Mako Vunipola feels that Saracens have not allowed themselves to be affected by external noise this season ahead of their ninth Gallagher Premiership final appearance.

Saracens return to Twickenham next week, where Sale will stand between them and a sixth title of the Premiership era.

Saracens were last crowned English champions in 2019, since when they spent a season in the Championship after being relegated for persistent salary cap breaches.

They teed up a dream finale to their first campaign back in the top flight last term by contesting domestic silverware with Leicester.

But the Tigers bit them, winning 15-12 thanks to a Freddie Burns drop goal during the nerve-shredding closing stages of a gripping final.

“Last year we probably focused too much on the things outside, worrying about what people were saying and wanting to prove them wrong,” Saracens and England prop Vunipola said.

“It probably got to that we didn’t actually enjoy the occasion. We didn’t throw a punch in the final, and that’s credit to Leicester – they didn’t let us throw a punch.

“This year, we have just been trying to improve game by game, probably a little bit more focused on ourselves and what we can control, rather than worry (about) outside.

“You get emotion spikes in big games, and we have to be able to control that, make sure we channel it in the right way and put it towards our rugby.

“Last year, we didn’t really fire a shot, and that was down to Leicester being able to dictate the way the game went.

“We weren’t able to attack because we didn’t work hard enough or we didn’t adjust well enough. Hopefully, we can do that this time.”

While Saracens have been regular Twickenham visitors over the past dozen seasons, Sale are through to their first Premiership final since 2006 when players like Jason Robinson, Charlie Hodgson and Sebastien Chabal ruled the roost.

And a pivotal part of Sale’s resurgence has been rugby director Alex Sanderson, who was previously key to Saracens’ success in a revered coaching team led by Mark McCall.

Vunipola added: “Me and Alex started working together when I was 16 or 17. He was the first one who kind of gave me a shot with the age-group stuff and gave me a bit of confidence that I could play at the highest level.

“To work with him at Saracens for so long was a privilege. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and you see that.

“We always knew here at the club how special he is as a coach and a person.

“And we knew if he did the same at Sale then success would come to them as a team, whether that was finishing higher in the league or the players enjoying what they are doing.

“Having been around a lot of them at England camps, they can’t speak highly enough of Al and what he has done.

“We know that Sale will be pumped for it, we know they will have a plan, and a lot of that will be down to the work he does with the leaders they have there at Sale.”

Queen For You created a deep impression when scoring on debut at Ascot but now faces a real fight to wear the crown at York on Friday, as a stellar cast has assembled for the Oaks Farm Stables Fillies’ Stakes.

John and Thady Gosden’s daughter of Kingman is out of Fallen For You – a Coronation Stakes winner for the Clarehaven yard – and is a half-sister to six-time Group winner Glorious Journey, so is clearly bred to be a smart operator.

The manner of her two-length success, in what appeared a decent maiden, suggests she is on track to become an above-average filly herself.

She is pitched into Listed company for just her second start, a path taken by her training team in the past, including last year when they saddled the runner-up Grande Dame.

Thady Gosden said: “She won nicely first time out at Ascot and was a little green, which she was entitled to be

“She seems to have come forward for the run and although it is a big jump up into Listed company, we’d be hopeful. It is a much more competitive race and a step up in class, but we hope she will do herself justice.”

Equally impressive in her first start was Charlie Appleby’s Silver Lady, who romped the best part of four lengths clear of the opposition at Newmarket last month.

The form of that race was given a timely boost when the third scored at Beverley earlier this week and the daughter of Sea The Stars, who is out of Group One winner Lumiere, looks packed with potential ahead of this contest, better known as the Michael Seely Memorial Fillies’ Stakes.

Appleby said: “Silver Lady was impressive on her debut at Newmarket and came out of the race well.

“We feel that this is the right next step to test her credentials ahead of the summer.”

Sir Michael Stoute won this 10 years ago with Pavlosk, and looks to repeat the dose with Stormy Sea, who built on an encouraging Kempton bow at two when returning to the track at Haydock recently.

