Tongan tackling ruffles Scots, and officials


NICE, France: Tonga showed the best and worst of their uber-physical approach on Sunday (Sep 24) when they rattled Scotland with some fearsome tackling but also missed 45 attempts and suffered a red and a yellow card during their 45-17 World Cup defeat.

Scotland winger Duhan van der Merwe, one of the most physical players in Europe, said: “I’ve never been hit like that before”, after being relentlessly smashed, mostly legally.

However, Number eight Vaea Fifita was shown a late bunker upgraded red card for a wild assault on Finn Russell at a ruck in the closing minutes.

And winger Afusipa Taumoepeau looked extremely lucky not to have his yellow upgraded after his shoulder charge into the head of Jamie Ritchie, which ended the Scotland captain’s involvement after 34 minutes.

“It is natural for us (to be physical in the tackle),” coach Toutai Kefu said. “I think when we defend for long periods, it takes a bit of juice out of us and we become a little inaccurate. It is not intentional.”

Tonga looked far better for much of the game than in their 59-16 defeat by Ireland, scored two nice tries and disrupted the Scots for long periods but somehow managed to miss 45 tackles.

“The difference between our first two games is we got some ball to fire some shots today,” said Kefu. “We took some opportunities, scored some tries, probably missed some opportunities as well.

“But we weren’t able to put sustained pressure on them and missed a lot of first-time tackles. There were some really good defensive sets there. It was a much better effort compared to last week.

“We have to learn to hold on to the ball, we lost possession and territory, and that put us under sustained pressure. We let in some easy tries but we are tracking in the right way.”

Captain Ben Tameifuna delivered the now-familiar lament of the tier-two nations about their preparation struggles.

“It shows what it takes to play against tier-one teams,” he said. “Our build-up has been against tier-two teams and below. The pace is faster, which we have to adapt to.”



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Britain’s Potter wins world title after brilliant run


Britain’s Beth Potter won her first world title and a coveted slot in the 2024 Olympics after surging through on the run to win the women’s triathlon World Championship Finals in Spain on Sunday.

The 31-year-old was a touch off the pace during the swim and bike sections but delivered a great run to take gold ahead of fellow Briton Kate Waugh.

France’s Cassandre Beaugrand completed the podium as she edged out Germany’s Lisa Tertsch, who was forced to serve a 15-second penalty.

Potter’s title came on the back of a remarkable season, following an opening series win and now qualifying for her second Olympic Games having raced over 10,000 metres on the track in Rio de Janeiro.

She finished top of the overall standings with 4,559 points, ahead of French duo Beaugrand (4,411) and Emma Lombardi (3,793).

“This has a been a dream season and I’m lost for words,” she said. “The Olympics in Paris was the goal and winning the World Championships is a bonus.

“I wasn’t going too good on the swim and bike so had to work harder. I felt better throughout the race, backed myself, believed in my training and was good on the run.”



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Townsend unhappy with officials after captain Ritchie sidelined


NICE, France: Scotland coach Gregor Townsend was left bemused by the bunker review system for the second World Cup game in a row as he confirmed captain Jamie Ritchie faces a minimum of 12 days on the sidelines following the 45-17 win over Tonga on Sunday (Sep 24).

Ritchie was struck in the head following a tackle from Tongan winger Afusipa Taumoepeau late in the first half of the Pool B clash in Nice.

Taumoepeau was given a yellow card by referee Karl Dickson, which was not upgraded to red on bunker review.

“It will be a 12-day turnaround I would imagine as he has had previous head injuries,” Townsend told reporters. “That is obviously a big blow for him and for us.

“It was very disappointing for our captain and one of our key players to be removed from the game. Against South Africa, Jack Dempsey was also hit in the head and nothing was done that day.”

World Rugby has introduced a bunker system where officials have eight minutes to decide on review if a yellow card should be upgraded to a red, or vice-versa.

“I just don’t understand what the bunker television match official and three (match) officials are looking at to say if it is a red card or not,” Townsend said.

“It seems they are looking for ways not to give red cards, rather than referee what is an illegal tackle.”

