LeBron James was "just excited to be back" on Saturday as he marked his return from injury with a triple-double in the Los Angeles Lakers' win over the New York Knicks.
After a five-game absence due to a knee problem, James scored 29 points as the Lakers came back from a 15-point deficit to beat the Knicks 122-115 in overtime.
The 37-year-old also tallied 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the 103rd triple-double of his storied career and his fourth of this season.
James admitted it took time to get into the swing of things after a long time out of action, but he was thrilled to make a winning return, the Lakers having gone 1-4 in his absence.
"After the first quarter, the knee loosened up a lot more," he said. "My mind loosened up a lot more. And I was just able to play basketball.
"But [I was] just excited to be back in the uniform, back on the floor with my guys. Missed them, missed the game. I was happy I was able to make a few plays and help us win a ballgame."
Anthony Davis also starred, his 28 points and 17 rebounds helping the Lakers to recover after falling 42-29 behind in the first quarter.
The eight-time All-Star was relieved to have James back on the court, even if his performance was barely a surprise.
"It's a hell of a return," said Davis. "He's doing LeBron-type things. [I] Expected nothing less from him. Efficient from the field.
"S***, he did what he's supposed to do. He helped us, for sure. So, I missed him. He's a big part of our team with his voice, his leadership, play-making ability. And he came back and showed it."
The Lakers, who improved to 26-28, are ninth in the Western Conference standings, just behind the 27-27 Los Angeles Clippers.
LeBron James returned from a five-game injury-enforced absence with a triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers won 122-115 over the New York Knicks in overtime.
James had missed five games with swelling in his left knee but returned in style, contributing 29 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists as they rallied from a 21-point second-quarter deficit.
The Lakers had gone 1-4 in James' absence but the four-time MVP was pivotal with his fourth triple-double of the season.
Anthony Davis was excellent for the Lakers with 28 points and 17 rebounds, while Malik Monk added 29 points too.
RJ Barrett netted a career-high 36 points and Julius Randle added 32 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists for the Knicks.
Suns bounce back, Morant stars
The table-topping Phoenix Suns bounced back from their loss to the Atlanta Hawks with a 95-80 win over the Washington Wizards led by Deandre Ayton's 20 points and 16 rebounds. Chris Paul added 14 points and nine assists, while Devin Booker was quiet with only 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Jimmy Butler dropped 27 points shooting 10-of-13 while Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Miami Heat won 104-86 over the Charlotte Hornets.
Ja Morant scored 33 points in three quarters as the Memphis Grizzlies claimed their fifth win in six games, routing the Orlando Magic 135-115.
Blazers skid extended by Bucks
The Portland Trail Blazers slumped to their fifth straight defeat, leaving them with a 21-33 record as Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points with nine rebounds and six assists in the Milwaukee Bucks' 137-108 win. Bobby Portis also scored 30 points for the Bucks.
The Los Angeles Clippers are uncertain if injured star pair Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will return this season.
Two-time NBA Finals MVP Leonard has been out since June with a torn right ACL which forced him out of last season's playoffs.
George has missed the Clippers' past 22 games, having been sidelined with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right shooting elbow since December 22.
The Clippers made the 2020-21 Conference Finals but are 27-27 this season, with injuries taking their toll.
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank conceded he was uncertain whether 30-year-old small forward Leonard would return this season.
"I think the best answer is we don't know," Frank said. "He grinds every single day. He works. His focus is on his rehab.
"No one knows. He doesn't know. But all you can do is, just every day, continue to control what you can control and see how he responds."
Clippers head coach Ty Lue had alarmingly mentioned on Thursday that they "know Kawhi's probably not gonna come back," but he moved to clarify that comment.
"Hope is stronger than fear," Lue said. "So I'm hoping that these two guys can come back. But you never know."
Seven-time All-Star George will undergo an MRI on his elbow on February 24 but Frank said that would dictate his return date.
"You don't treat the MRI, you treat the player," Frank said. "When the MRI comes in, it's not a 'boom' that all of a sudden is a 'Eureka' moment for what we do. I think it's just part of the process.
"I think it's you see how Paul is responding. He's feeling better each and every day. The MRI is another kind of benchmark.
