Managing director of the Netball Super League Claire Nelson hopes netball can “capitalise on this moment for women’s sport” as it strives for professionalisation.
England Netball announced last year that the Super League will be relaunched in 2025 with the vision of clubs playing in bigger venues, enhancing live and TV audience experience and providing closer competition.
Professionalisation will also aim to provide “advancements in the elite environment to ensure players can choose and experience rewarding careers in netball”.
Nelson was appointed to her role in April last year having previously worked for Netball Scotland and Strathclyde Sirens and hopes netball can “capitalise” on its moment.
She told the PA news agency: “We have some amazing targets. We talk about our 10-year strategy, but we want to win golds on the world stage at World Cups and we want to build the most competitive, commercially vibrant, captivating league in the world.
“When you look at what we have as foundations, they’re so good and everything we’re doing now is to actually capitalise on this moment for women’s sport, but more importantly for our sport.
“This is a moment for netball, our bounce back post-COVID has seen us absolutely smashing our participation and membership numbers – we’re a big sport.
“We’ve now got this professionalisation opportunity where we can go into bigger arenas and take our sport to more households.”
The Super League is already three games into the 2024 season ahead of next year’s relaunch and Severn Stars and Manchester Thunder are the only unbeaten teams, sitting three points ahead of defending champions Loughborough Lightning.
The sport’s professionalisation ambitions follow in the footsteps of other women’s sports which are continuing to flourish at the highest level and Nelson believes netball is the “biggest untapped opportunity”.
“For me, netball’s the biggest untapped opportunity in women’s sport bar none,” she added.
“We’re in this moment where women’s sport is front and centre, so people are wanting to see, to experience, to consume, to support women’s sport.
“Then what we bring to the table is the opportunity to blank canvas, create this product which actually is an intersect from what happens on a court to what’s happening digitally and how we can become more lifestyle and music and fashion and entertainment, how we can unlock the talent potential in our athletes and tell their stories.”
Domestic professionalisation can only be helped by England’s Vitality Roses, who continue to enjoy success on the international stage.
The Roses earned an historic gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in a dramatic final against Australia and they finished third in the World Cup on home soil in 2019.
More recently, England took silver in their maiden World Cup final appearance in South Africa last year and Nelson believes the Roses are the “pinnacle” of England Netball’s aims.
She said: “This is the beauty of what we do here at England Netball, we’ve got the whole sport, we’ve got international, we’re going to have professional domestic and then we’ve got grassroots and community.
“All of these should be integrated and they should be complementary and that’s what we’re trying to build – this ecosystem of a sport where everyone can enjoy their experience and thrive in it, but the Roses are absolutely the pinnacle.
“I have to get the best performance programme and competition in the Super League because that is going to ensure that we have Roses success on the world stage. Roses success on the world stage makes people want to show up and support.
“It’s all interconnected and it’s all complementary, it makes my job a whole lot easier when we have great performances from these incredible athletes on the world stage.”
Exeter wing and Gladiators star Jodie Ounsley has targeted a place in the England 15s squad after hanging up her super-hero outfit and changing back into a rugby kit.
The 23-year-old from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, is already an England Sevens international and has set the bar high following her exploits as Fury on the revamped BBC show.
Ounsley, who became the first deaf woman to play for a senior England rugby side in 2019, told the PA news agency ahead of International Women’s Day: “I was straight back into rugby the week after filming finished last summer, but because of my injury I’ve been out.
“Quite a lot of people thought I’d given up rugby, which is not the case at all. I’m full-time rugby and part-time Gladiator.
“I’d love to do another Gladiators series, but right now it’s all rugby for me. I’ve still got a long way to go, but I’d love to be involved with the Red Roses 15s.
“I’m focused on getting back fit, hopefully getting some game-time in the Premiership with Exeter and then who knows?”
The multi-talented Ounsley is a former British jiu-jitsu champion, five-time world junior coal-carrying champion and represented Great Britain at the 2017 Deaf Olympics in the 100m and 200m sprints, aged just 16.
But after scoring a length-of-the-field try with her very first touch in her first rugby match for local club Sandal, she was hooked on the 15-a-side game and never looked back.
Ounsley was included in the England Sevens squad while at first professional club Loughborough Lightning and was snapped up by Sale Sharks in 2020 before joining her third top-flight club, Exeter Chiefs, in 2022.
“There’s so much competition in the Red Roses, especially the back three, so I’m not putting any expectation on it,” she said.
“I’m just going to work hard and let’s see what happens. First of all I just want to get back on the pitch and see where I can go with it.”
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Ounsley has long been blazing a trail for the deaf community and, since starring in Gladiators, her popularity has transcended to a wider audience.
She is grateful to her growing fan-base for helping her inspire the next generation of deaf athletes and change the perception of women’s rugby in general.
Ounsley, whose TikTok followers alone number over 176,000, said: “I just love showing young kids you can be a bad-ass rugby player, a bit savage, but also be a nice person and still be feminine. I like to show people that.
“I always wanted to be successful in sport, whatever that might be. But I never in a million years expected it to turn out how it did and have such a platform.
“In terms of the rugby community and kids now getting into rugby, girls playing it and having that ‘Fury mentality’ of smashing people and stuff… I love it!”
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Ounsley is completely deaf in both ears and wears a scrum-cap while playing rugby to protect her cochlear implant.
She is a “super-proud” honorary president of UK Deaf Sport and a patron of the Elizabeth Foundation, a charity which helps young deaf children learn to listen and talk.