A half-sister to the Freemason Lodge handler’s Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge, she surged over four lengths clear in her first try over a mile at the Lancashire track and now Ryan Moore takes over in the saddle.

“I haven’t ridden her on the track but she clearly did it very well on her return at Haydock and I’d expect this half-sister to Bay Bridge to be featuring here,” the jockey told Betfair.

“That said, it is clearly a very competitive race full of similarly unexposed fillies of potential, so I imagine a few will be fancying their chances.”

Representing Jessica Harrington, Sounds Of Heaven brings smart form from Ireland to the table, while Ralph Beckett’s Juliet Sierra has to concede 5lb to all rivals following her victory in the Group Three Dick Poole Stakes at two. She is the most experienced runner in the field and also the only one to run in Group One company.

“It’s an extremely hot race and the initial plan with Juliet Sierra was to go to the 1000 Guineas and we were just not happy with her scope the week before, so we gave her a quiet week the week of the Guineas,” said Barry Mahon, racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“To be honest, options are few and far between and she carries a penalty for her Group Three win at Salisbury last year.

“You would prefer to be running a nice filly like her without a penalty and maybe starting off at seven (furlongs) and working up to a mile, but when you go through the programme book, it was hard to find a race.

“We’re starting there, she’s fit and well and a filly we like. I wouldn’t be confident giving a penalty to some of the fillies in that race, like the Appleby and Gosden fillies, but she is a nice filly and we’re hopeful she will run a nice race.”

Owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum is well represented with both Kevin Ryan’s Glenlaurel and Andrew Balding’s Clochette lining up in the yellow silks with black spots, while William Haggas is another double-handed in the contest as he saddles both the reappearing Newmarket two-year-old winner Orchid Bloom and eye-catching Newbury maiden scorer Fakhama.

Connections have high hopes for the latter, with Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell, saying: “She is nice. She won first time at Newbury. She is very well bred – a beautiful filly. I’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t go on.”

Domingo Miotti has won the race to start for Glasgow in the number 10 jersey in Friday’s EPCR Challenge Cup final against Toulon.

The 26-year-old Argentina international will make his ninth start for Warriors in Dublin as the replacement for the suspended Tom Jordan.

Stafford McDowall stepped back to deputise for Jordan following his red card in the BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final defeat by Munster but the centre has had to make do with a place on the bench at the Aviva Stadium.

Miotti has been preferred to kicking specialist Duncan Weir in the vacant stand-off position.

Hooker Fraser Brown has been handed a start days after signing a new one-year contract, with Johnny Matthews dropping to the bench.

JP du Preez replaces Richie Gray in the second row, Sione Vailanu is in for Rory Darge in the back row while centre Huw Jones is also back in the starting line-up.

Head coach Franco Smith said: “This week’s training has been highly competitive, with every player putting their hand up for selection and pushing each other forward.”

Amo Racing have been in blistering form in two-year-old contests this term and hold an ultra-strong hand in the Clipper EBF Marygate Fillies’ Stakes that kicks off the action at York on Friday.

Two Dominic Ffrench Davis-trained runners feature in this Listed event, with Persian Dreamer leading the charge on the back of a blistering display at Newmarket on debut and Nottingham scorer Treasure Storm providing able support.

Three fillies have done the Marygate/Queen Mary double in the past and this could prove the perfect stepping stone to Royal Ascot for Persian Dreamer, who is not only of warm order for this contest, but also the market leader for the Queen Mary itself.

“We think Persian Dreamer is a very classy filly and I think she has a standout chance in the race,” said Ffrench Davis.

“There are one or two obvious dangers. I think the Richard Hannon horse (Gaiden) will come on a lot for her debut at Windsor, she looked a nice type there and we have a little bit of a line through the form with Always Love You who was fourth that day.

“She was very impressive at Newmarket and has come on well since then. We are looking towards Ascot with her but this is a stepping stone and hopefully she can get the job done.”

