Dan Biggar says there is “tons of excitement” in the camp as Wales prepare to launch their World Cup campaign.
Wales have been largely written off on the back of a dismal Six Nations tournament last season and a record that shows just three wins in 13 Tests.
But their World Cup statistics under head coach Warren Gatland are impressive, having reached semi-finals in 2011 and 2019, while they were 2015 quarter-finalists.
Their group is also far from straightforward, with England’s recent Twickenham conquerors Fiji awaiting Wales in Bordeaux on Sunday, while the pool also features Australia and Georgia.
“We know that there is pressure, but also we know that there are probably a lot of people out there writing us off as well and probably thinking there is not a huge amount of chance for us to go deep in the tournament,” Wales fly-half Biggar said.
“And for us, it is great that we can just shut ourselves off from everything outside our bubble and just concentrate on working hard, training hard, preparing as well as we can and putting in as good performances as we can.
“We’ve got a few boys who were rested and recovered from a few little niggles and tweaks, and we have got pretty much a full squad to choose from, not far off.
“So we are in a good place and there is tons of excitement. I think as soon as we arrived here, the levels of excitement just went through the roof.
“We are just really looking forward to this tournament starting. We have trained so hard, we’ve spoken so much about it, we’ve seen so much written about it and spoken about it.
“Things like this are so special, and there is plenty of confidence in the group.”
Biggar’s third World Cup will be his final one after he recently announced that he would be retiring from Test rugby after the tournament.
And he remains an integral part of Gatland’s plans, offering vast experience through a 109-cap international career.
“It was just important for me to be able to call time on my own terms, and more importantly, that the team can just concentrate on the rugby and performing and training and getting on with our business,” he added.
“The reason it (retirement announcement) was done before the tournament was because I didn’t want anything to be a distraction for the team.
“Obviously, next Sunday is a massive game for both sides, but I think everything we do between now – and everything we have done for the last few weeks, really – has been geared to something.
“I am just looking forward to really enjoying my last tournament.
“I’ve tried to just enjoy it as much with the lads as possible, and it does feel strange because it has been such a big part of my life for so long.”
Gatland is due to name his team for the Fiji clash on Friday, with the squad currently preparing at their base in Versailles, where day-time temperatures are more than 30 degrees.
The heat factor will then ramp up in Bordeaux, with 35 degrees forecast for later this week and 28 degrees when Wales and Fiji meet, even though the game kicks off at 2100 local time.
Officials in Hungary have described Frankie Dettori’s appearance at Kincsem Park at the weekend as a “dream come true” after the Italian stole the show with a big-race double.
Dettori’s visit to Budapest was a somewhat unexpected stop on his farewell tour, but he proved a hit with his Hungarian fans as a bumper crowd flocked to the capital and were treated to not only the 52-year-old in winning action but his famous flying dismount celebration.
It was the first time British raiders had graced the Hungarian track during one of its feature weekends, and owner Fitri Hay’s support of the Autumn International Meeting was rewarded by winning both of the day’s features thanks to the assistance of the retiring weighing-room great.
After winning a local Group Two aboard Ian Williams’ Silent Film, Dettori then linked up Paul and Oliver Cole’s Splendent in the feature Kincsem Stakes – a result which delighted the hosts.
“It could not have gone any better and was a real success,” said Botond Kovacs, international liaisons officer at Kincsem Park.
“The Hays are absolutely marvellous people and they of course were delighted with the outcome of the races and also with our hospitality. I am trying to sound modest but we really did our best and of course Frankie was happy.
“He did not win on the four Hungarian horses he rode, but this is racing, and I do hope it is not the last time we host English-trained horses in Budapest.
“Of course we are looking forward to hosting Frankie when he has retired, we will welcome him with open arms at any time.
“The Hays and the four trainers from England were absolutely fantastic. Even the veteran trainer Paul Cole showed up and that was a real privilege for us. He is a real great name in racing and his family are wonderful people.”
Not only did Dettori delight his adoring Hungarian supporters by showcasing his famed talent in the saddle, he also got up close and personal with the locals as the queue for souvenir photographs stretched far across the grandstands.
Kovacs added: “People were enjoying it and Frankie was being stopped every single second.
“It’s different for a superstar to appear in a country he has never been rather than France, Ireland and England and everyone wanted their selfie with Frankie.
“He really is a superstar and was great, he was never fed up and smiling all the time – he is a great person and racing needs people like Frankie.
“The next task for racing is to try to come up with a person who equals Frankie. Frankie is the brand of horse racing.”
Officials hope the visit of Dettori and horses from Britain will help boost the profile of horse racing in Hungary and anticipate welcoming further runners from overseas in the future.
“It was a dream come true and I am really over the moon. It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Kovacs.
