Tadhg Beirne admits the scars of the last World Cup took a long time to heal and insists Ireland will do everything possible to avoid making the same mistakes.
Andy Farrell’s side go into the tournament in France at the top of the world rankings and buoyed by clinching a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam on the back of a historic tour success in New Zealand.
Ireland were buzzing with similar belief under Joe Schmidt in 2019 before suffering an emphatic quarter-final exit to the All Blacks following a shock pool-stage loss to hosts Japan.
Munster lock Beirne believes the tone for that forgettable campaign was set during an underwhelming build-up, which included a record drubbing by England, and is determined to help prevent a repeat outcome as he prepares for Saturday’s warm-up clash with Italy.
“It was really disappointing to be honest, we had such expectations of ourselves and we probably felt like we didn’t fire on all cylinders,” he said of the 2019 tournament.
“Overall, just disappointment from the get-go.
“Even when you talk about warm-ups we didn’t particularly play well in them, did we? And that fed into the World Cup in terms of our performances over there.
“I think afterwards it took a long, long time to get over it so I’m certainly hoping that’s not the case this year and we’ll be doing everything we can to change that.”
Ireland begin the World Cup on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.
After hosting Italy, preparations continue when England visit the Aviva Stadium a fortnight later before a fixture against Samoa in Bayonne the following weekend provides a final chance for fine-tuning.
Beirne says the three upcoming matches are far from friendlies and acknowledges that any player not up to scratch is at risk of being dropped when head coach Farrell cuts his squad from 42 to 33 at the end of the month.
“You can certainly lose your spot in a World Cup squad if you don’t play well,” said the British and Irish Lion, who was restricted to a peripheral role for his country in Japan in 2019.
“As a squad we have a record at home that we are proud of at the moment, we are playing a certain type of rugby that we want to continue doing.
“We are looking at it very much as we would a Six Nations game or a November international game.
“It’s a Test match we want to win and we are going out there to prove a point, 100 per cent.”
Mike Phillips has urged Wales to inspire their fans at what he considers the most important World Cup in the nation’s rugby history.
The Welsh game has spent 2023 in crisis off the field due to a sexism and misogyny scandal at the Welsh Rugby Union and in dire straits on it, with Warren Gatland struggling to transform the team’s fortunes during his second spell in charge.
Wales, World Cup semi-finalists in Japan four years ago, have fallen to ninth in the global rankings, with supporters expecting Gatland’s side to make a major impact at the tournament in France next month very much in the minority.
“It’s more important this time,” former scrum-half Phillips said of Wales’ forthcoming World Cup campaign.
“The public needs it. It seems that it has just been a constant negative about Welsh rugby over the last 18 months. The public needs some inspiration.
“We all want to support success, just as with the football team reaching the World Cup.
“The Welsh people want to be inspired and there’s nothing like the national team to galvanise the game, all the way down to the grassroots.
“It would be nice to have people excited about what’s happening on the pitch.”
Wales play two warm-up games against England – the first in Cardiff on Saturday – and another at home to South Africa before embarking on their World Cup adventure.
British and Irish Lions trio Alun Wyn Jones – Test rugby’s most capped player – Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb have all left the international scene in recent months and there will be several new faces in France.
“There’s no pressure on these players but my only concern is that they’re not winning often, either for club or country,” said Phillips, who won 94 caps for Wales and another five for the Lions.
“Winning in sport is tough, it doesn’t just happen. Sometimes you need to grind it out. A few years ago that’s what they were doing.
“Gatland will have them fit but the game has moved on from when he was first in charge. There’s far more kicking now so the tactics need to be spot on, strong defence and discipline is key because games turn on a moment.
“You can’t keep picking the same guys forever. Ideally you would have a core group with 30 or 40 caps but we seem to have players either with lots or none.”
Phillips starred as Wales reached the last four of the 2011 World Cup, losing agonisingly 9-8 to France after skipper Sam Warburton had been sent off in the opening quarter.
He said: “The youngsters have to learn to become leaders, that’s how they will grow. Perhaps it’s good to throw them in the deep end.
“It feels similar to 2011 when Wales brought in a load of new young players like George North, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Priestland, Taulupe Faletau and Sam Warburton.
“They came back from the World Cup experience and won a Grand Slam, another title, and all went with the Lions in 2013.
“We may not know a lot about these lads now but they can be household names by the time they return.”
Wales meet Fiji – who famously knocked them out the last time the World Cup was held in France 16 years ago – in a crunch Bordeaux opener on September 10 before further group games against Portugal, Australia and Georgia.
England or Argentina are potential quarter-final opponents.
“Fiji is a monumental game,” said Phillips. “Getting that first win gives you momentum and takes a bit of pressure off.
“But Fiji are very physical and athletically they are absolute monsters. They are strong and powerful and seem to have a more tactical game now with their driving maul.