He went on: “Treasure Storm has done nothing wrong. She was a little bit green on her first start and then improved on that to win at Nottingham, but we don’t think she is in the same league as Persian Dreamer. We would love it if she could run into a place.”

Karl Burke saddled the one-two in this 12 months ago and saddles two classy prospects as he attempts to repeat the dose.

One of the Spigot Lodge duo is the Middleham Park Racing-owned Got To Love A Grey who created a deep impression when scorching to a six-length success at Nottingham last month.

“She was very impressive at Nottingham, she was drawn out wide there and did everything Sam (James, jockey) asked of her and and was very impressive at the end,” said Middleham Park’s Mike Prince.

“It’s a sharp five furlongs at York and we do think she will step up to six furlongs at some point. It looks a very warm race with some decent fillies in it – I think it’s a very decent renewal and a strong affair.

“It’s interesting because it’s probably the first two-year-old race for the fillies that brings all the form lines together, so it will be interesting to see who is on the right form lines, but she couldn’t have done any more at Nottingham and hopefully goes there with every chance.”

Meanwhile, stablemate Dorothy Lawrence represents last year’s winning owners Clipper Logistics, but has just over three lengths to find with Persian Dreamer from when they met on the Rowley Mile earlier in the campaign.

Ryan Moore takes over in the saddle now and told Betfair: “I think she probably bumped into a good one when beaten at Newmarket last month, but she clearly shaped very well there and hopefully she can improve a good deal for it.”

Rod Milman’s Beenham built on her debut at Bath when accounting for a decent cast at Goodwood recently, while Richard Hannon’s Gaiden bumped into a useful looking rival when runner-up at Windsor and can be expected to take a step forward now.

Similar sentiments also apply to Tierney who finished an encouraging fourth when pitched into the Lily Agnes at Chester for her first start and trainer Hugo Palmer is keen to see if the speedy daughter of Mehmas can better that first racecourse effort on ground which will suit his filly much better this time.

He said: “She’s very much a filly for the here and now, she’s a speedy filly.

“She ran really well in the Lily Agnes taking on unpenalised winners, so it was a really good effort.

“The ground was much too soft for her at Chester, but I thought she ran a really encouraging race, although she will obviously need to step forward on that in stakes company.”

Bellarchi (Grant Tuer), Callianassa (Brian Ellison) and Miss Woo Woo (Robert Cowell) complete the field of 10.

Jamison Gibson-Park admits the lingering pain of last year’s agonising Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle has fuelled Leinster’s desire for a shot at redemption.

Leo Cullen’s men are preparing for Saturday’s showpiece rematch with the French club in Dublin – 12 months on from losing to a last-gasp try in Marseille.

Scrum-half Gibson-Park concedes the disappointment of the dramatic climax at Stade Velodrome was a bitter pill to swallow.

And the Ireland international is determined to help secure a different outcome against Ronan O’Gara’s side this time around as Leinster bid to equal Toulouse’s record of five Champions Cup titles.

“It’s one of those things that’s mentioned all the time with great teams over the years, the way they use defeats and having it spur you on for the next year,” said Gibson-Park, who won the competition with his province in 2018.

“There’s probably no doubt that it has for us in getting to this point.

“When you work with a collective group to try and get somewhere and you fall at the last hurdle, it’s hard, especially when it’s like that, a few minutes from the end of the game.

“It’s tough moments in the dressing room and on the pitch afterwards.

“You live for those moments where you get to lift trophies and you enjoy those moments in the dressing room with your brothers.

“But the sombre feelings after a defeat stick with you as well.”

Leinster led for most of the 2022 final before replacement scrum-half Arthur Retiere crossed a minute from time in a 24-21 victory for La Rochelle.

A year on from a gut-wrenching trip to the south of France, the Irish club have the luxury of home advantage on this occasion.

New Zealand-born Gibson-Park says the prospect of competing for silverware at a sold-out Aviva Stadium has been a motivating factor throughout the campaign.