“We will have a meeting soon with the management of Kincsem Park to draw some conclusions and see where we can improve, but it really was a historic day for Hungarian racing.
“Horse racing is owned by the government and the minister of defence is in charge. He is a great man and loves his racing – he is a fanatic.
“In the last decade it is no secret there has been probably more downs than ups in Hungarian racing but now there is good prospects and we are really really happy.
“We would like to do our best to lift Hungarian racing to the standards we once had. Hungarian racing is almost 200 years old and we are still here after two world wars and every other type of hardship.”
Believing and Mill Stream have been supplemented to take on Shaquille in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday.
A total of 23 speedsters are in contention for the six-furlong Group One, with the Julie Camacho-trained Shaquille very much the star attraction as he looks to add to his previous top-level wins this summer in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and the July Cup at Newmarket.
The George Boughey-trained Believing and Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Mill Stream are two interesting contenders after their respective connections paid the £20,000 required to add them to the field.
Believing has won two Listed races and a Group Three this season and is one of two potential runners for the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing team along with Karl Burke’s Spycatcher, who was beaten a short head by King Gold in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville last month.
However, the latter appears unlikely to make the trip to Merseyside.
Harry Herbert, Highclere’s managing director, said: “Believing was impressive winning last time and the way she has been since leads George to think she’s improving rapidly.
“Certainly looking at her physically that is exactly what she’s doing, so we looked at all the options for her and felt this was an opportunity to have a crack at a Group One race.
“With ground conditions quickening up it’s possible the field will reduce, but it’s more the way she’s coming into the race and the opinion the trainer has of her.
“She’s very smart and with a filly like this that’s improving, the shareholders were keen to give it a go and it’s very exciting.”
Of Spycatcher, Herbert added: “He’s in great form the horse, but we definitely wouldn’t risk him on quick ground.
“This has been the target for a while now, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll run looking at the forecast. You never know, if a thunderstorm hits or something happens before declaration time then we may reconsider, but we need to protect him.
“He’s in at Ascot on Champions Day and we’ve got to be patient. He’s a wonderful horse who is improving all the time, but at this stage I’d say we’d struggle to run him on Saturday unless something out of the ordinary happened with regards to the weather forecast.”
Mill Stream won a Listed race and a Group Three at the French track in August and fully merits his place in Group One company.
“Mill Stream has come out of his Deauville race in good order, so we have decided to take the opportunity to run him again while he is good form as there are no other options for him until Champions Day,” said Chapple-Hyam.
Ralph Beckett has left in both Kinross and Lezoo after on Sunday suggesting he is likely to rely upon the latter, while Aidan O’Brien could saddle one or both of Aesop’s Fables and The Antarctic.
Other hopefuls include Ed Bethell’s Regional, the William Haggas-trained Sacred and July Cup runner-up Run To Freedom from Henry Candy’s yard.
Ancient Rome could be set for further adventures overseas having scooped almost £1million when victorious at Kentucky Downs on Saturday.
A four-time winner and fourth behind Modern Games in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains when trained in France by Andre Fabre, the son of War Front is two from two since switched to Charlie Hills for new owner Fitri Hay.
His class came to the fore when landing the Chesterfield Cup at the Qatar Goodwood Festival and he further advertised his qualities when making a successful raid on the Grade Three Mint Millions Stakes.
“It was fantastic and he’s done very little wrong since he has joined us,” said Hills.
“He’s got his good form back again and he had such good form as a two-and three-year-old. He seems to be enjoying himself and travelled over there great.
“It’s great when you have a horse who you know can travel well and it hopefully gives us a few nice races to go for in the future.”
Ancient Rome could now go in search of further riches Stateside, with international outings in both France and Bahrain also possibly on the agenda.
Hills continued: “You have to give full credit to Fitri Hay and her team for finding that race over there and he’s Kentucky-bred so it made sense with that amount of prize-money for a Grade Three to go for it.
“We’ve had a brief chat this morning and we really need to get him home first, but there should be some nice races to go for.
“We could look at the Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland or we could go to France for the Prix Dollar and maybe the Bahrain Trophy a little bit later on.
“I’m sure he will get a bit further as well. I don’t see a mile and a quarter being a problem and he’s a really exciting horse to have in the yard, it’s great.”
Michael Dods will target Qipco British Champions Day with his star filly Azure Blue after ruling her out of a potential outing this weekend.
The four-year-old made a flying start to her campaign, with a comeback victory in Listed company at Newmarket followed by a narrow defeat of Highfield Princess in the Duke of York Stakes.
She was sixth when stepped up to Group One level for the July Cup and subsequently missed an intended tilt at the Nunthorpe at York after suffering a minor foot problem.
