New Zealander John Mitchell has been named as the new head coach of the England women’s team.
Mitchell, who has had two spells on the coaching team with England’s men’s side in a lengthy career, is currently defence coach for the Japan men’s side and will take up his new role after the Rugby World Cup later this year.
Mitchell succeeds Simon Middleton, whose trophy-laden eight-year spell ended with another Six Nations Grand Slam last weekend.
He said on englandrugby.com: “The Red Roses have set an incredible standard and foundation for women’s rugby, being the most successful team in the Six Nations, which is a tremendous achievement.
“We now have the opportunity to build on this, mature in key areas and become a truly champion side that can rightfully contest for the World Cup in 2025.
“I would like to honour the hugely supportive Red Roses fans with successful performances as we work towards winning and selling out Twickenham Stadium for the Rugby World Cup in 2025.”
The black mark on Middleton’s reign was two World Cup final defeats to New Zealand and Mitchell’s main target will be to claim the prize on home soil in two years’ time.
Louis Deacon will keep his role as forwards coach and will be acting head coach until Mitchell joins while England’s most capped player and former captain, Sarah Hunter, has been appointed to the role of transition coach, working with the senior team and upcoming players.
Lou Meadows has been promoted from her role as under-20s head coach to attack coach for the senior team, with Charlie Hayter becoming head of women’s performance.
Executive director of performance rugby, Conor O’Shea, said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming John back to England Rugby together with Louis, Charlie, Sarah and Lou.
“This will be a formidable coaching team to take the Red Roses to the next stage in their development.”
London Irish’s game against Exeter looks set to go ahead on Saturday despite the club’s failure to pay staff, with director of rugby Declan Kidney vowing to “keep the flag flying”.
Talks are ongoing between the current ownership and prospective new buyers but, with those negotiations taking place behind the scenes, the April payroll has not been met by either party.
There have been suggestions of a potential boycott of the fixture by players, but Kidney indicated that the team’s desire to end their Gallagher Premiership season on a high remains undimmed.
“I can confirm no employee here – players or staff – has been paid as of yet, but we have been given a lot of assurances from the prospective new ownership that it will happen over the coming days,” he said.
“Preparations (for the match) are in full swing, everything is going ahead. Training has taken place fully. As far as we are concerned we are ploughing ahead to the match on Saturday.
“We are the professional arm of a club that is 124 years old. We know our responsibilities. It is our duty to keep the flag flying here and that is what we are doing.”
Kidney confirmed that all insurance premiums had been covered, removing one possible roadblock to the fixture taking place, but he was unable to shine a light on when things could be expected to reach a conclusion.
While insisting credible promises had been made, the former Ireland coach said no date had been forthcoming for delivery of overdue wages and he had not been made aware of a clear timeline for completion of the sale.
At the end of a season that has seen Worcester and Wasps go bust, such lack of clarity is an obvious worry for all associated with the club, but Kidney has been overwhelmed by the commitment his squad have shown under adversity.
“Obviously there are concerns around it, but they’re not in our control,” he said.
“We’re not the first company to have delayed payments in terms of our salaries but we can only control what we can control. You can draw too many comparisons between us and other teams but I think it would be wrong to do that.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the quality of players I’ve been working with, in terms of application and positiveness.
“These lads are about way more than money. They are just the salt of the earth, fantastic people to work with. Nobody is looking for their hand to be held, everybody is looking forward to getting on with the job.
“All I can say is what happened to date, I cannot guess the future but I can say for certain the quality of people here is so strong. We entrust in the owners and prospective owners will come to a positive resolution here.”
Exeter winger Jodie Ounsley will swap Premier 15s rugby for life as ‘Fury’ on the TV series Gladiators.
The Dewsbury-born 22-year-old, the first deaf player to represent England’s sevens side, has been cast on the BBC’s rebooted version of the show, which will be screened later this summer.
Former Loughborough University student Ounsley, who had a cochlear implant as a young child, is also a former British Brazilian jiu-jitsu title-holder and a five-time World Coal Carrying champion.
She told BBC Sport: “I’m buzzing. Watching Gladiators growing up, I was always in awe of their strength and power and now I am one.
“I hope contenders are ready to feel the ‘Fury’.”
