George Williams and Ash Handley both helped themselves to hat-tricks as England scored 11 tries in an overwhelming 64-0 win over feeble France in Warrington.
Home favourite Williams marked his debut as captain with a dominant display, playing the crucial ball in all three of Handley’s efforts, while the Leeds winger returned the favour in a scintillating two-man show.
Danny Walker scored twice, while Jake Wardle, Kai Pearce-Paul and Harry Smith also crossed and Smith added 18 points with the boot, as Shaun Wane’s new-look side oozed potential ahead of a much tougher test against Tonga in the autumn.
Williams, Pearce-Paul and Jack Welsby were the only survivors from November’s World Cup semi-final heartbreak to feature in Wane’s 18-man squad as the England coach sets his sights firmly on the build-up to the 2025 World Cup in France.
Of his raft of debutants, Wigan duo Morgan Smithies and Ethan Havard also shone, but France, beaten 42-18 by England in the second round of the World Cup in November, were dreadful, singularly failing to threaten the England line and seldom mustering a move into their attacking half.
England took less than five minutes to get their assault under way when a neat kick by Williams, the lynchpin of Warrington’s remarkable Super League resurgence this season, sent Handley scampering over in the right corner.
Williams sparked the move that led to England’s second, spraying the ball out to Jake Wardle, who, showing no ill-effects from an earlier challenge from Paul Marcon that sent the pair spiralling through the advertising boards on to the concrete concourse, neatly switched inside to send Smith clear.
Smithies’ short pass sent Walker in for his first after 25 minutes, then Walker’s pinpoint 40-20 set up Welsby, reverting to his favoured full-back role in the absence of World Cup captain Sam Tomkins, to send Wardle over on the left.
Welsby proved pivotal once again five minutes before the break when he burst through the flat-footed French rearguard and sent the always-ready Williams over under the posts.
Williams’ looping ball out wide found Handley, who cut inside Marcon to touch down for his second, and the other side of the interval the Leeds man returned the favour by pouncing into space on the right flank and feeding Williams the simplest of opportunities.
As France wilted England stepped up the pace, Handley grasping a Williams kick in the corner then Pearce-Paul barging clear, again prompted by Williams carving open the opposing defence.
Williams completed his hat-trick after a break down the flank by Handley, then Walker went over for his second, Williams duly stepping up to take over kicking duties and wrap up a thoroughly convincing victory.
Max Verstappen accused Formula One bosses of creating “artificial excitement” and ordered them to “scrap” the new sprint schedule.
F1 has revamped the weekend format in Baku by introducing two qualifying sessions. One on Friday, which decided the order for Sunday’s Grand Prix, and a second shorter qualifying session to make up the grid for Saturday’s sprint race, which was won by Sergio Perez.
The sport’s chiefs believe the revamp will enliven a race weekend and appeal to their younger audience. Practice has been reduced from three hours to just one to make way for more on-track action.
Verstappen has already threatened to quit F1 if the sprint calendar – set at six events this season – is expanded.
And pressed for his assessment of the new format, the double world champion, who finished third on Saturday, said: “It is terrible. Just scrap the whole thing.
“It is hectic. It is not proper racing. It is more like gambling. I will have more success in Las Vegas when I go to the casino.
“I like racing. I am a pure racer but this is more for the show. Of course, it is important to have entertainment but if all the cars are closer you create better entertainment.
“That is what we have to try and aim for and not to implement this artificial excitement.
“It feels like a football match when one team is winning 3-0 and then suddenly you just reset it to 0-0. I find it unnecessary.”
The changes, which gained support from the grid’s 10 teams following a unanimous vote on Tuesday, will apply to the five other sprint rounds in Austria, Belgium, Qatar, Austin and Brazil this year. A regular grand prix weekend will remain as it is.
Verstappen, who holds a 13-point lead in the championship, continued: “I got bored in qualifying [on Saturday] to be honest. I like to have one qualifying where you put everything in it.
“I did that yesterday which I enjoyed and then we had to do it again today and I was like ‘my God another qualifying’. I just don’t enjoy that.”
Marlie Packer believes England can sell out Twickenham before the 2025 World Cup final after the Grand Slam was completed in front of a crowd of 58,498.
France were edged 38-33 in a riveting Tik Tok Women’s Six Nations title decider that set a new record attendance for a women’s game, surpassing the previous highest of 42,579.
The Rugby Football Union has targeted a full house for the World Cup final when it hosts the tournament in two years’ time, but Packer believes that on the evidence of Saturday that goal could arrive earlier.
“For me as a Red Rose, I want to sell out Twickenham,” said England’s captain after the first standalone women’s match to be staged at Twickenham.