Azure Blue could have returned this weekend in either Saturday’s Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock or the Flying Five at the Curragh on Sunday, but Dods has again had to put plans on hold.
“We’ve had a bit of an issue. She seems all right now, but we just didn’t think she’d be ready,” said the Darlington-based trainer.
“She had the foot problem before York and then she had a bit of an ulcer problem and we just had to deal with it.
“We’re happy enough with her, she just wouldn’t have been ready to run this weekend.”
Azure Blue will now either contest the British Champions Sprint on October 21 or be roughed off until next season.
Dods added: “If we didn’t have her for Ascot we probably wouldn’t be bothering, I’d probably leave her and have her ready for the start of next season. That would be the plan.
“It’s disappointing, but there’s always another day and we’ll just have to wait until we see her at 100 per cent.”
Europe captain Luke Donald admitted he had been “blown away” by the ability of Ludvig Aberg after handing the rising star one of his six wild cards for the 44th Ryder Cup in Rome.
Former world number one amateur Aberg only turned professional in June, but won the final qualifying event in Switzerland on Sunday with a final round of 64 at Crans-sur-Sierre.
The 23-year-old Swede has made the quickest transition from the amateur ranks to the Ryder Cup in the contest’s history, eclipsing the previous record set by Sergio Garcia, who made his debut in 1999 after turning professional following April’s Masters.
Aberg was selected along with Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Nicolai Hojgaard, with Poland’s Adrian Meronk missing out despite winning the Italian Open at the host venue in May.
The six wild cards join automatic qualifiers Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre in Donald’s team, which will attempt to regain the trophy at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club from September 29 to October 1.
Speaking about Aberg, Donald said: “We obviously knew what he was doing in the college scene. You look at what he did in those four years and the only comparables really were Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm. He is that good.
“I played with him in Detroit and was blown away by his game. He continued to impress and I challenged him to come over to Europe and play a couple (of events).
“He was fifth (tied fourth) in the Czech Masters and you know what he did yesterday. It was like a walk in the park for him and for someone that is so inexperienced it was just so, so impressive.”
Owen Farrell admits the tackle that resulted in his suspension for Saturday’s World Cup opener against Argentina was a mistake.
England’s captain is “gutted” to be unavailable for the pivotal Marseille showdown after his dangerous hit on Wales’ Taine Basham last month resulted in a four-match suspension that ends after the Pool D clash with Japan.
Farrell initially had his red card downgraded to a yellow by a disciplinary hearing, only for World Rugby to appeal the decision, which was upheld.
“Obviously you don’t want to go back too far and I don’t want to be sat here talking about this now. I want to be talking about the weekend,” said Farrell, speaking about the incident for the first time.
“I made a mistake and I got banned for it in the end. I’m not going to sit here and moan about it now.
“I’m excited for this World Cup to start. I’m excited to see what this team can do and I look forward to being available again.
“I’m gutted not to be playing and I’m gutted not to be available. Especially a big game like this at the weekend.
“I’ve even always wanted to play at Stade Velodrome, ever since watching the quarter-final in 2007.
“I’m excited for the team now. There’s a real good feeling about the World Cup starting in France now. I’m excited to play my role in that.”
When asked if he immediately realised his shoulder-led challenge on Basham at Twickenham on September was a red card offence, Farrell replied: “I didn’t know at the time. I knew when it came on the big screen.
“It is what it is. I’ve been banned, I accept that I’ve been banned. I’m gutted not to be playing but I’m trying to do everything I can for this team.”
Hooker Ronan Kelleher insisted his “body feels unbelievably healthy” as he declared himself fit for Ireland’s Rugby World Cup opener.
The 25-year-old has endured a series of injury setbacks during the past 18 months and missed each of his country’s warm-up matches amid a hamstring issue.
Ireland flew to France on Thursday with potential problems in the middle of their front row as first-choice number two Dan Sheehan sustained a foot injury in last month’s win over England.
Scrum coach John Fogarty said on Monday that none of Ireland’s 33-man squad have been ruled out of Saturday’s Pool B clash with Romania in Bordeaux, while Kelleher was extremely positive about his own condition.
“I’m fighting fit and ready to go,” he said. “I’ve been training fully and I’m just raring to get going now. I had a few little niggles there over the last couple of weeks.
“There’s obviously two ways of looking at it. You’d be thinking ‘maybe I haven’t got a couple of games under the belt, which I would have liked’, but at the same time my body feels unbelievably healthy, so it’s great.
“You very rarely go into matches feeling 100 per cent healthy. For me personally, first World Cup, really looking forward to it.
“It’s been unfortunate really, just unlucky, but the medics have done some job getting us all back fit and it’s just about staying on top of it now that we’re out here.”
