Mexico City venue this weekend with the majority here to support Sergio Perez.
But the home favourite failed to deliver, finishing nearly three tenths adrift of Verstappen and qualified fifth, one position behind Daniel Ricciardo who impressed in his AlphaTauri, to take fourth.
Earlier, Lando Norris was the surprise name eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying, leaving the in-form British driver in 19th place.
Norris, who has finished on the podium at the past four races, attempted to progress from Q1 on the slower medium rubber in order to save a set of speedier softs.
But the plan backfired when Norris’ lap wasn’t quick enough. Norris bolted on the soft tyres but then made a mistake at Turn 10.
He aborted the lap and prepared for one last attempt, only to run into yellow flags at the opening bend after Alonso spun in his Aston Martin. Norris’ qualifying was over leaving him a tall order to salvage anything from the race.
American rookie Logan Sargeant, who earned his first point in F1 last weekend in Austin, will prop up the grid after he saw two laps scrubbed off by the stewards for exceeding track limits.
Tyson Fury had to get up off the canvas before grinding his way to a highly unconvincing split decision win over Francis Ngannou in their heavyweight showdown in Saudi Arabia.
What appeared a mismatch between the WBC champion and a mixed martial artist boxing professionally for the first time did not go according to plan for Fury, who was decked by a left hook in the third round.
Despite rising to his feet almost immediately, Fury was on unsteady legs in the moments afterwards before getting behind his jab, keen to stay out of range of the former UFC heavyweight champion.
Fury ate a few more big shots and ended the fight with a cut above his forehead and a welt under his left eye – which could have an impact on a proposed showdown against Oleksandr Usyk on December 23.
But the Briton, whose world title was not on the line, was spared what would have been one of the biggest upsets of all-time after being given the nod 96-93 and 95-94 on two scorecards, as the third judge sided with Ngannou 95-94 following an unexpectedly keenly contested 10-round encounter.
“That definitely wasn’t in the script,” Fury said in the ring immediately after improving his record to 34 wins and one draw.
“Francis is a hell of a fighter; strong, a big puncher and a lot better boxer than we all thought he would ever be. He’s a very awkward man and a I respect him a lot – before the fight and afterwards.
“He’s given me one of my toughest fights in the last 10 years. I don’t know how close it was but I got the win and that’s what it is. No excuses, Francis caught me with some good punches, fair play to him.”
The fight was billed as the start to ‘Riyadh Season’, with Saudi Arabia heavily criticised for trying to ‘sportswash’ its reputation and distract from its long history history of human rights abuses.
After fans shuffled to the main arena from a nearby venue which held the undercard, there was an opening ceremony featuring performances from musicians, accompanied by dancers, and culminated in a boxing ring rising from the floor on to the stage.
It was an elaborate spectacle in front of a star-studded crowd which included rappers Kanye West and Eminem as well as footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, plus a host of boxing and MMA royalty such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, Manny Pacquiao, Roberto Duran, Lennox Lewis, Ricky Hatton and Conor McGregor.
Both fighters wore crowns and sat on thrones before making way their way to the ring, Ngannou for the first time aged 37. After the anthems and introductions, there was an expectation the Cameroonian-Frenchman would bull rush his foe but it was Fury who threw a wild overhand right at the outset.
He landed a good jab to the body and head and even appeared to be giving instructions to Ngannou when they were in the clinch, calling to ‘break’. The smaller and slightly lighter Ngannou seemed plodding in comparison as Fury ended the round with a solid combination which rocked his rival’s head back.
However, Ngannou started to settle in the second round and connected with a lead left look before an accidental head clash. It was unclear which caused the cut to Fury’s head but it unsettled the world champion who repeatedly touched the small wound.
If that was a minor issue, Fury had to confront a major setback in the third round after a clubbing counter left hook to the side of his temple – above his right ear – put him on his back.
Ngannou taunted his adversary, briefly dancing over him, but while it was a flash knockdown, it instantly swung the momentum of the fight. From that point Fury was reluctant to engage too much, wary of the power of a man who holds the world record for the hardest punch ever recorded.
