Jamison Gibson-Park admits the lingering pain of last year’s agonising Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle has fuelled Leinster’s desire for a shot at redemption.

Leo Cullen’s men are preparing for Saturday’s showpiece rematch with the French club in Dublin – 12 months on from losing to a last-gasp try in Marseille.

Scrum-half Gibson-Park concedes the disappointment of the dramatic climax at Stade Velodrome was a bitter pill to swallow.

And the Ireland international is determined to help secure a different outcome against Ronan O’Gara’s side this time around as Leinster bid to equal Toulouse’s record of five Champions Cup titles.

“It’s one of those things that’s mentioned all the time with great teams over the years, the way they use defeats and having it spur you on for the next year,” said Gibson-Park, who won the competition with his province in 2018.

“There’s probably no doubt that it has for us in getting to this point.

“When you work with a collective group to try and get somewhere and you fall at the last hurdle, it’s hard, especially when it’s like that, a few minutes from the end of the game.

“It’s tough moments in the dressing room and on the pitch afterwards.

“You live for those moments where you get to lift trophies and you enjoy those moments in the dressing room with your brothers.

“But the sombre feelings after a defeat stick with you as well.”

Leinster led for most of the 2022 final before replacement scrum-half Arthur Retiere crossed a minute from time in a 24-21 victory for La Rochelle.

A year on from a gut-wrenching trip to the south of France, the Irish club have the luxury of home advantage on this occasion.

New Zealand-born Gibson-Park says the prospect of competing for silverware at a sold-out Aviva Stadium has been a motivating factor throughout the campaign.

“Last year was obviously tough, having to go away to France and play a French team,” said the 31-year-old.

“The La Rochelle fans were out in force that day, like they always are, so I’m sure there will be a few of them that show up to the Aviva Stadium no doubt.

“It was a pretty big carrot for us at the start of the year, the fact it was going to be here in the Aviva.

“We’re looking forward to it, we’ve got the chance to be in front of our friends and family and hopefully a few home supporters.”

Leinster failed to score a try against La Rochelle last year as captain Johnny Sexton slotted six penalties before deputy Ross Byrne added another.

With talisman Sexton sidelined due to a groin injury suffered helping Ireland win the Six Nations Grand Slam, Byrne will partner Gibson-Park in the half-back positions from the start.

“Ross has played all of our games this year in the Champions Cup so I suppose we’ve adjusted a little bit to life without him (Sexton),” said Gibson-Park.

“He’s been such a big part of Leinster over the last however long it is and he’s an unbelievable player so we miss him massively.

“But I think Ross has done a pretty good job up until this point.”

Ben Kavanagh can still recall being hoisted onto his father’s shoulders as a four-year-old to watch his beloved Halifax play out their final seasons at Thrum Hall.

After a career that started with a Super League stint at Widnes and snaked through Wakefield and Bradford to Hull KR, the Halifax-born prop finally signed for his hometown club in 2019.

Kavanagh’s return coincided with the then second-tier side’s surge to the Challenge Cup semi-finals, including a win over Super League London Broncos, and he featured in their eventual 26-2 defeat by St Helens in Bolton.

On Friday night the 35-year-old will get his second shot at Saints when the reigning world champions head for The Shay for a sixth-round clash that Kavanagh admits will bring back plenty of happy memories.

“I’ve been a Halifax fan ever since I used to go to Thrum Hall with my dad, and even when I was playing for other clubs I’d try to get back back to watch them as often as I could,” Kavanagh told the PA news agency.

“I always said I wanted to finish my career at Halifax so it was a very special moment when I signed for them in 2019. We had a great cup run that year and we shocked ourselves a bit getting to semis and pushing Saints so hard in the first half.

“We’ve spoken about that cup run this week. We are going into the game as massive underdogs but there will be a great home crowd and it just shows that if we chuck a few things at them that they haven’t experienced before, anything could happen.”

Saints were also the opponents when Halifax claimed the latest of their five Challenge Cup wins with a thrilling 19-18 win at Wembley in 1987, 10 months before Kavanagh was born.

