Scotland prop Zander Fagerson could play in his country’s opening World Cup match after receiving a reduced ban for his sending-off against France.

Fagerson was dismissed following a high challenge on Pierre Bourgarit in the 50th minute of Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match at Murrayfield.

The Glasgow forward was effectively handed a two-match suspension following a hearing in front of an independent judicial committee on Tuesday.

That rules him out of this Saturday’s return against France and the meeting with Georgia on August 26 but potentially frees him up for the World Cup meeting with South Africa on September 10.

He has officially been banned for three weeks – a schedule that includes the Springboks game – but he has been given the option to replace the last match by joining the “Coaching Intervention Programme” to work on his technique.

Fagerson’s initial citing for charging was amended to “dangerous play in a ruck or maul”, for which World Rugby’s minimum punishment is four weeks, but this was reduced to three after the player admitted guilt “at the earliest opportunity” and showed “remorse”.

The use of artificial intelligence in sport will become more powerful and lead to an increased standard of performance, an expert in the field believes.

AI-powered machines have been present in sport for some time in a number of ways, from the collection of human-generated statistics made famous by the ‘Moneyball’ concept to the development of Hawk-Eye and VAR.

But with more powerful machine-learning programmes and an increased pool of data to use, a whole range of techniques that can help athletes will be unlocked.

“Absolutely, it will increase the standard,” Alex Bonnet, a machine-learning solutions engineer at Encord – a company specialising in AI model development, told the PA news agency.

“It is going to become more powerful because these AI techniques rely on a large amount of data and a lot of that hasn’t been structured and labelled for training machine-learning models.

“Through the fact there are more powerful models that can do more interesting things, companies will find new techniques and applications for AI in sport.

“There is going to be a boost in the kind of things that are possible because of the increase of exposure.”

There are a number of ways performance might be enhanced, whether that is an improvement to training techniques and nutrition or a development in tactics and strategies based on intelligence.

“Although it might not be a traditional sport, we have seen that in chess, the use of AI has actually made players find new ways to play,” Bonnet added.

“They train a lot against computers, and computers don’t always play moves in the same way a human will, so now the style of chess is different to what it used to be.

“That is also true for traditional sports, such as football, tennis, rugby, where you can discover new strategies, with new AI tooling you can explore different scenarios and how new techniques will play out in the real world.

“For example in cycling, how would you dose your effort across long races? A lot of athletes use stickers on their bikes to tell them when to eat and drink, but using AI that can be done for you.

“You can start to do things people have never done before.

“AI can also play a part in planning optimal training sessions for athletes.

“That can boost performance but also reduce injury, especially in sports like tennis and football where there are movements that occur that might make the athlete more prone to injury.

“You can analyse those and make training better, which ultimately means less injuries and more player availability and performance.”

The use of AI is not restricted to professional sport as products are available for recreational use, with the emergence of in-play apps that analyse performance in a number of activities such as tennis, badminton and golf.

And Bonnet believes that could make playing sport more fun.

“It will become more democratised and it will make sport more engaging, you can build gamified experiences,” he added.

“You can add an extra layer and it will get people excited about playing sport.”

Kyle Tucker came through with a grand slam off All-Star closer Felix Bautista in the ninth inning as the Houston Astros rallied for a stunning 7-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Bautista was called on to protect a 6-3 lead in the ninth but promptly walked pinch-hitter Jon Singleton before Jose Altuve blooped a single.

After Alex Bregman struck out, Yordan Alvarez followed with a deep drive to centre that Jorge Mateo – a shortstop making only his second start of the year in centre field – failed to make the play on, and the ball bounced off the wall for a very long single.

Tucker battled Bautista for nine pitches, finally hitting a 100-mph fastball into the seats in right-centre for his 20th home run and second grand slam this season.

Bautista had allowed only five earned runs all season before Houston scored four on him in two-thirds of an inning.

Baltimore had a four-game winning streak snapped and its lead in the AL East was cut to two games over Tampa Bay.

Ryan Mountcastle hit a first-inning home run – a two-run blast – and Adley Rutschman added a two-run shot of his own in the second to put the Orioles up 5-0.

Houston starter Framber Valdez, who threw a no-hitter in his previous start, allowed a season high-tying six runs and eight hits in seven innings.

 

Scherzer pitches Rangers to eighth straight win

Max Scherzer pitched seven strong innings and Corey Seager had three hits with a home run to lead the Texas Rangers to their season-high eighth straight win, 6-1 over the Oakland Athletics.