"I think the doctors put it all together and that's how they come to what the next steps are. My expectation is regardless of what the MRI says, it's just part of it. That's not going to be the ultimate decision-maker in what happens."
Qualifier Alejandro Tabilo stunned top seed Diego Schwartzman to progress to his first ATP Tour final at the Cordoba Open.
Schwartzman, the world number 14, had been hoping to win a title on home soil in Argentina for the second time in his career.
But his Chilean opponent continued his remarkable run with a 6-3 7-6 (8-6) upset, the world number 144 now having won 12 successive sets at the tournament stretching back to qualifying.
Tabilo only won his first title on the Challenger Tour in November but has carried that momentum through into 2022.
"I've been playing my best tennis for a few months now and I finished the year strong," said Tabilo.
"I think I just needed one of these weeks to kind of click and get going. Hopefully this is the start of something good, and hopefully I can keep this level."
Tabilo will face Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the final after the Spaniard beat another home hope in Juan Ignacio Londero.
Ramos-Vinolas prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, surpassing his own expectations after a first-round exit at the Australian Open.
"When I came here after Australia, I didn't expect to be in the final, to be honest," he said.
"I was not playing my best. The pre-season [I worked] very hard but the feeling was not very good.
"Now I'm in the final. The only thing I can do is try to fight as much as I can."
Chris Eubank Jr said he taught Liam Williams a lesson after knocking him down four times en route to a unanimous middleweight win.
Trash talk between the two fighters had dominated the build-up to an enticing showdown in Cardiff, yet it was Eubank who thrived when it came time to back up those words in the ring.
He claimed victory 116-109, 116-108 and 117-109 on the cards, a combination of Williams' bravery and some Eubank showboating seeing the fight go the distance.
Eubank, a two-time former IBO super-middleweight champion, can likely look forward to a world title shot later in 2022. He is already the mandatory challenger for Ryota Murata's WBA (super) belt following his move back down to middleweight.
"I am happy with the performance, I wanted to teach that man a lesson, he said some quite menacing things to me in the lead-up to this fight," Eubank said.
"I wanted to punish him. I didn't want to knock him out in one round, I wanted to punish him.
"Headbutts, headlocks, I am surprised he didn't get disqualified. But I took it like a man and I punished him like I said I would. It was a fun night.
"I think I showed some of my critics a different side to me. There was no danger, if I had stepped on the gas at any point in the fight he would have been gone.
"There are levels to this game. Don't be a big mouth against guys you can get hurt against."
Alexander Zverev will face Alexander Bublik in the Open Sud de France final after easing to victory over Mikael Ymer on Saturday.
The top seed is seeking a 20th tour-level title and has yet to drop a set in his three matches in Montpellier after beating Bublik 6-1 6-3.
Ymer eliminated Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet en route to the semi-finals, but the world number 83 struggled against Zverev in his third straight loss to the German.
Zverev was triumphant in his last appearance in this tournament five years ago and is the strong favourite heading into Sunday's final with Bublik.
"I am in the final and I am happy about that," Zverev said in his on-court interview. "I played a pretty good match. I think I played one bad game in the whole match.
"Overall I am happy to be in another final, playing against Alex who I have known since I was 12 years old, so hopefully it will be a fun match."
Bublik also claimed a routine win in his semi-final against Filip Krajinovic, the sixth seed prevailing 6-4 6-2 in a little over an hour.
The 24-year-old is through to his fifth ATP Tour final, having most recently gone all the way at the Singapore Open last February, where he lost to Alexei Popyrin.
At the Tata Open Maharashtra, Mikael's older brother Elias Ymer squandered three match points to lose 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 to Joao Sousa in Pune.
The Swedish qualifier had defied the odds to make it to the semi-finals and took the opening set against Sousa, before recovering from 4-1 down to level up the second set 4-4.
But Sousa edged the tie-break and survived three match points in the 10th game of the deciding set, which he would go on to win.
Sousa will face Emil Ruusuvuori in Sunday's final after the world number 87 overcame Kamil Majchrzak 6-3 7-6 (7-0) earlier in the day.
It marks the first tour final that Ruusuvuori has reached, while Sousa is in the hunt for a fourth title at this level.
