Simca Mille entered the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe picture with a decisive victory in the Westminster 133rd Grosser Preis von Berlin.

The Hoppegarten Group One has been used as a stopping point on the route to ParisLongchamp in the past, with 2021 Arc hero Torquator Tasso winning the race in 2020 before chasing home Alpinista during the year of his triumph in Europe’s richest middle-distance contest.

Last year it was Charlie Appleby’s Rebel’s Romance that took home the spoils and stablemate New London made a bold bid from the front looking to repeat the dose for the Godolphin handler.

However, with the challenge of last year’s St Leger second beginning to falter upon straightening for home, the eye was drawn to Stephane Wattel’s French contender who was travelling menacingly in the hands of Alexis Pouchin.

The four-year-old, who skipped the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot last month, soon stormed clear of his pursuers to give his handler a Group One success and earn quotes of 25-1 from 33s from Paddy Power for the Arc in the French capital on October 1.

“It’s fantastic for the horse and I must admit it is nice for me because it is my first Group One after over 30 years of training,” Wattel told Wettstar.

“I’m so happy it happened here in Berlin in front of a fantastic crowd.

“It’s a difficult job and sometimes you have difficult periods, but when it goes well and you train a horse of this quality, we forget everything and we are so happy.

“He’s engaged in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and as you know, some nice winners of the Grosser Preis von Berlin have won the Arc. We might have a try at that and it will be the next target – a very big one.”

Kyogo Furuhashi and Matt O’Riley both scored for the second game running as Celtic beat Aberdeen 3-1 at Pittodrie.

Furuhashi capitalised on a defensive error to put the champions back in front before the half-hour mark after Bojan Miovski had cancelled out Liel Abada’s early opener.

Aberdeen caused Celtic plenty of problems in an enthralling first half with Graeme Shinnie harrying in midfield, wide player Shayden Morris impressing on his first Pittodrie start and the Dons’ front two posing a constant threat in behind.

But Celtic enjoyed much more control in the second half and O’Riley’s late goal ensured they went back top of the cinch Premiership after two matches.

Celtic were unchanged and Aberdeen brought in Ryan Duncan for the absent Jonny Hayes before the game began following a minute’s applause for former Dons boss Craig Brown, in the first Pittodrie game since his death.

Miovski and Furuhashi were just wide from 22 yards at either end in a lively start before Celtic took the lead following O’Riley’s inswinging free-kick in the 11th minute.

Daizen Maeda headed towards goal and Abada was flagged offside after helping the ball home from close range, but the goal was awarded by video assistant referee Andrew Dallas.

Aberdeen continued to press. Shinnie headed over after a well-worked set-piece before the Dons captain won the ball in the centre circle to spark the move that led to a 25th-minute equaliser.

Jack McKenzie’s ball down the channel got Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes in behind Cameron Carter-Vickers and he cut the ball back for strike partner Miovski to knock home from six yards after the striker had reacted quicker than Maik Nawrocki.

The volume rose around Pittodrie, which was hosting a crowd of 18,652, but the home fans were silenced four minutes later.

Home debutant Nicky Devlin did not spot Furuhashi as he attempted to head a hopeful ball forward back to his goalkeeper and the Japan striker lashed the bouncing ball high into the net from 18 yards.

Celtic had chances to extend their lead. Abada shot straight at Kelle Roos following good work from Maeda and the goalkeeper tipped over O’Riley’s free-kick.

Aberdeen finished the half strongly, though, and Dante Polvara twice came close.

Celtic made a double switch at half-time. Stephen Welsh came on for Carter-Vickers for his first competitive appearance in 10 months while Reo Hatate replaced David Turnbull.

Furuhashi missed a good chance with his left foot and Maeda was twice denied by interventions from Devlin after incisive counter-attacks, the first through an excellent goal-line clearance.

Hatate had helped Celtic get good control of possession from a deep midfield role but he hobbled off in the 70th minute for Odin Thiago Holm to come on.

Aberdeen enjoyed good territory but they could not trouble goalkeeper Joe Hart, with their only real chance in the second half coming when Leighton Clarkson curled just wide following a long ball.

Roos denied Maeda after the Japanese striker was played clean through on the break but substitute Yang Hyun-jun quickly cut the ball back for O’Riley to drill home in the 84th minute.