Scherzer limited last-place Oakland to three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in his second start with the Rangers.

Robbie Grossman doubled home a run in the second inning and scored on Sam Huff’s double to trigger a three-run fourth.

Seager capped that outburst with an RBI double and hit his 19th home run in the seventh inning – his sixth homer in his last eight games.

The win was the 68th for the Rangers, equalling their total from all last season. The eight-game streak is their longest since winning 10 straight from May 9-19, 2017.

 

Gilbert shuts down Padres as Mariners stay hot

Logan Gilbert pitched one-hit ball and struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings as the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 2-0 for their sixth consecutive win.

Gilbert retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced, allowing only an infield single to Xander Bogaerts in the second inning.

Matt Brash struck out Trent Grisham with runners on the corners in the eighth and Andres Munoz worked the ninth.

Seattle moved a season-high nine games over .500 and pulled within two games of Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

The Mariners scored the game’s first run in the fifth inning on a bases-loaded walk to Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore tripled home another run in the sixth.

Nicola Adams punched her way into the history books on this day in 2012 as she became the first woman boxer to be crowned an Olympic champion.

The then 29-year-old from Leeds beat her arch-rival, China’s Ren Cancan, 16-7 to win flyweight gold in London.

Adams knocked Ren to the canvas in the second round and was roared to victory by a patriotic home crowd.

A delighted Adams said afterwards: “I am so happy and overwhelmed with joy right now. I have wanted this all my life and I have done it.”

It was a landmark moment for women’s boxing, with three weight categories included for the sport’s Olympic debut, a number which has since increased to six.

Adams’ glittering amateur career continued with Commonwealth gold in 2014 before she successfully defended her Olympic title in Rio.

The Yorkshire fighter turned professional in 2017 and went on to be crowned WBO flyweight world champion before retiring in November 2019 after sustaining an eye injury.

Ireland insist Jack Conan’s latest foot injury is “nothing like” the issue which ruined his last Rugby World Cup and are optimistic he will be fit to feature in France.

Andy Farrell’s squad are in Portugal for a week-long training camp but back-rower Conan stayed in Dublin to rehabilitate the problem he sustained in the first half of Saturday’s 33-17 warm-up victory over Italy.

The 31-year-old was pictured with his right foot in a protective boot after departing the Aviva Stadium pitch, sparking concerns he will endure further World Cup heartache, having prematurely left the 2019 tournament in Japan due to a stress fracture.

Ireland boss Farrell will not discover the full extent of the problem until next week but defence coach Simon Easterby says early signs are “positive”.

Asked if Leinster player Conan is in danger of missing the World Cup, Easterby, speaking from the Algarve, said: “No, genuinely not.

“Jack has in the past had troubles with his foot.

“But it’s nothing like it was back in 2019. He was pretty bullish around the injury.

“From everything that we’re hearing – we haven’t had full feedback yet – it’s a positive injury as a opposed to a really negative one.

“He’s stayed behind just to rehab and we hope to get more information on his injury next week.

“We’re still waiting on assessment and we decided that it would probably be best for him to stay back in Dublin.”

British and Irish Lion Conan spoke last week of having unfinished business at the World Cup due to his disappointment four years ago.

He came off the bench in Ireland’s opening win over Scotland in Yokohama but was then injured in training ahead of the shock defeat by hosts Japan, a match he had been due to start.

Farrell will his cut his current 42-man squad down to a final 33 on August 28 following further warm-up matches against England (August 19) and Samoa (August 26).

Ireland begin their World Cup campaign on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.

Crewe manager Lee Bell praised his players’ penalty-taking expertise as they dumped Championship Sunderland out of the Carabao Cup.

Crewe pulled off a notable upset as they scored all five of their penalties to secure a 5-3 shoot-out win at the Stadium of Light.

Elliott Nevitt, Chris Long, Rio Adebisi and Joel Tabiner all scored from the spot, before Ryan Cooney converted Crewe’s fifth and final penalty to secure a place in the second round.

Earlier, Luke Offord had headed the League Two side into a first-half lead, with Chris Rigg claiming Sunderland’s equaliser midway through the second half as the game finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes.

Bell said: “It is the most exciting way to go through. We practised penalties yesterday, but I think it was a really good performance, everyone put a shift in, as you have to when you come to a place like Sunderland, regardless of what team they started with.

“We were really well organised and showed some real courage when we had the football.

“I am absolutely delighted for the players in the dressing room, who are in there enjoying it now, and for the fans who came here tonight, and rightly so.