Ounsley was unveiled as one of the first two Gladiators on the BBC’s The One Show on Wednesday night alongside ‘Steel’, CrossFit athlete Zack George, who won the title of the UK’s Fittest Man in 2020.
The series was first screened in Britain in 1992 on ITV, with contestants from the general public competing against Gladiators in a series of events that test speed, stamina and strength.
Gladiators ran on ITV until early 2000 and was revised by Sky for two series in 2008 and 2009.
The BBC’s revamped version will be hosted by Bradley and Barney Walsh and filming is scheduled to begin in Sheffield in June.
Ounsley was voted Deaf Sports Personality of the Year in 2018 and was included in the GB Women rugby sevens provisional squad for the 2020 Olympics.
She has scored two tries in six appearances for the Chiefs, who are top of the Premier 15s table, making her debut in November last year after joining from Sale the previous summer.
Her father Phil, a former professional mixed martial artist, appeared as a contestant on Gladiators in 2008.
Joel Embiid conceded he has not fully recovered from injury, but is determined to help the Philadelphia 76ers overcome the Boston Celtics.
Embiid was named the new NBA MVP on Tuesday but his comeback from a sprained ligament did not go according to plan a day later as he scored just 15 points in a 121-87 defeat to Boston.
Celtics' win tied the series at 1-1 heading into Game 3 in Philadelphia on Friday.
And while Embiid acknowledged he was never going to be at 100 per cent, he did not feel another few days of rest would have made much of a difference.
"The way I saw it, what I have, I'm supposed to be out for four-to-six weeks or something like that," Embiid said.
"I'm not gonna be 100 per cent for that whole time. I'm not gonna be fully healed for that whole time. I felt pretty good to play and I feel like I can help the team defensively and offensively.
"Obviously, offensively, I wasn't as aggressive. I was just trying to let the game come to me. Then defensively, just protecting the rim. I think I did a fine job when it comes to that. So I just felt like being up 1-0 and having a chance to go up 2-0 against this type of team.
"I felt like just get this [comeback] out of the way. Disappointed by the loss but that's a step towards getting back to myself.
"I have a lot of work to do to make sure I'm ready for Friday."
For Embiid, there is nothing that will now stop him from trying to push the Sixers to glory.
"I play through a lot. Last year, broken face, fingers, played through it all," he said.
"Even with the concern that I could lose my vision if I got hit. So I'll keep playing through anything.
"We've got a big chance [to win an NBA title], so we've got to take advantage of it and make sure we're all ready for Game 3."
Lee Westwood has accused the DP World Tour of being “fully in bed” with the PGA Tour after announcing his resignation from the European circuit.
Westwood and fellow Ryder Cup stars Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have resigned their membership and are therefore no longer eligible for the biennial contest against the United States.
The trio were among the players fined £100,000 and suspended for two tournaments after playing the first LIV Golf event last year without permission.
Westwood and Poulter were also among the 12 members of the Saudi-funded breakaway who lost an appeal against the sanctions last month and were deemed to have committed “serious breaches” of the DP World Tour’s code of behaviour by a three-man arbitration panel.
Westwood confirmed he has paid the fine and is keen to “move on”, but reiterated his criticism of the way the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have reacted to the emergence of LIV Golf.
“I’ve been a dual member of the European Tour and PGA Tour, but always said I was a European Tour member first and foremost and that I had fears about the US circuit basically being bullies and doing everything it could to secure global dominance,” Westwood told The Telegraph.
“Check my old quotes, it’s all there.
“But now, in my opinion, the European Tour has jumped fully in bed with the PGA Tour and even though Keith (Pelley, the chief executive) says he hates to hear it, it is now a feeder tour for the PGA Tour.
“The top 10 players on the tour, not already exempt this year, have a pathway to the PGA Tour – that’s giving our talent away. That was never the tour’s policy before this ‘strategic alliance’.
“Sorry, I don’t want to play under that sort of regime.
“I mulled it over and just didn’t like the thought of the tour continuously hitting us with more fines and bans that would have been hanging over me.
“I’ve paid my fine out of respect for the arbitration panel and have then taken the decisions out of the tour’s hands. I honestly want to move on.”