NFL great Tom Brady expects his friend Harry Kane to benefit from “a new injection of energy” after joining Bayern Munich from Tottenham.

The 30-year-old ended his long association with the north Londoners on Saturday when he completed his £100million move to the perennial Bundesliga champions.

Kane said it felt like the right time to leave Tottenham after two decades with the club, just as Brady did when departing the New England Patriots in 2020.

The quarterback won six Super Bowls during his 20 years with the Pats and went on to win his seventh in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Huge NFL fan Kane has become friends with Brady over the years and the retired QB turned Birmingham minority owner believes the striker will thrive with his fresh start.

“I sent him a congratulatory note,” Brady told the PA news agency. “He’s been a friend of mine for a long time.

“He’s supported me over a long period of time, and I’m here to do the same for him.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.

“I know sometimes when you move clubs there’s kind of an injection of energy.

“It’s a different environment, you want to go prove people wrong, you want to prove people right. And that’s a great feeling as an athlete.”

Tom Brady is determined to help Birmingham maximise their potential having become minority owner of a club he hopes to help with promotion on and off the field.

Jaws dropped on both sides of the Atlantic when the seven-time Super Bowl winner recently announced he was coming on board at the Championship club.

Brady has entered into a partnership with Birmingham’s new owners Knighthead Capital Management and taken a minority stake, as well as becoming chairman of their new advisory board.

The 46-year-old becomes the latest North American personality to sprinkle stardust on English football, with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney transforming Wrexham and former NFL star JJ Watt boosting Burnley.

The moves have undoubtedly helped raise those clubs’ profile and Brady hope to do the same, yet he insists his partnership is about more than bringing commercial benefits to Birmingham.

“Those guys have done a good job and I think they’ve done a good job promoting the club,” Brady told the PA news agency.

“I think for me it’s more than promotion. It’s about getting to understand what makes a great, successful team and organisation.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of some of those and to impart some of the things that I’ve learned over those years is part of me beyond my own personal playing career.

“There’s a different part of my career that I’m now starting and it will be deeply meaningful to me.”

Brady was speaking alongside chairman Tom Wagner, who led the takeover of a club that has been through its fair share of difficulties since relegation from the Premier League 12 years ago.

There was therefore an understandable air of hope and excitement on Saturday as Birmingham played their first home game since the new owners came in.

A bouncing St Andrew’s welcomed its biggest crowd since before the pandemic and celebrated the start of a new era in perfect fashion as Lukas Jutkiewicz smashed home a stoppage-time winner against Leeds.

“I would just say that today is just the beginning,” chairman Wagner said after Birmingham’s last-gasp 1-0 win. “What we have planned is well beyond what we’ve done thus far. It’s only been four weeks.

“Tom’s influence here I expect to have an enormous difference because of the quality of the experience that he brings and will bear great fruit in the years ahead.

“We’re really quite excited about what all that means for the club in the longer term.

“We view this as a marathon, not a sprint. I hate using that overused colloquialism but ultimately it really is.

“It’s something that we think really matters and having a long term vision is important.”

The first month has certainly been positive and Brady’s arrival has caught the imagination, with the former quarterback smiling when it was put to him some may see his arrival at Birmingham as a publicity stunt.

“I’ve got a little knowledge about sports!” the most decorated player in NFL history said. “It doesn’t mean I know everything.

“I’ve been in sports for a long time, so I’ve heard a lot of different things over a long period of time.

“Look, I think you’re here to learn and gain information and gain an understanding of why things work and why they don’t work.

“You don’t have all the answers coming over here to understand that, but the only way to do it is to come experience it and see where we can lend a hand to help the club win.”

Brady managed that on his first trip to St Andrew’s, giving the players an inspirational pep talk before they went out to beat recently-relegated Leeds.

Birmingham boss John Eustace said the star’s first day on the ground showed the benefit of his involvement, adding that “the vision that he’s got for the football club is amazing”.

Those lofty ambitions may not be achieved straightaway, but Brady has pledged to do “whatever it takes” to help the Blues flourish.

“I’m a great fan of sports and I see how it brings people together,” the Patriot, Buccaneer and now Bluenose added.

“I played games in this country and the world is global.