“Their scrum is pretty solid, they play in that Super competition (Super Rugby Pacific franchise Fijian Drua provided 19 of the most recent national squad), and they are going to be tough to break down.”
:: Mike Phillips was speaking at S4C’s 2023 Rugby World Cup launch.
Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan will captain Wales in Saturday’s opening World Cup warm-up clash against England at the Principality Stadium.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has yet to announce his World Cup skipper, though, and says each of the preparation games against England home and away, plus South Africa in Cardiff, could have a different player at the helm.
Centre Max Llewellyn, plus props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti will make their Test debuts on Saturday.
And former England prop Henry Thomas, who qualifies for Wales through his father and has been able to switch countries under new World Rugby regulations, is among the replacements along with fellow uncapped forward Taine Plumtree.
Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, meanwhile, will win his 100th cap as Wales step up their World Cup preparations.
Paul O’Connell has no reservations about the possibility of Ross Byrne, Jack Crowley or Ciaran Frawley starting a World Cup match in place of influential Ireland captain Johnny Sexton.
Suspension has ruled fly-half Sexton out of his country’s warm-up matches against Italy, England and Samoa, leaving a trio of inexperienced understudies vying to stake their claim for the role.
Frawley remains uncapped at international level, while his Leinster team-mate Byrne and Munster man Crowley have just four Test starts between them.
Veteran Sexton will complete his three-match ban in time to feature in Ireland’s World Cup opener against Romania on September 9 but he is short of match fitness having not played since March due to injury.
Although forwards coach O’Connell acknowledges the stand-in options are Test rookies, he would back each of them to perform on the biggest stage if required.
“I’d be confident in all of them,” he said, ahead of Saturday’s Dublin clash with Italy.
“One of the strengths we have is that we’ve good clarity on how we’re trying to play the game and the players have to take ownership of that clarity quite a lot.
“You do figure out a guy that’s unsure very, very quickly. But all of our guys know how we want to play.
“They don’t have as much practice at it or as much experience as Johnny has of taking ownership of it but that’s why these few weeks will be great for them.
“We play differently to Munster and to Leinster and the guys that are there but there is a lot of similarities as well so it’s nothing massively new to them.
“They’ve all driven the ship for their provinces in big, big games and done really well. There’s a little bit of a tweak to how we do things and they’ve got to pick that up.”
Sexton’s last competitive action was four and a half months ago when he limped off with a groin issue during Ireland’s Grand Slam-clinching win over England.
The 38-year-old, who has 113 caps for his country, has been training fully with Andy Farrell’s 42-man preliminary squad this summer ahead of his last competition before retirement.
Ireland’s selection is due to be cut to a final 33 on August 28 and O’Connell has urged those who do miss out to not feel too disheartened.
“It’s not all or nothing,” said the 43-year-old, who represented Ireland at four World Cups between 2003 and 2015.
“You hope that by being in here, training with us, training with good players, that players are improving and they’re looking at their opportunity to get a chance, to try to get picked for the World Cup and, if they don’t, that they break in in the future.
“They all want to go to the World Cup for sure, but selection for the World Cup is not an all-or-nothing thing.
“I’m sure plenty of guys are going to be disappointed.
“They’ve their sights set on getting their chances and taking it but I think they’re all going to be better on the back of this pre-season.”
Los Angeles Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp left practice early Tuesday with a hamstring injury, and the team is not sure how long he could be sidelined.
Kupp’s final play of the day came on a route that he ran into the end zone. He appeared to come up slightly lame after finishing the route and walked over to the training staff before leaving the field.
Rams coach Sean McVay didn’t have any updates on Kupp.
“Obviously we’re much better when he’s here, and we hope he’s going to be OK,” McVay said. “If he’s not, we’ll see what happens, but the practice had to go on.”
McVay saw the play where Kupp appeared to injure himself but had no other details.
“He looked like he came up a little bit in a red zone route, and then I just knew they told me he was out of practice,” he said. “I have no more information than that.”
Kupp, 30, has been one of the league’s best receivers, but his season was cut short last year after he suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss the Rams’ final eight games. He still finished with 75 receptions for 812 yards and six touchdowns in nine games.
Kupp won the NFL’s triple crown of receiving in 2021, leading the league in catches (145), yards receiving (1,947) and touchdowns (16).
Sir Chris Hoy won a fifth Olympic gold after Great Britain’s men’s team sprint squad triumphed on a night of high drama at the London Velodrome on this day in 2012.
After Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish were relegated from the team sprint for a takeover infringement and Britain’s men’s team pursuit quartet set a world record, Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny progressed to the final of the three-man, three-lap team sprint in a world record of 42.747 seconds.
The British trio clocked another world record in a stunning finale, finishing in 42.600secs.