Lewis Hamilton has hinted he may return to Formula One this season in a cryptic post on his social media accounts.
The seven-time world champion's future in the sport is uncertain after he was denied a record-breaking eighth title by Max Verstappen at the end of last season.
Hamilton looked set to surpass Michael Schumacher heading into the final stage of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, only for Verstappen to controversially snatch glory in the closing moments.
It is unknown whether the Mercedes driver will return in 2022, with former F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone stating his belief that he would retire.
Meanwhile, brother Nicolas confirmed that Hamilton was taking a break from social media – on which he had been quiet having not posted since December 11 – while relaxing with family in the ski slopes.
But the 37-year-old has broken his silence. Addressing his 33.8 million followers across Twitter and Instagram, Hamilton posted: "I've been gone. Now I'm back!"
Should he return, Hamilton is set to partner George Russell at Mercedes in his latest quest for an eighth world title.
Scotland made a winning start to the Guinness Six Nations as Finn Russell's late penalty secured a narrow 20-17 victory over England at Murrayfield.
The hosts led the 140th Calcutta Cup clash 10-6 at half-time after Ben White crossed for a try on his debut.
However, England's Marcus Smith went over after the break – taking his personal tally to 17 points – to put Eddie Jones' side in control at 17-10 up.
But there was to be a late twist with the hosts awarded a penalty try after Luke Cowan-Dickie was penalised, before Russell held his nerve to secure back-to-back wins over England for the first time since 1984.
Jones claimed earlier in the week that Scotland were "red-hot" favourites to beat England who, missing the likes of Owen Farrell and Courtney Lawes through injury, fielded seven players boasting 10 or fewer caps.
Nevertheless, the visitors controlled possession and territory throughout the first half, with Smith breaking the deadlock in the 17th minute.
The hosts responded almost immediately with Darcy Graham embarking on a powerful surge, before offloading for White – on while Ali Price received treatment for a head injury – to cross just minutes into his Test career.
The right boot of Smith kept England within touching distance at 10-9 behind, and he gratefully received Ben Youngs' offload 13 minutes into the second half; powering to the line after a solid spell of pressure.
But momentum swung in favour of Scotland, who were awarded a penalty try after the TMO ruled Cowan-Dickie deliberately knocked Russell's punt into touch with Graham lurking.
With Cowan-Dickie subsequently sin-binned, the hosts capitalised on their numerical advantage with the boot of Russell edging them back in front, and they held on despite a late surge from their opponents.
Andrew Conway helped himself to a double as Ireland eased to a 29-7 bonus-point victory over Wales in the opening game of the 2022 Six Nations to make it nine wins in a row.
Wales defied the odds to win the title last year but the injury hit visitors, without captain Alun Wyn Jones and a number of other experienced players, were outclassed in Dublin.
Ireland led 10-0 at half-time, with Bundee Aki crossing over for the only try, but their dominance truly told in the second half at the Aviva Stadium.
Conway added two more and Garry Ringrose joined the scoring, rendering Taine Basham's late try nothing more than a consolation as Ireland recorded a fifth home Test win in a row against Wales for the first time.
Ireland needed just two minutes to score the first try of the tournament through Aki, who had the simplest of run-ins after being picked out by debutant Mack Hansen.
Johnny Sexton added the extras and, after missing a couple of penalties in quick succession, the Irish skipper kicked over again to pass the 500-points mark in the Six Nations.
Conway collected an offload from Sexton early in the second half, jinked past a couple of opponents and squeezed over at full stretch, the try allowed to stand after a TMO check.
Josh Adams was sin-binned for a reckless challenge on Sexton and more misery was to follow for Wales as Conway profited from Josh van de Flier's work to double his try tally.
Ringrose breezed through to add a fourth try for Ireland, who were undone late on when Basham intercepted from Tadhg Beirne and dived down under the posts.
Kyrie Irving says it is time for the struggling Brooklyn Nets to face the reality of their situation in the NBA but urged the team not to panic.
As the returning Donovan Mitchell dominated, Brooklyn went down to a heavy 125-102 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday.
James Harden (hamstring), Kevin Durant (knee), LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle) and Joe Harris (ankle) were all again absent for a Nets team who have lost seven straight games.