The Boston Celtics must take pride in their Game 2 display against the Philadelphia 76ers, and embrace the challenge of a hostile road game, says Jaylen Brown.
Joel Embiid's return from injury could not inspire the 76ers on Wednesday as Boston cruised to a 121-87 victory to tie the series.
Brown top scored with 25 points, as Embiid and James Harden, who scored 45 points in the 76ers' Game 1 win, were kept under wraps.
Next up is a trip to Philadelphia for Game 3, but Brown believes the Celtics have nothing to fear.
"I think we've just got to take more pride in ourselves. That's it," Brown told the media.
"I just feel like we underperformed last game. We wanted to come out and play to the best of our ability, and that's what we did.
"Hostile environment. But it should be fun. We should all be excited to embrace that challenge."
Coach Joe Mazzulla was blunt in his assessment of his team's reaction to their defeat in Game 1.
"They were angry, frustrated," he said. "Angry and p*****. Yes [I liked that]."
While Jayson Tatum struggled to make too much of an impact, Malcolm Brogdon added 23 points from the bench for Boston, tying a playoff record for the Celtics in the process as he sunk six three-pointers.
"Our strength is our depth," Brogdon told reporters.
"The way the roster is constructed, we got guys like me, Derrick [White], Grant [Williams] that are playing behind our two superstars and ready to [contribute] when we can."
Celtics guard Marcus Smart, meanwhile, credited Brown's on-court leadership.
"We've got to tip our hats to him, he started that whole momentum for us," Smart said. "We just had to follow his lead.
"When you've got one of your best players setting the tone like that, it's hard for you not to follow. Our defense has been slipping and we wanted to come out and get back to what we do best."
Southern Brave captain Anya Shrubsole predicts women’s cricket is on a path to full professionalisation within a few years.
The former England bowler took six for 46 against India to steer her side to a thrilling nine-run World Cup victory in front of a sold-out Lord’s in 2017, arguably the most memorable moment in her impressive 14-year international career.
The women’s game has accelerated exponentially since then, particularly with the debut of The Hundred in 2021 and, this year, the inaugural Women’s Premier League in India.
“The professionalism is the biggest change,” Shrubsole told the PA news agency.
“Previously you would only be a professional cricketer if you played for England, and then apart from that it was semi-professional, almost a hobby, but you’re asking these players to train as if they’re professional.
“So to have the eight regional teams all with a minimum of 10 professionals, you add the England girls to that, that’s 100 professional female cricketers in this country, all in the last three years, which is just incredible really in such a short space of time and that will keep growing.
“I think it will probably only be a couple of years until we see a fully professional squad across all the regional teams. That’s the thing that’s been the real big difference.”
The two-time World Cup and Ashes winner, 31, stepped down from international duty in April 2022 after earning 173 caps for England across all formats and taking 227 wickets.
The pace bowler still plays domestically for Berkshire, Southern Vipers in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint trophy as a player-coach, and is set to skipper Southern Brave in The Hundred for a third straight season.
Last Saturday saw a world record crowd for a women’s international rugby fixture, 58,498, turn out to watch the Red Roses at Twickenham, two days before Arsenal played their Women’s Champions League semi-final in front of a sold-out 60,063 at the Emirates – a record audience for a women’s club match in England.
On Wednesday, it was announced this month’s women’s FA Cup final will be played in front of a sold-out Wembley for the first time.
Cricket looks to be the next to benefit from the trend driving people to box offices for women’s sport in unprecedented numbers.
More than 66,000 tickets have been snapped up for England women’s fixtures in 2023, already exceeding the total attendance for all 2022 matches, while sales for July’s Ashes have already surpassed figures for the previous two women’s series against Australia combined.
The series finale at Taunton is already sold out, with England hoping to secure the trophy for the first time since 2014.
Shrubsole said: “Yes, you look at the record number of ticket sales but that’s at big grounds as well that England women haven’t played at for a long time.
“The Test match at Trent Bridge, playing at the Oval, playing at Lord’s, the girls are really looking forward to that opportunity to show what they can do on the big stage.
“It’s going to be really hard fought. It’s obviously an England team that’s probably still transitioning a little bit in certain areas, obviously a new coach that’s only been in the role six months, quite a young but very exciting bowling attack. They’re going to have to be at their best.”