In a repeat of the final four years previously in Beijing, France’s Gregory Bauge, Michael D’Almeida and Kevin Sireau had to settle for silver, finishing in 43.013.
Hoy, 36, told BBC One: “It is quite overwhelming. We knew it was possible, this hasn’t come out of the blue. We knew that if we put together our best possible race on the day that it was possible but it’s easier said than done.
“We had the full support of the team behind us and we nailed it.
“That last ride I dug deeper than I have ever dug before. I didn’t want to let the boys down, they have been riding so well today.
“You can’t overstate what it means to us in front of our home crowd.”
Hindes said: “It’s unbelievable, I still can’t believe I am an Olympic champion, it’s a dream come true.”
Kenny added: “I can’t believe how quick we went today.
“Phil went off so quick, we were just swinging over the back of him, trying to keep up.”
Five days later Hoy won gold in the Keirin to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave and become the most successful British Olympian.
Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez became the third pitcher this season to throw a no-hitter, shutting down the Cleveland Guardians in a 2-0 win on Tuesday.
Valdez gave up just one baserunner on a walk in the fifth inning, but still faced the minimum thanks to a double play. He struck out seven and threw 65 of his 93 pitches for strikes.
It was the 16th no-hitter in Astros’ history and the first in the regular season by one pitcher since Justin Verlander against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 1, 2019.
Valdez’ historic outing – the first no-hitter by an Astros lefty- came hours after Houston re-acquired Verlander from the New York Mets.
Valdez joined Domingo German of the New York Yankees, who threw a perfect game at Oakland on June 28, and three pitchers from the Detroit Tigers, who combined for a no-hitter against Toronto on July 8.
Kyle Tucker provided all the offence with a two-run single in the third inning to help the Astros remain one-half game behind the AL West-leading Texas Rangers.
Cleveland has lost four of five while scoring just 10 runs.
Swanson powers Cubs to rout of Reds
Dansby Swanson homered twice and drove in five runs and the Chicago Cubs went deep seven times in a 20-9 drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds.
Mike Tauchman homered and had four RBIs and Jeimer Candelario had four hits in his first game with Chicago since he was re-acquired in a trade with the Washington Nationals on Monday. He made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2016.
Nico Hoener, Miguel Amaya, Cody Bellinger and Patrick Wisdom all homered for Chicago, which tied a modern franchise record with seven home runs, last accomplished on May 17, 1977, against San Diego.
Reds starter Ben Lively was tagged for 13 runs and 13 hits over four innings.
Rays’ Eflin first in AL to 12 wins
Zach Eflin pitched three-hit ball over six scoreless innings to become the American League’s first 12-game winner as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees, 5-2.
Eflin struck out five and did not walk a batter to join Philadelphia’s Taijuan Walker as the only 12-game winners in the majors.
Randy Arozarena hit a two-run homer and Yandy Diaz also went deep as the Rays won their third straight to stay 1 ½ games behind East-leading Baltimore.
The last-place Yankees have lost 14 of 21 and were nearly shut out until Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu had RBI singles in the ninth.
Justin Verlander helped the Houston Astros capture a pair of World Series titles, and the club is hoping he can lead them to another championship.
Verlander was traded to the Astros from the New York Mets in a blockbuster deal hours before MLB’s deadline on Tuesday.
The Mets received two minor league outfielders - 22-year-old Drew Gilbert, Houston’s No. 1-ranked prospect, and 20-year-old Ryan Clifford, who was the Astros’ No. 4 prospect.
Verlander signed a two-year, $86.7million contract with the Mets last December, shortly after earning his second World Series title with Houston and third Cy Young Award.
The 40-year-old has been pitching well lately, going 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA in six July starts, but the Mets have been a major disappointment and are tearing down the most expensive roster in major league history.
Fellow three-time Cy Young Award-winner Max Scherzer, who signed a three-year, $130million deal after the 2021 season, was traded to the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
Hours after that deal was officially announced, Verlander became the 49th pitcher in MLB history to 250 victories.
Of those wins, 61 came while pitching for the Astros – tied with Jim Deshaies for the 15th most in club history.
Verlander was first acquired by Houston during the 2017 season from the Detroit Tigers and helped the Astros to the franchise’s first World Series title later that fall.
During his time with Houston, Verlander made 102 starts and posted a 2.26 ERA – the lowest in franchise history among the 46 players with a minimum of 500 innings pitched for the club.
The Astros have won five of the last six AL West crowns and have reached the AL championship series in each of the last four seasons, but enter August one-half game behind the first-place Texas Rangers.
Blue Jays acquire DeJong after Bichette injures knee
The Toronto Blue Jays moved quickly in finding a replacement for Bo Bichette in the event the All-Star shortstop would’ve been sidelined for a while, trading for the St. Louis Cardinals’ Paul DeJong.
Bichette, the AL leader in batting average (.321) and hits (144), exited Monday’s 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles with a right knee injury.