“Last year was obviously tough, having to go away to France and play a French team,” said the 31-year-old.

“The La Rochelle fans were out in force that day, like they always are, so I’m sure there will be a few of them that show up to the Aviva Stadium no doubt.

“It was a pretty big carrot for us at the start of the year, the fact it was going to be here in the Aviva.

“We’re looking forward to it, we’ve got the chance to be in front of our friends and family and hopefully a few home supporters.”

Leinster failed to score a try against La Rochelle last year as captain Johnny Sexton slotted six penalties before deputy Ross Byrne added another.

With talisman Sexton sidelined due to a groin injury suffered helping Ireland win the Six Nations Grand Slam, Byrne will partner Gibson-Park in the half-back positions from the start.

“Ross has played all of our games this year in the Champions Cup so I suppose we’ve adjusted a little bit to life without him (Sexton),” said Gibson-Park.

“He’s been such a big part of Leinster over the last however long it is and he’s an unbelievable player so we miss him massively.

“But I think Ross has done a pretty good job up until this point.”

Ben Kavanagh can still recall being hoisted onto his father’s shoulders as a four-year-old to watch his beloved Halifax play out their final seasons at Thrum Hall.

After a career that started with a Super League stint at Widnes and snaked through Wakefield and Bradford to Hull KR, the Halifax-born prop finally signed for his hometown club in 2019.

Kavanagh’s return coincided with the then second-tier side’s surge to the Challenge Cup semi-finals, including a win over Super League London Broncos, and he featured in their eventual 26-2 defeat by St Helens in Bolton.

On Friday night the 35-year-old will get his second shot at Saints when the reigning world champions head for The Shay for a sixth-round clash that Kavanagh admits will bring back plenty of happy memories.

“I’ve been a Halifax fan ever since I used to go to Thrum Hall with my dad, and even when I was playing for other clubs I’d try to get back back to watch them as often as I could,” Kavanagh told the PA news agency.

“I always said I wanted to finish my career at Halifax so it was a very special moment when I signed for them in 2019. We had a great cup run that year and we shocked ourselves a bit getting to semis and pushing Saints so hard in the first half.

“We’ve spoken about that cup run this week. We are going into the game as massive underdogs but there will be a great home crowd and it just shows that if we chuck a few things at them that they haven’t experienced before, anything could happen.”

Saints were also the opponents when Halifax claimed the latest of their five Challenge Cup wins with a thrilling 19-18 win at Wembley in 1987, 10 months before Kavanagh was born.

The club has put long-term fans like Kavanagh though every conceivable emotion in the summer era, including plunging out of Super League, teetering on the brink of the third tier, and winning a battle against potential liquidation.

Rebranded to their current Panthers in 2020, Halifax have been resurgent in recent seasons, finishing third in the Championship last season and retaining similarly strong play-off hopes in the current campaign.

A dream return to Super League with his home club may realistically come too late for Kavanagh, who also figured in the 2013 World Cup for Scotland, but he is pleased that the turbulence of the last two decades appears to be a thing of the past.

“It took a long time after their relegation from Super League to build things back up but now we’re heading in the right direction, and it’s something that’s back on the horizon,” he added.

“I remember those days at Thrum Hall when there were thousands watching, and it would be great to get back to that sort of atmosphere on a regular basis, starting on Friday night against Saints.”

Halifax are one of four Championship clubs featuring in the last 16 of the competition this weekend. Batley travel to Hull KR while London face York in a game that ensures at least one non-Super League side will reach the quarter-finals.

Frost has delayed the start of the 105th US PGA Championship, the year’s second major, at Oak Hill in Rochester.

Play had been scheduled to get under way at 7am local time (1200 BST), but predictions of an overnight frost proved accurate.

Tournament organisers released a statement early on Thursday morning which read: “Due to frost, all Oak Hill Country Club practice facilities and the golf course are currently closed.

“To protect playing surfaces, everyone on-site must stay off any grass and gates will not open until the frost clears.