The team were tipped for a championship run this season but have plummeted to sixth in the Eastern Conference ahead of Sunday's trip to Denver to face the Nuggets.
Amid the Nets' worst run of the season, Irving told ESPN: "It's really just where we are, facing reality that we are not winning ballgames right now.
"We have got to kind of get out of that hole with just one win and then start a new streak from that point.
"[There is] no time to feel like our season is in doomsday or that we need to push the panic button at all points.
"But we have to face reality that a lot of guys, a lot of my teammates, we're still getting to know one another, how we play, what's our spots, offensive and defensive tendencies.
"And then communication - knowing that we can get on guys and guys love to be coached.
"It's not just from the head coach or the assistants but really just from us as teammates and then trusting that we have the experience to win basketball games."
Irving, who cannot play in home games due to COVID-19 vaccination rules in New York City, insists building a winning culture takes time.
He had a poor game against the Jazz, finishing with 15 points in 31 minutes on court after going just six for 20 from the field.
"Myself alone, I can't do it," Irving said. "It's always going to be about the collective unit and how we feel good about being close as a team and then going out there and playing basketball, which is supposed to be fun.
"But when you're losing and it's a win-first league and a win-only league - you get judged by wins and statistics and how well you put a streak together and how consistent you are. So the spot we're in is going to look like it's far worse than what it is.
"Being in this league for as long as I have been for 11 years, I've seen ups and downs, experiences.
"We have just got to trust that we have the group regardless of who's in or out of the lineup to be able to put a 48-minute game together.
"I don't feel like I'm close to where I want to be personally.
"I have mountain-high expectations for myself, but right now I feel like with our personnel, if I'm not shooting well or I'm not playing well or we don't have the same production from guys that we're used to getting it from, it's going to be a tough night.
"Building championship habits takes time and time is not necessarily always on our side.
"It is about staying resilient and knowing that there's another level to push to when you're tired and you have all the excuses in the world and you just continue on. You don't hold your head or anything like that."
Rookie Cam Thomas was one bright spot for the Nets, posting a career-high 30 points.
Donovan Mitchell's performance "looked like a video game" as he made a spectacular return to the court after missing eight straight games due to a concussion.
That was the view of his Utah Jazz teammate Udoka Azubuike after Mitchell made up for lost time as the Jazz, fourth in the Western Conference, outclassed the out-of-form Brooklyn Nets 125-102 on Friday.
Mitchell ended the game with 27 points in just under 22 minutes, draining six of his seven three-point attempts and adding six assists.
He set a franchise record for most points scored in under 22 minutes, while Bojan Bogdanovic was a valuable ally with 19 points and 11 rebounds, ensuring the Nets were consigned to a seventh consecutive defeat.
Azubuike found himself in disbelief at Mitchell's heroics.
"He was unbelievable," Azubuike said about Mitchell. "It looked like a video game. There was one time I had to catch myself in the moment because I was just watching him.
"Every shot was going in. Don is a star."
For Mitchell, who has reached three straight All-Star Games, getting back to action was the most important factor after the Jazz went 2-6 in his absence.
"I was just happy to be playing basketball," he said, per ESPN. "I was joking before the game that I didn't care if the ball went in.
"I was just happy to be out there running around, guarding, thinking the game and playing with my teammates.
"I'd rather be out there playing, but I just told someone my legs haven't felt that fresh in a long time."
With Quin Snyder in the COVID-19 health and safety protocols, it was Alex Jensen who acted as interim coach for the Jazz, with Mitchell's return making his task more straightforward.
"There's so much focus other teams have on him that it frees up other guys offensively," said Jensen.
"He's Donovan Mitchell and makes life a lot easier for everybody."
James Harden (hamstring), Kevin Durant (knee), LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle) and Joe Harris (ankle) were all again absent for a Nets team who have plummeted to sixth in the East.
The Nets' Kyrie Irving acknowledged they had come up against one of the NBA's biggest stars in Mitchell.
"We have a lot of special guys in our league," said Irving, who ended the game with 15 points after going just six for 20 from the field.
"But there are a few special guys that even separate from that group of just being special and he's one of those people."
