Louis Rees-Zammit says his American Football dream is “alive” after starting out on the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) following his switch from rugby union.

The Gloucester, Wales and British and Irish Lions wing stunned the world of rugby last month by quitting the sport in an attempt to secure a contract with an NFL team in 2024.

Rees-Zammit has joined the NFL’s intensive 10-week IPP programme in Florida, where he has been training as a wide receiver while also doing some running back drills.

“There’s a lot of transferable skills over from rugby,” Rees-Zammit, 23, told BBC Wales’ Scrum V programme.

“I’m absolutely loving training. My pursuit to be in the NFL is alive and I’m excited to see what the next 10 weeks holds.

“It’s tough to get your head around it a little bit at the start but, as with everything, you get used to it.

“The vision out of the sides (of the helmet) kind of effects things. But I’m getting used to it now and I’ll see what happens.”

Rees-Zammit says 10 international players have joined the IPP, with a pro day held at the end of the programme to determine whether individuals are good enough to make the NFL grade.

He said: “You basically come here and work the game of football on and off the field, in the classroom and training six days a week.

“Ten weeks of intense training to see if your dream becomes a reality.

“It was the hardest decision of my life (to leave rugby), but it was always something I wanted to do, since a young age, and I thought it was the right time.

“If it works out, I have 10 years to try to play the sport I have loved growing up watching or I can come back to rugby and play the sport I love playing.”

Wales have lost their opening two Guinness Six Nations games in Rees-Zammit’s absence, narrow 27-26 and 16-14 defeats to Scotland and England respectively.

“I was jealous of the boys playing and it was in my mind that I was pretty gutted I did not play,” Rees-Zammit said of Wales’ defeat at Twickenham on Saturday.

“The boys put a shift in and just managed to lose, which was tough. They gave it their all.

“Gats (Warren Gatland, Wales head coach) was unbelievable with me when I told him of my decision.

“He asked if it (American Football) did not work what I would be doing and I said obviously I would be coming back to rugby.”

Big-money buys Imagine and Mollys Mango could both head to the Cheltenham Festival having been picked up by Harry Derham at the Andy and Gemma Brown dispersal last week.

Over €5million was spent across 29 lots offered by Tattersalls Ireland, with Derham’s former boss Paul Nicholls set to train the top lot Caldwell Potter and Gordon Elliott pulling out all the stops to retain the next four highest-earning offerings at his Cullentra House base.

However, there was a statement of intent by Derham and owner Ian Barratt to bring the hammer down at lofty six-figure fees for Imagine and Mollys Mango, who have both impressed this term.

Imagine – who was sent off favourite for the Martin Pipe at last year’s Cheltenham Festival – created a taking impression in his first two chasing starts for Elliott, including winning the Grade Two Craddockstown Novice Chase in November, before a below-par effort back at Punchestown.

It took €320,000 to bring Imagine back to Berkshire, while Mollys Mango commanded €170,000 having won two of her three starts over hurdles, romping to a 17-length success at Fairyhouse on New Year’s Day.

“They are two very nice horses bought for Ian Barratt, who is a very nice man and also a relatively new owner to me,” said Derham.

“If they are both OK, they will both run at Cheltenham – Molly in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle and Imagine in the Golden Miller (Turners Novices’ Chase).

“They have to be OK and Ian and his family know it’s quite an interesting time to buy a horse and there isn’t that long to Cheltenham, so if they are OK, then they will run.

“But we know the more we get to know them, and my team get to know them and they get time in a new regime, then they will obviously be better.”

In just his second season with a trainer’s license, the acquisitions add a touch of quality to Derham’s ever-expanding string, with the young handler already closing in on a half-century of winners.

He added: “It’s obviously nice to get two very smart horses like that. It’s never nice in those circumstances, where you are taking them from another trainer, but they were there for sale and are two to look forward to.

“Monday’s sales results show how serious the owner is and they are two nice horses, but as I said to my team, it’s irrelevant and it doesn’t matter how much they cost, once they are in the yard, they will get the same care as everybody else.

“It’s lovely to get horses of that quality into the yard and hopefully we get some luck.”

If both Imagine and Mollys Mango make it to the Cheltenham Festival, they will take their place on a small but select Prestbury Park team Derham is assembling, as he tries to add success in the training ranks to the victory he enjoyed at the Festival aboard Salubrious during his time as a jockey.

The current ace in the trainer’s Cheltenham pack is unbeaten hurdler Queens Gamble, who Derham feels has more in her locker and is as short as 10-1 with Paddy Power for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

“Queens Gamble will run in the Mares’ Novices’ and that has been the plan all season,” said Derham.