ECB organisers hope the Ashes enthusiasm spills over to The Hundred when its third season opens on August 1.
This is the first year the hugely popular women’s Hundred implemented a draft like the men’s competition – something Shrubsole, who was relieved to find herself back in a Brave uniform, agreed was another step forward.
She said: “I think where women’s cricket is going, how much it’s grown, all of those kind of things are just incredible.
“To be in a position to be able to do a draft for the women’s Hundred, to be able to do an auction for the WPL, it’s really incredible and it adds a different dimension. It’s all really exciting.”
Jaylen Brown starred as the Boston Celtics routed the Philadelphia 76ers 121-87 Wednesday to spoil Joel Embiid’s return from injury and coronation as league MVP.
Boston's runaway victory was an emphatic bounce-back performance that tied the second-round series at a game apiece.
Embiid had missed the 76ers' previous two games, including their Game 1 victory Monday, due to injury.
After being announced as the NBA's MVP on Tuesday, Embiid was unable to produce in full force during Game 2, finishing with 15 points and three rebounds while shooting 4 of 9 from the field.
Embiid did make his presence felt on the defensive end by blocking five shots, all in the first half.
James Harden, who scored 45 points in Philadelphia's Game 1 win, shot just 2 of 14 from the field, missing all six of his three-point attempts.
The Celtics held a decided advantage from beyond the arc, making 20 three-pointers to the 76ers' six.
Boston led 57-49 at halftime and connected on seven three-pointers in the third quarter to blow the game open for good.
The Celtics were able to cruise to victory despite frigid shooting performances from both Jayson Tatum and Al Horford, who were a combined 3 of 17 from the field and 1 for 11 from three-point range.
Brown was their star performer with 25 points, while Malcolm Brogdon added 23 from the bench.
Boston guard Marcus Smart was able to play through a chest contusion but briefly left the game after he suffered a right shoulder stinger during a tumble with Embiid. He was able to return.
The series will shift to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Friday.
Carlos Alcaraz remains on course to defend his Madrid Open title after he powered past a determined Karen Khachanov to reach the last four.
The top seed eventually prevailed 6-4 7-5 but only after he staged an impressive fight back in the second set to book a third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
Alcaraz’s clay-court winning streak now stands at nine and he has tasted victory in 19 of his past 20 matches, claiming title triumphs in Indian Wells and Barcelona along the way.
A hard-fought opener went the way of the Spaniard, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Friday, but the second set did not initially go to plan.
Khachanov built up a 5-2 lead and looked set to force a decider only for Alcaraz to find his A-game with a string of winners and drop shots to eventually earn victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
“It was pretty tough. The first set as well, it was close,” said Alcaraz.
“I was in trouble in the second set, a break down and [he had] two break points to have the second break. So, it was really tough for me to come back and he had his chances to win the second set.
“Luckily I knew I was going to have my chances. I just tried to take my opportunities and I’m really happy to get through.”
Borna Coric will face Alcaraz for a place in the Madrid Open final on Friday in what will be their first ever meeting.
The Croatian got the better of lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-3 with victory achieved in one hour and 14 minutes for the 17th seed.
“I always love to play here in Madrid,” Coric said on-court.
“I have very, very nice memories from here and I knew I could play well.
“I came here very early to prepare myself for the tournament, as it’s, I would say, a little bit different to the next tournaments. I’m just very happy to be in the semi-finals.”
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Meanwhile, Andy Murray snapped his losing streak with victory over Gael Monfils in an ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
After first-round exits at the Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, Murray was able to return to winning ways with a 6-3 6-3 win over wild-card Monfils.
Murray will face another Frenchmen in Laurent Lokoli in the last-16 and aim to build momentum before this month’s French Open at Roland Garros.
Carlos Alcaraz remains on course to defend his Madrid Open title after he powered past a determined Karen Khachanov to reach the last four.
The top seed eventually prevailed 6-4 7-5 but only after he staged an impressive fight back in the second set to book a third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
Alcaraz’s clay-court winning streak now stands at nine and he has tasted victory in 19 of his past 20 matches, claiming title triumphs in Indian Wells and Barcelona along the way.
A hard-fought opener went the way of the Spaniard, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Friday, but the second set did not initially go to plan.
