Anthony Joshua was able to block out jeers and boos from the O2 Arena crowd to produce a thunderous seventh-round stoppage against Robert Helenius and stay on track for a future bout with Deontay Wilder.

Joshua had been set to face fellow British heavyweight Dillian Whyte until his rival had to be pulled from the show last weekend when “adverse analytical findings” were detected in his doping test.

Helenius stepped in as a last-minute opponent, but the pre-match focus was on what next for Joshua with talks taking place with Wilder’s camp over a fight in the new year.

It would only happen if Joshua could navigate the Finnish veteran and a slow start to proceedings in London saw whistles followed by boos in round three and further jeers occurred at the end of round six.

Joshua was able to provide the crowd with a speculator finish, unleashing a huge right hand to knock Helenius off his feet after one minute and 27 seconds of round seven.

There was brief concern over Helenius, who remained motionless, and it saw Joshua leave the ring to celebrate with the fans, but his opponent was able to get back up to his feet before the two fighters touched gloves.

While Joshua was coy over what next, promotor Eddie Hearn revealed plans to fight Wilder next and current world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury later in 2024.

Hearn said: “It is the fight we want. We have a three-fight plan.

“It was Helenius, first Dillian Whyte and then Helenius, and now Wilder and then Tyson Fury. That is the ambition.”

Meanwhile, Joshua responded to his critics during a short interview in the ring.

“I just want to give a big round of applause for Robert Helenius for taking this fight,” Joshua started off.

“People need to leave me alone. This is my time in the ring. Let me breath. The guy has got talent, I had to figure him out because he was a late replacement and I want to thank him for saving the show.

“I don’t want to say too much. But my back hurts from carrying the heavyweight division.”

Gregor Townsend was proud of his Scotland side after they went agonisingly close to pulling off a second comeback win over France in the space of a week.

The Scots – who beat Les Bleus from 21-3 behind at Murrayfield last weekend – roared back from 27-10 down in balmy Saint-Etienne on Saturday night to level the match at 27-27 before a 78th-minute penalty from Thomas Ramos secured a 30-27 victory for the World Cup hosts.

The visitors outscored the French by four tries to three and Townsend was buoyed by the way his team stood up to their formidable opponents in front of a partisan home crowd just four weeks before their opening match of the tournament against world champions South Africa in Marseille.

“It showed a lot for the character and the competitiveness of the group,” he said. “They wanted to win that one, they did all they could to win it. Obviously we’re a bit disappointed that we didn’t do that.

“Even a draw would have been something that we could have taken a lot more positives out of, because we’re here to win. But there’s so much more to come from this team.

“We showed in the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes that we can win ball, our set-piece can be strong, and also we can attack and score great tries. So our job is to put that together for more than 20-30 minutes when we’re playing at our best, but also to do that for much longer.”

The Scots made a strong start and led 10-6 at the half-hour mark, with Ali Price’s 29th-minute yellow card paving the way for the French to seize command in the game’s mid-section.

Townsend rued the concession of two tries in the first four minutes of the second half, but was encouraged by the way his players rallied in the final 20 minutes to give themselves a real chance of only a second away win over France this century.

“I’m really proud of the effort and also how we started the game,” he said. “We were ambitious, accurate and very physical in our contacts. We had to soak up a lot of pressure in that first half when we were a man down.

“But we just missed the first five minutes of the second half. A couple of uncharacteristic mistakes and France got opportunities. I was so proud of the togetherness, the effort, the skill that was on show, and we’re gutted we didn’t get anything out of that. Really disappointed.”

Townsend names his final 33-man World Cup squad on Wednesday, meaning four players will be cut from his current pool. Asked if anything from the gallant defeat at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard had changed his thinking with regard to selection, the head coach said: “No. I’ve not had much time to think about it. I was really proud of the 23 tonight and how they went about taking on a top side. Their focus was on winning the game, not on the World Cup.

“They put their bodies on the line. The effort that the players have put in over the last two months was transferred on to the field. We’re fit enough to have a real crack at this World Cup and we’ll have a lot of players that will be putting their hands up for selection over the next few days.”

England international Jude Bellingham scored on his LaLiga debut as Real Madrid began their league season with a 2-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao.