“I believe we can do it and I believe we can do it before 2025 for the World Cup final. Look at today – we weren’t a curtain raiser, it was all about us.
“The other nations are closing the gap and getting professional contracts, so the quality of the games is getting better and not just England v France games.
“Everything is on the rise so more tickets will be sold and more stadiums will sell out.”
While Packer sees the possibilities at Twickenham, the Saracens openside is keen for England to continue their policy of playing at Premiership grounds.
“When we take the Red Roses on the road, we get fans in from all over the country. We’re a brand and we want to keep selling our brand,” Packer said.
“Yes it would be great to play at Twickenham every time and that in itself will come in time, but we need to keep building our fanbase.”
England led 33-0 at half-time but France hit back with five tries in a tense finish.
“We had done enough in the first-half and we took our points in the second-half to finish off the game,” Packer said.
“But we’ll look back at this game to see what we need to work on in the second-half. We got the victory and that’s what we came here to do today.”
France captain Audrey Forlani admitted her side failed to do themselves justice as they slipped to a 33-0 interval deficit.
“In the first-half, that is not a true reflection of our team,” Forlani said.
“If you look at the second-half, that is our real team. We need to keep working and keep that second half in mind.”
Max Verstappen called George Russell a “d***head” following their sprint race collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Sergio Perez raced past pole-sitter Charles Leclerc to win in Baku, with Verstappen third and Russell fourth. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh.
Verstappen vented his anger at Russell following an altercation on the opening lap which left him with a hole in the side of his Red Bull.
Verstappen confronted Russell immediately after the race and in full glare of the television cameras.
Russell, still with his crash helmet on, protested his innocence to the double world champion.
“I didn’t do it on purpose, mate,” he said. “I had no grip. I just locked up.”
Verstappen replied: “Mate, we all have no grip, we all need to leave a little bit of space.”
Russell started walking away from Verstappen before adding: “Watch the onboard (camera).”
Verstappen answered: “Yeah, sure. Well expect next time the same. D***head.”
Verstappen had been in an agitated mood throughout Saturday’s 17-lap dash following the early altercation. He started third but had Russell for company at the first corner.
Verstappen kept ahead before Russell sensed his next opportunity at the second bend.
Russell then nudged Verstappen under braking before carrying the momentum through to turn three to move ahead of his Red Bull rival.
“He tapped me,” yelled Verstappen, who grazed the wall. “That’s how he got the position, report it.”
Moments later, the Red Bull driver was back on the radio. “Did he really drive into the side of me? I don’t get how he can damage my car and keep the position. I find it ridiculous,” he said.
A safety car – deployed when Yuki Tsunoda lost a tyre after he smashed into the wall – came in at the end of lap five and Verstappen made short work of taking third back from Russell when he flew underneath the Mercedes driver at turn one.
Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase congratulated his driver. “Without contact as well,” he said. “Nicely done.”
“Yes, I know how to do that,” replied Verstappen. A series of bleeped-out expletives followed.
Verstappen, who in the past has had numerous collisions with Russell’s Mercedes team-mate Hamilton, then carried his anger over to the post-race press conference.
“I did leave him (Russell) enough room,” said the Dutchman. “He got through the corner without hitting the inside barrier, but apparently it is hard not to hit a Red Bull car for them.” Them being Mercedes.
The coming together between Verstappen and Russell was not investigated by the stewards.
“I’m here to fight, I’m here to win and I’m not just going to wave him by because he is Max Verstappen in a Red Bull,” said Russell.
“When he came over to me I thought he was coming to say ‘good battle, nice fight’. I was very surprised at how angry he was.
“From my side, his position was already lost. Ever since eight-year olds in go-karts, if you are on the inside at the apex of a corner then it’s your corner. If a driver is trying to resist a position on the outside they are taking a huge risk.
“On lap one, on a street circuit, I was really quite shocked that he was trying to hold the position.”
Verstappen’s championship lead was reduced from 15 points to 13 after team-mate Perez cruised past Leclerc on the eighth lap before cantering to the flag.
For Sunday’s 51-lap Grand Prix, Leclerc starts on pole position, with Verstappen alongside him on the front row.
Hamilton, who on Saturday started sixth and then dropped a position after he was passed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, starts fifth on the grid.
England women’s head coach Stuart Barrow expressed surprise at his side’s thumping 64-0 win over France in their mid-season international in Warrington.
Leah Burke crossed four times and Tara-Jane Stanley touched down and also kicked 16 points with the boot as Barrow’s team ran in 12 tries to start his reign in style.
England had beaten the French 36-10 at the same venue in a World Cup warm-up last June and Barrow believes the clinical manner of their performance offers plenty of encouragement for the future.