In addition to Kelleher and Sheehan, prop Dave Kilcoyne and back-rower Jack Conan were sidelined during the build-up to the tournament.
Ireland boss Andy Farrell, who also has Ulster hooker Rob Herring at his disposal, has remained upbeat amid the fitness doubts, an assessment echoed by coach Fogarty.
“No one is ruled out and we’ll see how things go over the next couple of days,” he said.
“We’ve got some brilliant people assisting the fellas through their programmes and we’ve got a healthy group.
“We’re so lucky to have such talented hookers. They’re aware that they’re in a competition with each other. It’s always been that way.”
Kelleher initially stole a march in the quest to become Rory Best’s long-term successor courtesy of some standout displays across 2021, which led to training with the British and Irish Lions.
However, he concedes he is now playing catch-up in the battle to be Ireland’s preferred starter after a shoulder injury sustained during defeat to France in last year’s Six Nations opened the door for Leinster team-mate Sheehan.
“Maybe a little bit, yes,” said Kelleher.
“But we know it’s an 80-minute game. You’re going to have to do a job. You know there’s plenty of game time to go around.
“It’s about making sure you’re ready no matter if you’re selected to start or if you’re selected to come off the bench to finish strong. Everyone has a role to do in those 80 minutes.
“It can only be a positive thing for Irish rugby and us two as well that we’re constantly driving each other on and competing for that number two jersey.”
World Rugby vice-chairman John Jeffrey believes Scotland have arrived at the Rugby World Cup with their strongest team of all time and are now operating at a level that will strike fear into the top nations on the planet.
The 64-year-old, who won 40 caps in dark blue and was a star of the 1990 Grand Slam-winning team, was at the Scots’ lavish welcome ceremony just off the waterfront in Nice where he addressed the squad and told them he views them as the best group of players the nation has ever assembled.
“I think this is the best Scotland team ever,” he told the PA news agency afterwards. “If you look at where we’re ranked, fifth in the world, that’s the highest we’ve ever been ranked.
“And also if you look at the way we play, we’ve got back to the way that is traditionally Scottish. We play a game that suits us.
“And there’s no reason why, despite being in the supposed group of death, we can’t qualify from the group.”
Scotland share a World Cup pool with Ireland and South Africa, the two highest-ranked teams in the world, but Jeffrey believes Gregor Townsend’s side will be viewed with some trepidation by anyone they come up against.
“Gregor’s been there seven years and implemented the style of play and taken it on to a different level,” he said. “Everybody you speak to compliments the style of rugby we’re trying to play. It’s just a matter of executing it when you play the number one and number two teams in the world in your group.
“It’s a great challenge but historically Scotland play better when they’re underdogs.
“On our day, every one of the top teams in the world will be scared of us. Speaking to people 12 months ago, everyone would say Ireland and South Africa are going to qualify. Speak to people now and they’ll say it’s between three teams. The chance is there, let’s take it.”
Scotland lock Scott Cummings admitted it was an honour to hear his team described in such glowing terms by such a highly-regarded former player.
“Comments like that obviously mean a lot,” said Cummings. “To be involved in a squad that’s getting talked about like that from a legend of the game like John Jeffrey is a huge deal to all of us.”
Brian Meehan has his eye on the Breeders’ Cup for Inishfallen after his brave second in the Solaria Stakes at Sandown.
The son of Exceed and Excel had won just one of his previous four starts and was sent off at 22-1 for the seven-furlong Group Three event.
However, he took his form to another level under a fine ride from Sean Levey, with the colt enjoying himself on the front-end and then knuckling down to force Charlie Appleby’s Aablan to pull out all the stops when prevailing by a neck.
Encouraged by the career-best performance, his handler is keen to take the youngster to Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in early November, but before that he could appear at Newmarket in the Tattersalls Stakes (September 28) won by Modern Games and Nostrum in the past two seasons.
“I was delighted with him and I thought Sean gave him a great, intelligent ride,” said Meehan.
“He reported after that the ground was dead and that was the beating of him – if the ground had been faster he would have won.
“We might look at the Somerville or ultimately I would say the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. That’s the thoughts at the moment.
“He’s looking good after not too many runs and has a nice profile.”
Christopher Head was left feeling frustrated having seen Big Rock collect another big-race silver medal in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.
The talented son of Rock Of Gibralter strung together a four-race winning sequence earlier in the campaign that included a five-length defeat of Champion Stakes-bound Horizon Dore at Chantilly in May.
However, the colt’s successful run came to an end when second to Arc favourite Ace Impact in the Prix du Jockey Club.
He has since dropped back down to a mile, but has again had to settle for the runner-up spot, firstly when bumping into an in-form Inspiral in the Jacques le Marois and then when passed late on by the fast-finishing Sauterne at ParisLongchamp on Sunday.
