Stuart McInally revealed he has gone through “a whirlwind of emotions” in recent months after he finally got the call to join Scotland’s World Cup squad for a fairy-tale career swansong.

The 33-year-old hooker was officially added to Gregor Townsend’s 33-man squad this week after his long-time Edinburgh club-mate Dave Cherry suffered concussion when slipping on stairs at the team hotel near Nice on Monday, the day after the Scots’ defeat by South Africa.

McInally announced in April that he would be retiring from rugby after the World Cup to pursue a new career as an airline pilot, and his dream of bowing out of the sport on the biggest stage of all looked on course when he was named in the provisional 41-man training squad.

But just days after coming on to win his 49th cap for Scotland away to France last month, McInally received a call from head coach Townsend to inform him he was not in the final 33-man squad, effectively putting him into retirement.

McInally was given some hope when he was called out to France last week as cover after Ewan Ashman suffered concussion and then after flying home to Edinburgh on Monday, he got the call on Wednesday morning to say he was required for duty once more following Cherry’s accident.

“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions,” he said, reflecting on his remarkable return to the fold at the team’s training ground in Nice on Friday. “I was named in the original 41, I was really excited, then to find out I wasn’t going, the emotions took a bit of a hit there, I was very disappointed.

“Then I was out here for injury cover, but I wasn’t allowed to train. I still felt part of it, but I wasn’t really part of it. Then when I found out I was officially joining the 33, I was over the moon. The story continues.

“It’s lucky I like flying as I’ve been back and forth, clocking up the air miles. I didn’t mind it, it’s always been for a reason and it’s not like we’re in Japan like last time. It’s a two-hour flight.

“I got the call to come back on Wednesday. It was a case of pack my bags and getting straight back out here. Luckily I hadn’t unpacked, I’m quite slow with the unpacking!”

McInally was gutted not to be named in the original squad in August.

“The hooker position is so competitive so I never took anything for granted,” he said. “I thought I had a good chance but ultimately they went a different way and I respected that and had a good chat with Gregor. I moved on, but that’s all in the past now.”

McInally insisted there was never any danger of him going into retirement mode after his initial snub as his professional mentality ensured he kept himself in shape in case an opportunity arose belatedly.

“I had always been very clear that I’d be starting my new career in November and that would be after the World Cup,” he said.

“I can see why people would think it would be hard to stay focused (on rugby), but for me it was quite easy as I always knew this could happen and as long as it could happen, I was going to make sure I was in a good position to take the chance if it came.
 
“I would have kicked myself if this situation had arisen and I hadn’t looked after myself.

“People said ‘you might get a call, I can see it happening’, but you never really believe it. But it was very easy for me to keep fit because I knew that even if I had been called up much further down the line, maybe a quarter-final or something and I hadn’t stayed fit and they needed me, then I would never have been able to forgive myself. That’s just me being me.

“I have been running and doing my weights on my own to make sure I stayed sharp.

“I made sure I spoke to the conditioners here and they gave me running sessions and weights to do. I’ve got a gym in the house and a running pitch two minutes from my house so I could do very specific rugby sessions.

“After 13 years in rugby I know the sessions I need to do to stay in shape so I put myself through my paces. It was all for a good reason.”

McInally, who captained Scotland at the last World Cup in Japan, knows he now has the chance to notch his 50th cap before he retires.

“A lot of people are talking about it (the possibility of a 50th cap) and I’ve had a lot of love from back home about that,” he said. “I’m trying not to think about it because until you’re actually named in a 23 and take to the pitch, anything can happen.

“It’s so exciting, and knowing that it’s my last throw of the dice as well, I’m determined to give my best.

“What would make it really special would be if we went on and did something special and got out of the group and challenged for quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.

“That’s what we’re here for. It’s great to be here, but we’re just focused on playing our best and trying to get out of the group.”

McInally had sympathy for 32-year-old Cherry, who had made his first-ever appearance at a World Cup the day before his accident.

“It was hugely disappointing for him,” he said. “I spoke to him before he left and he was obviously very gutted. It is just one of those things and I feel really sorry for him.”

An emotional Andy Murray broke down in tears at the end of an epic Davis Cup win over Swiss debutant Leandro Riedi after revealing he was missing his grandmother’s funeral to play in the tie.

Murray needed all his nous to grind out a 6-7 (7) 6-4 6-4 victory in three hours and 10 minutes at Manchester’s AO Arena, giving Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Switzerland.