Khachanov built up a 5-2 lead and looked set to force a decider only for Alcaraz to find his A-game with a string of winners and drop shots to eventually earn victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
“It was pretty tough. The first set as well, it was close,” said Alcaraz.
“I was in trouble in the second set, a break down and [he had] two break points to have the second break. So, it was really tough for me to come back and he had his chances to win the second set.
“Luckily I knew I was going to have my chances. I just tried to take my opportunities and I’m really happy to get through.”
Borna Coric will face Alcaraz for a place in the Madrid Open final on Friday in what will be their first ever meeting.
The Croatian got the better of lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-3 with victory achieved in one hour and 14 minutes for the 17th seed.
“I always love to play here in Madrid,” Coric said on-court.
“I have very, very nice memories from here and I knew I could play well.
“I came here very early to prepare myself for the tournament, as it’s, I would say, a little bit different to the next tournaments. I’m just very happy to be in the semi-finals.”
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Meanwhile, Andy Murray snapped his losing streak with victory over Gael Monfils in an ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
After first-round exits at the Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, Murray was able to return to winning ways with a 6-3 6-3 win over wild-card Monfils.
Murray will face another Frenchmen in Laurent Lokoli in the last-16 and aim to build momentum before this month’s French Open at Roland Garros.
Duhaney Park Red Sharks defeated Washington Boulevard Bulls 21-8 in a thrilling final to the Easter’s tournament held at the BB Coke High School in St Elizabeth on Saturday. It was a historic occasion as it was the first time that the parish of St Elizabeth was hosting a senior Men’s 9-a-side rugby league tournament for the first time.
Both clubs went undefeated during the group stage and had identical 3-0 records heading into the final. The Bulls raced to an early lead through tries from Javon Lewis and Andree Lee but the Red Sharks pulled level before half-time with tries from Shaquille Pollack and Javian Bryan.
In the second half, the Red Sharks took the ascendancy with a strong defensive display and denied the Bulls any points and extended their lead with additional tries from Adrian Thomas, Kenneth Walker, Marvin Thompson, and Jenson Morris.
Tournament MVP Chevaughn Bailey wrapped up the scoring with a drop goal.
“We wanted our best performance on the day as we have lost out on the last few 9’s titles. Credit to all teams on making the journey to St. Elizabeth and special commendations to St Bess Sledgehammers on organizing a great tournament,” said winning captain Marvin Thompson.
West Kingston Hyenas copped third place with a close 8-4 win over the Jamaica Defence Force while hosts St Bess Sledgehammers finished fifth after an 18-8 win over St Catherine Thundercats.
Portmore Rugby League Club took seventh spot with a 15-0 result over the Liguanea Dragons.
RLJ Vice Chair Adrian Hall was impressed with the tournament.
“It was fantastic to see seven teams travel from Kingston and St Catherine and ensure a successful tournament,” he said.
“We hope to widen the footprint of rugby league in St Elizabeth and the Easter 9s was a good advert for the game. The JMD$70,000 in total prize money for the top three teams added a special incentive for teams to perform to their best.”
The tournament that was sponsored by Cheddi’s Surveillance Cameras and Digital Services, provided good preparation for several national players who will compete for Jamaica in the USARL 9s on May 20 in Naples, Florida.
A second-half turnaround helped Bromley win 2-1 at Woking and earn a place in the Vanarama National League play-off semi-finals for the first time.
Woking had finished fourth in the regular season to earn home advantage for the eliminator and Rohan Ince fired them ahead in the 13th minute.
Seventh-placed Bromley responded on the hour mark through Michael Cheek’s penalty and Deji Elerewe’s 77th-minute effort booked them a trip to Chesterfield on Sunday.
Ince provided Woking with the perfect start when he curled into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.
No second goal occurred for the hosts though and Cheek levelled from the spot for Bromley on the hour mark despite home supporters shining the torch on their phones behind the goal.
The Ravens were in the ascendency now and they grabbed a winner with 13 minutes left when a long throw from Omar Sowunmi found its way to Elerewe at the back post to head home.
Cambridge’s hopes of avoiding relegation from League One took a damaging blow with a 1-0 defeat away to Burton.
Mark Helm struck the only goal of the game in a tense affair where the visitors knew that a victory would lift them out of the bottom four going into their last match of the season.