“We spoke about how important set-plays are in our division and we have to keep working on them and keep working on how to deliver new ones to the players.”

Sunderland exited the League Cup at the first-round stage, but it was still a record-breaking night for Rigg, who became the youngest goal scorer in the competition’s history.

Rigg also became Sunderland’s youngest-ever goal scorer when he fired home from the edge of the area in the second half to cancel out Offord’s first-half header.

The 16-year-old committed his long-term future to the Black Cats earlier this summer despite reported interest from Newcastle United and Manchester United, and after breaking into the senior ranks last season, is set to play an increasingly prominent role over the course of the next nine months.

Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray said: “Chris Rigg belies his age a bit. I can be quite harsh on him, and then I sometimes have to check myself and remember that he’s just a 16-year-old boy.

“I expect more from him sometimes, but then I remember just how young he is.

“He played with real discipline tonight. I asked to play deeper in the first half, and he did that. Then I asked him to start breaking into the box in the second half, and he did that and scored.

“It was disappointing in the end because in the first half, we just seemed to pass round and round.

“We played against a League Two side with good organisation and commitment, but we should have had more to have won the game.”

Port Vale boss Andy Crosby hailed his side’s character after they twice came from behind to beat Fleetwood 3-2 and progress to the second round of the Carabao Cup.

Vale had been thrashed 7-0 by Barnsley in their opening Sky Bet League One match of the new season on Saturday – and soon found themselves trailing to an early goal from Cian Hayes.

Ethan Chislett equalised with his first goal since joining on a free transfer from AFC Wimbledon, but Ryan Graydon put the visitors back in front at the start of the second half.

Josh Thomas, on loan from Swansea, levelled things up again at 2-2 before Chislett’s second of the night settled matters with 18 minutes left.

“It was an excellent response to the weekend,” Crosby said.

“I said to the players that football is an easier game to play when you are full of confidence and belief – and that obviously takes a big hit with the manner of defeat on Saturday.

“Then you go 1-0 down in your first home game and that makes it challenging, but we responded well. We scored three excellent goals.”

Crosby added: “There is a lot of work to do, but we are pleased with the reaction after a challenging period for us.”

Fleetwood boss Scott Brown was less than impressed by the way his side twice failed to hold on to their lead.

“I thought we were exceptional for the first 10 or 15 minutes, but we completely switched off after that and we became sloppy,” he said.

“(Our) wing-backs didn’t get high enough up the park and the strikers didn’t link up play well enough before half-time.

“We were in total control of the game in the second half and then we made sloppy mistakes and we gave away the goals.”

Brown added: “It is never nice coming away from home knowing you have to score four goals, so we need to stop those mistakes.”

Stevenage boss Steve Evans was thrilled with his side’s display as they claimed a penalty shoot-out victory after a 1-1 draw against Watford in the Carabao Cup.

In a Hertfordshire derby, Vakoun Bayo tapped home for the away side just six minutes in to seemingly put the Hornets in control of the contest.

But Stevenage fought back resiliently, and Josh March’s volley saw the hosts draw level just two minutes prior to the half-time whistle.

Neither side could find a winner in the second half but it was the hosts who held their nerve in the ensuing penalty shoot-out, with Nathan Thompson netting the decisive spot-kick in a 4-3 success.

“When you look at their team, you know they’re going to be on the front foot and full of confidence so we changed our shape and the momentum of the game changed,” said Evans.

“Over the first half and into the second half, we should probably win it in normal time; I know our goalkeeper made a couple of saves late, but we got into some good areas.

“All over the pitch we were good tonight, we had to play really well just to contain and be in the game against a side that is full of talent.”

Watford manager Valerien Ismael rued the Hornets losing control of the contest after a bright start.

He added: “We started really well, we were completely (in) control for half an hour and for no reason we lost control and didn’t play anymore.

“The opponent put us exactly where they wanted so there was no control, it was a hectic game.

“We regained control and in the second half we changed tactically and the team reacted well and we created the big chances of the game in the second half and we have to score the chances.”

Preston boss Ryan Lowe was left to reflect on a costly slow start and missed chances after Sky Bet League Two Salford pulled off a penalty shoot-out win in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Connor McLennan had struck twice in the first half to give the Ammies a shock 2-0 lead.

Preston reduced the deficit just before the break through Ben Woodburn, and then Duane Holmes levelled things up at 2-2 early in the second half.

However, after being unable to complete the turnaround in 90 minutes, spot-kick misses from Ryan Ledson and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen saw Salford reach the second round with a 4-2 win in the shoot-out.