At the end of what had been a light-hearted on-court interview, the Scot choked up, revealing the added significance of his victory.

“Today is a tough day for me, it’s my gran’s funeral today,” he said. “I’m sorry to my family that I’m not able to be there but gran, this one’s for you.”

Murray then returned to his bench where he sat sobbing into his towel.

It made his efforts in coming through another long and tense battle even more impressive.

Murray had only lost three of his previous 35 singles matches in the competition and never to a player ranked as low as world number 152 Riedi, but the big-hitting 21-year-old produced a performance well above that.

Having seen his gamble to play debutant Jack Draper and Dan Evans handsomely pay off in Wednesday’s victory over Australia, captain Leon Smith made use of his options by naming Murray and Cameron Norrie as his singles players here.

Evans’ 0-5 record against Wawrinka may have played a part in his thinking along perhaps with caution not to overplay Draper considering his physical fragility this year.

Murray played singles against Kazakhstan at the same stage last year but only once Britain were already eliminated, making this his first live singles rubber in the competition since 2019 and only his second in seven years.

Switzerland also sprung a surprise by picking Riedi ahead of their number two Dominic Stricker, and Murray admitted that had thrown him having prepared to face a left-hander.

After negotiating an 11-minute first game, the Scot broke serve immediately and had a chance to open up a 4-0 lead.

He could not take it, though, and Riedi worked his way into the contest, beginning to cause Murray increasing problems with his big forehand and aggressive tactics.

They earned him a break back when the Scot served for the set at 5-3, and Murray was then unable to take two set points in the tie-break, Riedi converting his first opportunity with his 22nd winner.

The young Swiss, who had never previously beaten a top-50 player, had his tail up and Murray kicked his bag in frustration after failing to break in the third game of the second set.

He finally made the breakthrough at 3-3 when Riedi double-faulted, only for the 21-year-old to leave his opponent rooted to the spot with a series of blistering returns.

Undeterred, Murray engineered another break and this time held onto it with trademark grim determination to level the match.

The 36-year-old has been in similar situations hundreds of times during his career and ultimately experience won out, although it was still nip and tuck, with Murray slamming his racket to the court after handing an early break back in the decider.

He broke again to lead 3-2, though, and quashed Riedi’s hopes of a comeback by taking his first match point with an ace.

Murray said: “It’s obviously incredible to get through that one, it easily could have gone the other way.

“It was ridiculous the shots he was pulling off, amazing, amazing returning. I kept fighting and tried to stay focused and managed to turn it round.”

Lewis Ludlam has edged Billy Vunipola in the battle for England’s number eight jersey for Sunday’s World Cup clash with Japan.

Vunipola has completed his two-match suspension for a dangerous tackle against Ireland last month but the hard-carrying Saracen is limited to a bench role only for the Stade de Nice showdown.

Instead, Ludlam has been rewarded for his defensive masterclass as a replacement in the 27-10 rout of Argentina on Saturday by filling the hole in the back row created by Tom Curry’s suspension, also for an illegal challenge.

Ben Earl switches from number eight to openside to accommodate the return of Ludlam, who played every minute of this year’s Six Nations and has been one of England’s most consistent performers of recent times.

The Northampton skipper’s elevation above the less mobile Vunipola is a nod to Japan’s high tempo tactics, which assistant coach Kevin Sinfield has compared to Barcelona’s tiki-taka style of football.

Two further changes in personnel have been made in the front row where Kyle Sinckler and Joe Marler displace Dan Cole and Ellis Genge as starting props.

Sinckler has recovered from the pectoral injury that limited his game time during the warm-up Tests and prevented him from facing the Pumas in the Pool D opener in Marseille.

Steve Borthwick has retained the same backline that featured against Argentina with George Ford given another opportunity to argue his case for being viewed as first choice fly-half.

Owen Farrell completes his four-match ban – once again for a dangerous tackle – versus Japan and becomes available for the last two group matches against Chile and Samoa, forcing Borthwick to make a difficult call at 10.

England will march on to a place in the quarter-finals if they topple Japan, who are not the dynamic force that captured hearts and minds at the last World Cup when they reached the knockout phase for the first time.

Having risen to tier-one status, they have now slipped to 14th in the global rankings but at least opened the tournament with a thumping 42-12 victory over Chile.

“It was both pleasing and important that we were able to start our World Cup campaign with a good win against Argentina last Saturday,” Borthwick said.