“I don’t think we came here today expecting that kind of result,” said Barrow. “We had a process and the players executed it really well, but as always there were things we can still improve upon.”
England currently have no further fixtures planned, and conjuring quality northern hemisphere opposition remains a problem, with Wales or France again the extent of their realistic options for a prospective autumn international.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t think we could bridge the gap (to Australia and New Zealand) and obviously having more competitive matches is going to help with that,” added Barrow.
“We’ve got a really good group of players and an increasing number of young players knocking on the door.”
St Helens star Burke said she relished the opportunity to put an England shirt back on for the first time since the disappointing World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand in November.
And with team-mates Georgia Roche and Hollie-Mae Dodd having recently become the first English players to land professional deals in Australia’s NRLW, Burke believes the domestic game is on the brink of a bright new era.
“It was tough losing to New Zealand because deep down we knew we could beat them, but we took some time away and I think the way we played today showed how hard we’ve been working,” added Burke.
“The women’s game is growing massively all the time and there are no backward steps. It just keeps pushing forward and the size of the crowd today was a reflection on where we are.”
Leah Burke scored four tries as England women marked their first appearance since last year’s World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand with an emphatic 64-0 win over France in Warrington.
Australia-bound Hollie-Mae Dodd added a double while Tara-Jane Stanley scored a try and kicked eight out of 12 conversions in a one-sided start to life under new head coach Stuart Barrow.
The French, who exited the World Cup with three straight defeats, scarcely summoned any resistance as Shona Hoyle, Tamzin Renouf, Eboni Partington, Sinead Peach and Amy Hardcastle also scored to take England’s total try tally to 12.
Dodd, whose quickfire double extended England’s lead early in the second half, and Leeds Rhinos’ Georgia Roche made history as the first professional players to represent their country having recently inked deals in Australia’s NRLW.
They can expect much sterner tests ahead with the tone for the match set when Manon Samarra fumbled the kick-off and Roche sent Burke scampering over for the opener.
With the hosts’ incisive passing cutting apart the French defence, Burke picked up a neat pass from Stanley to cross for her second before the 10-minute mark.
England were making yards at will and Hoyle burst out of the front row to twist through the reluctant French rearguard and score England’s third midway through the first period.
The hosts switched flanks with Renouf and Partington both squeezing in on the right before Stanley went over, taking her personal first-half tally to 10 with a 50 per cent successful conversion rate.
Dodd touched down for a double early in the second period, sandwiching a neat kick from Stanley that teed up Burke to complete her hat-trick, and two more Stanley conversions took England’s tally to 46.
York captain Peach, recalled to the squad after being controversially omitted for the World Cup by Barrow’s predecessor Craig Richards, marked her return with England’s 10th try before Burke completed her personal tally.
Hardcastle, one of the stand-out performers of the World Cup campaign, crossed for England’s 12th and final try, serving up Stanley to take her own personal points tally to 20 with the final conversion of the day.
Sergio Perez blasted his way past Charles Leclerc to win the sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Perez started second before moving ahead of Leclerc on lap eight of 17 in Baku to take the chequered flag 4.4 seconds clear.
Max Verstappen finished third, one spot ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell. Lewis Hamilton started sixth and finished seventh.
Perez’s win reduced the deficit to Verstappen in the driver’s standings from 15 points to 13 ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Leclerc claimed his second pole position of the weekend earlier on Saturday and started the 17-lap dash with a smart getaway to keep Perez at bay.
Verstappen was third on the grid, but had a fast-starting Russell for company at the first corner.
The reigning champion managed to keep ahead before Russell sensed another opportunity at the second bend.
Russell nudged Verstappen before carrying the momentum on the charge to Turn 3 to move ahead of his Red Bull rival. Cue an irate Verstappen.
“He tapped me,” yelled Verstappen. “That’s how he got the position, report it.”
Moments after Russell barged his way past Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda was on three wheels after he banged into the wall.
Tsunoda’s right rear tyre fell off his AlphaTauri and bounced along the asphalt before resting in the middle of the track. The virtual safety car was deployed and then upgraded to a full safety car with debris from Tsunoda’s wounded machine also littering the circuit.
Tsunoda stopped for new rubber and was sent back on his way. But the Japanese driver’s car was undriveable.
The FIA took a dim view of AlphTauri’s decision to send Tsunoda back on to the track, with the governing body investigating the accident.
Back to Verstappen and the double world champion’s mood did not improve when he was told he had sustained floor damage in the clash with Russell.
Verstappen was back on the radio, saying: “Did he really drive into the side of me? I don’t get how he can damage my car and keep the position. I find it ridiculous”.