“Starting times for round one will begin approximately 1hr and 15 minutes after practice facilities open.”

The possibility of weather delays had been on the cards since the US PGA was moved from August to May in 2019, with Oak Hill having already been selected as this year’s venue.

Speaking on Tuesday, the PGA of America’s chief championships officer Kerry Haigh said: “Wherever the championship is (in May) appears as though it will bring some more variety to the weather than we’re used to having when we played in August.

“There is the possibility of a frost again on Thursday morning. We had a frost Tuesday morning. We had a couple of frosts last week. That may delay the start. Hopefully it won’t. But if it does, we’ll adapt.

“We’ve got the chance of rain on Saturday and hopefully clear on Sunday. That’s sort of the fun of golf. It’s an outdoor game and we can’t wait to see what Mother Nature brings as well.”

Jimmy Butler was labelled as "one of a kind" after he led the Miami Heat to a shock win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The eighth-seeded Heat came into the series as big underdogs, while the Celtics were rated as favourites to claim this year’s NBA championship.

But despite facing a 71-59 deficit early in third quarter, Butler helped Miami to an improbable road 123-116 win.

The Heat scored a franchise playoff-record 46 points in the third quarter and outscored Boston 66-50 in the second half. 

Butler had 35 points and also recorded seven assists, six steals and five rebounds. He now has five games with at least 30 points this postseason and his play has filled his teammates with confidence. 

"When Jimmy's playing like that, we feel like we can play with anybody, beat anybody," Heat guard Gabe Vincent said after the game, per ESPN. 

"We got a couple guys in this locker room like that, but Jimmy's one of a kind."

"It's fun [to play with him], he is one of the best players in the world for a reason," added Kyle Lowry. "It's just a joy to watch it.

"For a guy that wants it so bad and works so hard at his craft, it's important to enjoy his success. He gives us all the confidence to be successful and be aggressive and be assertive.

"That's what makes him special, that it's not all about him. He's about our group and our team and everyone else."

For Butler, who is hoping to lead Miami to the NBA Finals for a second time, the trust he is shown by all areas of the franchise is proving key.

He said: "We know that Coach [Erik Spoelstra] puts so much confidence and belief in each and every one of us. Coach Pat [Riley] as well.

"Our circle is small, but the circle got so much love for one another. We pump constant confidence into everybody. 

"I'm playing at an incredible level because they are allowing me to do so. They are not putting a limit on my game. They are trusting me with the ball and on the defensive end. 

"I think that's what any basketball player wants. That's what anybody wants out of life is just to be wanted, be appreciated and just let you go out there and rock.

"I really feel as though with anything in life, if you get the opportunity and you have the belief that my teammates, my coaches, Coach Pat, ownership have in me to kind of lead the charge, along with Bam [Adebayo] right now, anything is possible.

"We go out there and we hoop and we play basketball the right way, knowing that we've always got a chance.

"We don't care if you pick us to win. We never have. We never will."

Adebayo supported Butler with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Lowry, Vincent, Caleb Martin and Max Strus all scored 15 points each.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points but did not take a shot in the fourth quarter and Boston are now 4-4 at home in the playoffs ahead of Game 2 on Friday.

"I don’t know why," said Tatum. "You’ve still got to play the game, you've got to make plays, regardless of whether you’re home or away."

Marcus Smart, who had 13 points and a game-high 11 assists, added: "The only thing we need to adjust to is picking up our physicality and playing some damn defense.

"They didn't change anything from the first half that they weren't doing, they just upped their physicality and that's it. That's the only thing they switched. 

"There's nothing tactical, X's and O's, it's just come out and guard your yard. They scored 46 in that third, and they got going, and they made us pay, and they led into the fourth quarter."

Dual Breeders’ Cup winner Modern Games tops 13 contenders for Saturday’s Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.