“He’s very consistent with his performance and is always improving a little bit,” said Head.
“But we have a hard time of course against a horse with a certain turn of foot being on our back and we are always vulnerable to that kind of strategy.
“It is a bit frustrating because he is really worthy of getting a Group One win but he is just missing out for now.”
If connections continue to persevere at the mile distance, Big Rock could be seen at Ascot on Qipco British Champions Day where he holds an entry for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
However, Head stressed the team are in no rush to make their next move, with the colt’s versatility meaning all options remain on the table.
“I need to speak with Yeguada Centurion (owners) and we will go wherever they want me to go,” continued Head.
“I think he’s pretty versatile and can do pretty much whatever we want and we can adjust strategy accordingly.
“It’s still an option (Ascot) of course and we are considering all options, but it is a bit early to say right now. We would be more than honoured to go there as they are really important races for not just horses but also trainers and owners, it’s a pretty impressive place.”
There is another big weekend on the horizon for both Head and owners Yeguada Centurion as Blue Rose Cen heads to the Prix Vermeille to put her Arc aspirations to the test.
The three-year-old has been the star of Head’s rise up the training ranks, while he also has another high-class proposition waiting in the wings in Ramatuelle.
The daughter of Justify, whose owners include former NBA star Tony Parker, has won three of her five career starts and having been narrowly denied by Vandeek in the Prix Morny has options in both England and America for her next outing.
Head continued: “She is doing fine and everything is OK. We still have both options available for the end of the season – there is the Cheveley Park Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup too – and we are just waiting a little bit to be sure what the owner is wanting to do.”
A trip to Newmarket on September 30 would see Ramatuelle continue to ply her trade over six furlongs.
However, a tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in Santa Anita would see the precocious youngster step up to a mile, with her handler intrigued to see how she gets on when they stretch the elastic of her stamina.
He added: “There is always the possibility that the filly will stay at three so at some point there will be probably be progression to the distances she is likely to encounter.
“It is very interesting and we can’t wait to try this and see what her limits are.”
Believing and Mill Stream have been supplemented to take on Shaquille in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday.
A total of 23 speedsters are in contention for the six-furlong Group One, with the Julie Camacho-trained Shaquille very much the star attraction as he looks to add to his previous top-level wins this summer in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and the July Cup at Newmarket.
The George Boughey-trained Believing and Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Mill Stream are two interesting contenders after their respective connections paid the £20,000 required to add them to the field.
Believing has won two Listed races and a Group Three this season and is one of two potential runners for the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing team along with Karl Burke’s Spycatcher, who was beaten a short head by King Gold in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville last month.
Mill Stream won a Listed race and a Group Three at the French track in August and fully merits his place in Group One company.
“Mill Stream has come out of his Deauville race in good order, so we have decided to take the opportunity to run him again while he is good form as there are no other options for him until Champions Day,” said Chapple-Hyam.
Ralph Beckett has left in both Kinross and Lezoo after on Sunday suggesting he is likely to rely upon the latter, while Aidan O’Brien could saddle one or both of Aesop’s Fables and The Antarctic.
Other hopefuls include Ed Bethell’s Regional, the William Haggas-trained Sacred and July Cup runner-up Run To Freedom from Henry Candy’s yard.
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin has expressed confidence that there would be no confusion surrounding any disciplinary issues at the Rugby World Cup.
England captain Owen Farrell will miss his country’s opening games of the tournament against Argentina and Japan after receiving a four-match ban for a dangerous tackle against World Cup warm-up opponents Wales.
World Rugby had appealed against the decision of a disciplinary panel to downgrade Farrell’s red card for a high tackle to yellow.
But a furious outcry greeted the verdict that Farrell’s shoulder-led challenge to Taine Basham’s head, which caused the Wales flanker to fail a head injury assessment, was a sin-binning offence only.
The appeal committee found that the original hearing had not considered Farrell’s failure to wrap when attempting the tackle, which had formed a key part of the bunker review system’s analysis when upgrading from yellow to red – and on that basis, it was decided to hear the case afresh.
“We have introduced the foul play bunker through Super Rugby and then into the summer games,” Gilpin said during the opening World Cup press conference at Roland Garros.
“There are always learnings from introducing things and there have been.
“The key difference for us coming into the tournament is that we get to control the process much more – everything from the way television pictures are shared with the relevant officials through to disciplinary process, obviously all under one set of controls.
“And that gives us the confidence I think that we can make sure it is not confusing for players and fans.”
The World Cup will begin in the wake of international players Rhys Webb and Elton Jantjies recording positive drugs tests.