The extent of Bichette’s injury was uncertain early Tuesday, but after trading for DeJong, it was reported that an MRI on the knee revealed no significant structural damage, and he’s considered day to day.
DeJong was considered the top shortstop on the trade market.
An All-Star in 2019, the 29-year-old is batting .233 with 13 home runs, 11 doubles and 32 RBIs in 81 games.
He is also one of the better fielders at his position, registering a .990 fielding percentage – second only to the Minnesota Twins’ Carlos Correa for the best among all qualifying shortstops.
To complete the trade, the Cardinals are getting 24-year-old pitching prospect Matt Svanson from the Blue Jays.
Phillies get All-Star Lorenzen from Tigers
The Philadelphia Phillies have bolstered their rotation, acquiring right-hander Michael Lorenzen from the Detroit Tigers for 20-year-old infielder Hao-Yu Lee.
Lorenzen, who will become a free agent after this season, was named to his first All-Star team this year, going 5-7 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 18 starts. He has struck out 83 and walked 27 over 105 2/3 innings.
The 31-year-old began his career as a starter for the Cincinnati Reds in 2015 before spending the next six seasons working out of their bullpen.
He signed with the Los Angeles Angels prior to last season and moved back into the starting rotation, going 8-6 with a 4.24 ERA in 18 outings.
He now joins a Phillies team that reached last year’s World Series and is in possession of the NL’s second wild card.
Marlins bolster lineup with sluggers Burger, Bell
The Miami Marlins added two key bats to their lineup at the deadline, acquiring infielder Jake Burger from the Chicago White Sox and first baseman Josh Bell from the Cleveland Guardians.
The Marlins (57-51) find themselves in rare playoff contention but are hoping to improve their 27th-ranked offence that scores 4.09 runs per game.
Burger, 27, is tied for eighth in MLB with 25 home runs this season but is batting just .214 in 88 games. Of Burger’s 63 hits this season, 41 have gone for extra bases.
Bell, who will turn 31 later this month, was a 2019 All-Star but will be playing on his fifth team since 2020.
In the deals, the Marlins sent pitching prospect Jake Eder to Chicago, while Cleveland added infield prospect Khalil Watson. The Guardians also acquired Jean Segura in the deal but are expected to release the veteran infielder.
AL East-leading Orioles add RHP Flaherty
Enjoying their best season in a decade, the Baltimore Orioles fortified their rotation by acquiring right-hander Jack Flaherty from the St. Louis Cardinals for three prospects.
Leading the AL East with a 65-41 record and with a stacked farm system, the Orioles had the chance to be among the most aggressive teams at the deadline but held on to all eight of their prospects ranked by MLB Pipeline in baseball’s top 100.
Flaherty struggled earlier this season but was 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA in five July starts.
Flaherty put together his best season in 2019, when he was 11-8 with a 2.75 ERA and threw nearly 200 innings.
Injuries have derailed Flaherty’s previous three seasons, but he has made 20 starts this year with a 4.43 ERA and 7-6 record.
Padres are buyers; adding Hill, Choi in trade with Pirates
The San Diego Padres are five games out of a playoff spot but are making moves to get back to the postseason.
The Padres acquired veteran left-hander Rich Hill and first baseman Ji Man Choi from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This will be the 13th major league team for the 43-year-old Hill, who is 7-10 with a 4.76 ERA in 22 starts in his 19th MLB season.
Choi, 32, is batting .268 with four home runs and nine RBIs in 14 games since coming off the injured list after missing more than two months due to a left Achilles strain.
San Diego, which reached last season’s NL championship series but must pass five teams in the NL wild-card race, sent Pittsburgh three prospects - headlined by lefty Jackson Wolf.
What was expected to be a match-race between God of Love and Yellowstone, proved their undoing, as both went too fast, too early and it paved the way for the late-running Perfect Brew to snare the 19th running of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) Trophy race at Caymanas Park on Tuesday.
Piloted by reigning champion jockey Dane Dawkins, the Richard Azan-conditioned Perfect Brew closed from well off the pace in the small six-horse field to grab his more fancied rivals close to the wire and in a length and quarter win in the three-year-olds and upward Open Allowance contest over five-and-a-half furlongs (1,100m).
Dawkins, who was enjoying decent form on the day with two winners leading up to the feature event, rode the four-year-old Bern Identity-Moonlight Brew progeny with a great deal of confidence from the off.
Perfect Brew left post position five well and was expectedly urged by Dawkins in an effort to get into stride early, as God of Love (Anthony Allen) and Yellowstone (Tevin Foster) opened up a two or more lengths gap on the field, with Lure of Lucy (Phillip Parchment), being their closest pursuer at that point.
Despite being vigorously ridden by Dawkins, Perfect Brew continued to labour and was in fact, nowhere in sight when God of Love and Yellowstone left the half-mile (800m) and headed towards the homestretch.