“It was incredible to see so many of our supporters in the stadium in Marseille. Their support means a great deal to the team. We hope that we were able to provide the supporters both here in France and at home with some great memories, and we are setting out to do the same again this Sunday in Nice.

“After another good week’s preparation in Le Touquet, we are looking forward to the challenge of playing a Japan side that will be full of confidence following their comprehensive win over Chile in their opening fixture of the competition.”

Andy Murray battled past Davis Cup debutant Leandro Riedi in a three-hour epic in Manchester to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Switzerland.

The former world number one had only lost three of his previous 35 singles matches in the competition and never to a player ranked as low as world number 152 Riedi.

But the big-hitting 21-year-old produced a performance well above that and, after failing to take his chances in the opening set, Murray needed all his nous to grind out a 6-7 (7) 6-4 6-4 victory in three hours and 10 minutes.

It was another demonstration that, for all his frustration at being unable to get back in the mix at grand slams, the competitive fire still burns brightly within Murray and to get over the line in an important match for his country undoubtedly meant a lot.

The 36-year-old said: “It’s obviously incredible to get through that one, it easily could have gone the other way. It was ridiculous the shots he was pulling off, amazing, amazing returning. I kept fighting and tried to stay focused and managed to turn it round.”

Having seen his gamble to play debutant Jack Draper and Dan Evans handsomely pay off in Wednesday’s victory over Australia, captain Leon Smith made use of his options by naming Murray and Cameron Norrie as his singles players here.

Evans’ 0-5 record against Stan Wawrinka may have played a part in his thinking along perhaps with caution not to over-play Draper given his physical fragility this year.

Murray played singles against Kazakhstan at the same stage last year but only once Britain were already eliminated, making this his first live singles rubber in the competition since 2019 and only his second in seven years.

Switzerland also sprang a surprise by picking Riedi ahead of their number two Dominic Stricker, and Murray admitted that had thrown him having prepared to face a left-hander.

After negotiating an 11-minute first game, the Scot broke serve immediately and had a chance to open up a 4-0 lead.

He could not take it, though, and Riedi worked his way into the contest, beginning to cause Murray increasing problems with his big forehand and aggressive tactics.

They earned him a break back when the Scot served for the set at 5-3, and Murray was then unable to take two set points in the tie-break, Riedi converting his first opportunity with his 22nd winner.

The young Swiss, who had never previously beaten a top-50 player, had his tail up and Murray kicked his bag in frustration after failing to break in the third game of the second set.

He finally made the breakthrough at 3-3 when Riedi double-faulted only for the 21-year-old to leave his opponent rooted to the spot with a series of blistering returns.

Undeterred, Murray engineered another break and this time held onto it with trademark grim determination to level the match.

The Scot has been in similar situations hundreds of times during his career and ultimately experience won out, although it was still nip and tuck, with Murray slamming his racket to the court after handing an early break back in the decider.

He broke again to lead 3-2, though, and quashed Riedi’s hopes of a comeback by taking his first match point with an ace.

Adrian Meronk insisted he has accepted being overlooked for a Ryder Cup wild card as he threatened to outscore all 12 members of the European team in the BMW PGA Championship.

After an 80-minute delay due to early morning fog, Meronk added a second round of 68 to his opening 67 at Wentworth to share the clubhouse lead with Belgium’s Thomas Detry and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.

Former winner Tyrrell Hatton was the best-placed of the Ryder Cup dozen in the early wave on seven under, with Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick both a shot further back.

Meronk said last week he was “shocked, sad and angry” not to receive a pick from Europe captain Luke Donald, especially after winning his third DP World Tour title in the space of 10 months in May’s Italian Open at the Ryder Cup venue on the outskirts of Rome.

“I have accepted it,” the 30-year-old Pole said at Wentworth.

“The first couple of days after were tough, but I have moved on and am focused on my game. I want to finish the season strongly and that is my only goal now.

“I know it’s easy to say, but it’s like having a bad round and letting it go. This one was a little bit tougher to accept because it wasn’t based on me and someone else made that decision.

“I definitely think it is wrong. I feel I’ve deserved it. I feel I’ve shown in the last two years that I’ve played really good on the DP World Tour. If you look at the results and the numbers, I thought it was enough, but there’s nothing I can do now.

“But I have been pretty good at accepting things in my career. I’m trying to turn all that disappointment and anger into motivation, especially this week.”