“I’m very excited about her and it’s a really good race but I believe there is plenty more to come from her.

“If I think my horses have realistic prospects of running nice races, then I will get involved, but I’m not really into going for a day out.”

The Kansas City Chiefs were crowned back-to-back Super Bowl champions after a 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the best images from the showpiece event.

Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley is taking the challenge of filling Johnny Sexton’s shoes in his stride and “could go far”, according to team-mate James Lowe.

Test rookie Crowley marked his maiden Guinness Six Nations appearance in Dublin with the first senior try of his career to set the defending champions on course for a crushing 36-0 win over Italy.

The 24-year-old, who has never touched down in 45 provincial outings for Munster, was elevated to first-choice number 10 after long-serving talisman Sexton retired following the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Leinster wing Lowe also starred on Sunday afternoon – claiming the fifth of Ireland’s six tries before being named man of the match – and has been impressed with Crowley’s early impact.

“He’s got a lot of pressure on him, there have been some world-class 10s come before him,” he said.

“He’s taken it in his stride, bossing it around week to week.

“He hasn’t quite got that Sexton aura about him. He hasn’t got the stare down yet. He’s awesome, he growing into it.

“He slotted into 15 (after full-back Hugo Keenan was injured) as well, fair play to him, he’s a young man with a good head on his shoulders and he could go far.”

Crowley, who has 11 caps, made his full championship debut in Ireland’s statement 38-17 round-one win in France.

For the second successive week, he shrugged off some nervy kicks to produce an assured performance.

Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey – one of six players brought into Andy Farrell’s starting XV following success in Marseille – echoed Lowe’s praise of Crowley.

“He’s good, isn’t he? He’s went really well the last couple of games,” said McCloskey.

“He’s obviously still learning, he’s a young guy but some of his touches, the way he takes the ball to the line, the way he offloads is something slightly different to what Johnny brought – not that Johnny wasn’t incredible, but it’s a slightly different way of playing.

“Obviously he’s had a couple of mistakes in there and bits and pieces to work on, but you’re going to get that with someone who is 24 years old.

“I thought he was very good and very good last week as well.”

Dan Sheehan’s double and further scores from Jack Conan and Calvin Nash ensured Ireland go into a fallow weekend at the top of the table with maximum points.

Farrell’s side host Wales on February 24 before taking on England and Scotland next month.

“We’d a fair few changes this week and boys who came into the group really put their hands up and showed why they are internationals,” added Lowe.

“We are happy with where we are sitting, it’s a pretty good position to be in.”

Fernando Alonso believes he is an “attractive” candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes – but has denied holding talks with the Silver Arrows.

Hamilton, 39, is entering his final season with the team which carried him to six of his seven world championships after agreeing a shock move to Ferrari in 2025.

Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes will create a vacancy alongside George Russell, while Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team are also due to have a seat available with Sergio Perez’s contract expiring at the end of the season.

Alonso’s two-season deal with Aston Martin is up for renewal in 2025. It is understood the British team are keen to retain the double world champion’s services.

“I am aware of my situation which is very unique,” said Alonso, who won back-to-back world championships with Renault in 2004 and 2005.

“There are only three world champions on the grid and I am the only one available for 2025, so I am in a good position.

“On a move to Mercedes, there has been nothing at all. I know the driver market has started earlier this year, but this will not affect me in terms of preparing for the season.

“If I want to keep racing beyond this year, the first and only talk at the beginning will be Aston Martin. I trust this project and that will be my first priority.

“But if we cannot reach an agreement I know that I am attractive to other teams. I will not stay in Formula One just to have fun. I am not that kind of person and not that kind of driver. Let’s see what the options are.”

Commenting on Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, Alonso, who drove for the Italian team between 2010 and 2014 but fell short of winning the title, added: “It was a surprise, I will not lie, not because the change itself but from the outside it seemed like he was very linked to Mercedes and very loyal to Mercedes.

“Ferrari is a special team but it is more special when you win. Maybe Lewis can bring that extra fight for the championship because the car is there.”

Alonso finished fourth in last year’s drivers’ championship as his Aston Martin transformed from also-rans to frontrunners.

Alonso scored six podiums in the opening eight rounds and might have ended his 10-year wait for victory had his team’s strategy been more on point at the rain-hit Monaco Grand Prix.

The Silverstone-based team’s form fell away in the second half of the year but Alonso continued to out-perform his machinery, taking further podiums in the Netherlands and Brazil.