But instead they sit a point from safety heading into their clash with already-relegated Forest Green on Sunday and needing both MK Dons and Morecambe to drop points to have a chance of survival.
Cambridge began brightly with leading goalscorer Sam Smith denied by a timely challenge from Sam Hughes before pulling a good chance wide from the edge of the box.
But Albion grabbed the lead after 28 minutes when Helm skipped past a couple of challenges before finding the corner of the net via a deflection.
Helm hit a post early in the second period having been brought down by goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov but referee Andy Haines tried to play an advantage as he looked poised to award the penalty.
Ryan Bennett headed a late chance against the crossbar as Cambridge sought an equaliser before Jordan Amissah produced an amazing last ditch save to claw away Smith’s goalbound header.
Joel Embiid's 2023 MVP win shows the influence the 1992 United States men's team had on growing basketball globally, believes former coach Justin Harden.
The Philadelphia 76ers man claimed the league's top individual honour after back-to-back finalist finishes behind Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Embiid, who hails from Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists over 66 games, becoming the third straight international player to win the award following Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jokic.
Harden, who coached Embiid during his senior year at The Rock School in Florida, feels his success underlines how the United States team that conquered the 1992 Olympic Games helped grow the sport globally.
Commonly referred to as the 'Dream Team', the squad was the first to feature professional NBA players, with a team including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird cruising to gold medal success in Barcelona.
"When you think about who's in the top ten players [in the NBA], a good host of them are international players," Harden told Stats Perform.
"From Nikola Jokic to Giannis [Antetokounmpo] to Luka Doncic, [and] then you've got a guy who is undoubtedly going to be the number one pick [in Victor] Wembanyama.
"I can imagine he's going to be great too. I think it just is a testament to the Dream Team and their influence on what they did for international basketball playing in Barcelona.
"There's great coaching all throughout the world. The United States is not necessarily the epicentre or the only option for great basketball to be played.
"It's awesome to see that these guys are going to be MVP. Luka could be the next MVP, and then you have four in a row that are international guys.
"I think it's really neat to see that our game has become such a global sport, because when Joel was here, we had 13 guys on our team, and seven of them were international players, five of them from the continent of Africa.
"We've always cherished what international players can bring to our programme."
Having known Embiid from such a young age, Harden is proud of both the player and the man Embiid has become, saying: "I'm super excited for him. I mean, this is like a breakthrough moment.
"He's had a couple of runner-up finishes, and so it's good to see him be able to break through and have another great season, I think his third in a row.
"I think this was the best one because he withstood from being injured. I think the last two seasons were hampered by his injuries and so out of his control, but his play was certainly great.
"I'm super excited for him. He's a good guy. I knew him when he was a boy, a young boy becoming a man.
"Now he's a grown man. He's got a family. As much as I'm excited to see him win MVP, I'm also equally excited to see him as a father and as a husband."
Wales international Joe Hawkins is “gutted” to miss out on the World Cup after prioritising his “professional development, personal development and financial security” by agreeing to join Exeter.
The 20-year-old centre – who will join the Chiefs from Ospreys at the end of the season – said he has been deemed ineligible to play for his country, with his five caps falling short of the 25 required by the Welsh Rugby Union for players playing outside Wales.
However, Hawkins has insisted he had little choice with no contract on offer in his native country, and claimed he was previously being “underpaid”.
He said in a statement on his social media accounts: “Gaining my first cap for Wales in the Autumn Internationals was an incredibly proud day for my family and I, and continuing to wear the Welsh jersey in the Six Nations fulfilled a childhood dream of mine.
“Unfortunately, I have been deemed ineligible to play for Wales and the opportunity to play in the World Cup is no longer a possibility. I wish the boys and staff the best of luck and I am truly gutted I can’t share this journey with them.
“I want to acknowledge that by signing for the Exeter Chiefs, my first professional contract, I have fully prioritised my rugby career. I have done so with my professional development, personal development and financial security in mind.
“The turbulent period in Welsh rugby, where there were no contracts on offer in Wales, put all out-of-contract players under pressure. Witnessing the number of players currently out of a job in Wales has reinforced my decision.