Meronk, who received shouts of encouragement in Polish as he completed his round, believes the captain having six wild cards is too many and that one should be held back until after the end of the DP World Tour’s flagship event.

“I’d say that four would probably be reasonable and I think leaving one or two picks for these big tournaments would be a good idea,” he added.

“This time the team has been picked basically after a four-week break and then playing two small events. I think one spot should be reserved after this week at least.”

Rahm looked in danger of missing the halfway cut when he thinned his second shot on the first into the face of a fairway bunker and ran up a double bogey, before also dropping a shot on the third.

However, the Masters champion responded with an eagle on the fourth, chipped in to save par on the sixth and covered his last 10 holes in six under par.

“None of those swings felt bad, it was just an unfortunate thing to happen on the first but you have put it on the fairway around here,” said Rahm, who carded a closing 62 here last year to finish runner-up for the second time in two starts.

Tom Marquand is concentrating on the result rather than the occasion ahead of his bid to carry the royal colours to Classic glory in the Betfred St Leger at Doncaster.

It is 46 years since Dunfermline provided the late Queen with the last of her five British Classic wins in the Town Moor showpiece and optimism is high that Desert Hero can end the long wait for another victory by adding his name to the roll of honour on Saturday.

The William Haggas-trained colt brought the house down after giving the newly-crowned King and Queen their first taste of Royal Ascot success in the King George V Stakes in June and he has since enhanced his Leger claims by landing the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood.

Marquand has ridden multiple Group One winners at home and abroad, including a first Classic win with Galileo Chrome in a behind-closed-doors Leger three years ago – but in his view Desert Hero’s victory in Berkshire three months ago tops the lot.

“I’d be lying if I said anything other than I didn’t even give it a thought beforehand, as a jockey you don’t. There’s only one thing that matters and that’s winning and everything else pales into insignificance unless you win,” he said.

“It was an absolutely incredible day and an extremely special one that will probably rank up right up there for the rest of my days riding.

“Honestly, it’s probably the highest. Obviously you’ll have higher profile wins in higher grade races, but as an Englishman the opportunity to ride the King’s first Royal Ascot winner, with them there and seeing the excitement and the pleasure both the King and Queen got from it, was incredible.”

Following the Queen’s death 12 months ago, there were genuine concerns the royal patronage of the sport might fade. Marquand feels Desert Hero’s Ascot win went some way to allaying those fears.

“For racing it’s extremely important and gratifying that the passion for the sport that we all love so much is there,” he continued.

“I think that’s what made the occasion so special, that it was so clear for everyone that was there and watching on the TV as well the joy the King and Queen got from that winner.

“I didn’t think that I’d get a Classic-winning opportunity for them so soon after obviously, but that Royal Ascot will be hard to topple off top spot.

“It was great, but to have that line of progression from Desert Hero to the point where he’s going into the St Leger as one of the main chances in the race is fantastic for everyone.”

Given the expectation, Marquand will have plenty of pressure on his shoulders when he heads out onto the Doncaster turf on Saturday afternoon, but he is keen to treat it like just another race.

He said: “I’m looking forward to it, it’s a big day and an important one with pretty special circumstances, obviously. It’s great.

“Obviously we’re very appreciative to be in the situation we are going into the weekend with him, but we kind of put that to one side going into the racing scenario as it’s all insignificant unless his head lands in front in the right place.

“It doesn’t matter who owns him or who is involved or whatever if that doesn’t happen, so first and foremost the main priority is to give him the best opportunity to win that we can and after that hopefully we’ll have a bit more to worry about!

“It’s all insignificant if he doesn’t win, so there’s not much point spending time thinking about it.”

Desert Hero finished only eighth when favourite for Newbury’s London Gold Cup on his seasonal debut, but Marquand insists he was far from despondent.

He said: “He didn’t disappoint us all at Newbury. It was a mile and a quarter, it was obviously his first run of the year and things didn’t quite go to plan as I ended up making the running, so I actually came back in extremely happy with him.

“I just thought he’d been a bit slow and he’d love going up to a mile and a half and the progression from there has been massive.

“Ascot was obviously a huge performance, but he went and cemented that at Goodwood up in Stakes company and on very different ground as well.”

One question Desert Hero will have to answer is whether his stamina will last out over a mile and three-quarters, but Marquand is as hopeful as he can be the longer trip will not be an issue.