The club has put long-term fans like Kavanagh though every conceivable emotion in the summer era, including plunging out of Super League, teetering on the brink of the third tier, and winning a battle against potential liquidation.

Rebranded to their current Panthers in 2020, Halifax have been resurgent in recent seasons, finishing third in the Championship last season and retaining similarly strong play-off hopes in the current campaign.

A dream return to Super League with his home club may realistically come too late for Kavanagh, who also figured in the 2013 World Cup for Scotland, but he is pleased that the turbulence of the last two decades appears to be a thing of the past.

“It took a long time after their relegation from Super League to build things back up but now we’re heading in the right direction, and it’s something that’s back on the horizon,” he added.

“I remember those days at Thrum Hall when there were thousands watching, and it would be great to get back to that sort of atmosphere on a regular basis, starting on Friday night against Saints.”

Halifax are one of four Championship clubs featuring in the last 16 of the competition this weekend. Batley travel to Hull KR while London face York in a game that ensures at least one non-Super League side will reach the quarter-finals.

Frost has delayed the start of the 105th US PGA Championship, the year’s second major, at Oak Hill in Rochester.

Play had been scheduled to get under way at 7am local time (1200 BST), but predictions of an overnight frost proved accurate.

Tournament organisers released a statement early on Thursday morning which read: “Due to frost, all Oak Hill Country Club practice facilities and the golf course are currently closed.

“To protect playing surfaces, everyone on-site must stay off any grass and gates will not open until the frost clears.

“Starting times for round one will begin approximately 1hr and 15 minutes after practice facilities open.”

The possibility of weather delays had been on the cards since the US PGA was moved from August to May in 2019, with Oak Hill having already been selected as this year’s venue.

Speaking on Tuesday, the PGA of America’s chief championships officer Kerry Haigh said: “Wherever the championship is (in May) appears as though it will bring some more variety to the weather than we’re used to having when we played in August.

“There is the possibility of a frost again on Thursday morning. We had a frost Tuesday morning. We had a couple of frosts last week. That may delay the start. Hopefully it won’t. But if it does, we’ll adapt.

“We’ve got the chance of rain on Saturday and hopefully clear on Sunday. That’s sort of the fun of golf. It’s an outdoor game and we can’t wait to see what Mother Nature brings as well.”

Jimmy Butler was labelled as "one of a kind" after he led the Miami Heat to a shock win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The eighth-seeded Heat came into the series as big underdogs, while the Celtics were rated as favourites to claim this year’s NBA championship.

But despite facing a 71-59 deficit early in third quarter, Butler helped Miami to an improbable road 123-116 win.

The Heat scored a franchise playoff-record 46 points in the third quarter and outscored Boston 66-50 in the second half. 

Butler had 35 points and also recorded seven assists, six steals and five rebounds. He now has five games with at least 30 points this postseason and his play has filled his teammates with confidence. 

"When Jimmy's playing like that, we feel like we can play with anybody, beat anybody," Heat guard Gabe Vincent said after the game, per ESPN. 

"We got a couple guys in this locker room like that, but Jimmy's one of a kind."

"It's fun [to play with him], he is one of the best players in the world for a reason," added Kyle Lowry. "It's just a joy to watch it.

"For a guy that wants it so bad and works so hard at his craft, it's important to enjoy his success. He gives us all the confidence to be successful and be aggressive and be assertive.

"That's what makes him special, that it's not all about him. He's about our group and our team and everyone else."

For Butler, who is hoping to lead Miami to the NBA Finals for a second time, the trust he is shown by all areas of the franchise is proving key.

He said: "We know that Coach [Erik Spoelstra] puts so much confidence and belief in each and every one of us. Coach Pat [Riley] as well.

"Our circle is small, but the circle got so much love for one another. We pump constant confidence into everybody. 

"I'm playing at an incredible level because they are allowing me to do so. They are not putting a limit on my game. They are trusting me with the ball and on the defensive end. 