“Being on Gladiators has meant so much to me, not because it’s on TV, but because we can be good role models to kids,” she said.
“We look a bit like super-heroes, so they’re perhaps more susceptible to us setting a good example, but the response has blown me away.”
As tough-tackling Exeter wing or as Fury the Gladiator, Ounsley is playing her part in the drive to raise the profile of women’s sport.
“The gap is massive, obviously, and I know there’s a long way to go,” she added.
“We’re sort of indebted to the Lionesses. They’ve taken it to another level. Women’s football is showing the support is there and women’s rugby has stepped it up over the last few years.
“Women’s sport is certainly becoming a lot more popular. More people are appreciating that there are some super-talented female athletes out there.”
Whilst most sports are now moving to develop and promote their women’s game independently of the men’s, racing has the rare distinction of allowing both sexes to compete directly against one another.
The majority of jockeys are male, but there has been breakthrough after breakthrough in the women’s ranks and responsible for much of that progress is the great talent of Hollie Doyle.
Doyle is not just a supreme female jockey, but a leading rider regardless of gender and is one of only a handful of jockeys to enjoy a retained role as the go-to for Imad Al Sagar’s Blue Diamond Stud.
It is aboard their star mare Nashwa that she has enjoyed great success in recent seasons, winning three Group Ones and collecting several placings at the top level in a career that looks set to continue when the Flat season really starts next month.
John and Thady Gosden train Nashwa but Doyle is the stable jockey for Archie Watson, for whom she has registered countless victories aboard big names such as Glen Shiel, Outbox and last year’s Royal Ascot scorer Bradsell.
With a stable jockey position and a retainer, Doyle could be expected to take only a limited book of outside rides, but her CV proves she is in demand whenever available and she is the rider associated with Alan King’s top stayer Trueshan.
Her status would also grant her the right to sit out the lower quality meetings and choose not to travel the length and breadth of the country for all-weather rides, but Doyle is arguably one of the hardest-working riders in the weighing room and took just shy of 800 rides last year in Britain alone.
During the window that determines the British Flat jockeys’ championship, she rode 89 winners last season, finishing fifth behind William Buick, Oisin Murphy, Rossa Ryan and her husband, Tom Marquand.
In addition to that, she has plied her trade in almost every significant racing jurisdiction that exists and last year brought home prize money from Japan, France, Germany, Sweden and Italy – something she does not take for granted.
“I get loads of support from everyone and it’s really nice to feel that I have such an open book of trainers that are willing to use me,” she said.
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“It is great to have the association I have with Imad Al Sagar and it’s even better that Nashwa is in training for another year, and that’s something to look forward to for the season ahead already.
“I’m really lucky, I’m attached to Archie’s stable and always busy in that regard, he has a nice team of horses to go forward with.
“I’ve been riding all around the world, I did a stint in Japan and I thoroughly enjoyed that – it’s something I’ll be hoping to do a lot more of.
“It’s great as it’s always hard to go to a new jurisdiction and pick up some good rides, you have to take it all in and adapt to the style of racing riding there.”
Hayley Turner broke many barriers at a time when there was some reluctance to use female jockeys, with her success then paving the way for younger riders like Doyle.
“Hayley was a massive trailblazer for everyone, especially when I was young and she was really at the peak of her career,” she said.
“She definitely carved out a path and that’s had an impact on us all.”
World and European champion Emma Finucane is hoping to inspire the next generation of young girls after helping to overhaul the fortunes of Great Britain’s women’s sprint squad.
Amid the dominance Britain has enjoyed in Olympic track cycling since Beijing, there had been a glaring weakness since London 2012, with the country failing to even qualify to race in the women’s team sprint at the last two Games as Katy Marchant was left to fly the flag alone in the individual events.
But a plan put in place after Rio to address that has begun bearing fruit since Tokyo, and Britain will head to Paris on the back of team sprint silver medals at both the World Championships in Glasgow last summer and at the European Championships in Apeldoorn in January.
Sophie Capewell, Lauren Bell and Milly Tanner have all earned their place on British Cycling’s Olympic Podium Programme alongside Marchant, and Finucane, 21, made herself the poster girl of the revolution with individual sprint titles at both world and European level in the last seven months.
“Women’s track sprinting has come on loads and I think that’s down to the strength in depth we have,” Finucane told the PA news agency while watching the next set of hopefuls race at the British National Championships in Manchester.
“Even at the nationals we have so many girls breaking personal bests and pushing each other on. We have that internal competition and it really, really helps the women’s sprint. Hopefully in Paris we will have a team sprint and that hasn’t been the case for the last two cycles.
“That is super exciting and I think it shows we can do it, we work just as hard as everyone else and the results will come.
“I hope to inspire younger people to get into sprinting because I didn’t really know a lot about it when I was younger. All you would see was Laura Kenny and the endurance riders, so I think it’s a huge thing for the women’s sprint.”
Finucane surprised herself with her victory in Glasgow last year, a title that thrust her onto the shortlist of favourites for Olympic success in Paris. But only three years ago she was a fresh-faced teenager trying to find her way around the Manchester velodrome after moving from home in Wales.
“I moved up in January of 2021 and I didn’t think Paris was a possibility for me,” she said. “I’m quite young and I’d just moved out of home and only just purely started track sprinting. My career progressed from there and I’m now trying to qualify for the Games so it really is exciting.
“I’ve just tried to take each race as it comes like I always do. I think there has been a part of my career that has happened quite quickly but I wouldn’t have it any other way, just living and riding my bike with these amazing girls around.”
