Slipper to captain Australia against Wales after Wright ruled out

Slipper to captain Australia against Wales after Wright ruled out

Veteran prop James Slipper will captain Australia in the second test against Wales after newly-appointed skipper Liam Wright was Thursday ruled out with an injury. Wright was coach Joe Schmidt's surprise choice as his first captain and the Reds flanker steered the Wallabies to a gutsy 25-16 win over the Welsh in Sydney last weekend. But the 26-year-old hurt his right shoulder in the second half and left […]

July 11, 2024 7

Sport

England’s Baxter gets first test start against All Blacks

England coach Steve Borthwick has made one injury-enforced change to his team for the second and final test of the series against New Zealand at Auckland's Eden Park on Saturday. Prop Fin Baxter made his test debut in last week's 16-15 loss in Dunedin as an early injury replacement for Joe Marler and has been awarded the No 1 shirt for Saturday's match with the experienced loosehead unavailable […]

July 11, 2024 9

Sport

Emotional Vingegaard edges Pogacar in Tour de France battle

Jonas Vingegaard edged Tadej Pogacar as a battle between the four Tour de France favourites played out over a series of hills in the central Cantal region on Wednesday. Defending champion Vingegaard reeled in Slovenian Pogacar's ferocious attacks before a razor's edge final dash to the line. Belgian Remco Evenepoel finished third at 25sec while Pogacar's compatriot Primoz Roglic was fourth at 55sec despite a late accident. Race […]

July 11, 2024 14

Sport

Musetti sets up Djokovic semifinal clash as Rybakina cruises

Novak Djokovic progressed to a record-equalling 13th Wimbledon semifinal without hitting a ball on Wednesday after Alex de Minaur pulled out injured as former champion Elena Rybakina eased through. Australian ninth seed De Minaur, 25, announced shortly after midday at the All England Club that he was "devastated to pull out due to a hip injury". It means Djokovic has now equalled Roger Federer's men's record of 13 semifinal […]

July 11, 2024 8

Sport

Southgate vindicated as super subs send England into Euros final

England took a long time to get going in Germany but march on to Berlin to face Spain in Sunday's Euro 2024 final buoyed by more late drama and their best performance of the tournament to beat the Netherlands 2-1. Ollie Watkins was the unlikely hero for the Three Lions as the Aston Villa striker smashed in a stoppage-time winner in Dortmund, having only played 20 minutes in […]

July 11, 2024 10

Sport

Alcaraz fears Medvedev ‘wall’ as he targets Wimbledon final

Carlos Alcaraz described his Wimbledon semi-final opponent Daniil Medvedev as "a wall" on Tuesday as the two players talked up each others' strengths ahead of their blockbuster clash. Friday's semi-final will be a repeat show of last year, where Alcaraz beat Russia's Medvedev in straight sets on the way to his first Wimbledon crown. The Spanish world number three came through 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 against America's Tommy […]

July 10, 2024 26

Sport

Djokovic faces De Minaur test as Rybakina eyes Wimbledon repeat

Alex de Minaur is the latest man standing in the way of the Novak Djokovic juggernaut on Wednesday as the Serbian superstar eyes a 13th Wimbledon semi-final. Former champion and fourth seed Elena Rybakina, the top woman left in the draw, faces Elina Svitolina. AFP Sport looks at Wednesday's four Wimbledon quarter-finals: A historic 25th Grand Slam triumph is coming into sharp focus for Novak Djokovic, who demolished […]

July 10, 2024 8

Sport

Bare-bones gym breeds Olympians in Philippines boxing capital Bago

At a bare-bones gym in the central Philippines, children from poor families in torn shoes put on frayed head guards and get to work in pursuit of their Olympic boxing dream -- and a way out of poverty. Aged 10-18, the young boxers spar in the Bago city gymnasium after school before sleeping under the ring's canvas at night. Located on the island of Negros, in the sugar-growing region […]

July 10, 2024 5

Sport

Marsch wants broader player pool after Copa test

Canada coach Jesse Marsch saw his team's Copa America dream end with a 2-0 loss to world champions Argentina on Tuesday and said that the unexpected run to the last four had taken a toll on his side. American Marsch, the former RB Leipzig and Leeds United manager has quickly installed his high-energy, hard-pressing style on the Canada team since taking over in May. But he conceded that […]

July 10, 2024 8