By the time the fleet-footed frontrunners straightened, God of Love easily repelled Yellowstone's challenge and looked all over the winner inside the final furlong, but little did they know that Perfect Brew under Dawkins’s left-hand stick, had begun to roll and was rapidly closing the gap with each stride.
Before long, Dawkins and the Azan trainee had them measured and he inevitably swept by on the outside to complete victory in a flat 1:08.0. The splits were 23.0 and 46.2 seconds.
God of Love, stayed on for second, with Yellowstone third and Lure of Lucy, fourth.
While it was Perfect Brew’s second win from seven starts this season, it was Dawkins’s third on the day and 47th of the season, as he moved within 16 of leader Reyan Lewis, who was absent from the programme.
Dawkins earlier won aboard Rejected Raja in the third race for trainer Robert Pearson and also produced a late burst aboard Michael Marlowe’s Blue Persuasion in the fifth race.
Racing continues on Saturday with the running of the Jamaica Oaks Classic race, while the Blueriband Jamaica Derby event will be contested on Monday’s Independence Day card.
After a day of much-needed rest and recovery, Sunshine Girls Head coach Connie Francis is anticipating another solid performance from her team at the Vitality Netball World Cup, when they take on Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday.
The number four-ranked Jamaicans, who have won all four games contested so far at the tournament in Cape Town, South Africa, will be seeking to make it five-in-five, but the number 10-ranked Calypso Girls is not expected to make it easy.
Francis is very much aware of that given their history, so though her Sunshine Girls are enjoying a rich vein of form at present, she is taking steps to guard against complacency.
Jamaica’s most recent victory was a 61-49 scoreline against Uganda, while Trinidad and Tobago will be trying to bounce back from a 28-69 defeat to host South Africa.
The game is scheduled to begin at 9:00am Jamaica time.
“We are still on the right path of going for gold, the coaching staff has been rotating some players to ensure that when the big game comes around, we are able to get the job done. We are more than capable of putting on a good show when it comes to rest and recovery and as I always say, different combination gives you different games, so it was really good to get a day for them to unwind and come again,” Francis told Sportsmax.tv.
With the Jamaicans determined to break a lengthy medal-less drought at the tournament dating back to 2007 when the won the last of their three bronze medals, Francis pointed out that they will also be using tomorrow’s contest to fine tune aspects of their game, ahead of the top of the pool clash with reigning champions New Zealand.
“Our defence continues to hunt balls which is good, so going forward against Trinidad we will have a different combination and then possibly rotate some of our starters in that game just to keep them as fresh as we possibly can so the mind and the body will be aware that we still need to play, especially as we look forward to that game against New Zealand,” Francis said.
“We know they play a very structured type of game, their defensive line up and their attacking line up are both good, but we are confident that all of our players are more than capable of counteracting what they have. So, our focus is really on these games based on how we attack and our all-round defensive effort. We are already playing at a high percentage rate, so we just need to keep that up and really give ourselves a chance for that gold,” she added.
Victory against Trinidad and Tobago will assure the Sunshine Girls of a semi-final spot and by all indications, they will have number one-ranked Australia or number-three ranked England to contend with at that stage.
This is another reason why Francis stressed the need to stay locked in from the start of each game going forward, if they are to reach their ultimate goal.
“When you put fresh legs and fresh combinations in, it kind of keeps the consistency going, so it's important to get other players on court competing, not just seven or eight players. So going up against Trinidad we are confident but not overconfident, as we are focused on our possession game and taking care of the ball.
“So, we are going to send in a combination with some new players, not everybody will play, but it is an opponent to give more players longer playing time on court because we want it to be a case that any combination, we put out there, will be successful,” Francis ended.
Coeur D’or swooped late to claim a head verdict in the featured Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap on day two of the Galway Festival.
Trained by Dermot Weld and ridden by Chris Hayes, Coeur D’or was a winner on his penultimate run at Leopardstown, but he was allowed to go off a 14-1 shot in the handicap highlight.
The 18-runner contest proved typically competitive and it looked as though Dunum was going to take the win two furlongs out, only for No More Porter to battle his way to the front inside the distance.
However, Hayes had launched Coeur D’or down the outside and he grabbed the lead in the shadow of the post to take the prize in a photo, with Dunum a further three-quarters of a length back in third.
Weld said: “He is a very consistent horse, this was the plan and he delivered. He had been running very consistently all year and is a brave horse.
“I was worried about the ground as he is very effective on a slightly quicker surface. A mile is his trip but he was a very immature horse in his early days and took a long time to come to hand but patience paid dividends.
“He has two great owners in Stephen O’Connor and Mark Phelan and I’m delighted for them.”
Sharjah returned to the scene of one of his finest hours to make a seamless transition to fences in the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase.