“Further, while I have spent the last three years playing professional rugby, and later, international rugby, I have been held to an ‘academy contract’, being significantly underpaid.”
Hawkins was not included in Warren Gatland’s 54-man preliminary World Cup training squad when it was announced on Monday, but has vowed to use his time in England to fulfil his potential.
He said: “As a passionate rugby player, my ultimate goal is to fulfil my potential for both my club and country, despite this being put on hold for now.
“However, I am very grateful and excited to focus on next season with my new club. I am determined to work hard and achieve success with my new team-mates at Sandy Park over the coming years.”
Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have resigned from the DP World Tour and in the process seemingly ended their Ryder Cup careers.
The trio have been stalwarts of Europe’s Ryder Cup squad for the best part of three decades but last summer decided to join the LIV Golf series.
A host of other top names were lured to the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway venture with multi-million dollar deals, huge prize funds and no-cut events.
It proved the catalyst for months of wrangling and legal battles and despite Westwood, Poulter and Garcia long ago pledging their allegiances to LIV Golf, only now have they handed in their resignation to the DP World Tour in the latest chapter of the sport’s civil war.
Englishman Richard Bland has also resigned from the DP World Tour, but it is the confirmation of Westwood, Poulter and Garcia’s withdrawal that is the final nail in the coffin of their illustrious Ryder Cup careers.
Westwood remains Europe’s record appearance holder with 11 showings and Garcia the leading all-time points scorer of the competition, while the biennial event always brought out the best of Poulter, but they will now definitely not be involved in September’s latest instalment in Rome.
“The DP World Tour today confirmed it has received membership resignations from Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Richard Bland and Lee Westwood who were sanctioned for serious breaches of the Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation committed last June,” a statement read.
“The DP World Tour would like to take this opportunity to thank the four players for the contribution they have made to the Tour and in particular to Sergio, Ian and Lee for the significant part they have played in Europe’s success in the Ryder Cup over many years.
“Their resignations, however, along with the sanctions imposed upon them, are a consequence of their own choices.
“As we have consistently maintained throughout the past year, the Tour has a responsibility to its entire membership to administer the member regulations which each player signs up to. These regulations are in place to protect the collective interests of all DP World Tour members.
“The independent panel appointed by Sport Resolutions recognised this, determining that our Conflicting Tournament Regulation and its application in the circumstances did not go beyond what was necessary and proportionate to the Tour’s continued operation as a professional golf tour and that we have a legitimate interest in protecting the rights of our full membership by enforcing it.
“A further update on other sanctioned members will be provided on Thursday.”
Westwood, Poulter, Garcia and Bland were all given sanctions by the DP World Tour for breaking rules by appearing in the LIV Golf series’ opening event in Hemel Hempstead last year without permission.
Ineos Grenadiers’ deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth has said the British outfit is open to launching a women’s road racing team in the next couple of years.
The Grenadiers, founded in 2010 as Team Sky and boasting one of the biggest budgets in the sport, have long faced questions over potential investment in a women’s squad – something rival teams including Trek-Segafredo, Jumbo-Visma and Movistar have done with considerable success.
In 2021 the team’s former chief executive Fran Millar said the idea had been discussed as far back as 2012 but rejected at board level by Sky, which backed the team until Sir Jim Racliffe’s Ineos took over in 2019.
The Grenadiers last year signed French mountain bike world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot to their off-road roster, making her their first female rider, but Ellingworth has now said they are open to further expansion into women’s racing.
View this post on Instagram“We’re certainly looking at moving forward,” Ellingworth said. “Obviously bringing Pauline in at the back end of last year, purposefully bringing Pauline in to support her in her Olympic mountain bike campaign.
“She made a brilliant start last week (winning at the French Cup in Gueret) in the world champion’s jersey and she’s been a fantastic addition to the team, so we’re moving in the right direction.”
Ferrand-Prevot, 31, was a world champion on the road in 2014 and has talked of returning to the discipline after the Paris Olympics next summer.
Asked if she might be able to do that in an Ineos jersey, Ellingworth added: “Why not? I’ve always said, you’ve got to follow riders’ dreams and ambitions. You get hold of a rider with really big ambitions and see where they want to go.
“You decide then as a team, are you going to go on that journey or not? If Pauline had the ambition of riding the Tour de France or whatever in the future then what a great story that would be.”