He ended the year 132 points and six places ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll – son of the team’s fashion billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll – and was voted third, behind Max Verstappen and Hamilton, by his fellow drivers and finished runner-up to Verstappen in a poll of the grid’s team bosses.

Alonso, 43, in July will this season become the first driver to take part in 400 grands prix and the evergreen Spaniard raised the prospect of competing deep into his forties.

He added: “A few years ago I would say 41 or 42 is the limit, but after last year I saw I was motivated, performing well, and I was thinking I could race a few more years.

“Now, this winter, I have exceeded expectations in terms of the physical tests, so if I am motivated and ready to commit, I can race until 48, 49 or maybe even 50.”

Pre-season testing starts in Bahrain a week on Wednesday ahead of the first race, also in the Gulf Kingdom, on March 2.

Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce dedicated their Super Bowl comeback win to head coach Andy Reid after earlier barging into the 65-year-old and shouting in his face.

Kelce, whose high-profile relationship with pop star Taylor Swift meant there was even greater focus on him and the game, was unhappy about not being on the field in the first quarter when Isiah Pacheco fumbled the ball with the Chiefs eight yards out and looking for their first touchdown.

Reid was knocked off balance but made little of the incident and, when Patrick Mahomes threw the match-winning touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman Jr to secure a 25-22 overtime win, all was forgotten.

“Oh you guys saw that?” Kelce told CBS when asked about it immediately after the game.

“I’m going to keep that between us unless my mic’d up tells the world but I was just telling him how much I love him.”

Speaking on ESPN SportsCenter Kelce, who shared a kiss on the pitch with Swift after she flew in from her Eras Tour show in Tokyo the day before, added: “Man, I was fired up — I was fired up that we weren’t hitting on all cylinders.

“I had to give ‘Big Red’ a love tap and let him know that we were all here fighting for him no matter what. I just had to tell him I loved him real quick.

“I put so much trust in him and how he goes about being a head coach, as a leader — he’s one of the best leaders in the game.

“I can’t thank him enough for giving me opportunities year in, year out. This third one, this second one back-to-back, this one’s for him, no doubt.”

Talking to reporters Kelce added: “I’ve got the greatest coach this game has ever seen.

“He’s helped me a lot with channelling that emotion, channelling that passion and I owe my entire career to that guy and being able to control how emotional I get. I just love him.”

The experienced Reid, who won his third Super Bowl title, played down the incident telling ESPN: “He came over and gave me a hug, said ‘Sorry about that”.

He just wants to be on the field and he wants to play. There’s nobody I get better than I get him. He’s a competitive kid, and he loves to play. He makes me feel young.”

In his post-match press conference the head coach added: “He caught me off-balance – he tested that hip out. Normally I get him a little bit but I didn’t have any feet under me.

“As much as he bumps into me, I get after him. We understand that. He just caught me off balance.”

Three-time Olympic champion Adam Peaty qualified fastest for the 100 metres breaststroke final at the World Championships in Doha.

Peaty, who was absent from the championships in 2022 with a foot injury and also missed out last year after stepping away from the sport to prioritise his mental health, clocked a time of 58.60 seconds to reach Monday’s final.

“I feel good,” the 29-year-old said.

“My objective for this meet was to progress through the rounds, progress physically and in results, but also progress mentally and see what strategies are working, what isn’t working.

“It’s more of a test event for us, but obviously we’re going to put our best foot forward and put a good fight on.

“After the heats I was like, ‘OK, I know what I’m working with and I know what I’m capable of’.

“But tonight was just about going out there, showing a little bit of Adam Peaty, getting a little bit angry with myself like I normally do. Tonight I showed that I can still get it down that back end when I really need to.”

Great Britain’s men finished fourth in the final of the 4x100m freestyle relay behind China, Italy and the United States, but the quartet of Jacob Whittle, Tom Dean, Duncan Scott and Matt Richards qualified for an Olympic quota spot with their performance in the heats.

The wind of change swept through Super League last season as St Helens saw their four-year status as domestic top dogs brought to an end by Matt Peet’s resurgent Wigan and “reimagination” became the buzzword on everybody’s lips.

If Saints’ memorable World Club Challenge win over Penrith that kicked off the 2023 campaign did not exactly explode the sport’s established order, it certainly helped tilt its axis slightly more in the direction of the northern hemisphere.

The beginning of the sport’s long-term ‘strategic partnership’ with IMG, along with recent announcements of ground-breaking new broadcast deals with Sky and the BBC, has also fostered a real mood of optimism ahead of the 2024 campaign, which kicks off with the Hull derby at the MKM Stadium on Thursday night.