The Jazz host the New York Knicks on Monday in the third contest of a six-game run at home that has so far produced two victories from two.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, will be in Denver to face the Nuggets on Sunday.
Nikola Vucevic was tasked with dominating the middle against the depleted Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls center was up to the task.
Vucevic earned a 29th double-double of the season, scoring a season-high 36 points and adding 17 rebounds as the Bulls earned a 122-115 triumph on Friday.
DeMar DeRozan contributed 31 points to the cause against a Pacers side devoid of Goga Bitadze, Malcolm Brogdon, Isaiah Jackson, T.J. McConnell, Myles Turner and T.J. Warren due to injuries, while Domantas Sabonis is unavailable due to health and safety protocols.
The Bulls consequently remain top of the Eastern Conference after winning for the fourth time in six outings, with Vucevic going 16 of 21 from the field.
In credit to the Pacers, they were only trailing 65-62 at halftime and briefly led when Lance Stephenson landed a three-pointer with a little under three minutes of the third quarter remaining, but a 10-0 stretch in the fourth ensured the Bulls were in control.
Mitchell return inspires Jazz against out-of-sorts Nets
Donovan Mitchell missed eight straight games as a result of a concussion but made up for lost time as the Utah Jazz, fourth in the West, outclassed the out-of-form Brooklyn Nets 125-102.
Mitchell ended the game with 27 points on the back of eight-for-10 shooting, while he drained six three-pointers and added six assists in 22 minutes of action. His tally was a franchise record for most points scored under 22 minutes.
Bojan Bogdanovic was a valuable ally with 19 points and 11 rebounds, as the Nets were consigned to a seventh consecutive defeat.
James Harden (hamstring), Kevin Durant (knee), LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle) and Joe Harris (ankle) were all again absent for a Nets team who have plummeted to sixth in the East.
Doncic triple-double sparks Mavs comeback
Not for the first time in his career, Luka Doncic was the hero for the Dallas Mavericks as they overturned a 16-point second-quarter deficit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-98.
Doncic earned a 44th career triple-double, finishing with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists in a game that was paused for 44 minutes during the opening period after it was ruled one of the rims was crooked.
Reggie Bullock made a pair of big three-pointers down the stretch in a 20-point showing, while Jalen Brunson put up 19.
The Mavs snapped a two-game losing streak, while the 76ers - for who Joel Embiid had 27 points and 13 rebounds - have lost two on the spin for the first time since the middle of December.
Diego Schwartzman survived a scare from lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan to reach the semi-finals of the Cordoba Open.
Top seed Schwartzman lost the first set to this Colombian opponent, but recovered to prevail 3-6 6-0 7-5.
Yet the Argentine still had to battle to clinch the decisive set, dropping serve when attempting to wrap up the match at 5-3.
He recovered from that setback and is just two wins away from his second title on home soil, having won in Buenos Aires last year.
Schwartzman will face qualifier Alejandro Tabilo in the last four.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas, seeded sixth, beat fourth seed Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets to book his place in the semis, where he will face Juan Ignacio Londero.
Alexander Zverev breezed into the semi-finals of the Open Sud de France by beating home favourite Adrian Mannarino for the loss of just one game.
The world number three needed just 50 minutes to swat aside Mannarino 6-1 6-0 to set up a last-four match with Mikael Ymer.
Champion at this event in 2017, Zverev's record in Montpellier moved to 9-1 and he has now won seven matches in a row against Mannarino.
Ymer, the world number 83, squandered one match point in his contest with Richard Gasquet but eventually came through 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 6-1.
The best entertainment came in the earlier match between Alexander Bublik and Roberto Bautista Agut, sixth seed Bublik eventually coming through 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-4) after just over two hours on court.
He will face Filip Krajinovic for a place in the final, the Serbian having beaten Damir Dzumhur in straight sets.
At the Tata Open Maharashtra, rising Italian star Lorenzo Musetti was surprised by world number 95 Kamil Majchrzak.
The Pole, who defeated Musetti's compatriot Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open in straight sets, won 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to set up a semi-final against Emil Ruusuvuori.
The other semi-final sees Joao Sousa, into the last four at Tour level for the first time since St Petersburg in 2019, face Elias Ymer.