“The first half performance wasn’t what we wanted to see of course, but we got the goal just before half-time and that kept us in it,” Lowe said.

“It was a different story in the second half – there was much more impetus about us and we looked dangerous.

“We had made the changes and we did well to come back, but we should not have been in the position where we were two down.

“It was disappointing that we missed a number of chances, but we should have made their keeper work much more.”

Salford coach Neil Wood paid tribute to his players for holding their nerve in the shoot-out – which brought back painful memories for some of the League Two play-off semi-final defeat to Stockport last season.

“This is probably the best result for me since I’ve been here,” Wood said.

“We want to be right up there in League Two, but cup results like this do bring a nice bonus.

“It was nice for some of the guys who missed penalties in the play-offs to score tonight too.

“I was hoping some of them could go and take one, because it puts the demons of those semi-final misses to bed and raises their confidence again.”

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher was delighted with his “refreshed” side as they beat Leyton Orient 2-0 to win through to the EFL Cup second round.

Argyle’s two-goal cup hero was New Zealand international Ben Waine, who made up for having an early effort ruled out for offside by scoring in the 25th and 38th minutes.

Schumacher said: “We played some really exciting football in the first half and my only criticism is we didn’t get another goal but credit to Orient, they had a right good go in the second half.

“It’s objective achieved because we wanted to get into the next round.

“I thought it was important to freshen the team up from Saturday because Saturday took a lot out of everyone so to make 10 changes and still have that level of performance was brilliant.

“In the first half in particular we showed some real bits of quality, passed the ball really well, created loads of good chances and looked quick on the break.

“Second half we were a little bit scruffy with the ball but credit to them, Leyton Orient came after us a little bit, had nothing to lose. It fizzled out in the end but 2-0, clean sheet, loads of positives and we are in the next round.”

Orient boss Richie Wellens said: “Both goals were mistakes. Obviously the pass back was short, which gives them a good leg-up in the game, and then we over cover far too much and allow a winger to pull back in an area.

“First half they were good. Our press wasn’t. We were so lethargic, and slow and sloppy and reactive.

“And they have got a team that is fresh, full of energy because none of them played at the weekend. They just wanted to play forward and run forward and their two wingers caused us a lot of problems because we didn’t set up for that.

“We were better in the second half, our full-backs stepped up and were more aggressive.”

Russell Martin criticised his Southampton players for “feeling sorry for themselves” and entering “self-preservation mode” after a shock 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat at Gillingham.

Last season’s semi-finalists were stunned in the opening round of this year’s competition as Robbie McKenzie’s double and Ashley Nadesan’s early strike propelled Neil Harris’ League Two side to a memorable triumph on home soil.

Martin made 11 changes to the team that beat Sheffield Wednesday in the Saints’ Championship opener on Friday night and was unhappy with his second-string side’s attitude after a dismal night at Priestfield.

“It definitely wasn’t the result I was expecting, but the performance was more surprising,” he said.

“Tonight I just saw too much stuff I didn’t like, things we haven’t worked on, with people trying to write their own script.

“Players entered self-preservation mode – they were doing stuff they wanted to do.

“It was a case of ‘as long as I’m doing my own thing I’m OK’, but it shouldn’t be like that.

“Some people had too much pity, too much feeling sorry for themselves, and they’re probably the ones who don’t see their futures here in the next three weeks.

“I understand that, it’s difficult to deal with, but they should have showed off what they can do on the pitch.”

Gillingham went ahead after just 12 minutes when summer signing Nadesan slid in to poke Ethan Coleman’s cross past Alex McCarthy.

McKenzie stabbed home from close range six minutes after the break to double the hosts’ advantage before then capitalising on more lacklustre Southampton defending to net his second.

Substitute Carlos Alcaraz curled home a fine consolation goal late on but that did little to improve an otherwise miserable night for the south coast side in Kent.

Gills boss Harris said: “It couldn’t have gone any better. It’s a great result, and the performance was excellent.

“If anything, the win should have been by more than two goals.

“Southampton are a top side, even with the changes – I wanted to play on the front foot.

“We dominated the first 15 minutes, during which we could have scored more than one, and ultimately for 75 minutes we bossed it.

“The cup competitions aren’t the priority, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to win. We want to be competitive, we want 8,000 people to appreciate that, and we’ll do the same in the next round.”

Paul Simpson said his Carlisle players let themselves down during Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup first-round defeat at Harrogate.

