All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has signed a contract extension through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) made the announcement on Tuesday after Foster replaced Steve Hansen on a two-year deal beginning in 2020.

The All Blacks – who retained the Bledisloe Cup and claimed the Tri-Nations last year – won just three of their 2020 Tests, with a draw and loss to rivals Australia, and an historic defeat to Argentina in Sydney.

Foster's New Zealand are flawless in 2021, including a 102-0 demolition of Tonga, having defended the Bledisloe Cup again versus the Wallabies.

"Firstly, I want to acknowledge the board and NZR for the faith they have shown in reappointing me," Foster said. "It's a privilege to be part of the All Blacks and I don't take that for granted.

"It's clearly been a challenging couple of years with Covid-19, but I've been hugely proud of the resilience shown by the team. I'm personally driven to have our team continue to succeed as we build to Rugby World Cup 2023.

"What is equally important to me is the fact that I'm just one part of an outstanding coaching and management team and to continue working with them is a privilege and inspires me to be the best head coach I can be.

"We have the immediate challenge of this year's Fortinet Rugby Championship and then the tour North, but 2022 and 2023 will bring their own challenges. I'm really excited to be leading the team into the future and can't wait to get stuck into our work."

NZR CEO Mark Robinson added: "Ian has faced extraordinary times since he was first appointed, with the uncertainty of Covid-19 and the numerous challenges it has thrown up, and he's shown remarkable composure and resolve to lead incredibly well through it all.

"Foz has built an outstanding culture and environment in the team with an inclusive and collaborative approach and maintained a steady, clear focus on our goal of being Number one in the world again.

"There is no doubt Foz and his team are performing extremely well in trying conditions and we are pleased to send a strong signal of support to create certainty in our environment and allow the management team and player group to plan for the future.

"On behalf of NZR and the board, I want to congratulate Foz and his team and wish them all the best for the rest of this season and beyond."

The Wallabies and All Blacks will clash in the Bledisloe Cup in Perth before Queensland hosts the remainder of the Rugby Championship.

New Zealand pulled out of next weekend's third and final Bledisloe Test due to concerns over coronavirus, with the showdown initially set for August 28 at Optus Stadium.

The fixture will go ahead in Perth, with a date for the game set to be confirmed in the coming days following SANZAAR's announcement on Tuesday.

Afterwards, the Rugby Championship will head to Queensland for doubleheaders across four consecutive weekends in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Townsville, where the centenary Test between the All Blacks and Springboks will be played.

The Wallabies play South Africa on September 12 at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast, where the All Blacks then going head-to-head against Argentina.

September 18 will see the teams travel to Brisbane for Argentina-New Zealand and Australia-South Africa contests at Suncorp Stadium.

Australia and Argentina face-off at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville the following weekend on September 25, before the New Zealand-Argentina centenary encounter.

The Rugby Championship concludes on the Gold Coast on October 2, with the Pumas facing the Wallabies and Springboks taking on the All Blacks.

"We thought last year was tough when we had to implement a Tri-Nations tournament in Australia with South Africa absent due to the pandemic, but the current disruption caused by the 'delta variant' of COVID-19 has seen government authorities tighten up border bio-security measures substantially," said SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris.

"This is understandable and therefore, we had no option but to basically move the remainder of The Rugby Championship to Queensland.

"On behalf of SANZAAR and the national unions, I would like to sincerely thank the Queensland Government for working with us around the clock to provide a travel, accommodation, training and playing environment that will safely allow us to complete the tournament.

"SANZAAR and the national unions are incredibly grateful and will work closely with the states' health authorities to ensure all bio-security measures are adhered to." 

Rugby Australia (RA) CEO Andy Marinos added: "This is a world Rugby first and a truly special celebration of the game, in what I see as a once-in-a-lifetime event."

The San Diego Padres have fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild amid a slump that has seen them fall out of contention in the National League West.

Seen as potential World Series challengers having amassed an enviable depth of talent in both hitting and pitching, the Padres have found themselves cut adrift in MLB's top division.

They have lost nine of their past 11 games, with their team earned run average of 6.20 the third-worst in MLB in that span.

Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies saw the Padres fall to 68-58 and out of the second NL Wild Card spot.