"I think I played a great match," said Sousa after beating Daniel Altmaier in straight sets. "I was very solid. I knew it was going to be a tough match, so I was prepared to run a lot."
The Six Nations is upon us for 2022, as Wales bid to defend their crown.
Wales won in 2021 without completing the Grand Slam, just the second time they have tasted victory without beating all five opponents, as their success came at the expense of France, who were frustrated by Scotland at the last.
Wayne Pivac's men are by no means favourites this time, however. They come into this Championship without Alun Wyn Jones, their captain and a great of the game, while George North leads a glut of star names also absent through injury.
Should Wales triumph, they would match a feat previously achieved only by England, while France are looking to end a long drought of success in the tournament.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform digs into some of the most intriguing facts ahead of the Six Nations.
Wales set England's record in their sights
The past 11 editions of the Six Nations have been won by either England, Ireland or Wales.
England and Wales have won the Championship four times each during that period.
If Wales defend their title successively, they would become the second team, after England, to win the competition seven times since the turn of the century, when it became the Six Nations.
But Pivac has some big names missing – none more so than Jones. Saturday's match against Ireland will be first time since 2006 that Wales have played in the Six Nations without him, while only Sergio Parisse (also 15) has appeared in as many editions of the Championship as Jones.
Can France finally strike gold?
In total, 86 tries were scored in the 2021 edition, the most in a single edition of the tournament. However, despite the free-scoring nature of the games, eight matches were decided by margins of five points or fewer, more than in any other previous Championship.
France were on the wrong end of one such fine margin, as they saw their hopes of winning the tournament for the first time since 2010 dashed in a postponed meeting with Scotland, which was played after the rest of the schedule had been completed.
Les Bleus' 11-year wait to win the Six Nations is the longest such stretch in their history, having joined the tournament in 1947.
France's squad is stacked full of talent, though. After recovering from COVID-19, Antoine Dupont is in line to play against Italy this weekend – only Wales' Louis Rees-Zammit (nine) made more clean breaks than the scrum-half last year (eight), with three other French players in the top 12 by that metric.
Dupont beat a defender on 13 occasions and topped the charts for offloads (nine) and try assists (five), ranking second for kicks in play (41) after Scotland's Finn Russell (47).
Romain Ntamack missed much of last year's tournament due to a jaw injury but is also set to feature.
Time for Scotland to step out of the shadows?
Scotland have never won the Six Nations, but they impressed in 2021. They enjoyed more possession (58 per cent) and territory (55 per cent) than any other side, as well as managing the best tackle success rate (91 per cent), and their tally of 9.8 entries into the opposition 22 per game was also the highest.
Duhan van der Merwe beat 31 defenders, surpassing Brian O'Driscoll's record for the most in a single edition of the Six Nations (30 in 2000) – it was also the first time that a Scotland player has ended a campaign as the outright top try scorer (five tries; excluding years with joint top-scorers).
Van der Merwe also tallied both the most metres carried (482) and the most post-contact metres (208) of any player. Hamish Watson, meanwhile, has now completed 149 tackles in a row in the Six Nations, having not missed one since 2019. Only Lionel Nallet (154) has made more consecutive tackles without missing in the history of the tournament.
England and Ireland out to prove their quality
England have won three of the six editions of the Six Nations since Eddie Jones took charge at the beginning of 2016, with only Bernard Laporte (four) having coached his team to more Championship wins this century.
Jones' team had the best lineout success rate (95 per cent) in the 2021 tournament, losing just three of 58 throws. Luke Cowan-Dickie landed 32 of 32 throws, the most ever by a player in an edition of the tournament not to miss a throw.
Yet that proficiency in the lineout was not enough to propel England to success, as they won only twice to finish a disappointing fifth.
Ireland finished third, on the other hand, despite losing their first two games.
Andy Farrell's team converted 94 per cent of their kicks last year, the best rate of any nation, missing just one penalty goal attempt and one conversion (29 of 31). In fact, it was the best ever success rate by a team to attempt 25 or more kicks at goal in an edition of the tournament, with captain Johnny Sexton the top points scorer (65).
Italy just making up the numbers?