Winner of the Galway Hurdle in 2018, he has gone on to become a multiple Grade One scorer, triumphing in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting on four occasions.
He has also been second in two Champion Hurdles so had a clear class edge over his rivals, but he was making his debut over fences at the age of 10.
Always handy under Paul Townend, reunited with him for the first time since the 2021 Champion Hurdle, Sharjah jumped soundly throughout and came clear under no pressure to win by 11 lengths as the 1-4 favourite.
Mullins said: “He was very smooth and jumped like he did at home. Every time I schooled him, he always looked very capable and confident over fences and showed that today. If he wasn’t good, we wouldn’t have gone chasing with him, but he was so natural at home and did today what he has done at home.
“In today’s race he was meeting a lot less competition compared to what he had been meeting over hurdles for the past four or five years – none of those horses had ever run in a Grade One hurdle – and he enjoyed it.
“I imagine he’ll stay to winners’ races now and he would get nice ground for the Drinmore.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed Conor Benn is itching to “rip someone’s head off” ahead of a possible return to the ring next month after his suspension for two doping violations was lifted.
Benn’s career was thrown into turmoil last October after he twice tested positive for the banned drug clomifene in the lead-up to a bout against Chris Eubank Jr that was subsequently shelved in fight week.
While he has repeatedly stressed his innocence, Benn faced a potential two-year ban after being formally charged by UK Anti-Doping in April, but the Briton claimed last week he has now been cleared.
UKAD confirmed the provisional suspension had been lifted but included the clause that there was a 21-day window in which it could appeal the decision made by the independent National Anti-Doping Panel.
Hearn admitted the situation has taken a toll on Benn, who according to the Matchroom Boxing chief is ready to take his frustrations out on his next opponent having not fought since April last year.
Hearn said: “I would like him to box in September. He wants to go straight into a big fight but he’s been out the ring for 16 months. (Benn fighting in) September and December will be great but we’ll see.
“He’s ready to rip someone’s head off. When you talk about how low he’s been, there’s some people who are like ‘he deserves it, who cares?’ But what he’s been through would break most men.”
Hearn wants Benn to fight again under the auspices of the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), having relinquished his licence and criticised the governing body’s handling of the matter.
Such a manoeuvre would be halted if the BBBofC decides to appeal the outcome of UKAD’s ruling on Benn, which the body that licenses fighters in Britain said on Monday it was “considering”.
Hearn said: “He has an international licence to box but I would like him to box in the UK. If they (BBBofC) appealed, that would slow down the process. A lot of people will be trying to convince them to (appeal).
“I don’t expect them to, but if they do, we’re here and ready – we’ve done it every day for a year. What’s another month or so? Hopefully we can all move forward.
“Everything that has been asked for Conor Benn, he’s done. I just hope that’s respected. At what point do you say ‘it’s been a year and a half since he’s boxed, how are we going to move forward?’.”
Benn’s positive tests were carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association for the WBC, which cleared the boxer of any wrongdoing in February, pointing to an “elevated consumption of eggs” for the findings.
Hearn said: “You don’t just get cleared, especially not twice as well. One is through the people that controlled the test which is the WBC and VADA – cleared of any wrongdoing which were their words.
“A lot of people were unhappy that he didn’t go through the UKAD and the British Boxing Board of Control route. He did that and UKAD has cleared his suspension and cleared him to box.”
Hearn was speaking to promote Leigh Wood defending his WBA featherweight title against British rival Josh Warrington at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena Sheffield on October 7.
Warrington lost his IBF title in a majority points loss to Luis Alberto Lopez last December in his second defeat in his last four contests – but Hearn is convinced the Leeds fighter remains a danger.
Hearn added: “He looks fresh, he’s motivated and he’s as fit as a fiddle. I’m not saying he’s a favourite in the fight but I don’t think there’s anything in it. It’s a real 50-50 fight.”
Ollie Chessum is in contention to win a place in England’s World Cup squad after making a successful early comeback from the ankle surgery that had jeopardised his tournament hopes.
England feared they had lost their breakout star of the Six Nations after he was ruled out for between five and six months with the injury sustained during preparations to face Ireland in March.
But on Tuesday he took part in a live scrummaging session during training as he closes in on making a complete recovery that should see him named in Steve Borthwick’s 33-strong squad on Monday.
England had made it clear Chessum would not be risked in Saturday’s opening warm-up match against Wales in Cardiff if not fully fit, but would be willing select him for the World Cup on the strength of his performances this year.
“Ollie’s close to a return. He’s done incredibly well and has been so diligent with his rehab. He looks really good,” attack coach Richard Wigglesworth said.
“He’s definitely a great character and I’ve enjoyed working with him over the last few years, but he’s also a top-quality player who we are keen to get fit.
“The medics said that if he’s free of complications then there’s a very good chance of him being ready for the World Cup. He’s had no complications and flew into his rehab.