The rainbow jersey has brought added attention and expectation but Finucane’s individual win at the Euros in January, again beating the German duo of Lea Friedrich and Emma Hinze who might expect to be the primary opposition in Paris, suggests she is handling it just fine.
“I’m aware of (the expectations) but I’m just going to try and enjoy the journey, not just focus on the outcome,” she said.
“I feel like that’s where people get lost. It’s a journey and there’s still a long way to go. I’m trying to enjoy the people around me, I still have my circle around me, and I just want to enjoy racing. I feel that’s when I’m at my best.”
Luke Humphries registered his first Premier League night win as the world champion defeated Michael Smith 6-3 in Brighton.
The final of the tournament’s sixth night saw world number one Humphries, a competition debutant this year, surge into a 5-1 lead.
Smith, the 2023 world champion and winner of night one in Cardiff, hit back but ‘Cool Hand Luke’ was not to be denied.
Humphries said on Sky Sports: “I felt like I haven’t played my best, since the Worlds maybe for the first six weeks, and I’ve come back playing a lot better. Sometimes it takes a bit of time.
“I think after the Worlds, the way I played, everyone expected me to win everything, and that’s not going to happen. There is so much great talent out there, so many great players, and winning nights like these is fantastic because they are really hard. I’m really proud the way I played tonight.
“My dad said ‘you look a million dollars, you look like you’re throwing like you were in the Worlds’.
“I did feel really good after the Worlds – unfortunately some things happened. My Nan passed away and that did have an affect on me. But that’s no excuse. You build again, you go again, and I think in the last couple of weeks my mind has been straight again and I feel really good.
“I felt really good at the UK Open (last weekend, when he was a beaten finalist), I just didn’t win, but tonight that’s the best I’ve played since the Worlds, and the best I’ve felt.”
Humphries, who averaged 101.04 against Smith, had advanced to it by defeating Rob Cross 6-3 with an average of 113.71. It was the same score as Smith won his semi against 17-year-old World Championship runner-up Luke Littler.
In the quarter-finals, Humphries got past Gerwyn Price 6-2 and Smith ended a three-match losing streak with a 6-5 victory over Peter Wright, who remains without a win in this year’s competition.
Defending champion Michael van Gerwen, winner of three of the first five nights, suffered a second successive quarter-final loss as he was beaten 6-2 by Cross, and night five winner Nathan Aspinall lost 6-3 to Littler.
Humphries moves up to second in the table on 12 points, three behind Van Gerwen, with Littler and Cross a further point back and Smith just outside the play-off spots on 10 points.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has been ordered to go hunting for the ball when he makes his full England debut in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland.
With two replacement appearances in the bank, including a try-scoring cameo against Scotland in round three, the Cardiff-born 21-year-old is considered ready to start on the right wing at the expense of veteran Elliot Daly.
One of the most exciting young talents in the Gallagher Premiership was persuaded by Steve Borthwick to opt for the Red Rose over Wales in January – less than a year after he was playing in the third tier of English rugby for struggling Taunton Titans.
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Now that his rapid development has accelerated with a first Test start, he has been instructed to make his pace, power and work rate count against the Grand Slam champions.
“When I watch Manny, I see his ability to come off the wing and pop up off scrum-half – as he did against Scotland – and pop up inside and outside fly-half,” Borthwick said.
“I have seen him several times pop up in the middle and do a pick and go at the ruck because he wants the ball in his hands. That is the encouragement I have for him – get that ball in his hands.
“After I told him he was starting, he was very grateful and thanked me numerous times then asked me ‘what do you want from me?’.
“I said ‘find the ball and get it in your hands’. There are some nuances, but the message was ‘I want you to get the ball in your hands as many times as possible’.”
Feyi-Waboso missed last week’s training camp in York in order to sit an exam for his medical degree at Exeter University, and Borthwick believes he has the temperament to thrive against Ireland.
“Basically we think he’s one of those people who is good at everything. We’re yet to find something he’s not good at, but we’ll keep trying,” Borthwick said.
“We certainly asked him how his exam went, he said he felt it went OK, which I took as he’d aced it. But we’ll find out in due course when he tells us his results.
“I sense he’s a guy who takes things in his stride. He’s a really calm and composed character. And given everything he’s doing in his life, and what he’s gone through so far, it’s a real strength.
“Each challenge that has been thrown towards him, he’s risen to that level and I expect he’ll do the same again on Saturday.”
Emma Raducanu moved into the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with victory in straight sets over Rebeka Masarova.
The 21-year-old Briton, given a wild card at this tournament, set up a meeting with Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska as she got past Spanish qualifier Masarova 6-2 6-3 in an hour and 45 minutes.
Raducanu claimed the opening three games with a double break, then was broken herself in the fourth before hitting back to secure the first set.
The second set followed the same pattern across the first four games, with the 2021 US Open champion going a double break up and Masarova replying by breaking back.
Raducanu subsequently wrapped things up with another break of Masarova’s serve, after her opponent had saved three match points, for her fourth win in eight matches in 2024.
She told Sky Sports: “Super important I think for me to get through that. I really think it’s one of the trickiest tournaments conditions-wise to play because it varies so much. I think I dealt with that really well and overcame a really tough opponent who is dangerous in these conditions.
“I really enjoy playing in America, some of my best results have been here, so I am very happy to be back here playing. I really appreciate all the love I was receiving.”
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team were fined nearly £13,000 – and the British driver was slapped with a warning – following a near “serious high-speed crash” in practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Williams driver Logan Sargeant was forced to take evasive action to avoid hitting the back of Hamilton’s slow-moving Mercedes.