“He’s shown how appliable he is to different things and different conditions. He’s got a different trip to contend with this time, but I think it’s fair to say he’s shown the trip shouldn’t be an issue and on breeding it shouldn’t be an issue, so we’re hoping it’s not going to be,” he added.

“Until you run over it, it’s still a question mark, but I think it’s one of the question marks going into a race like this you don’t mind having. If the trip is the only problem we have then fantastic!”

Marquand knows Desert Hero will not have things all his own way, with a clutch of talented rivals lying in wait.

Frankie Dettori bids for one final Classic win before his retirement aboard Arrest, while Continuous and Gregory renew rivalry after finishing first and third in the Great Voltigeur at York last month.

Further strength in depth is added by the supplemented Middle Earth and Chesspiece, who was only a neck behind Desert Hero at Goodwood in early August.

Assessing the field, Marquand said: “It’s a race where there’s a lot of strength in it, but there’s no standout horse that needs to disappoint for something else to win. It makes it interesting.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity and I know William and the team at Somerville Lodge are thrilled they’ve found a horse like him this year for the King and Queen – it’s given everyone a huge amount of pleasure to be in this position.

“Whatever happens, they’ve done a fantastic job with him and everyone has enjoyed the ride so far.”

Frankie Dettori will don the Juddmonte silks when he makes his final British Classic appearance aboard Arrest in Doncaster’s Betfred St Leger.

The Italian has won the Town Moor showpiece six times throughout his career and struck in the colours of the Abdullah family with Logician in 2019.

Dettori was expected to partner his Royal Ascot winner Gregory in his last shot at Classic glory, but made a late switch to the John and Thady Gosden-trained stablemate after a wet week in South Yorkshire.

And it could be somewhat fitting that he bows out for connections who have provided him with some of the biggest victories in his career.

“Any time Frankie is on board is great and I suppose the association he has had with Juddmonte over the years has been so strong and we’ve had so many big days together that we can hopefully dream of another on Saturday,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for the owner.

“It would be special and it’s a hot race, it’s certainly hard to dismiss much in the race. They are all of a similar level and it’s definitely quality over quantity.”

The race offers Arrest the chance for Classic redemption having fluffed his lines when sent off favourite in the hands of Dettori in his final Derby at Epsom earlier in the summer.

However, connections believe they made the wrong decision to run the son of Frankel on quick ground during the height of summer and are hopeful their high-class colt will stay the stamina-sapping one-mile-six-furlong trip in his preferred ground.

Mahon added: “In fairness to the horse, his record is pretty solid and we made two bad calls with the horse running him on good to firm ground at Epsom and Ascot. To be fair they were two big races and big meetings and we just made the wrong call and we’ve learned from that.

“We know he likes an ease in the ground and if you forget those two runs, then his record is pretty outstanding.

“It’s like everything, until you try it, you don’t know 100 per cent (if Arrest will stay). But it didn’t look like he was stopping at the end of the Geoffrey Freer, so you would have to think he will be fine over it. Over a mile and five and a half at Newbury he looked comfortable enough, so we just have to be hopeful he gets the extra furlong.”

Arrest is one of three for the Gosdens alongside Gregory and Middle Earth as the Clarehaven team seeks a second British Classic of the campaign.

Kieran Shoemark takes the ride on Gregory, who although tasting defeat for the first time in the Great Voltigeur, showed his liking for this trip when winning the Queen’s Vase at the Royal meeting before that.

“He’s got a great mind and he is a pretty laid-back character,” said John Gosden.

“I trained both the mother and father and he’s inherited all the good traits of their mental attitude towards racing.

“We gave him all the time he required and he’s done nothing but shine this year. I think he’ll enjoy the distance, although we are perfectly aware it looks like being a vintage St Leger.”

Middle Earth was supplemented into the contest by owners Qatar Racing having proven his class in York’s Melrose Stakes and the mount of Oisin Murphy ticks plenty of boxes despite stepping up markedly in class.

Gosden added: “He’s proven he stays the trip, which let me tell you, the one mile, six furlongs and a few yards, it is a long straight, it tests the tactical speed and the stamina. He looks like he should be able to answer those two calls.

“If you’d won a handicap in the style he did at York, that was a tougher race than some of the trials. If you’ve got the right horse at the right time and he handles the ground, then he has every right to be there.”

While the Gosdens field a team of three, there will be four from Aidan O’Brien’s all-conquering Ballydoyle string, including Continuous who lowered the colours of Gregory at York last month.