"I think that's what any basketball player wants. That's what anybody wants out of life is just to be wanted, be appreciated and just let you go out there and rock.

"I really feel as though with anything in life, if you get the opportunity and you have the belief that my teammates, my coaches, Coach Pat, ownership have in me to kind of lead the charge, along with Bam [Adebayo] right now, anything is possible.

"We go out there and we hoop and we play basketball the right way, knowing that we've always got a chance.

"We don't care if you pick us to win. We never have. We never will."

Adebayo supported Butler with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Lowry, Vincent, Caleb Martin and Max Strus all scored 15 points each.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points but did not take a shot in the fourth quarter and Boston are now 4-4 at home in the playoffs ahead of Game 2 on Friday.

"I don’t know why," said Tatum. "You’ve still got to play the game, you've got to make plays, regardless of whether you’re home or away."

Marcus Smart, who had 13 points and a game-high 11 assists, added: "The only thing we need to adjust to is picking up our physicality and playing some damn defense.

"They didn't change anything from the first half that they weren't doing, they just upped their physicality and that's it. That's the only thing they switched. 

"There's nothing tactical, X's and O's, it's just come out and guard your yard. They scored 46 in that third, and they got going, and they made us pay, and they led into the fourth quarter."

Dual Breeders’ Cup winner Modern Games tops 13 contenders for Saturday’s Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.

Winner of the Juvenile Turf in 2021 and the Mile last term, Modern Games has also tasted Group One success in France and Canada, but will be shooting for a first British win at the highest level.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained Laurel is one of his main rivals at the Berkshire track, having finished a narrow second in the Sun Chariot last year and opened with an easy Listed verdict on Kempton’s all-weather surface last month.

My Prospero represents William Haggas and he will be having his first run since finishing third in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in the autumn.

Jadoomi finished third on his first attempt at Group One company in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and he returns for Simon and Ed Crisford, while Mutasaabeq arrives on the back of a fine front-running success in the bet365 Mile at Newmarket at the start of the month.

Light Infantry was third in that event for David Simcock and reopposes, as does William Knight’s fourth-placed Checkandchallenge.

Richard Hannon is double-handed with Chindit and Lusail, first and fourth in the Paradise Stakes at Ascot recently.

Berkshire Shadow, Jumby, Triple Time and The Wizard Of Eye complete the line up, with Angel Bleu and Cash the only horses not declared.

Recent history was against Rory McIlroy as he tried to bounce back from his dispiriting performance in the Masters in the 105th US PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

The last seven men’s majors have been won by players in their 20s, a streak beginning with Jon Rahm’s victory in the 2021 US Open and extended by the Spaniard’s triumph at Augusta National last month.

McIlroy, who missed the cut in the Masters after a second round of 77, turned 34 earlier this month and even the prospect of playing a major at a course where he is a member has seemingly done little to raise his spirits.

“It’s not as if I have a ton of local knowledge here compared to everyone else,” said McIlroy, whose wife Erica is from Rochester.

“The last two days are the most I’ve really seen of this golf course over the last couple of years.”

McIlroy was due to be among the early starters on Thursday alongside defending champion Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa, with many of the pre-tournament favourites getting their campaigns under way from the 10th.

Jordan Spieth, who needs to win the US PGA to complete a career grand slam, looked set to overcome a wrist injury to compete at Oak Hill, where Jason Dufner won his sole major title in 2013.

“It’s not fun if you don’t think you’ve got a chance to win,” Spieth said after a nine-hole practice round on Wednesday.

“(But) if I felt like I was limited in a way that would affect my chances then there’d be no reason for me to feel like playing, because then I could further damage it and that’s not worth it.”

Architect Andrew Green has overseen an extensive renovation of the East Course since it last hosted the US PGA in 2013, with the aim being to better reflect the original Donald Ross design. All of the greens and bunkers have been rebuilt and hundreds of trees removed. The old sixth hole has been replaced by a shorter par three which now slots in as the fifth, with the fifth becoming the sixth hole on the card and lengthened to 504 yards. The par-three 15th also has an entirely different green that has been repositioned and is no longer guarded by a pond.