Formula One’s stewards said Mercedes should have informed Hamilton that Sargeant was approaching him on a quick lap. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is the fastest street track on the F1 calendar.
Carlos Sainz, who Hamilton will replace at Ferrari next year and who witnessed the incident, said over the radio: “What Hamilton did there is super dangerous.
“He was in the middle (of the track). He could have got out of the way. Sargeant nearly crashed because of him.”
Hamilton, who finished eighth in practice, six places behind team-mate George Russell – and 0.677 seconds adrift of fastest driver Fernando Alonso – was summoned to see the stewards.
A report from the governing FIA read: “The stewards heard from the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton), the driver of Car 2 (Logan Sargeant), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, team radio and in-car video evidence and determine that Car 44 impeded Car 2 at Turn 11.
“As a result, Car 2 had to take evasive action by going off the track to avoid a collision. Had that not been done, there would have been a serious, high-speed crash.
“Having listened to the team radio, it was clear to us that the team of Car 44 failed to warn their driver of the fact that Car 2 was arriving on a fast lap. That was a serious failure on the part of the team, particularly given the speeds on this circuit and the nature of Turn 11, which is at the end of a series of high speed corners where driver visibility is impaired.
“We therefore issue a warning to the driver and impose a fine of 15,000 euros (£12,818) to the team.”
Christian Horner said he is certain Max Verstappen will see out his contract with Red Bull, despite the ongoing controversy at Formula One’s world championship winning team.
Horner also insisted it is in “everybody’s collective interest to focus on the future” after Verstappen’s father, Jos, claimed Red Bull will “explode” if Horner remained in his role.
Verstappen, who won last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, has been linked with a shock move to Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton next season.
Hamilton said on Wednesday that the 26-year-old Dutch driver is on Mercedes’ “list”.
But when asked if he expected Verstappen to see out the remainder of his contract with Red Bull, which runs until 2028, Horner said: “I’m certain that he will. I mean, he’s got a great team around him, he’s got great faith in that team, and we’ve achieved an awful lot together.
“He’s committed to an agreement until 2028, and from a team side, and from Max’s side, we’re determined to build on the success that we’ve achieved already.
“His 55 victories have all come in Red Bull Racing cars and we are determined to build on that and add more wins in the future.”
Verstappen finished first in the opening practice session for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso topping the time sheets in the day’s concluding running.
George Russell was second with Lewis Hamilton eighth in the other Mercedes.
Verstappen ended the day in third, three tenths back from Alonso but such is the superiority of his Red Bull machine he remains the favourite to extend his winning run here on Saturday.
Verstappen Snr is absent from the second round of the championship as he competes in a Belgian rally.
Following his son’s victory in Bahrain, he said: “There is tension here while he (Horner) remains in position.
“The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”
Horner held clear-the-air talks with Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen a day after Verstappen Snr’s comments were published in the Mail on Sunday.
But Horner, 50, hinted he has not spoken to his star driver’s father since he was made aware of the incendiary remarks.
Horner continued: “I spoke to Jos following the grand prix and obviously congratulated him on his son’s performance. And I think it’s in everybody’s interest, collectively, that we’ve agreed to move on, to focus on the future.
“We both have a vested interest in his son, to provide the best cars for him and to get the best out of him, and he’s started the season in the best possible way. He’s an outstanding talent and hopefully we can continue to provide him with a very competitive car.”
Ireland boss Andy Farrell insists under-fire England remain capable of representing one of the ultimate tests in world rugby ahead of a tantalising Twickenham showdown.
Farrell’s in-form side are odds-on favourites for a fifth successive victory over their rivals to stay on course for back-to-back Guinness Six Nations Grand Slams following bonus-point wins over France, Italy and Wales.
Amid ongoing criticism of their performances, Steve Borthwick’s hosts are battling to stay in title contention after suffering a 30-21 Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland last time out.
Englishman Farrell has little interest in the negativity surrounding his native country and is preparing for “one hell of a battle” on Saturday.
“I’ve no doubt that England would have loved to have put the best performance out against Scotland and come away with the victory there,” he said.
“But I’ve no doubt now that over the last two weeks that concentrates their mind to have another chance to have a crack at us.
“You expect them to be at their best and if they’re at their best you expect them to be as hard as anyone in world rugby to beat.”
England were two minutes away from reaching the World Cup final in October but have struggled to fully convince since Borthwick succeeded Eddie Jones in December 2022.
“I don’t get involved with the criticism at all,” continued Farrell. “I don’t look at it.
“I look at the individuals the way that they’re playing, the coaching staff that they got, the plan that they’ve got, a fantastic side that is going to be preparing to give it everything they’ve got at the weekend, so that makes them unbelievably dangerous.
“We just prepare for them to be at their best and if that’s the case it’s going to be one hell of a battle.”
Ireland twice lost to Jones’ England in 2020 – the first year of Farrell’s reign – but have since dominated the fixture, including clinching last year’s championship clean sweep with a 29-16 success in Dublin.
Extending the winning streak could see the visitors retain their crown with a fixture to spare.
While Farrell was not entirely satisfied with his side’s performances in their last two Six Nations wins over the Red Rose, he refused to rule out another fragmented affair this weekend.
“I’m not Mystic Meg, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he replied, when asked if he was confident of avoiding a repeat of the disjointed displays.
“You take every game on it’s own course really and judge it and England did very well at slowing us down last year.
“There were a lot of stoppages within the game and it wasn’t just errors, the game was slow.