Bellingham, who joined Real from Borussia Dortmund earlier this summer, scored his team’s second goal eight minutes before half-time.

Rodrygo had opened the scoring nine minutes earlier, and it proved a dominant display by Real, with Bellingham at the heart of it.

Saturday’s other two LaLiga games finished as draws, with Real Sociedad being held 1-1 at home by Girona and Real Mallorca claiming a point by the same scoreline at Las Palmas.

Takefusa Kubo put Socieded in front after just five minutes at the Reale Arena, but Artem Dovbyk’s header in the 72nd minute secured a share of the spoils.

Las Palmas went in front through Jonathan Viera’s 29th-minute penalty, but the home side could not hold on to that advantage and Antonio Raillo equalised in the second half.

Paris St Germain saw their Ligue 1 campaign begin in frustrating fashion as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Lorient at Parc des Princes.

Despite creating numerous chances, PSG could find no way through resilient opposition and will feel it was a case of two points dropped.

Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Marco Verratti, meanwhile, who have all been linked with moves away from Paris, were left out of the matchday squad by boss Luis Enrique.

And Marseille claimed a comeback victory against Reims at Stade Velodrome, with Vitinha’s 73rd-minute goal securing a 2-1 win after Junya Ito had given Reims the lead and Azzedine Ounahi equalised.

James Maddison has promised to fill the creative void at Tottenham after he admitted to a sense of inevitability about joining the club.

The England international completed a £40million move to Spurs from Leicester in June and will make his debut in Sunday’s Premier League opener away to Brentford.

It will mark the start of a new era for Tottenham with a huge sense of mixed emotions amongst the fanbase after Harry Kane’s transfer to Bayern Munich was finalised on Saturday.

While Kane’s departure is a bitter pill to swallow, there remains optimism about the attacking brand of football new manager Ange Postecoglou will try to implement and excitement around signings like Maddison.

Speaking at a TNT Sports event last week before Kane’s departure, Maddison said: “When I was speaking to my agent about moving clubs and you come to a place where you need to make decisions, where you want to go and what you think fits best, I could actually see myself playing for Spurs.

“There’s a little window for me at Tottenham Hotspur, a creative player that they’ve always had, maybe not had in recent years.

“I could definitely see myself, when making the decision, playing for Tottenham, in that kit, in that stadium and being the creative player I know I can be.

“I’ve always had a strong self belief and I’ll always back myself and my own ability to succeed. It hasn’t failed me so far so I will continue to have that mindset and attitude. I just saw myself playing at Tottenham.”

Maddison, 27, had been tracked by Spurs since he was a teenager at Coventry and following spells with Norwich and Leicester, he will finally wear the white of Tottenham.

He appears the natural heir to Christian Eriksen, who wore the crown as the team’s chief creator until his departure in 2020.

Kane has carried the creative burden alongside his goalscoring exploits in recent seasons under the pragmatic football of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, but his exit on the eve of the season will further put the onus on Maddison.

“There was interest that never really fully materialised for whatever reason,” Maddison reflected on Spurs’ past interest.

“When I spoke to the chairman (Daniel Levy), he shared with me that he was a fan of mine and had followed my career for a while. That was obviously nice to hear.

“Sometimes things don’t always work out and you can’t just like a player and get them, it doesn’t always work like that. It is a little bit more complicated than that, but it was nice to hear and that there had been interest.

“You do see sometimes hear rumours and paper talk and stuff, but when it did materialise and I ended up speaking to the manager and chairman, it was a thing I was flattered by and I’m really happy to be at Tottenham.”

If Maddison buys into the notion that he fits in at Spurs, he has a similar opinion of new boss Postecoglou, who made the former Leicester playmaker one of his vice-captains on Saturday.

Postecoglou will make his Premier League bow at Brentford and while his name does not carry the same weight that Mourinho and Conte did, there seems no doubt fans will quickly get on board if his bold, attacking style can translate into results.

Maddison added: “I think that’s why he’s at Tottenham as well because of how he likes to play.

“It kind of suits Tottenham and maybe what they lacked a little bit with managers of recent times. The club has obviously had some big name managers and the type of football I imagine Spurs fans want to see has been a little bit lacking.