Ineos expanded into off-road racing when they signed Tom Pidcock, the men’s Olympic mountain bike champion and former cyclo-cross world champion, for the start of the 2021 season, and Ellingworth said further expansion could follow.
“There’s no real barrier,” he said. “It’s just a focus thing, the focus of the team and the direction we want go in.
“What we decided a little while back was to broaden out and that was with the mountain bike team with Tom and his ambitions across different disciplines within the sport, then bringing Pauline in.
“I think we’re showing we are looking to spread our wings and do some other things. I think for us all it’s to not just be doing the same things year on year. We’re an ambitious team with ambitious goals and we want to keep moving forward. I think we shall be going in the right direction.”
Rugby chiefs have sealed a multi-million partnership deal which will help to bring more women into the game on and off the pitch as they attempt to seize a potentially pivotal moment.
World Rugby has announced a three-year arrangement with global insurance brokerage Gallagher, the official title partner of Premiership Rugby.
Under the deal, Gallagher becomes an official partner of women’s rugby and Rugby World Cup 2025, WXV – the new, three-tier annual global women’s competition featuring 18 teams – in 2023 and 2024, and a founding partner of a new High Performance Academy aimed at increasing the prominence of females in coaching and other roles within the game.
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The initiative comes days after a record crowd of 58,498 watched England beat France 38-33 to win a fifth consecutive Tik Tok Six Nations title, and six months after 42,579 spectators packed into Eden Park to see New Zealand defeat the Red Roses in the World Cup final.
Speaking from the company’s Chicago headquarters, where she was joined by former England captain Sarah Hunter and three-times World Cup winner Kendra Cocksedge, both brand ambassadors, World Rugby’s head of women’s rugby Sally Horrox said: “We should recognise that it’s a moment in time.
“It’s come six months on the back of a record-breaking World Cup, so for me it’s that momentum and people acknowledging and recognising the value and the potential of the game on more than just one occasion when a World Cup comes around.
“But I would hate people to think it just happened overnight. It’s been building for a while, but with that sort of visibility and fans buying tickets, then people start to recognise value; that unlocks fans and revenue which then unlocks investment which means it does kick us on to a new place.
“That’s what ground-breaking attendances like that more regularly can do for the game – as well as just allowing women like Sarah and Kendra and the people that are following them just to have the right level of attention and the showcase that they deserve as brilliant athletes, which shouldn’t ever forget that.”
World Rugby has set a target of having 25 per cent of all coaching and performance roles with the 16 teams at the 2025 World Cup filled by women, one which Horrox admits is “very, very ambitious”.
Hunter, who retired as a player in March having amassed a record 141 international caps, has seen huge change since her early days in the game, but knows that is only a start.
She said: “There are more females involved in domestic rugby across the world; our next step is to try to get more of those females into that international space.
“You look at Gaelle Mignot over in France, but she’s one of too few that we have, so we want to try to accelerate that and just create a really inclusive landscape for women to want to come and be involved in the game.
“That’s the big thing we need to do, we need to make it a place that women have the confidence to come. There are so many great female leaders out there and it’s just saying, ‘Actually, no you are good enough and actually, you do belong at that level in this game’.
“Hopefully this is what this programme will do.”
One day after being announced as the NBA's most valuable player, Joel Embiid could return from a right knee injury when the Philadelphia 76ers visit the Boston Celtics for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday.
Embiid took part in the team's shootaround on Wednesday morning, and he now has a chance to suit up for the first time since Game 3 of the first round against the Brooklyn Nets.
Embiid sat out Game 4 of the opening round on April 22 due to a sprained ligament in the knee as Philadelphia swept Brooklyn.
The six-time All-Star then missed Game 1 of the semifinals in Boston on Monday, as the 76ers won 119-115 behind James Harden's 45 points.
Embiid finally won MVP honours on Tuesday after runner-up finishes in the previous two seasons.
He averaged a career-best 33.1 points in 2022-23 to claim his second straight scoring title, also adding 10.2 rebounds and a career high-tying 4.2 assists per game.
Embiid also set a personal best by shooting 54.8 per cent from the field, while his 66 games were the second-most he has played during a single campaign in his career.
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