The Padres are 13 games back of the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, who at 80-44 own the best record in MLB. The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are 2.5 games back of the Giants.

Padres manager Jayce Tingler said: "Larry has been a tremendous asset for our organisation over the last two seasons, and we appreciate the experience, hard work and dedication that he brought to the position. We wish him nothing but the best in the future."

Ben Fritz will serve as interim pitching coach for the rest of the season. The Padres next face a critical three-game series with the Dodgers, which starts on Tuesday.

Andy Murray was left in "the strangest situation" he has experienced before a tour match at the Winston-Salem Open following Nick Kyrgios' withdrawal.

Murray had been due to face Kyrgios in an enticing first-round clash in North Carolina, only for the Australian to pull out due to a knee issue.

Former world number one Murray was then drawn against a lucky loser from qualifying, which had only been completed shortly before Murray was due to go on court on Sunday.

The tight turnaround prompted Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Max Purcell to decline the chance to take on Murray, while another option, Yosuke Watanuki, ended up with a direct path to the main draw.

Home hope Noah Rubin, who played his college tennis at the same venue having competed for Wake Forest University, stepped in shortly after his qualifying defeat to Lucas Pouille.

Despite Rubin's best efforts, the challenge proved too much for him as Murray swept to a 6-2 6-0 win, capping a bizarre evening for the three-time grand slam champion.

"It is, by far, the strangest situation I've ever been in before a match on tour," said Murray. "It's pretty rare that you experience something new when you're 17 years into your career.

"I sort of knew at 6:15 that Nick wasn't going to play, but the qualifying was still going on. I was told that if I played a lucky loser, I would play this evening, but if I played against a qualifier the match would be suspended until tomorrow [Monday].

"Then I was told that I drew a lucky loser and I was going to be playing this evening against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, that was like 15-20 minutes after the last qualifying match finished, then Herbert decided he didn't want to play.

"Then they went down the list and none of them, Purcell and Watanuki, they didn't want to play either. And Rubin, who had obviously just finished playing 20 minutes beforehand said, 'yeah I'll do it. I'll play'.

"I kind of had like three opponents in the space of 45 minutes, I was warming up for the match to start at seven and then stopped and then prepared to play Herbert then he didn't want to play then Noah obviously decided but he'd just finished so it was a break and it was just very, very odd sort of 45 minutes, an hour before we went on."

Murray is due to face 13th seed Frances Tiafoe in the second round.

Alexander Zverev believes world number one Novak Djokovic remains the favourite for the upcoming U.S. Open despite the German backing up his Olympic gold medal with victory in Cincinnati.

The German world number four defeated Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Sunday to win the Western and Southern Open, claiming his fourth title of the ATP season.

The 2021 U.S. Open begins next Monday with Dominic Thiem, who defeated Zverev in the 2020 final, withdrawing from the men's draw along with superstar Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Their absences have opened up an opportunity for the in-form Zverev to have a run at the title but the German insisted Djokovic, who he defeated in the Olympic semi-finals, is the player to beat.

"I do think that he's still the favourite," Zverev told reporters after his win in Cincinnati.

"I do think he's going to be playing incredible tennis there. He's going to be fresh, and I think there is also other guys that are in very good form. I think Rublev is in very good form, [Daniil] Medvedev, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, all those guys are playing great tennis.

"It's definitely going to be an interesting US Open. But I'm also looking forward to it, because I know where I stand, I know how I'm playing, and I hope I can continue the work and hopefully play even better in New York."

Djokovic has not played since Tokyo 2020, where he lost his bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta after his semi-final defeat to Zverev.

The Serbian world number one opted to withdraw from the mixed doubles' semi-final afterwards, citing a left shoulder injury.

"I think Novak will be back. He's obviously going to be the favourite but I think other guys are going to be in great shape,” Zverev said.

"I'm looking forward to the week. Let's see how it goes. But there is still one week to go. I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I have to find my rhythm in New York, as well."

Zverev, who had never won a match in Cincinnati prior to this year's event, has not lost a match since his Wimbledon fourth-round exit to Felix Auger-Aliassime in July.

World number one Ash Barty says her Western and Southern Open title holds her in "good stead" ahead of the U.S. Open which starts at Flushing Meadows next Monday.