Former Wales and current Biarritz scrum-half Webb, who retired from Test rugby in May, tested positive for a growth hormone, while South African fly-half Jantjies, who missed out on World Cup selection, tested positive for banned substance Clenbuterol.
In a general response, Gilpin added: “Does rugby have a doping problem? I think the evidence suggests no.
“We are not complacent at all and we are confident with the programmes that we have in place. We are working with the ALFD (French Anti-Doping Agency).
“We’ve taken really significant steps to make sure that every team in this tournament are tested in and out of competition and we’ve taken the step of re-testing every test that was taken in the 2019 World Cup with the latest anti-doping procedures and technology.”
Gilpin, meanwhile, believes the women’s World Cup in New Zealand last year provided positive images for the sport that should be repeated.
“I think what we saw in New Zealand, which is so important for rugby in the future, is players’ personalities not just being projected but being embraced by fans, by media,” he said.
“I think there is a lot that the men can learn from that and hopefully we can bring the personalities of all the great players that we’ve got in the game alive.
“There was also a huge amount of joy around that tournament, fans really getting behind every team.
“I am sure we will see that across the next seven weeks here in France. If the team welcome ceremonies we’ve seen in recent days are anything to go by, the teams can expect a pretty special welcome wherever they are.
“I am a bit of a veteran of these things now and I don’t think there has ever been a Rugby World Cup, ever been an event in rugby that has been as eagerly anticipated, with the excitement that is building not just here in France but around the world for this tournament.
“If the quality of rugby in the last couple of months is anything to go by, we’re going to see some very entertaining matches.”
Looking ahead to the tournament – which kicks off on Friday with a heavyweight clash between France and New Zealand in Paris – World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We know that this nation will be a magnificent host.
“We have received incredible support from the highest office to the smallest villages. Never has a nation been so ready and so excited to host.
“We have a record number of international fans, some 600,000, and the stage is set. I think it is fair to say that the action will be compelling, spectacular and unpredictable.”
Patrick Neville is considering options at Down Royal and Newbury for stable star The Real Whacker’s seasonal reappearance.
The seven-year-old enjoyed an excellent novice campaign over fences last term, winning each of his three starts at Cheltenham including a popular Festival success in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.
North Yorkshire-based Neville is confident his pride and joy has returned from a summer break better than ever and is looking forward to seeing him return to competitive action in the autumn.
“He’s done really well over the summer. He came back in around mid-July and he’s back cantering away now and is in great form,” he said.
“He looks well and has developed into a nice horse over the summer. He’s only really a horse now to be honest. He was always lightly-framed but he’s filled into his frame now and is looking fierce well.
“I’ve had Sam Twiston-Davies ringing me up to see how he is and he is looking forward to riding him for the season, all going well.”
Neville is planning to give The Real Whacker just two runs before a return to the Cotswolds in March for a tilt at Cheltenham Gold Cup glory.
He added: “There’s Coral Gold Cup at Newbury (December 2) or Down Royal on early November is another option. There’s a second-season novice chase there that we’ll have a look at.
“You’ve got the King George at Christmas and Cheltenham in January, so we’ll see. We’d be thinking two runs and then the Gold Cup – that’s the plan.”
Damon Hill has described Toto Wolff’s dismissal of Max Verstappen’s record winning streak as “churlish” and “ungracious”.
Red Bull’s Verstappen became the first driver in Formula One’s 73-year history to win 10 consecutive races following his triumph at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.
But moments after Verstappen drove into the record books, Mercedes team principal Wolff called the Dutchman’s unprecedented run of victories “completely irrelevant”. He added that the record was only “for Wikipedia, and nobody reads that anyway”.
Responding to Wolff’s unflattering appraisal, 1996 world champion Hill said: “It sounded a bit churlish and not very gracious.
“It’s unlike Toto because he’s usually very sporting. But he is hurting a bit now. They know what it is like to be dominant and they didn’t even get on the podium in Monza.
“They seem to be a bit stymied and can’t seem to work out what to do. But who can? It seems like everywhere we go, Red Bull has got the upper hand.”
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton crossed the line a distant fifth and sixth respectively for Mercedes at Monza’s Cathedral of Speed.
Hamilton, who was hit with a five-second penalty for colliding with Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, finished 42 sec behind Verstappen.
The seven-time world champion, who last week committed to a new two-year deal with Mercedes, worth £100million, has now gone 37 races without a victory.
For Verstappen, now a victor at 12 of the 14 rounds so far, he has not lost a race since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30, 127 days ago. There is an outside chance he could wrap up a hat-trick of titles in Japan on September 24 with six rounds still to race.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team also remain on course to make history by going the year unbeaten.
Speaking on Sky Sports News, Hill, 62, continued: “Max has achieved something no-one else has ever done.