He is the mount of Ryan Moore and is joined by Bahrain Trophy runner-up Tower Of London, Alexandroupolis and Denmark as the handler searches for his sixth win the race.

O’Brien said: “Continuous is very well. He came out of York very well. He’s a horse that has class and you can take your time with over a mile and six (furlongs).

“Tower Of London just got beat at Newmarket. He will get the trip, he’s a brother to Capri. He handles good ground and we’re very happy with him.

“Alexandroupolis was second in a Derby Trial and then suffered a setback. We’ve always liked him and think he’s come forward plenty from his last run, but will probably come forward more after this.”

Godolphin are no strangers to success in this contest and their hopes are carried by Simon and Ed Crisford’s Chesspiece, who was only a neck behind the reopposing Desert Hero in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood and will relish the extra two furlongs.

“It’s a big day and he’s done well progressing this season,” said Ed Crisford.

“It’s a tough race, the St Leger, and there’s some good horses in it and he has a few lengths to make up on those higher-rated horses, but he wants every yard of the trip and it looks like being suitable ground for him.

“If he can improve a little bit, I’m sure he will be in the mix.”

Chesspiece’s training team recently celebrated their first Group One success when landing the Prix Morny and now look to quickly follow up in one of the oldest races on the calendar.

Crisford added: “It’s exciting to be a part of the Leger, it is always a great race and to have a horse with a bit of a squeak is great.

“You will have to really stay well in the Leger – I think our fella will stay well and I think with the softer conditions, it will be a grinding sort of race. He’s there with a chance for sure.”

Max Verstappen’s unprecedented winning streak in Formula One could be under threat after the Red Bull driver finished only eighth in practice for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Verstappen romped to victory in Italy a fortnight ago to become the first driver in the sport’s 73-year history to win 10 consecutive races as he closes in on a hat-trick of world championships.

But under the thousands of bulbs that light up the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Verstappen ended the day more than seven tenths behind Ferrari pace-setter Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard who took pole position in Monza.

Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari as the Italian team completed a practice one-two, with George Russell third for Mercedes, 0.235 sec adrift.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was fourth, with Lewis Hamilton fifth in his Mercedes, one place ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Red Bull are unbeaten this season, but they did not have a car inside the top six on Friday, with Sergio Perez, who triumphed here last year, seventh.

Verstappen, who has won 12 of the 14 rounds so far, has not lost a race since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30.

But the Dutch driver has never triumphed in Singapore and he suggested ahead of Friday’s running that the high-downforce, low-speed nature of the city-state track could play into the hands of Red Bull’s rivals.

Although times in practice must be treated with caution as teams trial varying fuel loads and tyre strategies, it is Ferrari who hold the upper hand heading into qualifying on Saturday at a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult.

Indeed, eight of the 13 races here have been won from pole. Although the removal of turns 16 to 19 in favour of one long straight could improve the action for Sunday’s 62-lap race.

While the second running passed off without major drama, the opening session was disrupted on three occasions when a lizard invaded the three-mile circuit.

Verstappen was the first to report the reptile at turn nine midway through the running.

“There is a lizard on track again,” said the Red Bull driver, who had a similar encounter here back in 2016. “It is a smaller one this time.”

Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase replied: “Maybe Godzilla has had a kid.” There was a second interruption, and then a third, as yellow flags were deployed.

“Another lizard, but a different one this time,” said Russell.

Trueshan lit up Doncaster as he returned to his best to register a remarkable success in the Betfred Doncaster Cup Stakes.

Retirement appeared to be looming when the seven-year-old disappointed earlier in the season, but given a wind operation and a 135-day summer break, Alan King’s charge roared back to form on Town Moor.

Victory looked unlikely in the early stages of the Group Two contest as Trueshan refused to settle for Hollie Doyle, travelling keenly when held-up behind the steady early pace set by Ryan Moore aboard Broome.

Doyle allowed her mount to stride on approaching the turn for home and it proved to be a race-winning move from the rider as the long-distance veteran powered his way to the head of affairs.

With the rest of the field remaining glued to the inside rail, Trueshan set sail solo up the centre of the track, before edging his way across to battle John and Thady Gosden’s Sweet William who had emerged from the pack to lay down a stern challenge.

Trueshan, however, would not be denied and he stormed to the line to win by a length and a quarter.