Fury was off-balance again in the fourth before rediscovering some rhythm with a jab and right hand in the fifth although he stayed at range, refusing to allow Ngannou any chance of a response.
The pattern of Fury staying on the outside and flicking out the jab continued into the sixth and while Ngannou seemed to be tiring, he was able to routinely outmuscle the favourite in the rare clinches.
There was a lack of urgency down the stretch from Fury and he soaked up another heavy left from Ngannou in the eighth before perhaps doing just enough to nick the final two rounds and with it: the fight.
This was not the tune-up Fury would have envisaged for an undisputed world title showdown against Usyk, the WBA, IBF and WBO champion who was ringside to witness his rival’s underwhelming display.
“It will be our next fight guaranteed,” Fury added. “I’m going to go home, take a long, hard rest and we’ll see what’s next.”
As expected, Mahogany produced a telling performance to win a $1.4-million three-year-old and upward Open Allowance contest with consummate ease, as he signalled some semblance of readiness for the lucrative Mouttet Mile.
In fact, the run by the Ian Parsard trainee at five furlongs (1,000m) round at Caymanas Park on Saturday, was almost like an exercise given the manner in which he was tenderly handled by jockey Robert Halledeen, and even then, the 6-1/2 lengths victory was completed in a brisk 59.3 seconds. His splits were 23.3 and 46.2 seconds.
Much was said of a potential stretch duel between Mahogany and American-bred Is That A Fact, who was hunting a fifth-consecutive win. But Mahogany, coming off a Gold Cup loss to She’s My Destiny, had no equals on this occasion.
Though a shade slowly out the box, the Sensational Slam -Mete-Orite progeny, coupled up quickly and was sent straight to the front by Halledeen and from there, it was the six-year-old chestnut gelding against the clock.
Jordan Reign's (Dane Dawkins), Is That A Fact (Reyan Lewis), and Freedom Street (Roger Hewitt), were all left in Mahogany’s wake, especially when he turned for home and was briefly asked for a response by Halledeen.
Freedom Street and Jordan Reign's were second and third, while Is That A Fact, who initially placed second, was disqualified and placed fourth for causing interference to rivals in the battle for the minor placing.
Meanwhile, Digital One made in two-in-two when she won the $2-million Hover Craft Sprint feature contest.
Piloted by leading rider Reyan Lewis, the Jason DaCosta-trained charge topped the Restricted Stakes contest for native-bred and imported two-year-olds, by 6-1/4 lengths and covered six furlongs (1,200m) in 1:13.3.
Parsard’s Run Julie Run (Omar Walker) and Blu Sensation (Oneil Mullings) and Rosetta (Youville Pinnock), completed the frame.
Lewis earlier guided Leroy Tomlinson’s Victoriasmedallion to victory in the second race, while trainer Gary Griffiths, topped his peers with two winners in Turnonthelight (Tevin Foster) in the first and Here Comes Doc (Anthony Allen) in the sixth event.
Racing continues on Sunday.
With her parents starting a rich and fruitful partnership with Sandals Resorts, Wendy McClung, Executive vice-president of Baxter Media said the decision was easy for her to continue the family legacy to promote Jamaica as a golfing destination through the Canadian Travel Advisors Golf Tournament.
The 27th edition of this tournament, which is the longest running of the three, preceding the United States and Latin American events, attracted 16 teams made up of some 61 travel advisors, who beyond basking in the fun, frolic and excitement, will ensure that Jamaica’s sports tourism stocks in North America continues to rise.
Team three comprising Christopher Gregoris, Leo Tam, Tom Liu, and Wendy Hsu, finished tops at the end of the two-day competition at the Sandals Golf and Country Club in St Ann. They tallied scores of 65 and 62 across the two days for an 18-hole total of 127.
The team of Gord Ramkissoon, Lalita Ramkissoon, Leonard Sanicharan and Lalita Sanicharan, were six strokes behind in second on 133, after daily scores of 66 and 67, while Team Five comprising David Harris, Doug Rollheiser, Jacques Gilbert and Jason Jenkins took third with 134, after daily scores of 65 and 69.