“Red Bull have won 14 races this year and it is an incredible record, but you can’t just put it down to the car.
“This guy is special. Throughout Max’s career, from the moment he arrived in F1, he has done things no-one has done before and he continues to polish off this season.”
Connections of Mansa Musa are dreaming of a trip to the Breeders’ Cup for their speedy youngster having just missed out on big-race success at the Curragh last month.
Trained by Irish-based Brazilian Diego Dias, the son of Ten Sovereigns has shown plenty of talent in his three outings to date and announced himself at the Qatar Goodwood Festival when repelling the well-regarded 4-6 favourite Array to shed his maiden tag.
It looked likely that Mansa Musa would be headed to Hong Kong following that success, but having earnt a reprieve after instead being purchased by Team Valor International LLC and Gary Barber, he has continued to be trained by Dias and was immediately upped in class for the Group Three Round Tower Stakes, where he finished an honourable second to Paddy Twomey’s Letsbefrankaboutit.
All three of the colt’s runs so far have come over six furlongs and he will continue to ply his trade over that distance for his next start in the Ballyhane Blenheim Stakes at Fairyhouse on September 18.
However, a strong showing in that Listed event could signal a trip to Santa Anita in early November for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, where connections feel Mansa Musa’ pace could prove a real asset dropping back to five furlongs and racing around a bend.
“We got lucky there and I originally tried to buy him but someone in Hong Kong made a much, much bigger offer,” explained Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor.
“The horse was vetted and for some reason, even though the vetting for me was fine, they decided not to go, so we were able to get him for our original offer. We’re into him at a very good figure.
“I think six furlongs for him at this moment is just a little too far against the really good horses. The horse that beat him the other day looks pretty smart.
“We’re going to run him back one more time going six furlongs at Fairyhouse on September 18 because that is the most suitable race and if he performs well enough we will send him over to America for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Turf) Sprint.
“That is five furlongs around a turn and it is one of those races where if you get the right draw, then he is a very speedy horse and I think he could do something in a race like that.
“In his first race he showed a ton of speed and it just caught up with him in the last furlong, he went from first to last in a heartbeat. But he has a tremendous amount of early speed for a horse of his size.”
Iga Swiatek’s reign as US Open champion, and world number one, was ended by her nemesis Jelena Ostapenko.
The 22-year-old Pole had not dropped a set on her way to the fourth round, but she had never beaten Ostapenko in three previous career meetings.
Swiatek took the first set with relative ease but then Ostapenko’s sledgehammer of a forehand started finding its mark to level the match.
A one-sided final set saw former French Open champion Ostapenko triumph 3-6 6-3 6-1.
Swiatek’s defeat means that Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will take over as world number one after the tournament.
Ostapenko will face Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals after the teenager ended the grand slam comeback of mother-of-two Caroline Wozniacki.
The 19-year-old came from a break down in the first and third sets to win both and complete a 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory.
Wozniacki’s return has been one of the stories of New York this year, having come out of retirement after more than three years and two children later.
The 33-year-old former world number one has looked as though she has never been away, but a fired-up Gauff proved just too strong in the deciding set.
Wozniacki got off to a dream start with a break in the first game and a 2-0 lead.
But Gauff quickly got back on the board, levelling at 3-3 before going on to clinch the first set without dropping another game.
Wozniacki cranked up the pressure in the second and Gauff started feeling it as her suspect forehand began to misfire and she was broken for 5-3 as the Dane levelled the match.
Gauff looked uncomfortable as she dropped serve again at the start of the decider, but after pointedly ignoring the advice of coach Brad Gilbert, the wound-up American began firing backhand winners as if they were going out of fashion.
She reeled off the next six games to clinch the victory and let out a loud scream of triumph after converting match point.
“Definitely getting it to 2-1 (in the third set) was the turning point,” said Gauff.
“I got broke and I showed I was still in the match. I started to go for my shots.
“Caroline, it’s like she’s never left, the level she played was amazing. It’s weird because I grew up watching Caroline and when she won the Australian Open, so to be on court with her today was an honour.
“She definitely gets to a lot of balls. I felt a bit like I was playing myself. I knew I had to play aggressive and go for my shots. In some moments I miss but I was happy I could get back and refocus.”
It will be the fifth grand slam quarter-final of Gauff’s still-fledgling career and her second at Flushing Meadows.
“I’ve been in this position before,” she added. “And I think I have confidence in myself that I can go even further.”
Rookie Jasson Dominguez's two-run homer in the sixth inning accounted for the go-ahead runs as the New York Yankees completed a stunning three-game road sweep of the Houston Astros with a 6-1 victory on Sunday night.