Yet the more things change, the more they stay the same. Saints and Wigan, the two giants from the west end of the so-called M62 corridor, appear more likely than ever to be wrestling for the top spot at the end of the season, underscoring their dominance of the domestic game.

At the other end of the table, London Broncos face the farcical situation of knowing their fate – relegation – before the first ball has been booted, an unfortunate consequence of the very IMG grading system that has been set up to support aspiring clubs from beyond the traditional heartlands.

They are timely reminders that it will take more than a magic wand to re-think the scope of a sport that even the biggest cynics of its partnership with IMG acknowledge requires radical change if it is to continue to thrive into future generations.

The upcoming season begins with plenty of tantalising talking points on the pitch, led by the strength of Saints’ response to being knocked off their perch as they prepare to start life without the talismanic James Roby.

Peet’s Wigan were clearly the best team in 2023 and they are arguably in even better shape for the defence of their trophy, having landed ex-Leeds Rhinos pair Kruise Leeming and Sam Walters as well as centre Adam Keighran from Catalans Dragons.

Their duel threatens to leave the others trailing, with last year’s Grand Final runners-up Catalans – shorn of their own talisman in Sam Tomkins following retirement – looking a little short of mustering a repeat performance in the south of France.

Leeds Rhinos are certainly heading the right direction, writing the biggest headline in the off-season with the signing of Salford’s former Man of Steel Brodie Croft, and while another play-off failure is unthinkable, Rohan Smith’s men require more time before they can truly be classed as contenders again.

Sam Burgess brings a mountain of unknowns into his first head coach role at Warrington, while plenty of questions can also be asked about the ability of Hull KR to build on their promising 2023 season in light of the unexpected exits of Jordan Abdull and assistant coach Danny McGuire.

Adrian Lam’s Leigh, more or less intact from their stunning first season back in the top flight, stand as good a chance as anyone else of muscling in on an end of season play-off berth, while Hull, Huddersfield and the post-Croft Salford can only realistically eye improvement.

Castleford hope the appointment of Craig Lingard, after so many seasons beating the odds at Championship Batley, can help them exceed pretty low-key expectations that have them simply holding off hapless London for 11th spot.

The Broncos, unfortunately, find themselves reduced to being collateral damage in the quest for change – dumped in a vicious circle that leaves them understandably reluctant to invest to give themselves a shot when they know that shot has already effectively been fired.

At the end of this coming campaign, irrespective of where they finish, and barring only an unlikely announcement of wholesale restructuring for 2025, London will be relegated, and replaced by the second-tier club that ticks the most boxes on the IMG scoresheet.

It is a bitter blow for a club that fought so brilliantly to win back-to-back play-off games against Featherstone and Toulouse, and one from which it begs the question whether rugby league in the capital will ever recover.

The Broncos plight serves as a timely reminder that for all the justifiable optimism and shared excitement in an IMG-driven future, there is an awful long way to go before rugby league can truly be said to have snared an expansive new audience.

Forget the M62 corridor, for all the talk of “reimagination” and expansion, the 2025 Super League season looks set to be played out within a contracted area of its traditional heartland: between the two giants straddling either end of the eight-mile long A571.

Daryl Clark is under no illusions about the size of the boots he has to fill as he prepares to pull on St Helens’ famous number nine shirt for the first time in Betfred Super League action this week.

The 31-year-old hooker ended his decade-long stay with Warrington at the end of last season to step into the role vacated by James Roby, who retired after 19 trophy-laden years, with 551 appearances to his name.

Having assumed a role on the coaching staff, Roby’s presence continues to loom large at the Totally Wicked Stadium, but Clark is convinced his best route to emulating even a fraction of his predecessor’s success lies in making the position his own.

Clark told the PA news agency: “I knew the challenge when I signed up for it.

“I know I’m not going to be at this club as long and I’m not going to achieve as much as Robes has done at this club, but hopefully I’ll be part of some success and write my own little part of history.

“I have already spoken to Robes and I’m sure he will be there to give me some tips and advice going forward. But it is important that I am judged by my own performances and not against his.”

Clark’s ambition was echoed by Saints head coach Paul Wellens, who ear-marked him as the man to replace Roby as soon as the stalwart confirmed the 2023 season would be his last, but insisted he had never envisaged a like-for-like replacement.

“If Daryl goes out there to be the best version of himself, he will improve our team,” insisted Wellens.

“I need to be clear on this – it would be absolutely ridiculous of Daryl to go out there and try to be James Roby.

“In James Roby, he’s got someone there to have a chat or give guidance and that’s absolutely fine.