Sam Folarin scored the only goal of the game from long range in the 23rd minute to leave the Sky Bet League One Cumbrians winless in eighth attempts against Simon Weaver’s Sulphurites.

And Simpson, who made no fewer than four substitutions at half-time, was far from impressed by what he witnessed in North Yorkshire.

“I’m really disappointed in what we have done tonight,” he said.

“I wanted to win this game, I wanted to be in the second round of the cup.

“In the first half, we lacked energy, which is why I decided to make changes at half-time, just to see if I could inject a bit of life into it.

“I thought that second half, the two centre-backs showed some enthusiasm to want to play, but unfortunately there were too many who were off it in the final third and that is where we have really let ourselves down.”

After Jack Armer, Luke Plange and Jon Mellish all squandered first-half chances to find the net for Carlisle, while Ryan Edmondson wasted an even better opportunity after 76 minutes when he failed to convert from the penalty spot.

Speaking about the miss, Simpson added: “I don’t like to criticise anyone for missing a penalty, but I thought that penalty summed up our lack of quality in the final third on the night.

“It was really, really poor from players who have better ability than they showed.”

By contrast, Harrogate boss Weaver was more than satisfied by his own team’s attacking play and is now hoping to draw one of the big boys in round two.

“We achieved everything that we wanted to get out of tonight, so I’m really pleased,” he reflected.

“The first half, we were on the front foot and there was some free-flowing football at times. It was fast-paced and we had that goal-threat as well, which is great to see.

“This is an exciting competition to be involved in and so I’m delighted to be in round two.

“Our first year in the Football League we drew Premier League West Brom and it was shown live on Sky Sports, so that was in the back of my mind before tonight’s game.

“It was such a special occasion and I’m hoping we can pull a big club out of the hat again.”

Notts County manager Luke Williams has challenged his players to produce a response following the disappointment of crashing out of the Carabao Cup at home to Lincoln.

The Magpies were dumped out of with goals in either half from Sean Roughan and Lasse Sorensen and finished with 10 men following a red card for Aden Baldwin.

County’s return to league football had ended in a 5-1 thrashing at Sutton on Saturday, and Williams feels his side again let themselves down.

“It’s disappointing in reality because of the weekend,” Williams said.

“We are not expected to win against a team in the league above us, but with the backdrop of the weekend now feels terrible.

“We conceded again from a corner, pathetic again from a corner, and now it feels awful.”

County were reduced to 10-men in the 56th minute when Baldwin was sent off for a second caution – something which left Williams aggrieved once again.

“When you are on a yellow card, you have an awareness that you can’t do something silly – and I don’t think it’s like he is jumping on a grenade for a team,” Williams said.

“The ball is going to go through to the goalkeeper, but everyone can make a mistake and unfortunately you don’t have the luxury to make a mistake in the same way.”

Imps manager Mark Kennedy was impressed by his side’s performance and felt the League One side could have won by a more handsome margin.

“I thought we were excellent tonight. I am really pleased,” Kennedy said.

“Tactically we were excellent and did well with the counter press. They had 70% possession and we had 20 shots on goal.

“Football is about winning matches and I think we could have won by four or five tonight.”

Xisco Munoz celebrated his first win as Sheffield Wednesday manager as they beat Stockport 4-1 on penalties after Tyreeq Bakinson levelled for the home side deep into time added on to make it 1-1 and force a Carabao Cup shoot-out.

Stockport’s Paddy Madden struck in the 16th minute with a fine finish, meeting Akil Wright’s cross with a volley and sending the ball into the roof of the net.

Bakinson equalised deep into time added on following a scramble inside the area.

Munoz said: “The most important thing is that we are in the next round. In England, it doesn’t matter if you are in League One or League Two or the Championship or the Premier League.

“When you are in the League Cup, someone can take you out.

“We had six new players in our squad and they arrived five days ago and this is the first time they have played together.

“We must start thinking about the important things, such as more accuracy, concentration and power. It’s important to try and come into the game with full power.”

Stockport manager Dave Challinor was left to rue the late goal his side conceded.

He said: “When you get so close, it’s obviously disappointing. There are bits we can do better and we understand that.

“We defended most moments and then we haven’t defended one moment.

“Then you maybe go into the penalties thinking, ‘If we’ve conceded in the 98th minute, maybe it’s not our night’.

“We dust ourselves down. We have two hard luck stories in two days and we have to make sure that we don’t get into the habit of that.

“There are huge positives. For the lads to go out there and perform in the manner they did. Young ones, especially, will have enjoyed it and it’ll have done them the world of good.”

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