Townsend was pleased with the bonus-point win which keeps his team’s quarter-final hopes alive and, assuming they get five points from their next match against Romania, sets up a showdown with Ireland in Paris on Oct 7 for a knockout place.

“Tonga tested us in contact areas, at the rucks they are a very good side. They are very quick at winning the ball and they are hard to move. The scrum was a competitive area,” he said.

“Their ball carrying was really good, the forwards have skill and their backline players are aggressive.”

Townsend also confirmed hooker Stuart McInally is out of the World Cup with a neck injury, bringing to an end his international career having announced he would retire after the tournament.

“He had pain in his neck which did not recover for two days. We did a scan and it showed (the damage),” Townsend said.

Johnny Matthews will join the squad in France as a replacement.



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Wales march into quarter-finals, shove Wallabies towards exit


LYON, France: Wales romped into the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a record 40-6 victory over Australia on Sunday that left the twice-world champion Wallabies heading for a pool stage exit for the first time.

Scrumhalf Gareth Davies, centre Nick Tompkins and flanker Jac Morgan scored tries with replacement flyhalf Gareth Anscombe banging over six penalties, a conversion and a drop goal to give the Welsh a third win in three Pool C matches.

The Wallabies, stunned by Fiji last week, lacked nothing in endeavour but made too many mistakes and were outclassed by a streetwise Welsh side, who backed their defence, managed the game expertly and clinically exploited their chances.

“Words can’t really explain how proud I am for us to put in a performance like that,” said Wales skipper Morgan.

“It’s been a tough couple of months and we’ve worked really hard, so that was massive for us.”

Eddie Jones’s young team, who managed only two early Ben Donaldson penalties, still have a mathematical chance of getting into the knockout rounds but would need Fiji to lose at least one of their last two pool matches against Georgia and Portugal.

“Credit to Wales, they outplayed us tonight,” said Australia captain Dave Porecki.

“I’m embarrassed for the Aussie people. We were hoping to put a show on. It just wasn’t good enough. We’ve got to front up next week. This one hurts.”

The game could not have started worse for the Wallabies, who were penalised at the first breakdown and a try down in under three minutes after Morgan burst through the midfield and offloaded for Davies to score.

Australia immediately tested the Welsh defence through multiple phases and came away with a Donaldson penalty in the ninth minute and another in the 14th as the result of a dominant scrum.

Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar was injured in an early tackle and replaced by Anscombe, who missed his first attempt at goal but nailed the next three to extend the lead to 16-6 at halftime.

Anscombe added another penalty just after the break then chipped a lovely ball over the top of the Australian defence to send Tompkins in for the second Welsh try and extend the lead to 20 points with 48 minutes on the clock.

The Wallabies scored 26 unanswered points in a comeback win over Wales in Cardiff last November but there was to be no repeat in Lyon.

Anscombe drilled two more penalties in the 52nd and 60th minutes and then, with Wales going through the phases without making much progress, slotted a drop goal with 10 minutes left on the clock.

Flyhalf Carter Gordon, dropped for the match but on as a replacement, summed up Australia’s night when he tried to kick for touch in the 75th minute only to send the ball out behind the goals.

With the Welsh crowd favourite “Hymns and Arias” echoing around OL Stadium, there was still time for Wales to roll a maul over the line and give Morgan a well-deserved try.



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Morata scores twice as Atletico outclass Real Madrid with 3-1 derby win


MADRID :Alvaro Morata scored a brace to help Atletico Madrid deliver a statement performance as they outclassed city rivals Real Madrid in a 3-1 derby win in LaLiga on Sunday.

Morata opened the scoring in the fourth minute in a sold-out Metropolitano stadium with a towering header from a Samuel Lino cross and Antoine Griezmann extended Atletico’s lead with another header in the 18th minute, from a Saul Niguez cross.

Real’s Toni Kroos struck home from the edge of the box in the 35th minute but Morata headed Atletico’s third goal in the first minute of the second half, from another cross by Saul.

With one game in hand, Atletico moved up to fifth place in the LaLiga standings on 10 points, while Real Madrid, who entered the weekend as leaders, are now third on 15 points, one behind Barcelona and Girona.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico dominated proceedings for most of the match and spent the final minutes of the game passing the ball sideways to each other as their delirious fans chanted “Ole, ole, ole” in a thunderous show of support.