1300 – Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Gary Woodland
1311 – Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa
1322 – Shane Lowry, Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland
1333 – Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm

Widespread frost is likely on Thursday morning before temperatures begin to moderate during the afternoon with highs reaching the mid-60s. Much warmer temperatures can be expected on Friday ahead of an approaching cold front and upper-level low pressure system that will move through the region on Saturday.

Scientists are hoping to move a step closer to cracking the concussion code for female athletes before the end of the year.

Marker Diagnostics has developed a tool which can identify the “unique signature” for concussion in a male player’s saliva.

In 2021, a University of Birmingham study found the tool was able to accurately predict the outcome of 94 per cent of head injury assessments (HIAs) conducted on elite male rugby players.

Marker researchers are now working to establish whether the same test can also accurately and objectively diagnose concussion in female players, or if a female-specific test is required.

Testing has been going on in the English women’s top flight since 2018, at the Women’s World Cup and the Farah Palmer Cup in New Zealand last year and at the TikTok Six Nations last year and this year.

The study, jointly funded by World Rugby and Marker, is set to continue in the English elite game and in this summer’s Farah Palmer Cup, and potentially in other women’s competitions where HIAs are conducted.

All players who consent to participate are given a ‘baseline’ saliva swab and fill out a health questionnaire prior to competing. They are then retested if they undergo an HIA at any point during competition.

These tests are taken at each stage of the HIA – immediately after an impact during a match, immediately after the match and between 36 and 48 hours after the match.

Patrick O’Halloran, a senior medical adviser at Marker, told the PA news agency: “We’ve seen differences between men and women at baseline, the thing we should be able to uncover by the end of this year will be whether concussion expression is different in women or is it just diagnosed differently, and what happens after that concussion.

“It could be ‘OK, men and women look a bit different on the basis of these markers, but actually those differences are proportional and after a concussion, the test is still positive when we expect it to be.

“Or actually it could be that you need a different panel of biomarkers in women altogether.”

Asked why this study is so important, O’Halloran added: “This is a group of athletes playing at a unique time, when women’s sport is really exploding in terms of its popularity.

“The opportunities for women’s sports at the moment are really, really huge. Unfortunately, at the same time, there isn’t the same resource in women’s sport as there is in men’s. But women still get concussed.

“Medics in women’s sports still have that challenge of trying to objectively diagnose concussion in female athletes. So putting something in place that can bridge that gap in resource is going to be really powerful as women’s sport continues to expand and develop.

“This is providing additional information, unique information that wasn’t available before to make players safer.

“That’s what everyone wants – players, players’ representatives, coaches want more clarity and objectivity, and what leagues want is a more consistent standard of care and a consistency and objectivity to that too.

“What we’re looking for is that signature that is unique to concussion to enable medically informed treatment.”

Published research suggests female athletes suffer a higher rate of concussion, which may be accompanied by a wider range of more severe and prolonged symptoms compared to their male counterparts.

Dr Valentina Di Pietro, from the University of Birmingham, said: “Concussion can be difficult to diagnose, particularly in settings such as grassroots sports where evaluation by a specialist clinician is not possible.

“Consequently, some concussions may go undiagnosed. A non-invasive and accurate diagnostic test using saliva is a real game-changer and will provide an invaluable tool to help doctors diagnose concussions more consistently and accurately.”

British rider Tao Geoghegan Hart suffered a hip fracture and will need surgery after being involved in a crash during stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia.

The Ineos Grenadiers racer, the 2020 champion, was involved in a multi-bike accident in wet conditions on a downhill descent with around 70km of the race’s longest leg remaining.

Geoghegan Hart, who sat third in the overall standings, was pictured being loaded into an ambulance after receiving roadside treatment.

After being taken to hospital for more examinations, the Ineos Grenadiers team confirmed Geoghegan Hart was set for an extended spell of recovery.

“Immediately following his involvement in a crash during today’s Stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia, Tao Geoghegan Hart was transported to a local hospital in Genoa,” an Ineos Grenadiers statement said.