McClung, who believes the prospects for the tournament is far-reaching where impacting visitor arrivals to Jamaica is concerned, is hoping to build on what her parents Edith and William Baxter accomplished.
Baxter’s Media is the publisher of two of Canada's leading travel trade magazine, the Canadian Travel Press and Travel Courier.
“This was actually started by my parents and my parents always had a good relationship with Jamaica, in fact, my mother was conferred with the Order of Distinction. So, Sandals has been a partner of ours for a very long time and every year we bring travel agents and people who serve Jamaica just to have a nice kind of thank you gathering. It is four days of golf, fun and entertainment and so it’s a great way to celebrate the partnership,” she said.
“Every year it gets better and better. In fact, we had to turn people away because it’s a popular thing and it’s the highlight of the year for many people. As you know, Jamaica has the perfect weather, Sandals is a perfect resort with a perfect golf club, my only complaint is that we are not here long enough,” McClung added.
Meanwhile, the side competitions which raised US$1,528 (about $235,869 Jamaican dollars) for the Sandals Foundation, were won by Curtis Dewar and Norah Hogan, in the closest to the pin, while Colin Harris and Tobe Leney, were the male and female longest drive winners.
New Zealand captain Sam Cane admitted he was feeling “so much hurt” after he was sent off in Saturday’s 12-11 World Cup final defeat by South Africa.
Cane’s yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Jesse Kriel in the 28th minute of a dramatic clash at the Stade de France was upgraded to red by the bunker review system.
It was the first time a player had been dismissed in a men’s World Cup final and although the All Blacks showed heart to overcome the setback and score through Beauden Barrett, they could not pierce South Africa’s defence again.
“So much hurt right now. It’s actually hard to find the words to explain it,” Cane said.
“It’s hard because you are feeling so much hurt, but at the same time you are so proud of the group in how they fought back.
“We really gave ourselves a good shot of winning that game. I think it speaks volumes of the group as a whole.”
A despondent Cane refused to blame the officials led by referee Wayne Barnes or the bunker review system for a decision that left New Zealand swimming against the tide.
“At the time, I wasn’t even aware (of the head contact). It sort of caught me off guard because of the fact he stepped back,” Cane said.
“But we’ve been at this tournament for two months now and anything around the head has ramifications.
“I’m not here to discuss whether it was right or wrong. It can’t be changed. It’s something unfortunately I am going to have to live with forever.”
New Zealand head coach Ian Foster stood by his skipper and insisted the high tackle was not a red card offence, adding that Siya Kolisi’s challenge on Ardie Savea in the second half that was a yellow only was equally severe.
“We’ve all seen the way Sam has contributed to the game, to our team behind the scenes, and it’s fantastic,” Foster said.
“He’s worthy of being captain of the All Blacks, which is an honour and a privilege, and he has carried that magnificently. I’m incredibly proud of him and proud to coach him.
“There was an intent to wrap and there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of force in the contact.
“The hit on Ardie had a lot of force going into that contact and had a direct contact on the head. The game has got a few issues it has got to sort out. That’s not sour grapes.
“You’ve got two different situations with different variables and one is a red card, one is a yellow card. That’s the game.
“We got the same behaviour from that TMO (Tom Foley) that we got during the Irish series last year. The same TMO. We expected what we got.”
South Africa defended their crown through four Handre Pollard penalties, all of them coming in the first half, to win a third successive knock-out game by a single point.
It lifts them above New Zealand as the most successful side in World Cup history with four titles.
“There aren’t a lot of things going right in our country and we have the privilege to be able to do what we love and inspire people in life, not just sports people,” Kolisi said.
“Where I come from, I couldn’t dream I could be here today. We come from different walks of life. I had my own goals and ambitions.
“I want to look after my family, I want to give back to my community. You need to come and see South Africa to understand.
“When we come together nothing can stop us, not just in sport but also in life.”