The Australian defeated unheralded Swiss Jil Teichmann in straight sets in Sunday's final in Cincinnati in the perfect preparation for the U.S. Open.

Barty has never gone further than the fourth round at Flushing Meadows and did not compete in last year's U.S. Open due to COVID-19 concerns.

The 2021 Wimbledon champion, who also won the 2019 French Open crown, looms as a strong favourite for the women's singles title although she is typically refusing to get carried away.

"I think we're just excited that we've got matches under our belt in tough conditions here in Cincy, and that's put us in really good stead going into New York," Barty said.

"This week it was completely 'non-result-focused'. It was about preparing in the best way possible, knowing that we wanted to be ready for New York in a couple of weeks' time.

"Now that we've only got a week in between, we have played plenty of matches, and now it's about kind of refining as best we can to hopefully be feeling good come the first round in New York and just try and do the best that we can there."

On her favouritism, she added: "There are no certainties in sport, no certainties in tennis. It's just about playing each and every day as best you can as they come, and not focusing or concerning yourself or your self-worth with results."

Riding the wave of her Wimbledon triumph, Barty crashed out of the women's singles in the first round at Tokyo 2020 to Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo last month.

The Australian remained grounded after her Cincinnati victory and insisted preparations for the U.S. Open would stay normal.

"I think sometimes after big wins - and I felt it both times after the French Open and after Wimbledon - there's been a little bit of a big crash, more emotionally than anything else, because there's so much invested into that event," Barty said.

She added: "Our practice weeks before grand slams are quite normal. There is nothing fancy, no extra emphasis on anything.

"It's just gauged by how I'm feeling physically, how I'm feeling mentally, and we have had a lot of practice now as a team in being able to read each other and what we think is required.

"Then it's about going out there for the first round, whether it's the Monday or Tuesday, and try to do the best that I can. That's all I can ask of myself."

The draw for the U.S. Open will be revealed on Friday with Barty going in as the top women's seed, with Aryna Sabalenka second seed and reigning champion Naomi Osaka third.

The suddenly unstoppable Atlanta Braves won their ninth successive game, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 on Sunday to complete another sweep away from home. 

It was a staggering 18th straight loss for the Orioles, who previously endured a 14-game skid in May and are an MLB-worst 38-85 this season. 

Baltimore had their best pitcher on the mound to try and end the slump, but John Means surrendered a solo home run to Jorge Soler and a two-run double to Adam Duvall in the fourth inning for all the runs Atlanta needed. 

Touki Toussaint allowed the Orioles' only run in the bottom of the inning on a Ramon Urias double, and five relief pitchers kept Baltimore off the scoreboard after he departed. 

After going unbeaten in successive series at the Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins and Orioles, the Braves have won 13 in a row on the road. 

That road streak is the longest in franchise history and tied for the second-longest by a National League team since divisional play began in 1969, with only the 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers (15) exceeding their run. 

Atlanta have not lost away from Truist Park since July 28, when they dropped a 2-1 decision at the New York Mets.  

Reds move into wild card position with sweep

The Cincinnati Reds hit three solo home runs, two of them by Tyler Naquin, while Vladimir Gutierrez and two relievers held the Miami Marlins in check on the way to a 3-1 victory and a four-game sweep. The win coupled with the San Diego Padres' 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies put the Reds alone in the second National League wild card slot. 

Pinch-hitter Donovan Solano's two-run homer in the eighth was the difference as the San Francisco Giants edged the Oakland Athletics 2-1 for their 80th win of the season. They have done so in just 124 games, their best pace since their remarkable 1993 campaign that saw them miss the postseason despite a 103-59 record in the pre-wild card era.

The Los Angeles Dodgers saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end in a 7-2 home defeat to the New York Mets, as the World Series champions managed just five hits off Marcus Stroman and three relievers and J.D. Davis drove in four runs for New York. 

Ty France homered to tie the game in the ninth, then gave the Seattle Mariners the lead in the 11th before Kyle Seager's three-run homer blew the game open as the Mariners defeated the Houston Astros 6-3. 

Adam Wainwright allowed just two hits and struck out nine with no walks in eight innings as the St Louis Cardinals blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0. 