Winner of the Juvenile Turf in 2021 and the Mile last term, Modern Games has also tasted Group One success in France and Canada, but will be shooting for a first British win at the highest level.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained Laurel is one of his main rivals at the Berkshire track, having finished a narrow second in the Sun Chariot last year and opened with an easy Listed verdict on Kempton’s all-weather surface last month.

My Prospero represents William Haggas and he will be having his first run since finishing third in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in the autumn.

Jadoomi finished third on his first attempt at Group One company in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and he returns for Simon and Ed Crisford, while Mutasaabeq arrives on the back of a fine front-running success in the bet365 Mile at Newmarket at the start of the month.

Light Infantry was third in that event for David Simcock and reopposes, as does William Knight’s fourth-placed Checkandchallenge.

Richard Hannon is double-handed with Chindit and Lusail, first and fourth in the Paradise Stakes at Ascot recently.

Berkshire Shadow, Jumby, Triple Time and The Wizard Of Eye complete the line up, with Angel Bleu and Cash the only horses not declared.

Recent history was against Rory McIlroy as he tried to bounce back from his dispiriting performance in the Masters in the 105th US PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

The last seven men’s majors have been won by players in their 20s, a streak beginning with Jon Rahm’s victory in the 2021 US Open and extended by the Spaniard’s triumph at Augusta National last month.

McIlroy, who missed the cut in the Masters after a second round of 77, turned 34 earlier this month and even the prospect of playing a major at a course where he is a member has seemingly done little to raise his spirits.

“It’s not as if I have a ton of local knowledge here compared to everyone else,” said McIlroy, whose wife Erica is from Rochester.

“The last two days are the most I’ve really seen of this golf course over the last couple of years.”

McIlroy was due to be among the early starters on Thursday alongside defending champion Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa, with many of the pre-tournament favourites getting their campaigns under way from the 10th.

Jordan Spieth, who needs to win the US PGA to complete a career grand slam, looked set to overcome a wrist injury to compete at Oak Hill, where Jason Dufner won his sole major title in 2013.

“It’s not fun if you don’t think you’ve got a chance to win,” Spieth said after a nine-hole practice round on Wednesday.

“(But) if I felt like I was limited in a way that would affect my chances then there’d be no reason for me to feel like playing, because then I could further damage it and that’s not worth it.”

Architect Andrew Green has overseen an extensive renovation of the East Course since it last hosted the US PGA in 2013, with the aim being to better reflect the original Donald Ross design. All of the greens and bunkers have been rebuilt and hundreds of trees removed. The old sixth hole has been replaced by a shorter par three which now slots in as the fifth, with the fifth becoming the sixth hole on the card and lengthened to 504 yards. The par-three 15th also has an entirely different green that has been repositioned and is no longer guarded by a pond.

1300 – Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Gary Woodland
1311 – Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa
1322 – Shane Lowry, Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland
1333 – Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm

Widespread frost is likely on Thursday morning before temperatures begin to moderate during the afternoon with highs reaching the mid-60s. Much warmer temperatures can be expected on Friday ahead of an approaching cold front and upper-level low pressure system that will move through the region on Saturday.

Scientists are hoping to move a step closer to cracking the concussion code for female athletes before the end of the year.

Marker Diagnostics has developed a tool which can identify the “unique signature” for concussion in a male player’s saliva.

In 2021, a University of Birmingham study found the tool was able to accurately predict the outcome of 94 per cent of head injury assessments (HIAs) conducted on elite male rugby players.

Marker researchers are now working to establish whether the same test can also accurately and objectively diagnose concussion in female players, or if a female-specific test is required.

Testing has been going on in the English women’s top flight since 2018, at the Women’s World Cup and the Farah Palmer Cup in New Zealand last year and at the TikTok Six Nations last year and this year.

The study, jointly funded by World Rugby and Marker, is set to continue in the English elite game and in this summer’s Farah Palmer Cup, and potentially in other women’s competitions where HIAs are conducted.

All players who consent to participate are given a ‘baseline’ saliva swab and fill out a health questionnaire prior to competing. They are then retested if they undergo an HIA at any point during competition.