“Whether that’s a tactic of theirs or not, I don’t know, but we’ll have to expect more of the same I would have thought.”
Farrell won eight England caps during his playing days and later served his country as a coach under Stuart Lancaster before being let go by Jones following a dismal home World Cup in 2015.
The former dual-code international dismissed any notion of sentiment as he prepares for his latest Twickenham return.
“It’s no different to any other game,” said Farrell, who has recalled fit-again full-back Hugo Keenan in place of Ciaran Frawley in the only change to his starting XV.
“We, and certainly I, concentrate on the week ahead and this game is no more important than the first game in Marseille or no more important than the Italy game or the Wales game at home.
“It’s another chance for us to go out there and show the best of ourselves, albeit a tough old task.
“Everyone knows it’s a tough place to go and get a victory. But that’s the challenge in front of us every week.”
Will Rowlands says Wales will relish “going toe-to-toe” with a juggernaut France pack in Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations clash.
France have dropped way off last year’s standards, losing comprehensively at home to title favourites Ireland before scraping a draw with Italy after narrowly beating Scotland.
And while Les Bleus have claimed four successive Six Nations victories over Wales, no-one knows if they will suddenly find top gear in Cardiff this weekend or continue to struggle.
Their forwards will look to dominate, and Rowlands knows what is coming after linking up with French Top 14 club Racing 92 following the World Cup.
“They have got a big team, but I think you’ve seen in the last few years that French rugby is about much more than just a physical threat,” Wales lock Rowlands said.
“I think the physical side of it is something I think we will be looking forward to going toe-to-toe with. We’ve got a big team up-front, so bring it on.
“Rugby is much easier if you can get some go-forward. It’s a self-fulfilling circle.
“It is something we are working on. We are trying to bring our best game to allow us to have physically-dominant moments.
“They are a team rammed full of quality, and I see that in the league. If they get it right, there is no reason why we won’t see a French performance like we have seen in the last six months this weekend.”
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made changes to the pack, with Rowlands handed a first start of the tournament after being on the bench for defeats against England and Ireland.
Elsewhere, captain Dafydd Jenkins moves from second-row to blindside flanker – a position he has never filled for club or country – and hooker Ryan Elias returns instead of Elliot Dee.
France are expected to show wholesale switches, with absentees including suspended centre Jonathan Danty and injured fly-half Matthieu Jalibert, but fit-again skipper Gregory Alldritt is back.
Rowlands is set to face some familiar faces from the French domestic game, and he added: “Playing club rugby there is an absolute joy.
“One of the things I have to say that has been really enjoyable for me to experience is how much passion there is for rugby in France.
“Wherever you go, the people are mad for it, and I think that is reflected when you see how much it means to the players when they play for their clubs and country.
“Everyone talks about the bit of a myth, which is the glitz and glamour of the ‘Racing Galacticos’, but I don’t think that is really the case.
“There are some really high-profile players, but there are also a lot of local French young guys who have a lot of talent. It is an exciting place to be.
“From a rugby point of view, I feel like playing in the French league for Racing has meant I’ve already had to develop parts of my game.
“I think going forward it will make me a much better player.”
Anthony Joshua tipped the scales at 252.4lbs ahead of Friday’s heavyweight showdown against Francis Ngannou, who weighed in almost two stones heavier.
The 34-year-old former two-time world champion was just over a pound heavier than in his last bout against Otto Wallin during December.
Ngannou weighed in at 272.6lbs, slightly above what he was for the fight against Tyson Fury in October, a first boxing contest for the former MMA star.
Following the war of words between Ngannou and Fury during Wednesday’s final pre-fight press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there was little drama as the fighters faced off following the weigh-in.
The winner of Friday’s ‘Knockout Chaos’ headline contest is expected to be in line to face Fury or Oleksandr Usyk, who will finally fight in their undisputed heavyweight bout on May 18 before a rematch takes place later in 2024.
Joshua insisted he had plenty of respect for Ngannou – who put Fury on the canvas in the third round before losing a split decision.
The Briton, though, but intends to remain fully focused on his own performance following on from three victories after the disappointment of defeat by Usyk in August 2022.
“Sometimes when you bow your head and make prayers, miracles do happen, that is all I can say – God is working in my favour,” Joshua said following the weigh-in on DAZN Boxing’s YouTube channel.
Joshua added: “Official prediction…? I deliver – I am the postman.”
Ngannou feels he can once again make the most of his underdog tag to prove doubters wrong.
“I have learnt a little bit from the last fight, the last camp, and leading up to this one, so I get a little bit of experience, but the mindset is still the same,” he said.
“This is just my second boxing match, even though I am taking on the two best guys in the world in boxing.
“I am the underdog, I am going out there to prove that you can be an underdog and stand your ground.”
Ngannou added: “Sometimes it just makes me laugh a little bit, because we are going to fight in boxing rules, but what would happen if it was a ‘free’ fight under MMA rules?
“I would smoke this guy. I am the only one to go in their backyard, none of them can come in my backyard. I would take two of them at once.”
Christian Horner called for an immediate end to the intrusion into his personal life, on the day it emerged his accuser has been suspended following Red Bull’s investigation into “inappropriate behaviour” against the Formula One team principal.
Horner, 50, was allowed to remain in his role after Red Bull Racing’s parent company GmbH said last Wednesday that the grievance against him had been dismissed.
The PA news agency understands the complainant, a female employee of the Milton Keynes team, has now been suspended on full pay as a direct result of Red Bull’s inquiry.
A Red Bull Racing spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment as it is an internal matter.”