Charles Leclerc saw off team-mate Carlos Sainz by just 0.067 seconds as Ferrari locked out the front row for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen improved on his final run at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez but could not usurp the Ferrari drivers, finishing 0.097 sec adrift.
The triple world champion also faces a nervous wait to see if he is moved down the grid after being summoned to see the stewards.
Verstappen, charged with impeding on the pit exit, is among four drivers who will be hauled in front of the race officials.
Lewis Hamilton, disqualified from finishing runner-up to Verstappen at the United States Grand Prix a week ago, may too feel the wrath of the race referees for failing to slow under yellow flags. Hamilton finished only sixth, 0.288 sec back.
George Russell, who qualified eighth, and Fernando Alonso, 13th on the grid, have also been called to see the stewards for blocking on the pit exit in Q1.
Verstappen hit the kerb at Turn 8 in his first attempt in Q3 to leaving him trailing Leclerc by 0.120 sec.
The Red Bull man, who has won 15 of the 18 rounds so far, produced a better last lap, but could not prevent Leclerc from sealing his second pole in as many weekends.
“I didn’t expect to be one pole because we looked to be lacking quite a bit of pace after practice,” said Leclerc.
“But for some reason once we put everything together it went well and on the new tyres we gained a lot.
“I’m already focusing on tomorrow’s race because we have had many pole positions this season, but we need to convert it into victory and that is going to be very difficult.”
Nearly 400,000 spectators will pass through the gates at the high-altitude Mexico City venue this weekend with the majority here to support Sergio Perez.
But the home favourite failed to deliver, finishing nearly three tenths adrift of Verstappen and qualified fifth, one position behind Daniel Ricciardo who impressed in his AlphaTauri.
Earlier, Lando Norris was the surprise name eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying, leaving the in-form British driver in 19th place.
Norris, who has finished on the podium at the past four races, attempted to progress from Q1 on the slower medium rubber in order to save a set of speedier softs.
But the plan backfired when Norris’ lap wasn’t quick enough. Norris bolted on the soft tyres but then made a mistake a Turn 10.
He aborted the lap and prepared for one last attempt, only to run into yellow flags at the opening bend after Alonso spun in his Aston Martin. Norris’ qualifying was over leaving him a tall order to salvage anything from tomorrow’s race.
American rookie Logan Sargeant, who earned his first point in F1 last weekend in Austin, will prop up the grid after he saw two laps scrubbed off by the stewards for exceeding track limits.
New Zealand captain Sam Cane became the first player to be sent off in a World Cup final as South Africa retained their title with a nail-biting 12-11 victory at Stade de France.
Cane was shown a red card for in the 28th minute for a dangerous tackle on Jesse Kriel but the All Blacks responded with character and resilience to take the champions to the wire on a wet Paris night.
Beauden Barrett ran in the first try ever scored against South Africa in a World Cup final as the final quarter approached but, with Richie Mo’unga unable to add the conversion, New Zealand still trailed.
Jordie Barrett then missed a tricky long-range penalty that would have toppled the Springboks and despite furious late attempts to strike from long range they were unable to break through the green wall.
Jamie George has urged the Rugby Football Union to give England players a voice when devising the ‘hybrid contracts’ that are expected to be signed off by the end of the year.
The RFU wants to tie 25 players to the contracts that will give head coach Steve Borthwick greater control over frontline members of his squad, who would also continue to be employed by their clubs.
The deals would help keep England stars in the Gallagher Premiership, but while George applauds the increased collaboration between club and country, he insists players should be consulted before they are formalised.
“We just need a bit more clarity around them. It is hard for us because you hear the whispers and you might get excited about it, but at the same time we have to focus on the job at hand,” the Saracens hooker said.
“What I do have is a huge confidence in Steve to make sure we get this right if those central contracts or playing contracts do come in.
“It could be a great thing for English rugby, but it has to be done right. Steve will do it in the absolute right way that does not take away from the club game because that’s something that means a lot to me.
“Hopefully there will be plenty of player influence as well because there are a lot of very intelligent guys in this changing room who have a lot of things to say and care a huge amount about the English game and its development.