These tests are taken at each stage of the HIA – immediately after an impact during a match, immediately after the match and between 36 and 48 hours after the match.

Patrick O’Halloran, a senior medical adviser at Marker, told the PA news agency: “We’ve seen differences between men and women at baseline, the thing we should be able to uncover by the end of this year will be whether concussion expression is different in women or is it just diagnosed differently, and what happens after that concussion.

“It could be ‘OK, men and women look a bit different on the basis of these markers, but actually those differences are proportional and after a concussion, the test is still positive when we expect it to be.

“Or actually it could be that you need a different panel of biomarkers in women altogether.”

Asked why this study is so important, O’Halloran added: “This is a group of athletes playing at a unique time, when women’s sport is really exploding in terms of its popularity.

“The opportunities for women’s sports at the moment are really, really huge. Unfortunately, at the same time, there isn’t the same resource in women’s sport as there is in men’s. But women still get concussed.

“Medics in women’s sports still have that challenge of trying to objectively diagnose concussion in female athletes. So putting something in place that can bridge that gap in resource is going to be really powerful as women’s sport continues to expand and develop.

“This is providing additional information, unique information that wasn’t available before to make players safer.

“That’s what everyone wants – players, players’ representatives, coaches want more clarity and objectivity, and what leagues want is a more consistent standard of care and a consistency and objectivity to that too.

“What we’re looking for is that signature that is unique to concussion to enable medically informed treatment.”

Published research suggests female athletes suffer a higher rate of concussion, which may be accompanied by a wider range of more severe and prolonged symptoms compared to their male counterparts.

Dr Valentina Di Pietro, from the University of Birmingham, said: “Concussion can be difficult to diagnose, particularly in settings such as grassroots sports where evaluation by a specialist clinician is not possible.

“Consequently, some concussions may go undiagnosed. A non-invasive and accurate diagnostic test using saliva is a real game-changer and will provide an invaluable tool to help doctors diagnose concussions more consistently and accurately.”

British rider Tao Geoghegan Hart suffered a hip fracture and will need surgery after being involved in a crash during stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia.

The Ineos Grenadiers racer, the 2020 champion, was involved in a multi-bike accident in wet conditions on a downhill descent with around 70km of the race’s longest leg remaining.

Geoghegan Hart, who sat third in the overall standings, was pictured being loaded into an ambulance after receiving roadside treatment.

After being taken to hospital for more examinations, the Ineos Grenadiers team confirmed Geoghegan Hart was set for an extended spell of recovery.

“Immediately following his involvement in a crash during today’s Stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia, Tao Geoghegan Hart was transported to a local hospital in Genoa,” an Ineos Grenadiers statement said.

“After further assessment, imaging confirmed that Tao had sustained a fracture of the left hip which will require surgery.

“Tao, the thoughts and best wishes of all your fellow Grenadiers are with you tonight. We wish you a speedy recovery and know you have what it takes to come back even stronger!”

Team-mate and overall race leader Geraint Thomas was also involved in the incident, but was able to continue along with nearest challenger Primoz Roglic.

Thomas said after the race: “As usual we were jostling for position, a UAE guy crashed next to me. I don’t know exactly who was taken out after me.

“We were pretty much on the same spot. Unfortunately Tao is badly injured. It’s obviously a big loss.

“He was going very well. He was in a really great position and it’s very unfortunate to lose him this way.”

Thomas retained the pink jersey for overall race leader with a two-second lead over Jumbo-Visma’s Roglic.

Pascal Ackermann, riding for UAE Team Emirates, claimed the stage 11 victory after triumphing courtesy of a photo finish in Tortona, crossing the line just ahead of Jonathan Milan.

This year’s race has been beset with problems as poor weather has been accompanied by a coronavirus outbreak, which has now seen 13 riders withdraw.

Soudal Quick-Step riders Jan Hirt, Josef Cerny, Louis Vervaeke and Mattia Cattaneo were the latest to pull out on Wednesday.