Italy lost all five games again last year, picking up a 16th wooden spoon. They have lost 32 successive Tests in the competition, the longest run in Five/Six Nations history.
The wooden spoon has been theirs in each of the past six years, this after finishing bottom of the Championship just once in the four campaigns before that.
Joe Ingles expects to return to the NBA but not necessarily the Utah Jazz following his ACL tear.
Jazz forward Ingles sustained the injury to his left knee in Sunday's defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Australian is already 34 and facing a lengthy lay-off, but he is determined to recover and play again at the top level.
Ingles was a Sixth Man of the Year finalist in 2020-21 – team-mate Jordan Clarkson won the award – and has been a key role-player in Utah for eight seasons.
Only 10 players have appeared in more games for the Jazz all-time than the injured Boomer (590).
He points out his game relies more on shooting from deep than driving to the basket; he is a 40.8 per cent career three-point shooter and his 1,071 made threes are the most in franchise history.
Therefore, the prospect of a return appears more likely. Klay Thompson, one of the NBA's great three-point shooters (41.8 per cent), recently came back from consecutive serious injuries – the first of which was a torn ACL.
"Literally no doubt [about returning]," Ingles told ESPN. "I know probably everybody says that when they're going through this. A few days post-injury, people might think I'm a little bit crazy.
"But you look at people who have been through this. The MRI was a little bit of a win, I guess, with it just being my ACL.
"Then the other part of it – and we joke about it – is my game. My game has never been based on athleticism, above the rim or anything like that.
"I'm not writing off what this surgery is and what the rehab looks like, but everyone around the league knows how I play and what I can do."
However, Ingles' contract was already expiring and could be considered a trade asset prior to free agency, meaning his next game may very well be in another team's colours.
"If I'm able to get someone back [in a trade] that would help them make a push for the end of the year, I understand that," Ingles said, with the Jazz fourth in the West.
"I'm not going to sit here and be sour and upset. I've built my eight years here of hard work and in the community and all that stuff, but I'm very well aware of the business side and all that."
He added: "Having an ACL obviously throws a bit of a spanner in the works with some of it, but I have good relationships with the Jazz and the front office and coach [Quin Snyder].
"I've got the best agent [Mark Bartelstein] in the league. It's a very fluid conversation, and we just have open lines of conversation."
France talisman Antoine Dupont has recovered from coronavirus in time to captain Les Bleus in their Six Nations opener against Italy on Sunday.
World Rugby Player of the Year Dupont had withdrawn from his country's initial squad for the Championship having tested positive, yet he has now been cleared to return for matchday one.
The scrum-half, who is skipper in place of the injured Charles Ollivon, was the 2020 Player of the Championship and starred again in 2021 as France came agonisingly close to the title, leading the tournament with five try assists.
Four of those assists came in last year's meeting with Italy, becoming the first player to achieve that feat in a single game in Six Nations history.
Les Bleus are not quite clear of COVID-19 for this clash, however, as coach Fabien Galthie will be absent following his positive test, meaning general manager Raphael Ibanez is in charge.
He comes up against Kieran Crowley in his first Six Nations match as Italy coach in Saint-Denis.
Crowley has named a youthful Azzurri side, including two debutants in the XV in Tommaso Menoncello and Toa Halafihi.
Italy have only won one of 24 away Tests against France – back in March 1997 – and come into this match on a record 32-game losing run in the Six Nations.
France team: Melvyn Jaminet, Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Gabin Villiere, Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont (captain); Cyril Baille, Julien Marchand, Uini Atonio, Cameron Woki, Paul Willemse, Anthony Jelonch, Dylan Cretin, Gregory Alldritt.
Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Demba Bamba, Romain Taofifenua, Francois Cros, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana, Thomas Ramos.
Italy team: Edoardo Padovani, Tommaso Menoncello, Juan Ignacio Brex, Marco Zanon, Montanna Ioane, Paolo Garbisi, Stephen Varney; Danilo Fischetti, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Tiziano Pasquali, Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza, Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro (captain), Toa Halafihi.
Replacements: Epalahame Faiva, Ivan Nemer, Giosue Zilocchi, Marco Fuser, Giovanni Pettinelli, Manuel Zuliani, Callum Braley, Leonardo Marin.
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