“I don’t think we’re going to rush someone back from that injury and say ‘you have to play (against Wales)’ – it’s up to us to make a decision on the best 33 on the back of all the evidence we’ve had.
“Ollie has obviously given pretty strong evidence that he’s a top international player when he was fit.”
Chessum won the first of his nine caps under Eddie Jones but it was during the Six Nations that he announced his arrival as a high-calibre Test player through a series of imposing displays in an otherwise-underperforming team.
The 22-year-old can play lock or blindside flanker and made a big impression on Wigglesworth, who played alongside him and coached him at Leicester until leaving to join Borthwick’s coaching team at the end of the season.
“When Ollie’s fit and firing he brings an energy with him that’s infectious and he’s someone who’s just going to get better and better,” Wigglesworth said.
“He’s got a great attitude, great athletic ability and he’s got the mind to be in an England shirt for a long, long time if he keeps progressing the way he wants to.”
Billy Vunipola has also provided a fitness boost as he shows no adverse effects from his recent knee surgery, nudging him closer to regaining his place as England’s number eight.
“Billy looks highly motivated and he’s had a big impact in training, coming back in straight away,” Wigglesworth said.
“He’s shown his class and his form. His training is slightly modified but not much.”
Borthwick will oversee the final selection meeting in Cardiff on Saturday night before telling each player individually on Sunday whether they made the cut for the World Cup.
The date of the announcement means that the Principality Stadium clash will be the final opportunity for players to play their way into the 33.
“We pick a team to try and win a Test match, without a doubt, but it would probably be disingenuous to say we aren’t trying to get a squad ready for the tournament as well,” Wigglesworth said.
“We have to have a squad that is ready to play in France to the best of its ability. Will the same team play four weeks in a row? No, absolutely not. There will be changes throughout the four weeks.”
Jim Crowley has been banned for 20 days and fined £10,000 for his winning ride aboard Hukum in Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
Both Crowley and Rob Hornby, who finished second aboard Westover, were referred to the British Horseracing Authority’s Whip Review Committee following a duel to the line in the midsummer highlight, with Hukum prevailing by a head.
Flat riders are allowed to use their whip six times in a race, with a four-day ban for going one over the limit and seven days for going two over. Crowley used his whip nine times, which incurs a 10-day ban and is doubled for a class one race.
Had Crowley used his whip four times over the limit then Hukum would have been disqualified.
The rider will be banned August 15-21 and August 23 – September 4, meaning he misses the Ebor meeting at York, where he was due to ride runaway Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner Mostahdaf in the Juddmonte International. He also received the substantial fine due to the class and value of the race.
On Monday the whip rules were tweaked once more by the BHA following a six-month review period and while the changes would not have affected Crowley’s punishment due to the severity of his offence, Hornby has benefitted from the revisions.
He used his whip once above the permitted level, but given he has had more than 200 rides in Britain since his last whip offence, his initial ban was cut to two days. However, that is then doubled due to the calibre of race, meaning he will be out of action for four days (August 15-18 inclusive).
Had the rules not been changed 24 hours previously, Hornby would have had an eight-day suspension imposed.
Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton, Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield and Charlotte Hornets forward Kai Jones have committed to play for their native Bahamas in upcoming Olympic qualifying action.
All four are on the roster for Bahamas for its Olympic qualifier in Santiago de Estero, Argentina, from Aug. 14-20.
Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Uruguay and the U.S. Virgin Islands are also participating in hopes of qualifying for a spot in the 2024 Paris Games.
Bahamas must win this tournament to qualify for another Olympic qualifier next summer.
Bahamas has never competed in the Olympics in men’s basketball.
This Bahamian team is projected to be the strongest the country has ever had. Bahamas is coached by Golden State Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco.
The full roster is as follows:
Deandre Ayton, Dominick Bridgewater, Jaraun Burrows, Garvin Clarke, Kadeem Coleby, Rashad Davis, Buddy Hield, Sammy Hunter, Kai Jones, Danrad Knowles, Lourawls Nairn, Willis Mackey Jr, Franco Miller, Travis Munnings, Kentwan Smith, David Nesbitt, AJ Storr, Mychel Thompson
Tom Marquand executed a perfect front-running ride aboard Quickthorn to win the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup.
Trained by Hughie Morrison, Marquand had adopted very similar tactics last season in the Lonsdale Cup at York when beating the reopposing Coltrane by 14 lengths.
Quickthorn had failed to quite match that level of performance since, but did return to winning ways last time out back at York in a Listed race and the form was subsequently franked when the second, Israr, won a Group Two next time out.
Marquand stole a few lengths early and then once again on the brow of the hill, when the field might expect to start making ground, but the jockey ensured there was no let up in the pace.