“You can see that in the way that a lot of the older guys are speaking about the future of this team and hopefully the RFU use us and we will be heavily involved in those conversations.”
All conversations will take against the positive backdrop of England’s encouraging performance at the World Cup, which saw them finish third after toppling Argentina in the bronze final.
An ugly win was secured six days after their agonising semi-final defeat by South Africa – a result that caused George even greater anguish than losing in the 2019 final to the same opponents.
“This week has actually been a really difficult week – probably the hardest week of my career. I was just sat in my hotel room hitting waves of sadness,” George said.
“I’m still gutted about last week if I’m completely honest and that is going to take a long time for me to get over.
“To be able to come away with a medal is really important. It’s really important for this team, it was really important to send off some absolute legends of the game in the right way.
“But it was also important to send a message to the English public that we will still fight for everything.
“It wasn’t pretty, it was probably one of the scrappiest games I’ve been a part of. But we are coming away with a medal.
“It’s not the colour we wanted and that will give us huge inspiration going into the Six Nations.
“Our foundations are strong. We’ve shown that we can fight and we can put our best foot forward against the best teams in the world.”
Michael Carter-Williams has backed Joel Embiid to win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, but he thinks an NBA title is out of reach for now.
Embiid was named the NBA MVP last season, having played 66 times for the Philadelphia 76ers across the regular season, averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
However, Embiid was unable to inspire the 76ers in the playoffs, as they lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Ahead of the new season, Cameroonian-born Embiid confirmed he would represent the United States at next year's Olympic Games, and Carter-Williams, who played alongside the center in Philadelphia between 2014 and 2015, thinks a gold medal is more than achievable for Team USA.
But he does not feel Embiid is likely to win an NBA championship with the 76ers just yet.
"I think that the gold with the United States is a way more sure bet than him winning the championship in Philly, just because they [have] got some things going on," Carter-Williams told Stats Perform.
"I believe that Embiid will get a championship in his career, I just don't know whether it's right now with Philly or if it's later on.
"There are just other teams that have made some really tough moves, I don't know how well Philly matches up with that."
The Sixers began the 2023-24 campaign with a 118-117 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks. Embiid finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists in that loss.
"He's been unreal," Carter-Williams said of Embiid.
"Someone who's also an abnormal-sized human being doing those things is unreal. His focus level is also really good, he just focuses on his footwork, I always just saw him watching films of so many big [players], Hakeem Olajuwon especially.
"Then I saw him on the court just emulating those moves over and over again, and I used to see his feet and his jump shot just improve over and over again, especially through his rookie year when he was hurt, and he was sitting out and his process was slowed down a little bit.
"You could see him practice every single day, and then as soon as he started going against guys in practice, you'd be like, 'man, he's killing it' and nobody could do anything about it."
England head coach Shaun Wane was “absolutely desperate” for victory as he saw his side wrap up a series win over Tonga with a 14-4 triumph at the John Smith’s Stadium.
England were keen to continue the good work from their opening autumn Test match in St Helens last week, and opened the scoring in the sixth minute after Matty Ashton ran over in the corner before helping himself to another try when he pounced on Mikey Lewis’ wonderfully worked grubber kick.
Tonga reduced the deficit in the second half to 10 points when Toluta’u Koula raced over the whitewash but it was not enough to stop the hosts from going into an unassailable series advantage.
Following last week’s victory, much of the pre-match build up was made by Tonga after boss Kristian Woolf questioned referee Liam Moore as well as highlighting a difference in ruck speed between the teams.
England boss Wane wanted more from his players following last week’s victory but was pleased to see his side grab the win and prove some people wrong in the opposite camp.
He told a press conference: “I was absolutely desperate to win that game today.
“The things that have been said about my players this week and about my team, my mates really upset me so it was a massive motivator for us.
“Excuses about the ground not being right, every excuse about the ruck and our referees cheating so to prove them wrong by a firm pitch, really slow ruck and to get that two wins, I’ll be interested to see what the next excuse is.
“There’s been posters all round our dressing room, they did a lot of the talking themselves and the players were absolutely with me all the way.”