Horner, who has always denied the claims made against him, was asked about the development in a press conference ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
He said: “I am afraid I can’t comment on anything that is confidential between an employee and the company.
“There is a grievance process that takes place in any company, and that process is confidential between the individuals and the company itself.
“I am not at liberty, due to those confidentiality (reasons) and out of respect to the company, and the other party, we are all bound by those same restrictions.
“So even if I would like to talk about it, I can’t because of those confidentiality restrictions.”
The complainant is understood to have received a legal letter at the beginning of this week, and now has five working days to appeal against the outcome of the investigation which has cast an enormous shadow over Red Bull and the sport.
Horner, who walked through the paddock hand-in-hand with his wife, the former Spice Girls’ singer Geri Halliwell, prior to last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, added: “My wife has been phenomenally supportive throughout this, as has my family, but the intrusion on my family is now enough and we need to move forward and focus on what we are here for, which is to go Formula One racing.
“I am very fortunate I have a beautiful family and a very supportive wife – but I am the only one that has been named in this.
“It is very trying and it is very challenging when there are children involved and there are families and parents involved. It is not pretty.
“But the reality is, is that there was a grievance that was raised, it was dealt with in the most professional manner, by the group, not by Red Bull Racing, but by the owners of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull GmbH, that appointed an independent KC, that is one of the most reputable KCs in the land, and he took time to investigate fully all of the facts.
“He interviewed all of the people involved as well as others of interest. He looked at everything and he came to the conclusion where he dismissed the grievance.
“As far as I am concerned, and as far as Red Bull are concerned, we moved on and we look to the future.
“The time now is to draw a line under it.”
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee that could sideline the former NBA Rookie of the Year for the rest of the regular season.
Towns was originally ruled out for Thursday’s game at the Indiana Pacers due to left knee soreness.
The four-time All-Star hasn't put up his usual solid numbers lately, averaging 16.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in his last four games.
Coming into Thursday, Towns had missed just two games all season and was averaging 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds in 60 contests.
Minnesota (43-19) is tied with Northwest Division foe Oklahoma City for the best record in the Western Conference.
The Timberwolves haven’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the West finals in 2004.
England have taken steps to relieve the pressure on their under-performing stars with Steve Borthwick admitting his players are feeling the weight of the jersey.
An Ireland side pursuing consecutive Grand Slam titles – a feat never achieved in the Guinness Six Nations era – are overwhelming favourites to prevail when the rivals clash at Twickenham on Saturday.
England, meanwhile, have been forced to regroup after a nine-point mauling by Scotland in round three that has left them facing another deflating Championship.
Borthwick has freshened up his side after the Edinburgh collapse, giving starts to wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, scrum-half Alex Mitchell and lock George Martin, while Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt are new faces on the bench.
England’s head coach stressed the importance of continuity in selection, but also revealed that his biggest task since Duhan van der Merwe ran riot at Murrayfield has been psychological.
“We know that against Scotland there were errors,” said Borthwick, in reference to the 22 turnovers and 25 handling errors conceded by his side.
“It’s probably the first time in a while I’d seen the weight of the shirt feels heavy on the players. We’ve worked around that and to develop that.
“We try to make an environment where the players enjoy it, where we know mistakes are going to be made, but still continue to do the right things.
“I back the players. Yes we made errors. We’re disappointed in the performance and we’re disappointed in the result.
“I’ve made some of changes to the team but I believe in these players. I sense a determination in them to put in a performance this weekend and there has been ever since the end of that Scotland game.”
England have managed only two wins in each of their last three Six Nations and with Ireland next up – Borthwick described them as the best team in the world – followed by France in Lyon, they could endure the same outcome in 2024.
Captain Jamie George admitted they “tightened up” against Scotland but has told his players not to retreat into their shells.
“The main focus for us the last couple of weeks in particular has been around making sure that we can be ourselves, making sure that it is still okay to make mistakes but that we’re going to learn very quickly from those,” George said.
Feyi-Waboso’s inclusion on the right wing at the expense of Elliot Daly is an audacious selection for a player whose two caps against Italy and Scotland total 20 minutes as a replacement.
But the 21-year-old Exeter Chief made an impact at Murrayfield, including running in a try, and is picked less than a year after playing for Taunton Titans in National League One.
“Manny’s ready – he’s more than ready. You’ve seen that in the time he’s had on the field so far in the Six Nations,” George said.
“He’s an incredible talent, but the maturity we’ve seen from Manny is something that’s impressed me a lot.
“His willingness to learn, he’s eager, you’re constantly having to pull him back, but he’s so excited for this opportunity, you can see that, and that energy is infectious throughout the team.”
Danny Care will win his 100th cap off the bench to become the sixth England men’s player to reach the milestone.
For the third time in as many years with the Brooklyn Nets, Ben Simmons will miss the rest of the season with a back injury.
The Nets announced on Thursday that the former All-Star won't play again this season as he attempts to treat his ailing back.
"Ben Simmons will remain out for the remainder of the season while he consults with specialists and explores treatment options for the nerve impingement in his lower back," the team said in a statement. "Simmons, along with his representatives and Nets medical personnel, are currently in discussions with numerous experts to determine the course of action that will provide him with the best opportunity for long-term sustainable health."
Simmons has missed Brooklyn's last five games because of the injured back, as well as a 38-game stretch earlier this season for the same injury.
In all, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 NBA draft appeared in just 15 games this season, with averages of 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
Acquired by the Nets from the Philadelphia 76ers at the trade deadline in 2022, Simmons has yet to finish a season with Brooklyn.