“We’re all travelling, we’re all a part of different things and I love sports, and I love teamwork, and I love winning, and I love a passionate fan base.

“I was an underdog myself, so to see a team that maybe hasn’t maximised its potential in a while, to be a part of that is a great opportunity and let’s see what we can make of it.”

Brazilian striker Danilo insists there is more to come from Rangers as he basked in the glory of his first goal in the 4-0 home win over Livingston on Saturday.

Some pressure was on the Govan outfit after they lost their cinch Premiership opener at Kilmarnock last weekend but the afternoon started well, with Sam Lammers driving in the opener after 10 minutes.

After that, however, the home side found it tough to get past the well-organised Livi defence.

However, the increasing tension inside Ibrox was alleviated in the 78th minute when left-back Borna Barisic threw a cross to the back post and Danilo, the 24-year-old signed from Feyenoord, leapt to head past Lions goalkeeper Shamal George.

Rangers powered through the final stages and there were further goals from substitutes Abdallah Sima and Kieran Dowell which put gloss on the scoreline and set Rangers up for their Champions League third-round qualifier against Servette on Tuesday night, where they will try to defend a 2-1 lead from the first leg.

Danilo told RangersTV it was an “amazing” feeling to open his account for the Light Blues as he looked forward to further improvements.

He said: “We had a good impact from the Servette game and we showed again we are a really strong team.

“The lads played really well and we showed how good we can be.

“There are still things that we can improve on. The team is totally new but the more we play together the more we will get to know each other and get used to each other.

“We played really good and the boys who came on made a good impact to really help us to improve our game even more.

“It is great to see everyone is in good shape and wants to win, it is really good for us.”

Ranger boss Michael Beale revealed midfielder John Lundstram will not make the trip to Switzerland due to personal reasons.

Livi boss David Martindale thought the scoreline was a bit harsh on his side and noted the strength in depth of the Ibrox side, who brought on Rabbi Matondo, Dowell, Lundstram, Sima and debutant Dujon Sterling to great effect in the later stages of the game.

He said: “I thought Rangers’ substitutions really helped them. They brought a lot of pace and power on to the park. Look at Dowell’s finish.

“That really, really helped Rangers with the way they were playing, they started knocking it about and combinations and rotations were coming together more than earlier.”

Gregor Townsend is adamant Scotland are equipped to go toe-to-toe with any side they encounter at the upcoming World Cup after giving formidable France another fright on Saturday.

The Scots lost 30-27 to Les Bleus in front of a partisan home support in stifling Saint-Etienne heat, a week after they defeated Fabien Galthie’s side 25-21 at Murrayfield.

Both of those warm-up matches involved rousing fightbacks from Townsend’s team, as was also the case in their Six Nations meeting in Paris in February when the visitors recovered from 19-0 down to close within four points of their hosts before a late French try secured a 32-21 win.

Given France are ranked second in the world and joint-favourites alongside New Zealand to win the tournament on home soil this autumn, the way Scotland have competed against Les Bleus this year has enhanced their head coach’s belief that his team are ready to vie for qualification from a heavyweight World Cup pool that also includes world champions South Africa and the world’s top-ranked side, Ireland.

“We’re fit enough, we’ve got the game and we’ve got the players to take on any team we come up against, and this was a preparation for what is likely to happen in the World Cup: noisy atmospheres, powerful forwards, especially when we play South Africa, and hot conditions,” said Townsend.

“Our players thrived in that environment. There were elements where we can improve and that will come, and it has come because we’ve seen improvement right throughout the season.

“Our belief has been shaken at times in games, but against France the belief was there. Whether it was as individuals or collectively, we knew we were coming back.

“It is a big disappointment that we didn’t get anything out of that game whether it is a draw or a win.

“We know if that was a World Cup match we’d be sitting here absolutely gutted, but it is a build-up to the World Cup so there are lots of positives out of that performance.”

Scotland made a strong start to lead 10-6 at the half-hour mark and then staged a stunning fightback from 27-10 down to level the match at 27-27 before Thomas Ramos – who kicked 15 of France’s points – sealed a narrow win with a late penalty.

On a night when the visitors outscored their hosts by four tries to three, Scotland were effectively left to rue a 29th minute yellow card for Ali Price and a disastrous start to the second half as the French ran in two tries within four minutes of the restart.