England have the series victory in the bag and will be looking to next week to seal the whitewash and Wane does not want his side to let the foot off the gas.
He added: “This week will be a really intense week.
“We will enjoy today but it will be work and we have a job to do on Saturday and I know the players have been fantastic in supporting me, we have to be obsessed about them seeing the best of us on Saturday.
“Winning is the only thing and playing well comes second. We will have a look at it in the next few days when we come down off cloud nine and fix a few things up.”
Tonga boss Woolf admitted his side were not good enough to get the win as his side slumped to a second defeat to England inside a week.
Woolf said: “We need to be a bit more disciplined, we gave away too many penalties and gave away too many unforced errors.
“It was a close game, a very tight game and they got one try and we didn’t quite get things right on the left edge.
“England had more discipline than us and had more discipline with the ball in terms of penalties and we need to be squeaky clean.”
Exeter showed their 11-try thrashing of defending Premiership champions Saracens on the opening day of the campaign was no fluke as they managed an equally emphatic 43-0 victory over last season’s beaten finalists Sale.
Despite losing a host of internationals during the summer, Exeter’s new young guard once again showed they are going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Sale went into the game having won their first two matches of the season, but they were strangely off colour as an error-strewn display saw them suffer their biggest ever defeat to the Devon side.
Exeter got off to a dream start with a try inside the first two minutes. An initial surge by hooker Dan Frost earned a penalty, which was quickly taken, and England Under-20 number eight Greg Fisilau finished off on the blindside, with captain for the day Henry Slade slotting a superb conversion.
The England centre added a penalty soon after to put the Chiefs into double figures.
Sale had the wind behind their backs in the first half, but it was the Chiefs who continued to dominate territory, and they notched a second try just before the midway point of the half, with a catch-and-drive effort from Frost, after Chiefs did well to splinter Sale’s maul defence, and it was improved by Slade.
Young full-back Tom Wyatt was proving rock solid under the high ball for Exeter, while their scrum was having much the better of the Sale eight.
The Sharks thought they had got a foothold in the game when Cobus Wiese drove over in the 27th minute, but he was adjudged by excellent debutant referee Joe James to have been held up, while Tom O’Flaherty knocked on soon after when trying to ground the ball after a handling mistake close to his own line by Fisilau.
Exeter made the most of that double reprieve by securing the try-scoring bonus point before half-time.
Tight-head prop Josh Iosefa-Scott finished off another driving maul in the corner, and then Slade latched on to a wayward Sale pass to send former Wasps winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso racing over beneath the posts, with Slade adding the conversion for an incredible 29-0 interval advantage.
Both sides struggled to string passages of play together in the wet conditions in the second half.
When Sale did threaten the home line, the Chiefs defence proved more than a match.
The Chiefs put the icing on the cake when an excellent run by impressive second row Lewis Pearson saw him offload to replacement scrum-half Niall Armstrong to run in try number five, with Slade adding the kick for a personal 11-point haul, and their dominant scrum rounded it off with a penalty try as Exeter completed their first Premiership shutout since 2014.
Exeter Chiefs showed their 11-try thrashing of defending Premiership champions Saracens on the opening day of the campaign was no fluke as they managed an equally emphatic 43-0 victory over last season’s beaten finalists Sale.
Despite losing a host of internationals during the summer, Exeter’s new young guard once again showed they are going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Sale went into the game having won their first two matches of the season, but they were strangely off colour as an error-strewn display saw them suffer their biggest ever defeat to the Devon side.
Exeter got off to a dream start with a try inside the first two minutes. An initial surge by hooker Dan Frost earned a penalty, which was quickly taken, and England Under-20 number eight Greg Fisilau finished off on the blindside, with captain for the day Henry Slade slotting a superb conversion.
The England centre added a penalty soon after to put the Chiefs into double figures.
Sale had the wind behind their backs in the first half, but it was the Chiefs who continued to dominate territory, and they notched a second try just before the midway point of the half, with a catch-and-drive effort from Frost, after Chiefs did well to splinter Sale’s maul defence, and it was improved by Slade.