In came the safety car at the end of lap five and Verstappen made short work of taking third back from Russell as he flew underneath the British driver’s Mercedes at Turn 1.
Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase was on the radio to congratulate his driver. “Without contact as well, nicely done,” he said.
“Yes, I know how to do that,” replied Verstappen before he continued his rant with a series of bleeped-out expletives.
Hamilton was dicing with Carlos Sainz for fifth but the Ferrari man held firm. Hamilton ran out of room and Fernando Alonso snuck past, dropping the Briton to seventh.
Perez was starting to draw Leclerc in, and at the start of the eighth lap he breezed past his Ferrari rival on the 220mph drag to the first corner before cantering to the flag.
England completed the Grand Slam with a 38-33 victory over France but were saved by the bell in front of a world record 58,498 crowd at Twickenham.
Initially rising to the occasion of setting a new highest attendance for the women’s game, surpassing the 42,579 seen for last autumn’s World Cup final in Auckland, the Red Roses ran amok to build a 33-0 interval lead.
A fifth successive TikTok Women’s Six Nations looked certain but France were reborn for a second half they dominated 33-5 only to run out of time as England collapsed in dramatic fashion.
It remained a triumphant send-off for outgoing England head coach Simon Middleton with the strongest rivalry in the Championship producing another compelling instalment.
France were the last side to beat England in the Six Nations five years ago and they started the game like they finished it, although without the rewards.
It took resolute defending including an important penalty won on the ground by Hannah Botterman to deny them early on, but the pressure was halted when England pounced against the run of play.
Footwork and power swept Helena Rowland through the midfield before quick ball gave Abby Dow sight of the line with the right wing’s pace doing the rest.
Rowland’s centre partner Tatyana Heard was the next to swat away blue shirts and when she was eventually halted, Marlie Packer used her strength to crash over.
France’s defence was creaking and fly-half Jessy Tremouliere was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, ushering in a damaging spell that saw Alex Matthews cross and a penalty try awarded against Rose Bernadou.
Bernadou followed Tremouliere into the sin-bin and England continued to canter seemingly out of sight as Zoe Aldcroft touched down.
However, having regrouped at half-time, France full-back Emilie Boulard went over in the 48th minute through slick attacking play and when Gabrielle Vernier produced a smart dummy and sidestep before speeding over, the Red Roses’ nerves began to fray.
They settled when Lark Davies dived over once England’s pack had reasserted itself but the visitors continued to fight with tries by Charlotte Escudero, Emeline Gros and Cyrielle Banet falling narrowly short of the target needed.
Mark Allen won three of the final four frames to stay within one of Mark Selby in their scrappy World Championship semi-final.
Former champion Stephen Hendry accused the pair of casting a “dark cloud” over the Crucible with their attritional play during a second session on Friday that was halted three frames early.
Although it was hardly thrilling stuff, they at least managed eight frames in the opening session on Saturday, with Selby turning his 7-6 lead into an 11-10 advantage to set up a tense evening decider.
The morning belonged to Selby, with the four-time former champion opening up a 10-7 lead thanks to breaks of 63, 112 and 53.
But, despite the clear water, he still did not look comfortable and some loose play helped Allen pull back to 10-9, with Selby missing a blue in the 19th frame while attempting to force a re-spotted black.
He extended the gap to two in convincing fashion but it is Allen, bidding to reach his first World Championship final, who has a modicum of momentum after finishing the session with a break of 92.
Manu Tuilagi will be available for England selection after the World Cup after it was announced he has signed a new one-year contract with Sale.
Tuilagi has ended speculation that he could join the exodus of Red Rose stars heading for the Top 14 in France by extending his stay at the Sharks, the club he joined from Leicester in 2020.
The news that he will remain in the Gallagher Premiership has been confirmed on the same day that Courtney Lawes committed his future to Northampton, giving England head coach Steve Borthwick a double boost.
A Rugby Football Union rule means that players based overseas are unavailable for international selection.
Tuilagi’s time in Manchester has been marred by significant hamstring and Achilles injuries, but the powerful centre of Samoan origin remains an influential figure at Sale.
“My family and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to stay up north for another year,” Tuilagi said.
“It was an easy decision. I love coming to work every day and I couldn’t ask for a better environment on and off the pitch.
“We’re so tight as a group, which is why I think we’ve had such a good run this season. There couldn’t be a better time to be a Shark.”
Tuilagi won his 51st cap during the recent Six Nations and has also made a Test appearance for the Lions in 2013.
“This deal says so much about this club and what we’re building, but it says more about Manu the man,” Sale boss Alex Sanderson said.
“It says so much about what really matters to him and that’s rare in professional sports people.
“Manu is really happy here but I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to stay. For us and for Manu and his family, I think it’s the right decision.