“But the quality is there to be an attacking team. The players are there to do it and the manager made no hesitation on the way he wants to play.”

Nicolas Jackson is ready to hit the ground running at Chelsea after swapping LaLiga for the Premier League, according to Mauricio Pochettino.

The pressure on the 22-year-old striker, who joined from Villarreal for £31million in June, to adapt quickly to English football has been increased by injury to fellow new signing Christopher Nkunku, who is now unlikely to play for the club before December.

The pair impressed in attack for Pochettino’s new-look side during the tour of the United States, raising hopes that the team’s struggles in front of goal last season had been fixed.

But injury to Nkunku – together with the departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and David Fofana (on loan), unavailability of Armando Broja and a failure to resolve the future of Romelu Lukaku – has left Jackson as Pochettino’s only available striker for Sunday’s Premier League opener against Liverpool.

The manager though said he had seen enough from the player, who netted 13 times in 48 games for Villarreal last season, to be encouraged that he is ready to take on the mantle of a Premier League goal-scorer.

“He’s a young player but he has the quality to be here and score goals,” said Pochettino. “We’re enjoying the way we are working, he’s working really hard, the quality is there. You can see (from) some games (he has played), he has the quality.

“LaLiga is completely different the Premier League. It was good to play the Premier League Summer Series in America to test the Premier League, that was really good for us.

“I have no doubt he’s going to score goals and the adaptation is going to be good because it’s not only his quality, it’s also his character. He has great character, his personality is strong. I’m sure he’s going to be good here.

“He’s so strong, he isn’t scared of (anything), he’s so brave, and you can see the quality in his feet. (He has) quality also in his physicality – he’s fast and he’s strong.”

Pochettino’s tenures at his previous two English clubs – Tottenham and Southampton – were characterised by the tight bond that he and long-time assistant Jesus Perez were able to forge with players and staff.

The relationship between Pochettino and Perez has been in evidence since the pair arrived at Stamford Bridge, with the assistant often joining his manager at media briefings and sharing in jokes with with the Argentinian, with whom he first worked more than a decade ago at Espanyol.

And Pochettino believes that, despite the turmoil that engulfed Chelsea last season, the building blocks are being put in place for that same spirit and togetherness to spread through the club this campaign.

“I believe it’s possible, yes of course,” he said. “We (Pochettino and Perez) need to show how we are and the players need to trust. For sure I think with time you can create very good bonds between the players and us.

“We are so happy in the way that we have progressed. It’s little steps but they are very important. You cannot make a big jump, you need to create this basis and structure and little steps from the beginning that is going to help after to evolve and develop what you want.

“Every (Premier League) season is stronger and stronger. It’s improving and always more difficult. But that’s good, because the challenge every season is bigger.”

Harry Kane made his debut for Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup, but missed out on his first trophy as Leipzig won 3-0 at the Allianz Arena.

The England captain stepped off the bench as a 63rd-minute replacement for Mathys Tel but made little impact, with DFB-Pokal holders Leipzig running out convincing winners thanks to Dani Olmo’s hat-trick.

Kane, who wore the number nine shirt after training with his new team-mates for the first time on Saturday morning, has yet to win any silverware in his 14-year senior playing career.

Kane, who has signed a deal until June 2027 after Tottenham agreed an £86.4million deal plus add-ons with the German champions, was given a rapturous reception by the Bayern fans after stepping out of the dug-out.

The striker had earlier taken to social media to announce his departure from Spurs, which chairman Daniel Levy said the club “reluctantly” agreed to as Kane, who had entered into the last 12 months of his contract in north London, had made it clear he was seeking a fresh challenge.

Kane said: “It’s not a goodbye because you never know how things pan out in the future, but it’s a thank you and I’ll see you soon.”

He told his new club’s website: “I’m very happy to be a part of FC Bayern now.

“Bayern is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I’ve always said that I want to compete and prove myself at the highest level during my career. This club is defined by its winning mentality – it feels very good to be here.

“I feel like it was the right step in my career to really push myself and test myself on the highest level so that’s why I’m here and I look forward to that challenge.”

Shortly before the deal was officially confirmed, Kane posted a message on social media in which he thanked the fans and said he had not wanted to start the season with his future unresolved.