“After further assessment, imaging confirmed that Tao had sustained a fracture of the left hip which will require surgery.

“Tao, the thoughts and best wishes of all your fellow Grenadiers are with you tonight. We wish you a speedy recovery and know you have what it takes to come back even stronger!”

Team-mate and overall race leader Geraint Thomas was also involved in the incident, but was able to continue along with nearest challenger Primoz Roglic.

Thomas said after the race: “As usual we were jostling for position, a UAE guy crashed next to me. I don’t know exactly who was taken out after me.

“We were pretty much on the same spot. Unfortunately Tao is badly injured. It’s obviously a big loss.

“He was going very well. He was in a really great position and it’s very unfortunate to lose him this way.”

Thomas retained the pink jersey for overall race leader with a two-second lead over Jumbo-Visma’s Roglic.

Pascal Ackermann, riding for UAE Team Emirates, claimed the stage 11 victory after triumphing courtesy of a photo finish in Tortona, crossing the line just ahead of Jonathan Milan.

This year’s race has been beset with problems as poor weather has been accompanied by a coronavirus outbreak, which has now seen 13 riders withdraw.

Soudal Quick-Step riders Jan Hirt, Josef Cerny, Louis Vervaeke and Mattia Cattaneo were the latest to pull out on Wednesday.

Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is interested in having James Harden back in a Sixers uniform.

The former league MVP, however, reportedly is planning to decline his player option and become an unrestricted free agent.

Morey spoke to the media on Wednesday, one day after the team fired Doc Rivers as coach, and said Harden could return.

“We are interested in bringing him back,” Morey said.

Harden has a $35.6million player option for the 2023-24 season, and the 76ers can offer the 2017-18 league MVP a $210million, four-year deal - $8million more than any other team.

However, Harden intends to move on from the 76ers and become a free agent, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

“We have to plan for every scenario,” Morey said. “He has the option to be a free agent, and so we have to plan for all those scenarios. We feel like (Harden leaving) is a scenario where we can continue to move forward.”

Acquired in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets in February 2022, Harden was a solid complement to league MVP Joel Embiid, averaging 21.0 points and 10.7 assists in the regular season to help the 76ers to the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.

In the playoffs, however, the 33-year-old Harden was maddeningly inconsistent.

He had a pair of 40-point performances but averaged just 15.1 points on 30.0 per cent shooting with 8.4 assists in his other nine games.

The 10-time All-Star reportedly wants a four-year deal with a team that has a competitive roster.

Morey feels that the 76ers have that competitive roster that Harden desires.

“Look, we have to remember there’s like 26 teams that would rather have our roster,” he said.

“We’re starting with the MVP of the league. The draft lottery yesterday was hoping to get a top pick to hope that player becomes as good as the MVP of the league.

"So we’re starting in a great spot and yeah, we have a lot of free agents, so we’re going to lose some free agents. There’s some key ones we’d like to bring back. But we feel good about the alternate scenarios as well.

“Scenario A would be to bring James back. Scenario B, if he’s not back, will be we’ll have to get creative. And we feel good about the tools available to us if that happens.”

Matt Fitzpatrick insists he will relish the challenge of a “brute of a golf course” as he bids to claim a second major title in the US PGA Championship.

The renovated East Course at Oak Hill is set to provide the world’s best players with a severe test, with Robert MacIntyre describing it as an “absolute monster” and the toughest course he has ever played.

However, the 7,394-yard, par-70 layout – whose two par fives both measure over 600 yards – holds relatively few fears for Fitzpatrick, who played in the final group in the last round of the US PGA 12 months ago before winning his maiden major title a month later at the US Open.

“I think that final round (at Southern Hills) there was a lot of talk about me playing a little bit too fast, looking a bit rushed,” Fitzpatrick said.

“Obviously at the time you don’t see that and I only really had like a week afterwards before I was playing the next run of tournaments, so I kind of didn’t get much time to reflect on it.

“But then I think when the time came Sunday of US Open I felt like I knew exactly what to do.