Royals light up woeful Cubs

The Kansas City Royals pounded out 16 hits in a 9-1 rout of the Chicago Cubs to complete a three-game series sweep. The Cubs have now lost 15 of their last 17 games and 21 of their last 25.

Miggy hits 500th

Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera became the 28th player in MLB history to reach 500 home runs with his opposite-field shot in the sixth inning of a 5-3 win at the Toronto Blue Jays. 

Sunday's results 

Tampa Bay Rays 9-0 Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals 9-1 Chicago Cubs
Detroit Tigers 5-3 Toronto Blue Jays
Milwaukee Brewers 7-3 Washington Nationals
New York Mets 7-2 Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants 2-1 Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners 6-3 Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds 3-1 Miami Marlins
Atlanta Braves 3-1 Baltimore Orioles
St Louis Cardinals 3-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Arizona Diamondbacks 8-4 Colorado Rockies
Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 San Diego Padres
Cleveland Indians 3-0 Los Angeles Angels
New York Yankees-Minnesota Twins (postponed)
Texas Rangers-Boston Red Sox (postponed)

Yankees at Braves

The two hottest teams in baseball collide as the New York Yankees (72-52) visit the Atlanta Braves (68-56) to open a brief two-game series with both clubs riding nine-game winning streaks. 

It has been a stressful couple of weeks for one of the greatest right-handed hitters in baseball history, but Miguel Cabrera finally reached a long-awaited milestone Sunday with his 500th career home run. 

The Detroit Tigers star launched a changeup by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Steven Matz over the right-field fence at Rogers Centre for a solo homer that tied the game 1-1 in the sixth inning. The Tigers would go on to win 5-3 in 11 innings. 

That result was important to Cabrera after spending the 11 days since he hit his 499th home run with the spotlight squarely on him. 

Known for his easygoing on-field personality, Cabrera acknowledged feeling the pressure during last week's six-game homestand against the Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles Angels, which drew some of the largest crowds in Detroit this season.

Cabrera had four hits in 20 at-bats on the homestand and was hitless in 10 at-bats in three games in Toronto before going deep Sunday.

"Last week in Detroit was tough," Cabrera told reporters. "It was the first time in five, six years I've seen the crowd like that, excited and with a lot of energy. It was nice to see the energy back in Comerica Park.

"There was a lot of things going on in my mind, because I wanted to do it in Detroit. But it's tough to hit home runs there.

"I just have to thank God I hit it here and got it over with. Now I can try to keep playing baseball."

The 38-year-old became the first player from Venezuela to hit 500 home runs and the first to do so as a Tiger in the 120-year history of the franchise. 

An 11-time All-Star and two-time American League MVP, Cabrera is in his 14th season with Detroit after spending the first five years of his MLB career with the Marlins. 

Though Cabrera reached the milestone on the road, the fans in Toronto were appreciative, giving him a standing ovation and demanding a curtain call.

The Tigers also were thrilled to see the icon get over the hump. 

"He wants this for us as much as we wanted it for him," said manager A.J. Hinch. "He saw the stress around that was unspoken.

"It's a huge accomplishment for him and his country and what he's meant to baseball in Detroit and what he's meant to baseball in Miami, where he started his career, and obviously Team Venezuela. He's represented his country with extreme success on the field."

Cabrera is now four home runs from tying Hall of Famer Eddie Murray for 27th on the all-time list, but that is not the only milestone in his sights. 

He needs just 45 hits to reach 3,000 for his career. Only six players in MLB history have hit 500 homers while accumulating 3,000 hits: Murray, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro and Albert Pujols. 

Alexander Zverev claimed his fourth title of 2021 with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Andrey Rublev to win the Western and Southern Open.

The Olympic champion had not won a match in Cincinnati prior to this year's tournament, but Sunday's one-sided final capped a remarkable turnaround for the world number five.

Zverev raced into a 4-0 lead before securing the opening set 6-2 as he produced no errors across the first seven games.

The third seed carried on his domination, breaking Rublev in his opening service game of the second set to pave the way for the 17th ATP title of his career within an hour in the showpiece.