“From the moment I’ve been playing I’ve been one of your own and I’ve given everything that I possibly could to make you proud and give you as many special moments and memories to hopefully last forever,” Kane said.

“This is a message to all you fans around the world, every single Tottenham fan that’s supported me and been with me throughout my journey.

“Me and my family will cherish it forever, we’ll never forget all the moments we’ve had together so thank you.

“I felt like it was the time to leave. I didn’t want to go into the season with a lot of unresolved future talk.

“I think it’s important for the new manager and the players to concentrate on trying to get Tottenham back to around the top of the table and fighting for trophies, so I wish Ange (Postecoglou) and all the boys all the very best of luck.

“I’ll be watching from a fan point of view now and really hope the team can be successful.”

Postecoglou had revealed on Friday that Kane’s move was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night.

It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern.

Kane leaves Tottenham as the club’s all-time leading scorer with 280 goals but without a trophy.

Bayern had seen their previous bids for Kane turned down, but refused to give up their pursuit of the 30-year-old, who remains 47 goals shy of equalling Alan Shearer’s Premier League record of 260.

Levy told the club’s website: “We sought over a long period of time to engage Harry and his representatives in several forms of contract extension, both short and long term.

“Harry was clear, however, that he wanted a fresh challenge and would not be signing a new contract this summer. We have reluctantly, therefore, agreed to his transfer.

“We have seen a product of our academy system become one of the best players to ever pull on a Spurs shirt and become one of world football’s elite strikers. It has been a truly remarkable journey.”

Kane’s strike partner at Spurs, Son Heung-min, paid tribute to his departing colleague in a post on Instagram and was later confirmed by the club to have been appointed as their new captain.

Son, who holds the Premier League record for goal combinations with Kane, wrote: “Leader, brother, legend.

“Since day one it has been a joy to play by your side. So many memories, amazing games and incredible goals together.

“Harry, thank you for everything you have given to me, to our club, and to our fans. Wish you nothing but the best in your new chapter. Good luck brother.”

Tottenham said of Son’s appointment as skipper on their website: “Heung-Min Son has been named club captain.

“Sonny, 31, takes over the captain’s armband from Hugo Lloris, who first captained the team in 2014-15 and was named skipper for the start of 2015-16 – Sonny’s first season at Spurs.

“James Maddison and Cristian Romero have been appointed vice-captains.”

Damar Hamlin is just one step away from completing one of the most remarkable comeback stories in the sporting world.

The Buffalo Bills safety reached another milestone in his recovery on Saturday, playing for the first time since suffering cardiac arrest mid-game and needing to be resuscitated on the field on Jan. 2.

Hamlin suited up for the Bills’ preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts and saw his first live action since his startling and public medical emergency.

After the exhibition kicked off, Hamlin wasted no time getting back to business.

Hamlin made three tackles, including a fourth-and-1 stop of Colts running back Evan Hull for no gain, while playing parts of three defensive series.

Hamlin, 25, received support from players on both sidelines before kickoff, and the Highmark Stadium crowd cheered each time his name was called.

The Bills won the game 23-19, but Hamlin’s successful overshadowed the outcome.

Assuming Hamlin makes the Bills’ final roster, the last hurdle he faces is playing in his first regular-season game – a milestone that will be undeniably emotional.

After participating in full-contact practices about two weeks ago, Hamlin told reporters about the mental obstacles of returning to NFL football.

“I made the choice to play. But I’m processing a thousand emotions. I’m not afraid to say that it crosses my mind of being a little scared here and there,” Hamlin said at the time. “My faith is stronger than any fear. That’s what I want to preach up here.

“And that’s the message I want to spread on to the world that as long as your faith is stronger than your fear, you can get through anything.”

Hamlin’s long-awaited return to the field was delayed a bit longer as a thunderstorm pushed back the start time of Saturday’s exhibition by a little over an hour.

The Bills open the regular season on the road against the New York Jets on Sept. 11.

Buffalo’s home opener is on Sept. 17 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Scotland staged another stirring fightback against France before being edged out by a late penalty from Thomas Ramos on an intoxicating Saturday night in the Saint-Etienne heat.