Young full-back Tom Wyatt was proving rock solid under the high ball for Exeter, while their scrum was having much the better of the Sale eight.
The Sharks thought they had got a foothold in the game when Cobus Wiese drove over in the 27th minute, but he was adjudged by excellent debutant referee Joe James to have been held up, while Tom O’Flaherty knocked on soon after when trying to ground the ball after a handling mistake close to his own line by Fisilau.
Exeter made the most of that double reprieve by securing the try-scoring bonus point before half-time.
Tight-head prop Josh Iosefa-Scott finished off another driving maul in the corner, and then Slade latched on to a wayward Sale pass to send former Wasps winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso racing over beneath the posts, with Slade adding the conversion for an incredible 29-0 interval advantage.
Both sides struggled to string passages of play together in the wet conditions in the second half.
When Sale did threaten the home line, the Chiefs defence proved more than a match.
The Chiefs put the icing on the cake when an excellent run by impressive second row Lewis Pearson saw him offload to replacement scrum-half Niall Armstrong to run in try number five, with Slade adding the kick for a personal 11-point haul, and their dominant scrum rounded it off with a penalty try as Exeter completed their first Premiership shutout since 2014.
Dual Stayers’ Hurdle winner Flooring Porter made the perfect start to his new career when making nearly all the running in the William Hill Lengthen Your Odds Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham.
Turning his hand to chasing relatively late in life as an eight-year-old, connections felt now was the time for the switch given he failed to win a race last season.
Ridden by new partner Keith Donoghue in place of Danny Mullins, he set out to make all but was soon hassled for the lead by Broadway Boy, one of two runners for Nigel Twiston-Davies.
Despite lacking the size and scope of his rivals, Flooring Porter (6-4 favourite) was foot perfect on the first circuit, although when the pace quickened on the second time around, there were a couple of blips.
He left his hind legs in one fence down the back straight and then took off too early at the open ditch, but he never looked like falling.
Donoghue seemed keen to hold on to his head for as long as possible as Broadway Boy and his stablemate Weveallbeencaught loomed up behind him, but good jumps at the last two enabled his class to come to the fore and he skipped clear to win by two and a half lengths.
“I know he was ahead of the others on his rating and that he’s still a high-profile horse, although not as much as he was,” said Cromwell.
“But he’s not very big, which made the way he jumped so pleasing.
“I thought he could do that, and it’s always great to see that the engine is still there.”
Matty Ashton scored two tries as England sealed a Test series victory over Tonga with a 14-4 victory at the John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield.
Fresh from their opening victory at St Helens, England looked intent on putting the series to bed from the outset and had a two-try lead thanks to a pair of Ashton tries without reply in the first period.
Harry Smith’s two penalties extended the score to 14 before Toluta’u Koula scored Tonga’s solitary try of the afternoon, which was not enough to stop England from gaining an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
England picked up where they left off last weekend and opened the scoring in the sixth minute after the ball was spread from left to right, Ashton waiting in the corner to collect the ball and rush over the whitewash – Smith’s conversion followed by a penalty made it 8-0 to the hosts.
Tonga came close to a try as the ball went through the hands and Moses Suli unleashed Koula down the left but he was ushered into touch, which sparked a brawl between the two sets of players.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles winger Koula looked the main danger for the visitors and for a moment it looked like he had unlocked the English defence with a superb turn of foot before spilling the ball in touch.
Moments after Tonga were denied a reply on the try line, England went up the other end and scored their second try of the afternoon when Mikey Lewis’ neatly threaded grubber fell beautifully for the onrushing Ashton who touched down for the second time.
England ran onto the field in the second half with the same intensity and could have had a third try when Mike McMeeken’s kick found Tom Johnstone in acres of space but he dropped the ball with the try line at his mercy and had to settle for Smith’s penalty to make it 14-0.
The away side were still looking for their first points of the game and almost had them when Isaiya Katoa’s dummy freed Dion Teaupa up for the try line but Johnstone and Lewis brought him down to prevent a first try.