“Statistically I didn’t even putt that well that week, so if I can play the same way again and putt as well as I know I can, then that’s also another level that I can kind of add to my performance.

“I think that’s kind of a big thing for myself that I feel like if I can do that, I know I can contend and win.”

Fitzpatrick was six under par in winning the US Open at Brookline and although he was 17 under before beating Jordan Spieth in a play-off at the RBC Heritage last month, a tougher test has always been his preference.

“I’ve said it multiple times, I hate it when tournaments are 25, 30 under par to win,” the world number seven said. “I don’t particularly feel like I play well in those.

“I just like it when it’s hard and you’ve got to battle and par is a good score. I just enjoy it, for whatever reason.

“From the holes that I’ve seen, there’s so many tough, tough golf holes where you have to hit just good shots. I think that’s the great thing about it, it’s a proper test.

“It’s just a brute of a golf course. It reminds me a lot of Winged Foot when we played (the 2020 US Open) just because you miss the fairways there and it was just chipping out.

“Whoever does win this week, in my opinion, will thoroughly deserve it.”

The last seven men’s majors have all been won by players in their 20s, a streak started by Jon Rahm’s US Open victory in 2021 and continued by the world number one’s Masters triumph last month.

That may be a good omen for the likes of Rahm, Fitzpatrick and Open champion Cameron Smith – who will contest the first two rounds together – and also for world number two Scottie Scheffler.

But it is less encouraging for Rory McIlroy as he bids to claim a first major title since the second of his US PGA wins in 2014, the 33-year-old having followed a dispiriting missed cut in the Masters with a tie for 47th in the Wells Fargo Championship.

Jordan Spieth, who needs to lift the Wanamaker Trophy to complete a career grand slam, looked on course to compete at Oak Hill after withdrawing from last week’s PGA Tour event due to “severe pain” from a wrist injury.

Rafael Nadal will address reports he is set to pull out of the French Open at a press conference on Thursday.

Nadal pulled out of the Italian Open in Rome as he continues to manage the hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open.

The Spaniard had hoped to be fit by the start of the clay-court season, but last month revealed the treatment he had been having had not worked.

Nadal has never gone into the French Open, which he has won 14 times, without at least one warm-up event on clay.

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There will be a press conference at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, Mallorca at 1500BST on Thursday, where an announcement is expected on the 36-year-old’s plans for Roland Garros.

“If he plays [the French Open] or not and the reasons either way will only be communicated tomorrow,” a statement from the player’s representatives read.

Speaking on Twitter about his decision to pull out of the Rome Open, Nadal said: “Despite having noticed an improvement in recent days, there have been many months without having been able to train at a high level and the re-adaptation process has its time, and I have no choice but to accept it and continue working.”

Andy Murray slumped to a 6-3 6-0 defeat against Stan Wawrinka in the second round of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Bordeaux.

Murray’s poor run on clay-court Masters 1000 events had continued when he was knocked out of the Italian Open in the first round by Fabio Fognini.

The Scot, though, had enjoyed success earlier this month at a second-tier tournament in Aix-en-Provence, where he won his first title since 2019.

Murray, who turned 36 on Monday, was seeded second and received a first-round bye, but found himself in a stacked bottom half in the Bordeaux draw which also included fellow three-time grand slam champion Wawrinka.

The veteran Swiss, who won the 2015 French Open, forced a break in the fourth game before holding to lead 4-1.

Although Murray saved several set-points on his next serve, Wawrinka soon closed out the set.

Murray’s serve faltered again at the start of the second set, with Wawrinka twice breaking to lead 3-0.

Wawrinka, 38, maintained the pressure to break Murray again in the fifth game.

Although Murray forced a break point chance of his own in the next, he was then again frustrated by a line call as Wawrinka recovered to serve out for the match and complete what was a straightforward victory in one hour and 17 minutes.

Murray – who has only played at Roland Garros once since 2017 – is expected to soon decide whether to compete on clay in Paris, potentially for the last time, or begin his preparations early for the grass-court season as he looks towards Wimbledon.