“But he’s also an experienced player in his own right, who knows what the game looks like at the highest level, so I told him to ‘just go out there and be you’ and that’s what I think the players and certainly I will respect.”

Having come through the ranks with his home-town club Castleford, Clark experienced five straight final losses – three in the Challenge Cup and twice in Grand Finals – before finally striking it sixth time lucky, ironically against Saints, at Wembley in 2019.

A recipient of the prestigious Super League Man of Steel in his final season Wheldon Road, he is relishing the task of helping Saints reclaim the trophy-winning status they lost to Lancashire rivals Wigan at the end of last season.

“The general feeling is that we’d been champions for so long and to get knocked off last year put us back chasing – and I think that could be a good thing,” he added.

“The main reason I came to Saints at this point in my career is because I wanted to be involved in the big games and win some silverware and that is what I have every intention of doing in the future.”

Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes has labelled Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid the “best of all time” and said he will be back to attempt a Super Bowl three-peat next year.

Mahomes led his team to a 25-22 victory in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, collecting his third ring, after he threw the match-winning touchdown to Mecole Hardman Jr in overtime.

After the game he thanked his coach who he said “knows when to call those plays at the right time”.

Mahomes said: “He’s one of the best coaches of all time, I believe he is the best coach of all time.

“I know he didn’t have the trophies yet, and I have a lot of respect for some of those great coaches, but the way he is able to navigate every single team he has, continue to have success no matter where he is at.

“For me, he brings out the best in me because he lets me be me. He doesn’t try to make me anyone else, I don’t think I would be the quarterback that I am if I didn’t have coach Reid being my head coach.”

Mahomes said he will celebrate and then “do whatever I can to be back in this game next year”.

“I think Tom (Brady) said it best, once you win that championship and you have those parades and you get those rings, you’re not the champ anymore.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said going back-to-back was “surreal”.

“I got asked so many times it is a dynasty? I don’t know what a dynasty is,” he said.

“But it’s a great win because I know hard it is to do, and then how hard the season was, the ups and downs of the season, and how proud I am of the guys for hanging with each other, staying positive with each other.

“They’re passionate players and I love that.”

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said the team is “hurting”.

“If I am going to lose with a group of guys, I’d do it with those guys anytime and we’ll take some time, we’ll get over this and come back next year ready to go.

“That was the toughest defence we have been against this year, we knew it going into the game, that is a good group. We had our chances and needed to score a couple of touchdowns and we didn’t but I was happy with (quarterback) Brock (Purdy).”

Jayson Tatum just missed a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the Boston Celtics held off a late comeback attempt by the Miami Heat in Sunday's 110-106 victory that extended their winning streak to four games.

Kristaps Porzingis added 25 points and nine rebounds to help Boston defeat Miami for the third time in as many meetings this season. The Heat ousted the Celtics in seven games in last season's Eastern Conference finals.

Miami had a two-game winning streak snapped and was playing without leading scorer Jimmy Butler, who is away from the team due to the death of a family member. The Heat also lost starting guard Terry Rozier to a knee injury in the third quarter.

Porzingis had 16 first-half points as Boston took a 59-50 lead into the break, and the Celtics were up by as many as 15 points in the third quarter and owned a seemingly comfortable 94-82 advantage with 9 1/2 minutes left to play.

The Heat then went on a 10-2 run to get back in it, however, and later cut their deficit to two when Tyler Herro drilled a 3-pointer with 1:49 remaining that trimmed Boston's lead to 106-104.

Miami came up empty on its next two possessions, though, and Porzingis and Tatum combined to go 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the late stages to put the game away.

Herro scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half to lead the Heat, who also received 22 points and 13 rebounds from Bam Adebayo.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams carry Thunder past Kings

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 38 points and Jalen Williams chipped in 32 as the Oklahoma City Thunder got back on track with a 127-113 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Both players had hot shooting performances to help the Thunder bounce back from consecutive road losses to Utah and Dallas and move a half-game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for first place in the Western Conference.  Gilgeous-Alexander finished 15 of 26 from the field while adding seven assists, while Williams was 13 of 20 to go along with nine rebounds.

The duo also recorded 19 first-half points each, with Williams producing eight during a 12-0 run that turned a tied game into a 41-29 Oklahoma City lead four minutes into the second quarter.

Oklahoma City took a 67-57 advantage into half-time before pulling away further in the third quarter, building a lead as large as 24 points.

Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis recorded 21 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists for his 17th triple-double of the season, two more than Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić for the NBA lead. 

Malik Monk had 26 points off the bench for the Kings, who have now lost three of their last four games. De'Aaron Fox finished with 15 points but was held to 6-of-17 shooting.