He missed the entire 2021-22 season, and then sat out 40 games last season.
A foot injury also forced him to miss his entire rookie season, but he was able to recover and quickly showed why the Sixers drafted him first overall.
Over the next four seasons, he averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists while playing in an average of 68.75 games per season.
He was the Rookie of the Year in 2017-18, a three-time All-Star and a two-time All-Defensive team selection before injuries derailed his career.
Under his contract, which expires after next season, he made $37.9million this season and is due to make $40.3million in 2024-25.
Willie Mullins has confirmed the newly-named Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle as Ballyburn’s Cheltenham Festival target, with Mystical Power and Tullyhill both bound for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
Beaten by Firefox on his hurdling debut at Fairyhouse in December, Ballyburn subsequently bolted up over two and a half miles at Leopardstown before successfully reverting to two miles to strike Grade One gold at last month’s Dublin Racing Festival.
The six-year-old has been at the head of ante-post lists for both the Supreme and the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle since that latter triumph and Mullins moved to clarify running plans on Thursday.
“Mystical Power will run in the Sky Bet Supreme and Ballyburn, all being well, will run in the Baring Bingham (Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle),” he told Sportinglife.com.
“Paul Townend will probably ride Tullyhill in the Supreme.”
Mystical Power, a son of Galileo out of Champion Hurdle-winning mare Annie Power, is two from two over hurdles and looks likely to be partnered by Mark Walsh, retained jockey for part-owner JP McManus.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned Tullyhill was beaten at 1-8 on his hurdling debut, but has since registered two wide-margin wins at Naas and Punchestown respectively.
Andy Edwards is not your typical racehorse owner. When he acquires a newcomer to his string, he is not just its owner but he becomes its guardian and friend. Now one of his greatest equine pals, L’Homme Presse, will bid to give him the greatest moment in his racing life when lining up in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.
L’Homme Presse is far from the first horse Edwards has been involved in nor will he be the last, but he has easily been the most successful and has taken Edwards – along with his wife Pam and fellow co-owners Peter and Patricia Pink – on a magical journey which has already incorporated triumph at the Cheltenham Festival.
Not too dissimilar to his co-owner, L’Homme Presse’s story has humble beginnings and his French racing career was somewhat tottering on the brink when the then injured son of Diamond Boy was plucked out of a field in Normandy by an admiring Edwards.
Little did the gelding know at the time, but he had just gained his most valuable ally, and not just a new owner, but someone who – alongside trainer Venetia Williams – was prepared to put in the hours of care and nurture required to help him fulfil his destiny.
“I adopt a soul for life,” said Edwards, explaining his ownership philosophy.
“That’s what happens and that’s what it is for me. I become their guardian not their owner and as any good guardian who adopts a child or animal it is a big responsibility and you need to guide them through their life as best you can.
“We have to be patient as owners and the other three all buy into the philosophies. We feel like we have been rewarded, but more importantly, the horse has been rewarded. Because of our beliefs, the horse has been able to be the best he can be every time he goes out.”
There is something warming about Edwards’ hands-on approach to both ownership and L’Homme Presse.
‘The horse is my number one priority’ is anything but meaningless where Edwards is concerned. L’Homme Presse’s well-being is always at the forefront of his mind during regular phone calls with his trainer and the frequent visits to the handler’s Herefordshire base.
“I’m in lots to see L’Homme Presse, I go two or three times a week,” continued Edwards.
“Venetia is an amazing lady and all of her staff – Jess and Beth and the vets – are all brilliant.
“When Venetia rings me, I tell her not to say hello just to say ‘all good’ before she says anything else, and luckily, she mostly does.”
L’Homme Presse’s connections have felt the full range of emotions the Cheltenham Festival can provide over the past few years.
In 2022 there was ecstasy as their charge stormed home on a wet Wednesday afternoon in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, but their was also a sense of longing 12 months ago when their staying star was sat on the sidelines as the Gold Cup took centre stage on the final afternoon of the meeting – a race Edwards actually watched from right at the heart of the action.
“The win in the Brown Advisory was the most fantastic day you could imagine,” continued Edwards.
“At the time I stood there in the rain with my palms held up and looking up to the sky with a big grin saying ‘this is liquid sunshine’.
“Our friends are Bruce and Karen who own Ahoy Senor and they very kindly invited us last year to be with them in the paddock and for lunch. It was really lovely of them and they said to us ‘you should be here, it’s not right you are not here’. It was a lovely thing of them to do.
“But at the same time it was quite a weird feeling being their for the Gold Cup cheering on someone else’s horse – which of course we were happy to do. However, the year before we had thought we would be the ones standing in that paddock with our own horse.”
Now L’Homme Presse is just days away from finally getting his chance to line-up in the blue riband, the summit of a long adventure that has finally reached its peak.
“It’s a privilege to be there and you have to pinch yourself,” said Edwards. “The four of us (the co-owners), none of us have come from privileged backgrounds and to be in this position is dreamland.
“We have all got to try to enjoy it whatever happens and celebrate. It has been a five-year journey for me now personally and to get to that pinnacle of the sport is a massive win in its own right and an incredible achievement.
“Our attitude at the moment is to enjoy the build-up and enjoy every moment. We will accept whatever happens. I fully understand the highs and lows of this incredible sport that we’re all involved in.
“We’ve got lots of friends coming down and we will enjoy the build-up. It’s going to be a fantastic race whoever wins and a great spectacle. If all horses come back happy that would be brilliant.”