At one stage he was around 20 lengths clear but Oisin Murphy on Coltrane, who was leading the pack, seemed content in where he was with half a mile to go.
The riders of Eldar Eldarov, Giavellotto, Emily Dickinson and Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami all suddenly realised Quickthorn was not stopping, but the victor had a decisive lead.
Quickthorn won by six lengths from Emily Dickinson, who prevailed in a photo for second with Coltrane, with Eldar Eldarov a further short head back in fourth.
Frankie Dettori opened his account at this year’s Qatar Goodwood Festival as Kinross gained a second success in the World Pool Lennox Stakes.
It was a case of experience prevailing over youth as the six-year-old Kinross pulled clear with the three-year-old Isaac Shelby.
Having won the race in 2021 and finished second 12 months ago, seven furlongs with cut in the ground are the ideal conditions for Ralph Beckett’s Kinross.
When the split came up the inside, Dettori took advantage as Audience weakened but Isaac Shelby still looked a danger.
Despite a 6lb pull at the weights, Isaac Shelby, runner-up in the French Guineas, could not quite do enough and the 10-11 favourite began to pull away at the line to win by a neck.
Dettori said: “He tries, he loves the ground and loves the track. I think seven (furlongs) is his best but he can do six and a mile. He’s my ATM machine!
“From the Prix de la Foret he might go to somewhere else, maybe Doncaster and I think Marc (Chan, owner) is keen to run him in Hong Kong. I promised I’ll go.”
Beckett said: “We’ve never had one like him. He’s spent most of the last 48 hours with his left fore in a bucket because he trod on a stone, he’s got very thin soles and he feels every pin prick. He should have won it last year really, he got trapped in and got there too late.
“What a horse to train, he’s a joy to train.
“We’ll take the same route again with him and try to dance every dance. Santa Anita again and in between he might go to York for the City Of York and Doncaster for the Park Stakes. I hope he’ll go to Longchamp for the Foret and the sprint at Ascot.
“We’ll dance every dance again – he’s a gelding, he’s got to dance every dance.”
Of a possible Hong Kong challenge, Beckett added: “There is an idea that might happen, we might have to duck one of the races here to ensure he gets there – it’s a good problem to have.
“He needs no work, he’s very clean winded and you really don’t have to gallop him at all. He is very easy to train but he wasn’t initially, he didn’t get his act together until he won the Hyde Stakes but once he’s in a groove, he stays in that groove and you don’t have to do anything to keep him that way.”
Should Kinross line up in the Foret at ParisLongchamp in the autumn, he could well clash again with Isaac Shelby.
His trainer Brian Meehan said: “I am disappointed he got beat but pleased he got that close to showing himself to be a genuine Group One horse, which I’m sure he is.
“I’m where I want to be with him and he will only get better.
“I shall talk to the owners and see what they want to do and they will ask the same about me.
“But the ground has never been a factor. Sean was very happy and I guess the cutaway helped Kinross somewhat.
“The Foret is the obvious race for him, but let’s see.”
Paul O’Connell believes suspended Ireland captain Johnny Sexton will be concerned about his lack of game time ahead of his World Cup swansong.
Fly-half Sexton, who is set to retire following the tournament in France, will miss each of his country’s warm-up matches after being hit with a three-match ban for misconduct.
The 38-year-old has not played competitively since March, having been forced off by a groin injury in the final match of the Guinness Six Nations against England.
Forwards coach O’Connell insists Sexton’s extended absence is not a major worry for Ireland’s management team but concedes his former team-mate is likely to feel uneasy about the situation.
“Whenever he’s come back from injuries (previously), he rarely needs a lot of games to get back up and running,” said O’Connell.
“It’s a real strength of his. He’s trained since the start of pre-season pretty much, he hasn’t missed a training session.
“He seems to watch an awful lot of rugby, he thinks a lot about rugby, so I think that kind of helps him hit the ground running when he comes back.
“(But) I’d say it’s a worry for him, you know. He wants to finish playing really, really well, and I’d say he’d love to have a few more games under his belt.
“It is what it is. It’s not something I’m worried about.”
Ireland face Italy, England and Samoa this month before beginning their World Cup campaign on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.
Sexton’s prolonged spell on the sidelines – in the wake of his behaviour following Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup final defeat by La Rochelle on May 20 – has opened the door for rival number 10s Ross Byrne, Jack Crowley and Ciaran Frawley.
O’Connell says the opportunity for the three understudies is a significant “silver lining” of the undesirable circumstances.
“They’re all playing for places – Johnny’s selection allows those guys to own it a little bit,” said the 43-year former lock, who represented Ireland at four World Cups.
“It puts us in a good position heading into the World Cup because those guys get to accumulate more experience; not just of playing on the big day, but of owning it and running the week, driving some of the detail as well.
“Johnny’s suspension is unfortunate for us. But there’s a real good silver lining for us as well.”
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