After Morata had scored the opener, his team mate Jose Maria Gimenez wasted a golden opportunity in the 10th minute, missing a close-range header from a corner kick sent in by Griezmann, who himself headed in the second goal eight minutes later.

Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga had Real’s first chance in the 30th minute, with a curling shot from range that was deflected to a corner.

Goalkeeper Jan Oblak denied a Federico Valverde first-touch strike from the corner and started off a quick counter-attack that almost ended with Atletico’s third, with goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga making a brilliant one-handed save of a Saul strike.

Real’s Kroos then made it 2-1 before Camavinga had a goal ruled out just before the break for offside in the build-up.

Real struggled to create any more chances after Morata’s second goal in the opening moments of the second half.

“Very happy for all these people that came here today and delivered this amazing support”, Morata told DAZN.

“I said the other day, the fans were going to play the most important role. That’s how it has been. It’s been an incredible atmosphere.”



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Lukaku strike not enough as Roma held to 1-1 draw at Torino


:A late header by Duvan Zapata earned Torino a 1-1 draw at home to AS Roma on Sunday, quashing the Roman side’s hopes of improving on their underwhelming start to the Serie A season.

Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku had put Roma ahead in the 68th minute, taking the ball around his marker and sending a low, left-footed shot into the net.

The goal gave Jose Mourinho’s side hope that their fortunes were on the rise even though they have won only one of their opening five league matches.

But five minutes before stoppage time, the hosts equalised when Colombian Zapata scored with a diving header from a free kick into the box.

Roma are 13th in the table with five points from five games, 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan. Torino are ninth with eight points.

“I understand the table does not look good right now, but it is early days and we will certainly not be where we are now come December,” Mourinho told DAZN.

“I’m sad about the result but I’m not sad about how the players performed tonight.”

Mourinho also said the conditions at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino were not ideal.

“It’s not easy to play against them. It’s not easy to play against this style of play and on this pitch,” he added.

“I now promise that I will no longer criticise the Stadio Olimpico because compared to this one it seems like a catwalk.”

Roma next play Genoa away on Thursday.



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Americans Tiafoe and Shelton secure Laver Cup title for Team World


Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe handed Team World a second successive Laver Cup title after they squeezed past Team Europe duo Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4) 7-6(5) for a thrilling doubles victory on Sunday.

The Americans, who met earlier this month in the U.S. Open quarter-finals, found their rhythm to wrap up a final-day victory that lifted captain John McEnroe’s team to 13 points and crushed any remaining hopes for Team Europe.

Team World took a 4-0 lead on the first day of competition, and extended it to 10-2 over Team Europe by the end of Saturday.

Team Europe won the first four editions of the tournament but that run came to an end last year in London when Team World finally emerged victorious at a tournament that marked the end of Roger Federer’s career.

This year the Swiss watched on as a spectator as Tiafoe come back to haunt Team Europe with another win.

“Yeah it was very special being part of that last year it was so emotional, for being my first time. Now with Ben it’s a lot of fun and I hope you guys have enjoyed the match,” Tiafoe said.

“It’s been crazy for me, I enjoyed being in a team environment, they did a great job cheering me on all week and I hope I did a good job cheering them on as well,” Shelton said.

Team World will look to retain their title next year when the event is held in Berlin.



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Ajax part ways with Director of Football Mislintat


Ajax Amsterdam have parted ways with their director of football Sven Mislintat with immediate effect, the Dutch club said on Sunday.

In May, Ajax appointed Mislintat as the successor to Marc Overmars but the association proved to be shortlived.

“Several attempts to restore broad support have not led to the desired outcome. This leads to unrest in and around the club, also due to the disappointing results,” Ajax interim CEO Jan van Halst said in a statement.

Ajax, who finished third last season, are languishing in 14th place in the 18-team Eredivisie with five points from four matches.

They have failed to win a league match since the opening weekend of the season. On Sunday Ajax had to abandon their home Eredivisie game after fans started rioting when champions Feyenoord took a 3-0 lead.