L’Homme Presse would spend over a year on the sidelines before making a triumphant return at Lingfield in January, but there was to be no repeat of heroics when he was tasked with dropping back in distance for the Ascot Chase last month.
The two-mile-five-furlong Grade One event was scheduled to be the ideal spot for L’Homme Presse to fine-tune his engine ahead of his Cheltenham assignment, but with drying ground and the emphasis becoming more about speed than endurance, the nine-year-old was unable to lay a glove on track-and-trip specialist Pic D’Orhy.
Many would see the performance as a severe dent on L’Homme Presse’s future big-race ambitions, but connections have been far from despondent and are still confident the outing will have a positive effect on his Gold Cup claims.
“The timing of the Ascot Chase was perfect for us, but the distance and the ground wasn’t perfect for us,” explained Edwards.
“At the beginning of the week they were saying we were going to get 20mm of rain and we got 2mm. It went from being soft at the beginning of the week to good ground by 3.30pm on the Saturday.
“Everything was against us but we still came second in a Grade One over a trip which was far too short for a three miler and on ground he doesn’t excel on, so we are very happy.”
While Harry Cobden was receiving plenty of plaudits for his winning ride in the aftermath of that Ascot event, it was L’Homme Presse’s jockey who was coming under fire for the amount of ground he conceded to the champion jockey elect in the early salvos of that contest.
However, the ever-loyal Edwards does not agree. He said: “It’s a shame Charlie got so much criticism as it wasn’t what we intended and he has to ride the horse that is underneath him at that moment in time.
“From our point of view Charlie gave him a great ride as he got him going and he got him running through the line and he managed to get us second in a Grade One at Ascot when at the start and halfway round things weren’t looking too healthy.”
The next stop on the L’Homme Presse odyssey is the Gold Cup itself and although there may be some nerves when Williams, Deutsch, and the staying star himself enter the bustling Prestbury Park paddock before the main event, the one thing guaranteed is that Edwards will always have the trio’s back.
“One thing I will be saying to Charlie and I always say to Venetia is, we as a group of owners believe in Venetia, we believe in Charlie and we believe in our horse,” said Edwards.
“All of us will enjoy the moment and we will definitely keep the faith.”
With Willie Mullins on the verge of an incredible 100 Cheltenham Festival winners, those who face the battle of taking him on could be forgiven for feeling a little resentment.
But there is not a bit of it from Gordon Elliott, perennially the runner-up to Mullins in the Irish championship and who comes up against him more than anyone else.
Rather than feeling hard done by or suggesting that Mullins is making the sport “boring” like many did after all eight Grade Ones at the Dublin Racing Festival went the way of the Closutton maestro, Elliott relishes the challenge and says the pair are pushing each other to new heights.
“I’ve been second to Willie eight or 10 years in a row (in the trainers’ championship). We’re definitely not making him better, we’re making him hungrier and he’s making us better,” said Elliott.
“I can’t have people whinging and giving out about Willie Mullins or whoever. These people giving out have chips on both of their shoulders. Willie sets the standard and we all have to chase him, make yourself better. There’s no excuse for not wanting to be the best.
“A couple of years ago we were the first to train 200 winners in a season and I think a week later he trained 200 and ended up beating us by eight or 10 that season.
“We’re in a great position and we keep training winners. We’re just probably unfortunate that we were born in the same era as probably the greatest trainer of all time. We’ll keep trying.
“The lads that know how hard it is to get to that level are not jumping up and down and shouting. The lads that are jumping up and down and shouting have had it all and let it all slip through their hands.”
Nicky Henderson is Mullins’ closest rival when it comes to Festival winners, but had a huge head start and has been left trailing in his wake somewhat with 73 winners to Mullins’ 94.
“No one would have ever thought that would be possible,” said Henderson of a possible century of winners for his great friend and rival.
“It’s a lot of races and we’ve been very lucky to win so many ourselves. I won’t say he has been luckier, but the ammunition he has these days is unbelievable.
“We are the ones who have to fight off the invasion and we’re outnumbered by Willie three to one at least, often four to one.
“You’ve got to have admiration, of course I do. But we’ve been very lucky ourselves and we have to concentrate on what we’ve got and what we can do. We’ve got a great team of people and horses and owners, and we’ve got to do the best we can.”
At the other end of the scale Fergal O’Brien is still searching for a first ever Festival win, but rather than moan about it, his daughter Fern has been over to Closutton this season as a work rider.
“I wouldn’t say she’s a spy, espionage we call it! Fern loves being there and loves working with those people,” said O’Brien.
“I’m lucky enough to have been and it’s a fantastic set up. People go on about Willie’s dominance, but it didn’t come overnight, he’s got a great system there, they’re great buyers of horses and he’s obviously a fantastic trainer.
“Fern is in a great place and I’m very proud of her.”
Robbie Power won the Gold Cup and Grand National as a jockey and is now attached to Henry de Bromhead’s stable. While he does admit Mullins’ dominance can be a little disheartening, he does at least run his best horses against each other regularly.
“I don’t see it as a problem, it is a little disheartening I suppose for a lot of people that Willie is so dominant but as the old saying goes, if you win in the sales ring then you win on the racetrack and Willie has been able to get all these horses – he has the owners, he has the ammunition,” Power told Boylesports.
“I suppose the one difference to the Flat with Aidan O’Brien for example, it’s all Coolmore whereas Willie’s runners are spread among five or six different owners. At DRF they all had Grade One winners and Willie is never afraid to have his runners take each other on, he often has three, four or five in the Grade Ones so it makes for competitive racing.”
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