“That’s one way to look at it,” said Townsend when asked how he can eliminate such costly phases of drop-off from Scotland. “The other way to look at it is these top teams are going to have their moments and they are going to score points.

“A lot of what happened in that five minutes after half-time was down to our errors, we were unable to gather a pass from the kick off and gave France some dominance in our 22.

“We’ll look at all the game. I think we could have done more in the first 15-20 minutes when we were playing so well.  There was some opportunities there that we could have taken with a bit more ambition and accuracy.

“The period when we were a man down was really good defensively, but I feel we could have done better when we had ball. And the final quarter when we came back, there is maybe not much to improve there because there was some outstanding play, but it would have been nice to have a chance with that line-out at the end and there was that scrum where France won the penalty.

“So there is always areas to improve, but I am so proud of not just the effort but that resilience and collective belief the players have built over the last few weeks and last few months.

“This team will not be beaten. We’ll keep going and we’re a very dangerous team to play against, and we believe the more time we spend together the more accurate we’ll get.”

Townsend feels spoiled for choice as he prepares to trim his 37-man training squad to 33 for the World Cup, with the announcement to be made this Wednesday.

The head coach was encouraged that he was able to make six changes to the starting XV from the Murrayfield victory over the French and still send out a team strong enough to challenge Les Bleus on their own patch.

The strength in depth at Townsend’s disposal was highlighted by the fact Kyle Steyn, who is generally a substitute when fellow wings Darcy Graham and Duhan Van Der Merwe are fit, chipped in with two of the Scots’ tries. The others came from Van Der Merwe and Rory Darge.

“The bench is worth commenting on,” said Townsend. “The depth we have in our squad means we can mix things up at times, rest players or bring players in because of form or because they are suited to a certain game, Kyle Steyn being a good example.

“In the last three games now the bench has made a real change in our energy, helped take the game to the opposition, so it is encouraging that the 23 is being utilised and helping us play better at the end of games, and the final quarter is probably the most important time in a game to play well.

“There will be a difficult selection coming up with the squad, but also when we have to pick our 23-man squad game to game.”

King Of Steel is set to have his credentials tested over 10 furlongs following his third-placed finish in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Roger Varian’s Derby runner-up headed to Ascot for a rematch with his Epsom conqueror Auguste Rodin on the back of an impressive victory over course and distance in the King Edward VII Stakes at the Royal meeting.

The Amo Racing-owned colt was sent off the 9-2 second-favourite at the Berkshire track and although faring better than Aidan O’Brien’s dual Classic winner who disappointed, the son of Wootton Bassett was unable to reel in the winner Hukum and runner-up Westover despite travelling powerfully into the home straight.

A drop back in trip is now on the cards and with entries for both the Juddmonte International Stakes at York (August 23) and Leopardstown’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (September 9), there are plenty of big-race options available to the strapping colt, who could quickly provide his owners with more big-race glory after Bucanero Fuerte secured a first UK and Irish Group One victory in the Phoenix Stakes.

“King Of Steel is in good form and Roger is very happy with him,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for Amo.

“We’re undecided where we will go at the minute and we’ve got a lot of decisions to make.

“He’s in the Juddmonte, he’s entered in the Irish Champion and we put him in the Champion Stakes at Ascot the other day and I think we believe now that 10 furlongs is his trip. He’s not a slow horse by any means.”

A trip to Dublin for Irish Champions Weekend would give King Of Steel an additional two weeks to recover from his Ascot exertions and is slated as the slight favourite at this stage.

And the feeling within the camp is a truly-run race over a mile and a quarter is where he will be seen at the peak of his powers having just faded in the closing stages of the King George.

“All options are open and we need to speak to Roger,” continued Pennington. “At this stage I would say we will probably be leaning towards the Irish Champion Stakes.

“I think we got away with it at Royal Ascot, but as you saw he was keen early in the King George. You could argue coming round into the straight he was the last horse off the bridle and just flattened out the last furlong, Kevin (Stott) said he was running on fumes.

“I think a strongly-run 10 furlongs with an end-to-end gallop is where you will really see him at his best.”