Paddy Power and Betfair now make the 100-30 scorer a 5-1 shot to win the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup for a fourth straight year at Ascot on October 21.

Ireland’s coaching staff and players are braced for a “big step up” at the Rugby World Cup as they prepare to face the “serious threats” of Tonga in Nantes.

Andy Farrell’s men launched their campaign by running in 12 tries during a thumping 82-8 demolition of Pool B minnows Romania.

Ireland have pivotal Paris appointments against South Africa and Scotland on the horizon but feel they cannot afford to underestimate the nation sitting 15th in the Test rankings.

“They’ve got some of the best open field runners in world rugby,” defence coach Simon Easterby said of Tonga.

“They’ve got guys in the forward pack that can mix it, they can offload. And they’ve got attacking threats throughout their back line.

“It’s a real challenge for us defensively, it’s one that we’re probably ready for after the Romania game. We didn’t have to get through that much work without the ball.

“It’s going to be a big step up from the challenge Romania threw at us.

“They (Tonga) attack well but they certainly want to come and hit and put us off our rhythm.”

Head coach Farrell spoke of focusing on immediate challenges and respecting Tonga, who are preparing for their opening match of the tournament, when announcing a strong team on Thursday afternoon.

Aside from sidelined hooker Dan Sheehan and first-choice scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, the Englishman has gone with arguably his preferred starting XV, which features four personnel changes from last weekend.

Full-back Hugo Keenan feels it is easy to concentrate game by game, despite the looming threat of the Springboks.

“Yeah, I think it has (been),” he said. “I know throughout the pool, there is tough games coming up but Tonga are a serious side, serious threats and individuals across the team.

“We’re only looking at them, we’re only focusing on this week.”

Following the scorching conditions of their Bordeaux curtain-raiser, where temperatures reached 36 degrees Celsius, Ireland trained in 30-degree heat on Friday afternoon at Stade de la Beaujoire.

Prop Tadhg Furlong joked about needing to layer up as he prepares for a stern test against Tonga’s bulky front-row forwards.

“I was thinking of putting a jumper on today compared to what we’ve been used to,” he said.

“Although it is hot, it doesn’t feel as hot (as previously). (It’s been) like an oven, or someone blowing a hairdryer in your face, for the last few weeks.”

Referring to the weekend challenge, he said: “Of course we respect them. Sometimes in scrummaging there’s no replacement for displacement.

“Weight makes it heavy, it makes it hard, that’s the nature of it and it’s a big challenge from a big pack. We have to be technically good.”

Big Evs bounced back to his very best with a devastating display in the Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster.

Mick Appleby’s speedster has struck big-race gold at both Royal Ascot and the Goodwood Festival when claiming the Molecomb Stakes, but having been tasked with taking on his elders in the Nunthorpe last time, was unable to get involved and was ultimately one of the disappointments in York’s premier sprint.

Back to racing against his own age group, the son of Blue Point put his rivals to the sword from the very start to add this Group Two prize to his growing CV and having been fast away from the stalls in the hands of Tom Marquand, the 9-4 favourite scorched his way up Town Moor as his rivals chased the pacey youngster’s tail in vain.

The two-and-three-quarter-length winner now appears to have booked his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup in November.

Appleby said: “After he jumped out of the stalls there wasn’t really a doubt. Once he got three or four lengths on them they weren’t going to catch him. You’ve got to be up the front on this ground.

“It’s not the ideal ground for him but he’s got the job done well. He’s won a Molecomb and the Flying Childers on soft ground now.

“We just had to put a line through the Nunthorpe. I think he just had an exceptionally hard race at Goodwood, I think that just took its toll.

“I think it will be the Breeders’ Cup next for the Juvenile Turf Sprint, straight there. It’s five furlongs at Santa Anita which should be ideal. If he can get the rail he could be difficult to peg back.

“He’s been an amazing horse, the owners have turned down some big bids and there’ll be more now, but luckily he’s not for sale.

“Coming into this, I was thinking that one race didn’t make him a bad horse. If he’d disappointed again then we’d have been scratching our heads but he’s got the job done well today.

“Tom rode him today as Jason (Hart) was at Chester for his boss (John Quinn). If Highfield Princess goes to the Breeders’ Cup that means Jason will be, so he’ll be there and all being well he’ll be riding him again. Tom was a great replacement today.”

Roger Teal could have a smart operator on his hands after Dancing Gemini stormed to victory in the Betfred Flying Scotsman Stakes at Doncaster.