“Manu has been part of winning squads with Leicester and England and this environment is the one he seems to be enjoying and thriving in the most.”
England international Courtney Lawes has signed a new contract with Gallagher Premiership club Northampton.
The 34-year-old forward has endured an injury-hit season, greatly limiting his opportunities for club and country.
Lawes last played Test rugby during the 2022 summer tour to Australia, when he captained England.
Saints have not specified the length of deal, but it is understood to run until the end of next season.
He will now prolong his stay at Franklin’s Gardens, having first featured for Northampton in 2007 and gone on to make 263 appearances, and it comes as another boost for the English game following Manu Tuilagi signing fresh terms with Sale.
“The club means a lot to me personally, and I wanted to stay here,” Lawes said.
“I especially didn’t want to leave at the end of a season where I have not played much, and I have not made as big a contribution as I would have wanted.
“It wouldn’t have felt right to me to leave now, so I was really keen to continue at Saints for that reason, but also because it’s so important for us as a squad to continue to build on what we’ve done over the last few seasons.”
Lawes made his England debut 14 years ago and also toured twice with the British and Irish Lions – to New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa four years later – making five Test appearances.
Northampton rugby director Phil Dowson added: “Courtney is an incredible player – one of the very best in the world, whether he is playing in the second-row or at flanker.
“His international experience with England and the Lions is almost unparalleled, but off the field he gives our group so much in terms of confidence and leadership.
“I am sure a lot of clubs over in France and Japan would have been keen to see Courtney turn out for them for the next few years.
“I know our supporters will be thrilled that he has decided to stay in Northampton and remain a one-club man, as he’s one of the best to have ever worn the black, green and gold.”
Charles Leclerc will start today’s sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position.
A day after he raced to the top spot in qualifying for Sunday’s main event, Leclerc was fastest again to put his Ferrari at the front for the 17-lap dash in Baku on Saturday evening.
Leclerc broke his front wing after thudding into the wall during his final run but the Monegasque’s first effort in Q3 was fast enough for him to take the spoils.
He qualified 0.147 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez with Max Verstappen third.
George Russell qualified fourth, two places ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the other Mercedes. Carlos Sainz, who was held up behind team-mate Leclerc following his accident, finished fifth.
Lando Norris made it through to Q3 but under the rules he was unable to take part because he did not have a set of new soft tyres available – an error by his McLaren team. He will start in 10th place.
“I tried to push again and I lost it in Turn 5, but it doesn’t have any consequence on qualifying,” said Leclerc following his accident.
“But I was very happy with the first lap and now we have to convert that into the race.
“We will go for it. We need to be realistic and we have been on the back foot in the race behind the Red Bulls so far this year, but hopefully we will have a good surprise.
“Ferrari needs to be on top and I will give absolutely everything to win.”
Formula One bosses have changed the format in Baku by introducing two qualifying sessions.
Friday’s result decided the order for Sunday’s Grand Prix, with Saturday’s second shorter qualifying session determining the grid for the first of six sprint events this season which takes place at 17:30 local time today (14:30 BST).
Earlier, Q1 ended prematurely after Logan Sargeant put his Williams in the wall. The rookie American lost control of his machine at Turn 15 before slamming into the barrier.
Sargeant sustained significant damage to the right rear of his Williams in the accident, with his mechanics now facing a race against time to fix his car for the sprint race.
Sargeant pointed the finger of blame at Sainz. “The Ferrari was in the middle of the road,” he yelled over the radio.
Alex Albon impressed to qualify seventh for Williams, one place ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Points are rewarded for the top eight in the sprint, with the outcome of today’s race having no bearing on tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
Joe Schmidt was appointed as Ireland head coach on this day in 2013.
The New Zealander, who had guided Leinster to back-to-back Heineken Cup titles in 2011 and 2012, signed a three-year contract as he succeeded Declan Kidney.
Earlier in the month, Kidney had been relieved of his role after a poor Six Nations campaign, in which Ireland finished fifth – a worst championship performance since 1999.
Schmidt was set to officially begin work on July 1 with Les Kiss, Ireland’s attack coach under Kidney, overseeing the summer tour to the United States and Canada.
“When I came to Leinster in 2010 I didn’t really want to be a head coach, but I have really enjoyed the experience since,” Schmidt said.
“I am really motivated by the challenge and this is a super, but intimidating one. If you are going to find out what you can bring to a group, what better way than to take on one of the big jobs in world rugby.
“I have had a good look at a lot of Ireland’s players and, when we get our collective together, we will try to improve performance and make us as competitive as possible.”
Schmidt subsequently took charge of Ireland after Leinster had won both the Challenge Cup and PRO12. He remained in the job until the end of the 2019 World Cup campaign.