Warren Gatland hinted there may be repercussions for World Cup selection after Wales surrendered a strong position in slumping to a 19-17 defeat by England at Twickenham.

The hosts had been reduced to 12 men after Owen Farrell’s yellow card was upgraded to a red by the ‘Bunker’ review system at a time when Freddie Steward and Ellis Genge were sat in the sin-bin.

Wales led 17-9 but against the odds England scored the next try when Maro Itoje rounded off a maul before George Ford landed a conversion and penalty to seal a come-from-behind victory.

“I’m furious we didn’t win the game, but it answered a few questions for us about certain individuals,” head coach Gatland said.

“The game management in that final quarter wasn’t good enough. We should have been comfortable.

“It was a big moment not taking the kick-off and giving England back a bit of momentum by not clearing our line, allowing them to score from that and get back into the game. That was disappointing.

“We capitulated in terms of our accuracy and with some guys not knowing their roles. For me that was disappointing because we’ve spent a lot of time ensuring there is clarity and everyone knows their roles.

“We gave away some soft penalties where we piggy-backed them up the field and gave them those chances. We’ll have learnt a lot from that.”

Wales’ inability to close out their first victory at Twickenham since 2015 completed a largely promising double-header against England that began with a solid 20-9 win in Cardiff.

Gatland has one last warm-up game to finalise selection for the World Cup, with South Africa visiting the Principality Stadium two days before he unveils his 33-man squad.

Dangerous Fiji are their opening opponents in France next month and Wales’ boss believes his players are being sufficiently battle-hardened.

“There are still some players we need to find out about and potentially give an opportunity to,” Gatland said.

“You couldn’t ask for better warm-up matches in terms of the physicality we are looking for, with England home and away and then South Africa.

“It’s going to be the same sort of test up-front against South Africa and we need to take the learnings from Twickenham.”

Wales are waiting for fitness updates on Dewi Lake and Taine Plumtree who suffered respective knee and shoulder injuries.

Taine Basham failed an HIA after being struck by a dangerous tackle by England captain Owen Farrell.

Defender Lucy Bronze revealed England would have failed to live up to their own expectations had they not reached the World Cup semi-finals.

Alessia Russo guaranteed the Lionesses would finish no lower than fourth in the 2023 tournament when her second-half goal completed a 2-1 comeback against Colombia in Saturday’s quarter-final to set up Wednesday’s meeting with co-hosts Australia.

Third place would see England equal their best-ever finish from eight years ago in Canada, but Bronze insisted reaching this stage for the third time in the European champions’ history was the bare minimum.

“If we hadn’t have gotten to the semi-final, I would have said that we would have underperformed,” said Bronze.

“A lot of people said that England were the team that were going to flop a little bit. Our performances haven’t been our best, granted, but the results have been there and we’ve got to the semi-final, which is what this England team is known for doing.

“This very much reminds me of 2015, having to fight in every single game.

“I think the difference with this team is we have won trophies, we have won tournaments, so we do know what to do.

“We knew coming into the tournament that it wasn’t going to be easy. There was a lot of outside noise about whether England was going to be able to cope well with everything thrown at us…and the semi-final is what is expected of us as the England team.”

Bronze, alongside Alex Greenwood, is one of just two members of the 2023 squad to have featured in three consecutive World Cups and is second only to Jill Scott in World Cup appearances for the Lionesses, with 18 to the retired midfielder’s 21. 

The 31-year-old made history during her first global showpiece in 2015, when her 76th-minute effort made it 2-1 against Norway in their last-16 encounter and secured England Women’s first-ever victory in a World Cup knockout stage.

Four years later, again against Norway, Bronze unleashed another stunning strike, capping off the Lionesses’ 3-0 quarter-final victory in France to book a second trip to the semi-finals.

To say the Matildas have captured Australia’s imagination en route to their first-ever final-four encounter would be selling short the fervour taking hold Down Under.

Saturday’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over France was watched by over 7.2 million people in Australia, over a quarter of the country’s population.

Co-host broadcaster Seven said the audience was the “highest rating TV sport program of the past decade”, while “the 472,000 viewers on 7plus makes the Matildas v France game the biggest streaming event ever seen in Australia”.