The Lambourn-based trainer won this Listed event with Tip Two Win in 2017 and his latest scorer arrived on Town Moor on an upwards curve having won well at Newbury last month.

Always travelling smartly in the hands of Lewis Edmunds, the son of Camelot moved purposely to the front a furlong from home and galloped on powerfully to the line to make a real statement, registering a commanding four-and-a-quarter-length victor over Andrew Balding’s Gushing Gold.

Tip Two Win would go on to finish second to Saxon Warrior in the 2000 Guineas and it appears Teal is already dreaming of next year’s Classics with his impressive youngster.

Before that though, he could return to Doncaster for the Futurity Trophy next month and both Paddy Power and Betfair go 20-1 from 66s for that end-of-season Group One event.

Teal said: “That was really impressive. We’ve held him in high regard all year. He did a piece of work last week that was breathtaking and I knew we had him in good shape heading into today.

“I said to Lewis, ‘if we can back up that bit of work, you’ll be going past the lollipop in front’ and he did. It was a very nice performance.

“We won this with Tip Two Win and I think he could possibly be as good, he’s got a similar profile because he’s got speed, with a good turn of foot and a good cruising gear.

“He’s in the big one here at the end of the season, but we’ll play it by ear and see how he comes out of today. If all is well and the owner is happy, we might take a punt, if not we’ll wait for next year when we’ll go for a trial before the Guineas.

“Lewis is a very underused jockey – I shouldn’t say that because more people will start using him. Fair play to the owner because Rossa Ryan was supposed to ride him last time but got claimed by a bigger stable, but Lewis did a great job at Newbury and he has again today.

“He handles the soft, when I watched the first I thought it was a little softer than they thought as they were well strung out, so I said to Lewis, ‘don’t sit too far off the pace and give him every chance’.

“We really fancied him on his debut but he was slowly away before passing everything bar the winner but he’s come on bundles, he’s improving with every race. He’ll get a mile no problem.”

Spycatcher will try to take advantage of conditions at Doncaster when he lines up in the Betfred Park Stakes on Saturday.

Karl Burke’s five-year-old thrives when the mud flies and following a week of rain on Town Moor, he appears to have the perfect opportunity to continue his stellar 2023 campaign.

He is yet to finish outside the money in five starts this term and having made a successful trip to Deauville to claim the Prix de Ris-Orangis on his penultimate start, returned to the Normandy coast to run a career best when second in the Prix Maurice de Gheest.

Seven furlongs presents a different challenge for the son of Vadamos, but the Spigot Lodge handler is keen to strike while the iron is hot.

Burke said: “We wanted to really keep him at six and he is in the Renaissance Stakes the following week at the Curragh, but this doesn’t look the strongest Group Two in the world and the ground is in his favour.

“He seems in great form so I think we’ll let him take his chance. At this time of year the ground can change and you’d hate to miss Doncaster and then it turns up decent ground at the Curragh.”

John and Thady Gosden’s Audience claimed the Criterion Stakes on reappearance and then left a disappointing showing at Goodwood behind him when second to Kinross at York last month.

However, his below-par performance on the Sussex Downs came with ease in the ground and Chris Richardson, managing director for owners Cheveley Park Stud, once again has slight reservations about conditions.

He said: “He came out of York really well but my only concern would be the ground I suppose, because all of his best efforts have been on good ground. He ran poorly at Goodwood on softish ground, so hopefully we get a drying scenario.

“It’s a trappy race and obviously Karl Burke’s horses are flying. But we deserve to be in there and John has been happy with him.

“If he had been allowed to race on his own at York rather than in a group, then he might have gone a bit closer, but he definitely has the ability as we saw.”

The son of Iffraaj somewhat lost his way at three, but has been revitalised since being gelded and connections are delighted he has now started to give a glimpse of his true ability this season.

Richardson added: “I think gelding him has made all the difference. We always knew the ability was there, it was just a question of making him concentrate on what he needed to do rather than other things.

“It wouldn’t normally have been our plan to geld a horse of this quality, but he just made it a challenge last year. It’s nice he’s back on track now and fulfilling his potential.”

Andrew Balding’s Sandrine was not far behind Audience when third in the City Of York Stakes and excels over this distance, while Bunbury Cup scorer Biggles represents last year’s winning stable in his first outing in stakes company.

Eve Johnson Houghton’s Jumby and Charlie Hills’ Pogo complete the select field of six.