Dominguez took Astros starter Cristian Javier's pitch over the right-field wall to snap a 1-1 tie for the 20-year-old's second big hit of the series. He homered off 2022 American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander in his first major league at-bat during New York's 6-2 victory in Friday's opener.
DJ LeMahieu had an RBI double earlier in the Yankees' three-run sixth inning, while Gleyber Torres homered in the ninth while finishing 2 for 4.
The defending World Series champion Astros entered the series on a five-game winning streak and missed out on a chance to move into a first-place tie in the AL West. Division leader Seattle remained a game up on Houston despite the Mariners losing, 6-3, to the New York Mets on Sunday.
Michael King allowed one run and five hits over five innings to help the Yankees to their sixth win in seven games.
Javier struck out eight over six innings but was reached for three runs on four hits.
Garcia's homer in ninth lifts Rangers over Twins
The Texas Rangers did manage to gain ground on the Mariners in the AL West race after Adolis Garcia's walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the playoff hopefuls to a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Garcia had struck out in each of his previous four at-bats before launching his 34th homer of the season, a leadoff drive off Josh Winder, to break a 5-5 deadlock and end Texas' three-game losing streak.
The Rangers won for just the fourth time in their last 16 games and moved within one game of first-place Seattle.
Mitch Garver had a three-run homer in the first inning for Texas and finished 4 for 4 with four RBIs.
The Twins forged a 5-5 tie on Royce Lewis' RBI single off reliever Jose Leclerc in the eighth, though Rangers closer Will Smith prevented further damage by inducing an inning-ending double play from Carlos Correa with the bases loaded.
Lewis earlier tied the contest with a three-run homer in the fifth and ended 3 for 5 for AL Central-leading Minnesota. Correa also had three hits, including an RBI single in the seventh.
Rookie Miller stars as Dodgers prevent sweep from Braves
Bobby Miller threw seven outstanding innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a needed 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the finale of a four-game series between the National League's top two teams.
NL East-leading Atlanta had taken the first three matchups of the weekend set, but managed just one run on three hits off Miller as the talented rookie stopped the Braves' six-game winning streak and improved to 9-3 on the season.
Miller took a shutout into the seventh before surrendering Matt Olson's 44th home run of the season, which tied the Atlanta slugger with Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani for the major league lead.
Braves starter Charlie Morton kept the NL West-leading Dodgers off the board until the bottom of the fifth, which he began by walking James Outman before Miguel Rojas delivered an RBI double for the game's first run. Mookie Betts followed with a single that plated Rojas for a 2-0 lead.
Betts went 3 for 4 on the afternoon, while Olson had two of Atlanta's five total hits.
Novak Djokovic strolled into the last eight of the US Open with a three-set win over Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo.
Djokovic is now one behind Roger Federer’s record of 58 grand slam quarter-finals after a 6-2 7-5 6-4 victory.
The Serbian second seed got himself out of a minor pickle at 2-0 down in the second set, breaking back and dropping just four points in his next six service games.
A break to love in the third finished 6ft 5in Gojo off with Djokovic going through in two hours and 25 minutes.
Djokovic, bidding for a 24th grand slam title, said: “I knew Borna has a big game. I saw that he played well in the qualifying round.
“I saw that he’s a big-shot player, his serve and forehand are big weapons, he moves pretty well for a big guy, so the key points for me were to neutralise his serve.”
Djokovic has had a very agreeable draw in New York but he faces American ninth seed Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.
He added: “You know, obviously the matches are only going to get tougher from now onwards, and I’m ready.”
Big-serving Ben Shelton blew away fellow American Tommy Paul to lead the home charge into the quarter-finals.
The 20-year-old from Atlanta fired down two 149mph serves in one game on his way to a 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory.
“I think it was straight adrenaline,” he said. “In any other atmosphere I don’t think I could get it done. I think my arm would fall off, but it’s feeling good right now.”
The record fastest serve at the US Open is still held by Andy Roddick, who hit a 152mph thunderbolt on his way to the title in 2003 – the last time an American man won their home slam.
It was sweet revenge for Shelton, who was knocked out by Paul at the same stage of the Australian Open in January.
He added: “I really learned how to be mentally tough. When I was playing in Australia after a long week, I was looking at my box saying ‘my legs are dead, I’m tired, I can’t go anymore’.
“I realised how important it is to believe in myself, believe that I can go all the way, the full distance emotionally and physically and now I have that belief here.”
Shelton will play 10th seed Frances Tiafoe, guaranteeing at least one American man in the semi-finals.
Tiafoe beat Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata in straight sets, 6-4 6-1 6-4.
“It’s a shame that two of us have to play in the quarter-finals. Maybe we could have three in the semis,” added Shelton.
Fritz beat Dominic Stricker of Switzerland in three sets to make the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
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