England had a taste of the environment they are likely to face on Wednesday when they lined up across from a Colombia side that enjoyed the overwhelming majority in the Stadium Australia stands, a sea of yellow who booed when England touched the ball and unleashed an almighty roar when Leicy Santos scored the opener.

Lauren Hemp cancelled it out by half-time, while Russo provided the lethal blow after the break to eliminate the only side from the Americas left in the tournament.

While being the home side does have its advantages, as Bronze knows from last summer’s Euro 2022 triumph, she was quick to point out the potential pitfalls facing the Matildas come Wednesday night’s historic encounter.

She said: “(There are) positives and negatives for being the home nation and for being the team against.

“It can be a lot of pressure to put on teams. I remember playing Canada in 2015 in that World Cup and there was a lot of pressure put on that team and it gave them a lot of fight.

“It was the same thing for us in the Euros last year. The ’12th man’ as they say, it really helped us.

“It was a key part to us winning and I think that’s been a key part for Australia when their backs have been against the wall this tournament. (For us) it wasn’t hostile but the Colombians were very loud, so that’s something we’re used to now.”

Adrian Lam is convinced the sky is the limit for Leigh’s leopardskin-clad heroes after he watched his son Lachlan kick the golden-point decider to sink Hull KR and end their 52-year-old wait for a Challenge Cup win at Wembley.

Leigh’s 17-16 win sustained an astonishing success story for a club whose announcement last October of a surprise rebrand was met with scorn in some quarters and the expectation of a top-flight return spotted with struggle.

With the world’s oldest rugby trophy in the cabinet and a top-four place in Super League seemingly secure, the Leopards head coach has warned the game had better start getting used to its garish newcomers.

“I had a conversation with (owner) Derek (Beaumont) about it (the rebrand) and how people were going to take it, and it’s snowballed to a point where I was having a coffee this morning and saw men wearing leopardskin tops and shirts,” recalled Lam.

“It helps because we’re winning but it’s just gone viral across the whole town and maybe across the UK. It’s caught on and I think it can go to so many different levels – where does it end?”

Lachlan Lam held his nerve to settle an enthralling if error-strewn affair in the fourth minute of the extra period, after both team-mate Gareth O’Brien and Rovers’ Brad Schneider missed opportunities to seal the victory.

Steeled by the influence of Lam and the constant prompting of Edwin Ipape, Leigh were the better team for long periods and would have been aggrieved to finish the first period only two points to the good as Rovers somehow clung on.

Jez Litten’s converted try cancelled out Ben Reynolds’ early penalty before Lam burst clear to put Leigh in control. Elliot Minchella’s yellow card for going high on Reynolds on the half-hour made Rovers’ task harder but they not only survived, but reduced the deficit through a Schneider penalty.

Schneider levelled at the start of the second half and valiant Rovers defence held Leigh at bay until Mikey Lewis coughed up an error too far on 65 minutes, Leigh capitalising when Tom Briscoe – the scourge of Rovers in their last final appearance in 2015 when he scored five tries in a 50-0 win for Leeds – touched down.

Matt Parcell gave his side hope on the hooter after the video referee took more than five minutes to deem Kane Linnett had not knocked on a crash ball before the Rovers hooker squeezed over, but Schneider’s conversion to drag the game into the extra period for the first time in the tournament’s history proved in vain.

No sooner had Lam’s kick soared between the posts, confirmation of the Leopards’ victory was greeted by a leopard-suited Beaumont leading a victory charge and Lam being engulfed by his team-mates, many of whom had faced uncertain futures before committing to the owner’s unlikely revolution.

“Some of the players we’ve recruited over the last 18 months were down and out in some areas and I’m just so grateful for what they’ve done,” added Adrian Lam.

“Edwin Ipape wasn’t in a team anywhere, no-one knew who Kai O’Donnell was, Josh Charnley couldn’t get in the Warrington team. The way that group has got together has been incredible. This is a magic moment for the club but we feel there is so much more to come.”

While few if any would dare mock Leigh’s pretensions to repeat the feat and go all the way to the season-ending Grand Final, Rovers face the difficult task of recovering and embarking on a run that will secure their own place in the end-of-season play-offs.

Such an eventuality would provide hope of a fitting send-off for captain Shaun Kenny-Dowall, whose hopes of marking his final season as a player by becoming the first KR player to lift the Challenge Cup since 1980 were cruelly dashed.