Under Schmidt’s guidance, Ireland claimed three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2018, and beat New Zealand in Chicago in 2016 – their first ever victory over the All Blacks – then again in Dublin two years later.
The last match of Schmidt’s tenure was a 46-14 quarter-final defeat to New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Stephen Dobbie was left heartbroken after Blackpool’s 3-2 defeat to Millwall at Bloomfield Road confirmed their relegation from the Championship.
Millwall striker Tom Bradshaw scored a fine brace, including a brilliantly worked team goal after just two minutes, either side of Jerry Yates’ penalty for the hosts.
Lewis Fiorini then went from hero to zero for Blackpool after a wonderfully taken goal from outside the box levelled the scores after 67 minutes, only for him to bring down Duncan Watmore for a Millwall penalty eight minutes later which Zian Flemming duly tucked away.
That proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Seasiders and ended their two-year stay in the Championship in the process, something interim manager Dobbie admitted was tough to take.
He said: “Of course we’re hurting, we’re all hurting after that – it’s disappointing because we didn’t really pick it up in the second half.
“I let the lads know at half-time, they’d done OK in the first half, but I felt I needed to remind them just what was at stake.
“It was tough to lose out to a penalty so late in the game, for them to eventually win it like that was a big blow, but overall I just can’t fault any of the lads tonight.
“They were fantastic, just as they have been ever since I took over.
“They’ve been quite unbelievable for me and I’ve really enjoyed it, but I suppose it’s the learning aspect now for the club.
“It’s going to be an interesting summer, there will probably be a turnover of the squad, but that’s for later.
“We’ve still got one game to play, and we owe it to everyone to give it our everything again and we’ve got to give it our all for the fans.”
As is so often the case in sport, the agony felt by those wearing orange was mirrored by pure ecstasy from the travelling Millwall supporters, who now sense a genuine chance at the Championship play-offs.
Victory lifted them up to fifth, and if results go their way they could be guaranteed a spot in the top six before their clash with fellow play-off chasers Blackburn at The Den next Monday.
For manager Gary Rowett though, it was all about getting through the night, something he stressed was difficult against a stubborn Blackpool team.
“I thought we just about handled the game tonight,” he said.
“We knew we’d have to work hard to get a result here tonight against a tough Blackpool side.
“There’s no easy way to get over the line, though. We’ve seen huge clubs like Norwich, West Brom and Watford struggle at different stages this season, so for us to be where we are is testament to all our players.
“I’ve got a real honest bunch of lads here – they always showed a real bit of fight, and that’s what you need.
“We produced some great finishes too, some real quality and I thought we looked really composed.
“We were not necessarily in control, because Blackpool are a decent side, but we got through a bit of adversity.
“We’ll have to see what happens tomorrow now, this puts us in a good position, but we still might need a win next week to make sure of the top six.”
Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare in the opening match of his Madrid Open title defence as he came from behind to beat Emil Ruusuvuori.
The defending champion, who defeated Alexander Zverev in last year's final, was twice broken in the opening set by Ruusuvuori but responded well to prevail 2-6 6-4 6-2.
Alcaraz hit 36 winners to his opponent's 23 to reach the last 32, where Grigor Dimitrov awaits after defeating Gregoire Barrere 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2).
"It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. "It was really tough. Emil played unbelievably, but I am really happy to get through that."
There was a shock result elsewhere as third seed Casper Ruud lost 6-3 6-4 to Matteo Arnaldi, who had never previously claimed victory over a top-10 opponent.
Arnaldi previously eliminated Benoit Paire and will now take on Jaume Munar – the Spaniard advancing after Tallon Griekspoor retired when a set behind in their second-round tie.
Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev continued his good form on the clay courts with a 7-5 6-4 win against Stan Wawrinka.
Elena Rybakina made a second-round exit from the Madrid Open as a difficult start to the clay campaign continued for the Australian Open runner-up and Indian Wells champion.
After abandoning a last-16 clash with Beatriz Haddad Maia last week in Stuttgart due to a back injury, this time Rybakina lasted the distance against Anna Kalinskaya but suffered a 7-5 4-6 6-2 defeat. She had benefitted from a first-round bye but was found wanting on Friday.
World number 60 Kalinskaya got the better of the seventh-ranked Rybakina in two hours and 13 minutes, avenging a defeat at the same stage in Miami last month to her fellow Moscow-born player.
Iga Swiatek made no such mistake in her opening match, after also receiving a first-round bye, with the world number one posting a 6-3 6-2 win over Austria's Julia Grabher.