Tonga did most of the attacking in the second period and they looked to break away once again when Tyson Frizell latched onto a long kick and set Tui Lolohea free with his sights on the whitewash, but Johnstone was on hand once again to bring those efforts to a halt.
A few seconds later, Tonga were awarded a penalty and finally had their first score of the game as the ball went through the hands and Koula was waiting on on the byline to storm over in the corner and reduce the deficit to 10 points.
But that was all they could muster as they suffered a second straight defeat with one Test match to play at Headingley.
Blueking D’Oroux may have booked his ticket for the Greatwood Hurdle back at Cheltenham next month following a straightforward success in the Masterson Holdings Hurdle.
Trained by Paul Nicholls, the four-year-old arrived from France with a fairly tall reputation but took a while to adapt to his new surroundings.
He ended last season in good form, though, by winning a decent handicap at Ascot at 50-1 and finishing second at Aintree’s Grand National meeting.
Harry Cobden always looked in control on this occasion and the 5-2 chance came up the hill on his own to win by two lengths.
Nicholls said: “I’m thrilled with that. On ratings, he was entitled to win and we had him ready for today. He has improved so much for last season’s wind operation, as he was a disaster at the start.
“He’s always been quite a nice horse, but he was struggling with his breathing and never showed anything at home.
“But after his summer out he’s worked beautifully. He’s improved from last year and is an improving horse. Some of ours are needing their runs and I’ve not been in such a hurry with them. It’s all about their futures.
“This horse is in the Greatwood and at Ascot and we’ll look at races like the Betfair Hurdle later in the season. He’ll go novice chasing next year. He’s got to take on older horses in handicaps.”
Coral cut the winner from 16-1 into 12s for the Greatwood Hurdle next month.
Nicky Henderson’s Hyland (9-1) was given a patient ride by Nico de Boinville to win the Pertemps Network Qualifier.
Top weight Flight Deck made a very bold bid from the front on his first outing for Deborah Cole but Hyland joined him at the last and went on to win by two lengths. Judicial passed Flight Deck up the hill to claim second.
David Sumpter, spokesman for the winning Ten From Seven syndicate said: “We’ve had lots of winners, that is number 99, but it’s the first one here at Cheltenham for myself and I’m overwhelmed.
“The ground was getting too soft for him but Nico decided to stick to the inner and he handled it superbly. Ten From Seven have been going for 20 years and originally was made up for people from Seven Barrows.”
Hyland was given a 25-1 quote for the Pertemps Final by Paddy Power.
The Olly Murphy-trained Butch (3-1) made almost all the running in the William Hill Epic Weekend Free Bet Novices’ Hurdle.
Sean Bowen set off to make it a proper gallop but Keith Donoghue had bided his time on Antrim Coast and seemed to have delivered him perfectly after the last to hit the front deep inside the final furlong.
To Butch’s credit, however, he battled back and got back up to win by a neck.
Bowen said: “He was the only runner that had run over three miles and so I wanted to make the best of it.
“The horse gave everything and really stuck his head out. It’s not often they come back like that after being headed.”
Winning owner Max McNeil said: “The horse has proved he’s an out and out stayer, that’s why we wanted to make it a test, and Sean read the script well.
“This is a very good prospect but I’m also very excited about Inthewaterside at Aintree tomorrow.”
High School basketball powerhouse Herbert Morrison secured a pair of dominant wins over Holland High in the ISSA Rural Area Under-16 and Under-19 Basketball tournaments on Friday.
The Under-16 team first hammered their opponents 63-16 before their Under-19 counterparts took home a 67-36 victory.
In other Under-16 games on the day, Belair High produced a narrow 36-32 win over Manchester while Glenmuir beat Denbigh 37-25.
In Under-19 play, Manchester turned the tables on Belair with a 62-39 win while Glenmuir beat Denbigh 63-36 and St. James High beat Cornwall College 68-35.
In an Urban Area Under-16 contest, Meadowbrook defeated Old Harbour 26-18. Excelsior hammered Bridgeport 71-23 in an Under-19 encounter.
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