The veteran New Zealander had been the prime instigator in keeping his side’s feet on the ground after their golden point semi-final win over Wigan, and he will spend this week imparting a message of a different kind ahead of their Super League resumption at St Helens next weekend.

“I’m obviously very disappointed and I really feel for our fans who showed up in numbers like they always do,” said Kenny-Dowall. “But we will dust ourselves off and get back to what we always do, and that is the messaging for this week.

“We will take the learnings as a group and our full focus is on what is ahead. We are sitting nicely and we know if we rally round and put our full energy into the next few games, we will give ourselves the best chance to be playing in another game like that at the end of the year.”

Paris St Germain are ready to integrate Kylian Mbappe back into the first-team squad, according to reports.

The France captain’s future in the capital city has seemed uncertain following links with a move to Real Madrid and reports earlier this week that he was frozen out of senior training.

Mbappe was told to stay away after he refused to activate an option to extend his current contract to 2025, meaning the superstar would be free to negotiate a free transfer to foreign clubs in January.

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He was not involved as PSG began their Ligue 1 campaign in underwhelming fashion with a goalless draw against Lorient, with Neymar also not included in the matchday squad.

But before the game Mbappe and the club are reported to have held positive talks that will see the 24-year-old return to Luis Enrique’s squad.

A club statement on Sunday, reported by French newspaper L’Equipe, read: “After very constructive and positive discussions between Paris St Germain and Kylian Mbappe before the PSG-Lorient match, the player was reinstated in the first training team this morning.”

Boss Enrique had said before the game that he was confident of a positive outcome.

“It is something that has already happened in the past and there was a positive solution before I was here,” he said in his pre-match press conference.

“I hope and wish that, just like in the past, the same thing will happen again and that the club and the player will reach an agreement.”

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is relishing the dilemma of having to disappoint players as he attempts to negotiate a path through a season which could see his squad stretched to its limits.

The 45-year-old left summer signings Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento, as well as last season’s top scorer Callum Wilson, sitting on the bench for Saturday’s Premier League opener, but saw Wilson and Barnes come on and score in a 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa.

Howe admitted in the run-up to the game that he had “five or six” difficult decisions to make in the light of a fresh £125million spending spree, Anthony Gordon’s pre-season form and the emergence of homegrown midfielder Elliot Anderson, but that is a problem he welcomes with a Champions League campaign looming.

He said: “They’re dilemmas that are needed because we’re going to need the strongest squad possible, and the players who missed out today will play loads of games this season.

“That’s just a fact because we’re in so many different competitions, we’re going to be stretched and we’ll also be needing their quality as well.

“It’s going to be nice to be able to make those decisions. We need the strongest bench we can get this year with the amount of games we’re going to have, the amount of competitions we’re in.

“It was certainly a difficult day yesterday to name the team. They weren’t easy decisions for me to make – decisions I had to make, of course, being in my position – and then you just hope the team performs and you get the benefit of that squad.”

One of those decisions saw Howe hand a debut to £52m former AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali, and it paid off handsomely as the 23-year-old not only opened the scoring within six minutes, but produced a commanding display on his first appearance in England’s top flight.

Villa’s record signing Moussa Diaby cancelled out the Italian’s early strike in short order, but his response was to play a pivotal role as Newcastle overwhelmed the visitors, Alexander Isak helping himself to a double either side of the unfortunate Tyrone Mings’ departure on a stretcher before substitutes Wilson and Barnes added their names to the scoresheet late on.

Howe was understandably delighted, but equally confident there is more to come.

He said: “We didn’t defend perfectly, so there’s stuff for us to improve – but it was a weird situation. I thought they (Villa) played well, but we could have scored more goals.”

Opposite number Unai Emery headed back to the midlands hoping the news on Mings is not as bad as that which saw midfielder Emiliano Buendia ruled out for an extended period with a knee injury last week, but taking comfort from Diaby’s impressive debut on Tyneside.

Emery said: “We haven’t had all bad news and one of the good things was to watch Moussa playing feeling good and adapting to the position we’re trying to get with him. He was good, he scored and he played well.

“We had some good moments in the 90 minutes, but there a lot of things we had to do to control the match that we didn’t do within our system.”