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Welsh gathering momentum as they book quarter-final berth


LYON, France : Wales dramatically lifted their performance levels to record a one-sided win over Australia and book a quarter-final berth at the Rugby World Cup, to the delight of their coach Warren Gatland.

Given little chance just months ago after a dismal Six Nations championship, the Welsh are now the first country to advance to the business end of the tournament in France after demolishing the Wallabies in Lyon on Sunday with their 40-6 victory ensuring a top two place in Pool C.

Few would have predicted a record margin of victory for Wales over Australia but Gatland said his side had been showing signs of improvement.

“I thought it would be a close game. In fairness, we had a great week in training in terms of preparation. We’ve put a lot of work in during the last four months that this team has been together and we know we’re a momentum team and we build confidence on performances,” he told reporters.

Gatland, who returned last December as Wales coach, was particularly delighted with his defence.

“The fact they didn’t score any tries. We spoke about some of our line speed at halftime. That was a big focus at halftime. We were more aggressive. I thought Gareth Davies did a fantastic job leading that aspect,” he said of the scrumhalf, who also got the first try that laid the platform for the victory.

“I thought our game management was fantastic, in terms of keeping the scoreboard ticking over. We grew into the game and got better.

“They never really threatened us which was pleasing,” he added.

The Welsh were in crisis earlier in the year amid threats of player strikes and, at the time, any success at the World Cup would have been seen as a long shot.

“There were a lot of things going on before the Six Nations. Contract issues and the frustrations from them over players’ futures. I had to sit back and let things unfold.

“But we’ve been together for four months now. You know you can put the detail and hard work in. We’re such a small nation in terms of playing numbers. Our success is based on hard work and punching above our weight and we build confidence on the back of these results,” Gatland said.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)



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Jones says committed to Australia job after Wales debacle


LYON, France : Eddie Jones said he remained 100 per cent committed to the task of turning Australian rugby around after his young side were thrashed by Wales to move to the brink of elimination from the World Cup in the pool stage.

Jones was hired on a five-year contract in January but a report in the Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday cited sources as saying he had been interviewed about returning to the Japan job when Jamie Joseph leaves after the World Cup.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, mate,” he said when questioned about the report after the 40-6 loss to Wales.

“I came back to Australia to try to help as much as I can. I’m a proud Australian. I hate to see Australian rugby do as poorly as we’ve been doing, particularly under my reign.

“There’s not only the Wallabies we’ve got to try and improve, we’ve got to improve the whole system of Australian rugby.

“That’s not an excuse. We’ve got to have a really good look at ourselves, and to continue improving and getting better.”

Jones bridled at continuing questioning over the report and threatened to walk out of the post-match press conference.

“I really take umbrage at people questioning my commitment as Australia coach,” he said.

“I’ve been working nonstop since I’ve come in and apologise for the results. But to question my commitment to the job I think is a bit red hot.”

Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh earlier told reporters in Lyon that Jones had assured his employers there was no foundation to the report.

“You just have to take people for their word,” the former Wallabies flanker said.

“He said he hasn’t, and if he has, that’s something that we’ll deal with at the time that becomes evident.”

Jones was previously coach of Japan for three years from 2012 and led the Brave Blossoms to a stunning upset of South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.

The 63-year-old was sacked after seven years as England coach last December and returned to Australia for his second spell as Wallabies coach in January.

Jones proclaimed that Australia would win the World Cup for the third time with a “smash and grab” raid in France but results have failed back up his hyperbole.

After losing all three matches in the Rugby Championship and the second Bledisloe Cup test to New Zealand, the Wallabies were trounced 41–17 by France in their final warm-up.

They opened their tournament with a 35-15 win over Georgia but a first loss to Fiji in 69 years in their second Pool C match last week led to a barrage of criticism of Jones’s decision to trust in youth for the World Cup campaign.

“We’re disappointed, they’re a young team and they’re very disappointed, they tried their hearts out,” he added on Sunday.

“And, of course, at the moment we just don’t have the consistency in our favour to put pressure on teams like Wales.

“The only way you get experience is by playing these games and sometimes you know, games like this have the makings of a good team going forward.”



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