Gregor Townsend’s side – who overturned a 21-3 deficit to beat Les Bleus at Murrayfield a week previously – trailed 27-10 going into the final quarter inside the raucous Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

The Scots roared back to level the match at 27-27 and would have gone ahead if Finn Russell had managed to convert Kyle Steyn’s second try of the match in the 72nd minute.

However, their hopes of only a second victory on French soil this century were dashed when Ramos’s reliable boot made it 30-27 with just two minutes remaining.

Scotland made six changes to the side that started last weekend’s 25-21 win over France at Murrayfield, two of which were enforced with the suspended Zander Fagerson and the injured Ben White dropping out. Captain Jamie Ritchie returned after being troubled by a minor calf issue in recent weeks.

After fielding a shadow side in Edinburgh last weekend, Les Bleus made 13 changes, restoring big-hitters like captain Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack, Gael Fickou and Jonathan Danty.

In addition to facing the side ranked second in the world, the Scots also had to contend with 26 degree heat as they emerged from the tunnel to a buoyant home support clearly revelling in the prospect of hosting the World Cup, which gets under way in less than four weeks.

The Scots – who were 19-0 down after 20 minutes on their last trip to France in February – could easily have wilted in the cauldron but they set about taking the sting out of the atmosphere by getting themselves into French territory from kick-off.

Following a sustained period of pressure, the visitors took the lead after four minutes when the ball was worked from left to right and Steyn ran on to a perfectly-weighted pass from Blair Kinghorn before evading a challenge from Gabin Villiere and touching down. Russell executed the conversion impressively from wide on the right.

France got themselves off the mark in the eighth minute with a penalty from Ramos, but Russell restored the Scots’ seven-point lead with a penalty of his own three minutes later. Ramos reduced the hosts’ deficit once more with another penalty in the 22nd minute.

The French momentarily thought they had gone ahead in the 29th minute when Dupont raced clear to touch down behind the posts but the celebrations were cut short as play was pulled back with Ali Price having failed to retreat the necessary 10 yards when Les Bleus took a quick penalty. There was some consolation for the frustrated home support, however, as the Scotland scrum-half was sin-binned for his infringement.

France, who had been building up a head of steam, soon capitalised on their extra-man advantage as Ntamack cut through the Scottish defence to plant the ball down left of the posts, and Ramos was once again on point with his kick to edge them three ahead.

The visitors desperately needed a strong start to the second half but their hopes were dented when they conceded two tries – scored by Damien Penaud and Charles Ollivon – within four minutes of the restart. The unflappable Ramos converted both times.

However, the Scots managed to reduce their arrears in the 62nd minute when Duhan van der Merwe bounded over on the left after a breakthrough attempt from Huw Jones was thwarted just before the line. Russell was off target with his kick.

The visitors – having appeared well-beaten – suddenly had some impetus and they closed to within five points in the 68th minute when Rory Darge forced his way over from close range after a slick build-up, with Russell adding the extras.

Remarkably, Scotland drew level four minutes later when Steyn ran on to a kick-through from George Horne to touch down on the right. Russell – with the chance to edge his team in front – was just wide with his conversion attempt.

Ramos made no mistake when presented with the opportunity to win a pulsating match for the French in the 78th minute.

England captain Owen Farrell is set to miss the start of the World Cup after being sent off in Saturday’s 19-17 victory over Wales at Twickenham.

Farrell’s yellow card for a shoulder-led tackle to the head of Taine Basham was upgraded to a red by the bunker review system, reducing the home side to 12 men because of the yellow cards shown to Freddie Steward and Ellis Genge.

England now face the prospect losing their captain for the critical opener against Argentina on September 9, with his availability for the remainder of the group stage to be determined by a disciplinary hearing next week.

Fixtures against Ireland and Fiji complete the warm-up schedule and, while those games would be included in a suspension, his outlook will be affected by being sanctioned for dangerous tackles in the past..

As recently as January he received a ban that was reduced to three games for attending tackle school.

“I’ll wait and see what comes of the disciplinary process,” head coach Steve Borthwick said.

“Right now it would be wrong for me to comment on an individual incident that would likely go through a disciplinary procedure. I’ll deal with the facts of the situation.”

England trailed 17-9 when Farrell departed yet remarkably they recovered to snatch victory through a Maro Itoje try and George Ford penalty.