Swiatek led by an early break in the second set but was broken back; however, she was soon back in the ascendancy and made sure of a place in the last-32 stage of a tournament she elected to miss last year due to a minor injury.
Third seed Jessica Pegula was tested by Poland's Magdalena Frech, but the American came through 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in an hour and 41 minutes. Pegula was runner-up to Ons Jabeur in last year's final.
Pegula's fellow US player, Alycia Parks, continued to catch the eye as the 22-year-old ousted 15th seed Victoria Azarenka, defeating the former world number one 6-2 7-6 (7-5).
Parks, who has rocketed from 150th in the rankings last November to 40th place on that list, now holds a 4-1 career winning record against opponents ranked inside the WTA's top 20.
Former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, seeded 11th, was tested by Danka Kovinic before powering through a deciding set to win 6-3 4-6 6-0 against the Montenegrin.
Eugenie Bouchard, meanwhile, was no match for Martina Trevisan, with the Italian running out a 6-2 7-5 winner from a clash with Canada's former Wimbledon runner-up.
Anastasia Potapova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova and Bernarda Pera were among other seeded winners as the last-32 line-up took shape, but 25th seed Jil Teichmann was beaten, going down 3-6 6-2 6-4 to Lesia Tsurenko.
Jamie Smith’s unbeaten half-century helped Surrey edge into control on a gripping second day of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division One clash at Edgbaston.
Warwickshire were bowled out for 150, but the champions were subsequently reduced to 99 for four in reply before Smith ensured his side reclaim the upper hand, adding 44 with Ben Foakes, 32 with Cameron Steel and 35 with Jordan Clark.
Smith will resume day three unbeaten on 57 with Surrey 211 for eight and leading by 61 runs.
Tim Murtagh dismissed England opener Zak Crawley for a golden duck and just missed out on a hat-trick on a day of clattering wickets between Middlesex and Kent at Lord’s.
Kent were all out for 186 in the morning session, Ben Compton top-scoring with 52 as Murtagh and Ethan Bamber finished with four wickets apiece, but Middlesex were soon in trouble as they slumped to 90 for six.
Ryan Higgins (71) rescued the hosts with his fourth half-century of the season, helping Middlesex to 229 for a lead of 43, before Murtagh was quickly back amongst the wickets as Kent came out for their second knock.
Murtagh, who turns 42 in August, dismissed Crawley and Daniel Bell-Drummond off the first two balls of the innings before forcing Jack Leaning to defend the hat-trick delivery.
Leaning would end up finishing the day unbeaten on 19, alongside the prolific Compton (15no) as Kent closed on 40 for two, still trailing by three runs.
In Division Two, Brydon Carse gave the England selectors a nudge ahead of the Ashes by scoring his maiden first-class century and taking three wickets to put dominant Durham firmly on course for victory against Derbyshire at the Riverside.
Carse began the day needing 23 runs to reach three figures and rocketed through the gears to secure his hundred from 113 balls before Durham declared soon after on 452 for nine, with the paceman unbeaten on 108.
The home side then ran through the Derbyshire line-up as Matthew Potts and Ben Raine reduced the visitors to six for four. Luis Reece top-scored with 56, but his team were made to follow-on after being skittled for 165.
Derbyshire soon found themselves in further trouble as they crashed to 92 for five at the close, still trailing by 195,
At Bristol, a trademark defensive masterclass from captain Cheteshwar Pujara batted Sussex into a promising position against Gloucestershire.
After a delayed start at 1.50pm due to a saturated outfield, the visitors took their first-innings total from 47 for one to 302 for four, India Test star Pujara leading the way with 99 not out, while Tom Alsop contributed 67 and James Coles a career-best 74.
Leicestershire put the pressure on Glamorgan at the Uptonsteel County Ground as England bowler Rehan Ahmed and Australian Ashes hopeful Peter Handscomb both narrowly missed out on centuries.
Ahmed (90) and Handscomb (95) shared a partnership of 177 for the sixth wicket as Leicestershire made 407 after being sent into bat.
Glamorgan skipper David Lloyd was then dismissed for a duck before Eddie Byrom and Marnus Labuschagne fought back with a second-wicket partnership of 124, but they closed the day still 94 runs short of avoiding the follow-on at 164 for five.
British driver Abbi Pulling has been disqualified from both qualifying sessions on the inaugural weekend of the all-female F1 Academy series after initially topping both at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.
Lincolnshire’s Pulling looked to have secured the championship’s two maiden pole positions after laying down an emphatic marker on Friday, but a subsequent inspection found an “unintentional technical infringement” related to “non-homologated parts” on all three Rodin Carlin team cars.
The new single-seater championship features a 15-woman grid from 10 countries competing for five professional teams over seven rounds, each with three races – the second in a semi-reverse grid format.