After paying tribute to "his best friend on Tour" Rublev, Zverev added in his on-court interview: "It is incredible that tennis can be back, sport can be back, and we can watch and play this beautiful sport again.

"I normally do not look forward to this week - not winning a single match in seven years - but this has now become one of my favourite times of the year for me, hopefully it can be for the next 10 to 15 years."

The 24-year-old reached the final of the US Open last year, though he will now eye going one step further as the tournament commences at the end of August.

Ash Barty won her first Western and Southern Open title on Sunday with a straight-sets defeat of Jil Teichmann in Cincinnati.

The world number one took her tally to 40 match wins and five WTA Tour titles in 2021 with a 6-3 6-1 victory.

Teichmann, ranked 76th in the world, had won all four of her meetings with top-10 players this season and accounted for Naomi Osaka, Karolina Pliskova and Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic during this exceptional week.

Beating Barty, however, proved a step too far. The Australian recovered from some early jitters, winning 85 per cent of points behind her first serve and breaking her opponent five times.

Teichmann's resistance faltered as errors saw her fall 5-3 behind in the opener and Barty won eight straight games to take command of the contest.

Barty needed just one match point to see out the victory, the first at Cincinnati by an Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1973.

"I think being able to come through and play a really clean week and walk away with the title is probably not what I really expected of myself, but [it is] certainly nice," Barty, who did not drop a set all week, told the Tennis Channel.

Barty will be the firm favourite to win the US Open, where she has never before gone beyond the fourth round. The Flushing Meadows grand slam begins on Monday, August 30.

Anna Nordqvist won the Women's Open to land her third major title after a dramatic twist on the famous 18th hole at Carnoustie.

The 34-year-old became the first Swedish golfer since Annika Sorenstam in 2003 to triumph at the tournament, and a par at the last was enough after playing partner and co-leader Nanna Koerstz Madsen finished with a double bogey.

Rather than coming unstuck as the latest victim of the Barry Burn, Madsen found a greenside bunker with her approach and shanked the escape, meaning the Dane was chipping onto the green with her fourth shot. Madsen finished with a double bogey, completing a miserable end to the tournament.

She had led at 13 under when teeing off at 15 but found sand there too and dropped a shot, before slipping from a share of the lead at the last to finish tied for fifth on 10 under, the anticipated play-off not required.

It meant Nordqvist's closing round of three-under-par 69, which took her to 12 under for the tournament, gave her the trophy glory and $870,000 top prize.

Second place on 11 under was shared by three players: Madelene Sagstrom (68), also of Sweden, American Lizette Salas (69) and Britain's Georgia Hall (67).

Sagstrom dropped a shot at 18 long before the drama unfolded with Madsen. Sagstrom was also at the centre of attention on the first hole when her tee shot was grabbed from the fairway and tossed around before being written off as inedible by the guilty party – a local bird.

Nordqvist's husband Kevin McAlpine is a caddie for Martin Laird on the PGA Tour and the couple's paths have rarely crossed in recent months, but he was on hand to witness his wife adding to her 2009 LPGA Championship and 2017 Evian Championship titles.

"I've been waiting for this for a while," said Nordqvist at the trophy presentation. "I haven't won in a couple of years. There have been a lot of downs, a lot of hard times. This makes it feel even sweeter.

"I definitely was wearing out my heartbeats there at the end. I think it's a great finish. The wind died down a little bit but it can play pretty brutal. I think it's been a key that I played those last four really well all week.

"I had my husband Kevin there for me every single year since Evian, since I won last time. I could only dream about winning the British Open.

"My husband's from 20 minutes away from here. I was supposed to get married 20 minutes away from here. So this place is truly special. I've never seen Carnoustie in this great of a shape. I love the fans being back, having an atmosphere, so thank you so much."

She said of her married life: "It's been a tough year for the both of us. We've been on different tours, so prior to Thursday I hadn't seen him for six and a half weeks due to my travel schedule.

"It was really nice to have him here. My caddie's Scottish too and they know a little about links golf so that's been a great experience to have."

The Smyth Salver for the leading amateur went to 21-year-old Louise Duncan, the Scot finishing on seven under after a level-par 72 to finish.

Hall went close to delivering a home champion and wrote on Twitter: "Gutted not to get the win but proud of how I played this week."