“I am incredibly proud of the character that the players showed,” said Borthwick, who confirmed Jack Van Poortvliet suffered an ankle injury.

“To go down to 12 men and be resilient and fight your way through that situation is immense credit to them. They just keep going.

“And that’s something they’ve worked hard to instil in this group, which is not something you’d potentially have said in the past.”

Wales boss Warren Gatland felt it was the right call to upgrade Farrell’s yellow card to a red after seeing his replacement flanker Basham fail an HIA as a result of the tackle.

“It was the right decision on the day. Hopefully for Owen’s sake he doesn’t get too long a ban, you need someone like him in the game,” Gatland said.

“He’d be a big loss to England if he does have a lengthy ban. Given his previous I’m not too sure what’s going to happen with that, fingers crossed it’s not long for him.”

Steward was sent to the sin-bin for taking Josh Adams out in mid-air with a clumsy tackle and referee Nika Amashukeli awarded a penalty try after the England full-back tackled Liam Williams over the line.

“It was probably on the threshold of a yellow to a red. He’s taken him out high in the air,” Gatland said.

“Sometimes that decision, if it had been made by another official, might have been a red card. It was pretty close. It will be interesting to see what they come back with when they review it.”

Gatland revealed that Dewi Lake (knee) and Taine Plumtree (shoulder) are being assessed for the injuries they sustained in the first half.

The Wales boss admitted his disappointment at how Wales managed the final quarter when they let a 17-9 lead slip from their fingertips.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has revealed he signed £52million midfielder Sandro Tonali after he “fell in love” watching his play for AC Milan last season.

The 23-year-old Italy international made a stunning Premier League debut in the Magpies’ 5-1 rout of Aston Villa on Saturday evening, announcing himself in English football in style with the opening goal and a commanding engine room display.

Asked if Tonali had exceeded his expectations, head coach Howe said: “I don’t know. I wouldn’t say so because that would be disrespectful to his ability.

“We pursued him for a long, long time, paid a big fee for him because I fell in love watching him play the game last year.

“He’s an outstanding talent. He can do a little bit of everything. Very similar to our other midfielders, he’s got a combination of a lot of attributes that I think will suit the Premier League.

“This is one game. I don’t want to go over the top and put more pressure on him, but it’s a really good start and I’m just pleased that he looked confident in the shirt, and the fans have certainly taken to him. That’s a great thing to see.”

Tonali set the ball rolling with the opener just six minutes into his first competitive appearance in a black and white shirt only for equally impressive Villa debutant Moussa Diaby to level in short order.

However, Alexander Isak struck either side of half-time to put the home side in control and late goals from substitutes Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes rounded off a thrilling performance.

The romp left Newcastle top of the fledgling table, although Howe admitted that was of little significance to him.

He said: “It’s nice, but it’s not important at this stage for me. The most important thing today was our performance, our attitude to the game, how we tried to deliver what we asked the players to do.

“There’s a long season ahead and we know we come back to earth quickly because we have Manchester City away next week and that’s going to be a huge challenge, so my mind is already turning to that.”

Villa’s disappointment at the way the game unravelled was compounded by what looked like a serious injury to England defender Tyrone Mings which saw him carried from the field on a stretcher before the break.

Head coach Unai Emery said: “We don’t know what’s happened with this injury, but it doesn’t look good. Tomorrow we will scan him and hopefully it is not important. We have to wait for the scan, but it doesn’t look good.”

Howe, who saw Mings suffer an anterior cruciate ligament in 2015 shortly after he had signed him for Bournemouth, said: “I have to say he faced that period out with incredible courage and resilience, and what he’s done since that moment, to go on and play for his country and be outstanding in the Premier League, is testament to that resilience.

“We certainly wish him well and I send him all my love.”

Asked if he had been shocked by his team’s performance, Emery said: “At the end, 5-1 is a little bit more than we deserved.

“They [Newcastle] deserved to win, but not like that and that with the impact of injuries this week is very, very tough. We have lost two very, very important players for today in the match and for the next weeks.”

England’s Charley Hull shares the lead with American Lilia Vu going into Sunday’s final round at the AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath.

Home favourite Hull, 27, carded a second successive four-under par 68 in the third round on Saturday, which included three straight birdies from the 15th, to sit level with Vu on nine under for the tournament.