Alpine academy driver Pulling, 20, was also a standout in W Series, where she finished fourth in her first full season on a grid that also included Marta Garcia, who inherits the two pole positions in Spielberg.
While it is easy to draw comparisons between W Series – on hiatus since financial difficulties forced organisers to curtail the 2022 season – and the F1 Academy, Pulling’s fellow W Series alumna Bianca Bustamante, 18, marked several significant differences.
All of the teams with F1 Academy entries – which also include Campos Racing, PREMA, MP Motorsport and ART Grand Prix – have well-established experience elsewhere in F2 and F3, desired destinations for Academy drivers.
That is massive for PREMA’s Bustamante, who explained: “One of the greatest things about it is you get to work with such professional teams. And I think that makes the most difference.
“I’ve only started to work with PREMA for about two to three months and I’ve learned so much.
“This opportunity would have never come about if it weren’t for the Academy. To be able to work with such a professional team, to learn with the best drivers and to get the track time.
“It makes the most difference, because now we learn all the good habits. We learn what it’s like to be at the top of the sport and competing with the best teams, the best drivers, overall the best bits.”
F1 Academy’s triple-race weekends also allow for considerably more track time which was a long-standing request from W Series drivers who competed in just one per round.
The Academy season’s venues include grand prix tracks like the Netherlands’ Zandvoort and Italy’s Monza, designed to prepare drivers for career next steps.
The team element also differs in facilitating more consistent relationships with engineers and other key personnel, while W Series rotated engineers of varying experience as part of its own development mission.
Bustamante said: “To have that consistency right from the beginning in your junior years is one of the most important things.”
Organisers of the development-focused competition hope it will provide a critical stepping-stone between karting and other junior categories to F1 feeder series like F3, with the long-term goal of one day seeing a woman back in F1.
Pulling and Philippines-born Bustamante are among the many female drivers who have faced considerable challenges funding their careers, an issue F1 hopes to mitigate by subsidising each car – a T421 Chassis developed specifically for the Academy – with 150,000 euros (£131,600).
Drivers are expected to cover the same amount, while teams provide the rest of the budget.
The series faced early criticism after it was revealed races would not be broadcast live, but instead delivered later in the form of highlights packages, complemented by what organisers promised would be extensive live content on social media.
But the PA news agency understands there are ambitions for future live broadcasts, with the Academy set to join select F1 grands prix as part of next season’s support series.
Having the weight of the increasingly-recognisable F1 brand behind the new all-female venture is also an unprecedented step for the sport, one the drivers feel is significant.
“It makes a huge difference,” added Bustamante. “To have F1’s support means a big change to the sport. We went from not having many female drivers to having our own series.
“F1 has given us that exposure. They’ve allowed us to have a platform where we can expose our vision, our aspirations, and to have a voice.”
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen expects Toulouse to take his team on physically in Saturday’s clash of the Heineken Champions Cup heavyweights.
Four-time European champions Leinster tackle a club with a record five European titles under their belt.
And the semi-final clash at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will be one of the tournament’s classic encounters if it lives up to its billing.
“(They have) a big physical pack,” Cullen told www.epcrugby.com.
“I think they will be very direct when they have the ball, confrontational.
“They kick the ball a fair amount. I know Toulouse’s reputation is free-flowing, off-loading rugby, but I think they will be pretty pragmatic, particularly at the start of the game.
“As the game starts to open up then they will start to move the ball around and you see a lot of their points come late in games.
“I think they will try to take us on physically, which is good because that is what we want as well, a good physical challenge for our guys.
“You want to test yourself against the best teams out there. It’s a great challenge. They have great quality.
“You can’t switch off for a second with some of the players that they have – game-changing players.”
Leinster beat Toulouse comfortably in last season’s semi-finals to secure their place in the showpiece, where they narrowly lost to La Rochelle.
And it is going to require another huge effort in Leinster’s quest for an Aviva Stadium return on May 20, when the winners will face holders La Rochelle or sole English survivors Exeter, who clash in Bordeaux on Sunday.
Cullen added: “Last year, they (Toulouse) had played 100 minutes (against Munster in the quarter-finals) and travelled.
“I heard some of their comments this week about that, how they got things wrong around some of the selections leading into that game, or that sequence of games.
“You need to be prepared to deal with whatever comes your way on any given day.”
Leinster will be without Ireland international centre Robbie Henshaw through injury, so Charlie Ngatai partners Garry Ringrose in midfield.
“We wanted to be the top seeds, we wanted to make sure we did everything to be here at the Aviva, and now we are,” Cullen said.
“We are here, which is great, and it is a real privilege and honour to be here at this point in the tournament.”
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