Hull had trailed American overnight leader Ally Ewing by five shots at the start of the day before six birdies in total – tarnished by bogeys at the second and 14th – left her level with Vu, who shot a 67.

Three-time European Tour winner Hull told the LPGA website: “It was really good. Obviously it was so windy today, but we dug deep.

“I struck the ball pretty well. I was pretty confident and felt good out there, and I’m pretty proud of myself. I can’t wait to get back in the bath and just chill tonight. Another late tee time tomorrow.

“I’ve played the course a few more times and now I just feel excited and comfortable and just really enjoying it. Golf is a game. It’s a sport and you play it because it’s fun, and I just enjoy it.”

Vu, who won the first major of the year in April, the Chevron Championship, made seven birdies and two bogeys, and the joint leaders hold a one-shot lead over American Angel Yin (67) and South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim (68).

Ewing, who finished the day with a three-over-par 75 after six bogeys and three birdies, slipped to fifth place, two shots behind Hull and Vu.

Sweden’s Linn Grant will start the final day three shots behind the joint leaders after following up Friday’s 69 with a 68, while South Korea’s Jiyai Shin and American Andrea Lee are four behind on five under.

Hull finished the first nine holes on one under after birdies at the first and eighth sandwiched a birdie on the second.

A bogey at the 14th followed her third birdie of the day at the 11th and left her one shot behind Vu, who also dropped a shot at the 14th.

But Hull then rattled off birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th to leave her well placed to challenge for her first major title going into the final round.

England’s preparations for the World Cup continued to unravel after captain Owen Farrell was sent off in a 19-17 victory secured through a late George Ford penalty.

At one point during the final quarter Steve Borthwick’s men were reduced to 12 men when Farrell – whose yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Taine Basham was upgraded to a red by the bunker – followed the sin-binned Freddie Steward and Ellis Genge into the stands.

England’s brainless final quarter saw a 9-3 lead overtaken by a penalty try and swashbuckling Tomos Williams touch-down as an otherwise lifeless encounter exploded into life the moment Steward took Josh Adams out in the air in the 60th minute.

A fourth successive defeat and slump to ninth in the world rankings beckoned, but they rallied bravely and even with three players off the pitch they claimed a maul try scored by Maro Itoje before Ford landed the winning penalty with three minutes left.

Farrell now faces a ban that could see him miss the World Cup opener against Argentina on September 9, with his recent three-match suspension for the same offence in January sure to count against him.

Jack Van Poortvliet sustained an ankle injury to leave England sweating on his fitness, while Dewi Lake, Taine Plumtree and Basham emerged concerns for Wales, who ultimately ran out of steam.

There was little to signpost the action to come in a dull first half that saw Farrell reward England’s solid start with a penalty.

The one-way traffic was eventually broken up by a 50-22 that gave the visitors a short-range line-out, but England defended the ensuing maul well and a rare chance was gone.

Two returning stars making their first appearances under Borthwick made pleasing starts, with Billy Vunipola barrelling into Wales up-front and Elliot Daly showing his athleticism in attack.

Slowly, Wales were clawing their way into the game but time and again were hampered by unforced errors as the match meandered along a stop-start path, unable to shake off its training ground feel.

Lake hobbled off to add to Gatland’s injury concerns at hooker but England were reeling soon after Van Poortvliet departed following an accidental collision and Henry Arundell was sent to the sin-bin for not retreating 10 yards.

The half finished with a red rose assault on the whitewash but in all-too familiar scenes they were unable to break through and had to settle for a second Farrell penalty.

Tommy Reffell was sin-binned for not releasing an opponent and over went another Farrell penalty, but Wales were finally off the mark when Owen Williams landed three points.

Plumtree was the next to exit nursing an injury as play continued to be marred by error after error, another promising spell of England pressure petering out.

Genge came on to win his 50th cap and was then shown a yellow card for collapsing a scrum, but worse was to come when Steward followed him into the sin-bin for taking Adams out in the air.

Adams was close to the line and Steward’s subsequent tackle on Liam Williams prevented a certain score, so a penalty try was awarded.

Somehow England were the the next to cross through a maul and when Ford landed a late penalty their against-the-odds escape act was complete.