Sport

Borthwick ‘bitterly disappointed’ by latest Six Nations setback against Ireland
Posted on Saturday February 21, 2026

‘Given the opposition too many points,’ says head coach‘We have let everyone down,’ admits Ellis GengeSteve Borthwick says England have only themselves to blame for their steep decline in this season’s Six Nations. After his side’s record humbling by Ireland on Saturday, Borthwick said his side are being punished for their poor starts to games and are leaving themselves “a mountain to climb” against quality opposition.This was England’s worst Six Nations defeat since they lost 53-10 at home to France in 2023 and Borthwick said he was “bitterly disappointed” with his team’s latest sub-par first-half showing. “Unfortunately, for two weeks now, we have given the opposition too many points and we have not got scoreboard presence. We will be looking closely at that and how I set the team up to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Continue reading...

Heartbreak for Team GB as Canada take men’s curling gold on last stone
Posted on Saturday February 21, 2026

Great Britain 6-9 CanadaMouat’s side take silver after falling short in last endThe cruel truth is that sometimes the silvers you win are more like golds you lost. After four years of thinking about this Olympics, and 11 days of competing in this Olympics, there is no doubt about how Bruce Mouat and his three teammates will weigh their achievement here after they were beaten by Canada 9-6 in the final. It was an excruciatingly tense game, which twisted and turned on its way to the very final stone of the 10th end. And when it was over, two of the British players were left in tears. Great Britain’s fourth medal of these Olympics was more bitter than sweet.“I’m heartbroken,” said Grant Hardie. “We lost that final four years ago. It took us a long time to get over it and find the motivation to go again and we found it and we were so hungry to go and deliver this time, and unfortunately it just didn’t quite happen.” His cousin Hammy McMillan felt the same way. “It took me four years to get over the first silver,” he said, “so it will probably take a lot longer this time.” Continue reading...

O’Reilly doubles up as Manchester City sink Newcastle to keep up title chase
Posted on Saturday February 21, 2026

Manchester City are timing their title run-in perfectly, to give Pep Guardiola a fine chance of a seventh title in a decade and to break Arsenal’s hearts yet again.For fans of each team squeaky posterior time is officially entered. For the neutral the final 11 matches for City and the Gunners promise to be a cannot-miss spectacle. Continue reading...

Chelsea’s Fofana and Burnley’s Hannibal abused by online racists
Posted on Saturday February 21, 2026

Fofana’s first of two bookings was for fouling HannibalBurnley: ‘There is no place for this in our society’Hannibal Mejbri and Wesley Fofana have both been racially abused on Instagram in the wake of the former’s Burnley side drawing 1-1 at Chelsea after the latter was sent off.Hannibal, who was fouled for the first of the two yellow cards that led to Fofana’s dismissal, posted the abuse he had received via a direct message on Instagram and wrote: “It’s 2026 and there still ppl like that … Educate yourself and your kids pls.” Fofana likewise posted the abuse he received. Continue reading...

Government’s response to Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban was ‘clumsy’, say MPs
Posted on Sunday February 22, 2026

Select committee says ‘late’ decision to overturn exclusion of fans ‘did little more than inflame tensions’The government’s response to West Midlands police’s ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was “clumsy”, “late” and “did little more than inflame tensions”, a group of MPs has found.A report by the home affairs select committee, published on Sunday, analysed the original decision to ban away fans from a Europa League fixture with Aston Villa in November, as well as the advice that led to it. Continue reading...

Russell inspires Scotland to thrilling Six Nations comeback win against Wales
Posted on Saturday February 21, 2026

Wales 23-26 ScotlandFinn Russell scores 11 points in second-half turnaroundScotland pulled off a dramatic comeback win against Wales to back up their impressive Calcutta Cup success the previous week. Hosts Wales had the lead until the 74th minute thanks to a spark lit by the wing Josh Adams, leaving the visitors with a feeling that they were lucky to come away with five points, which sent them to the top of the Six Nations table.This was just the third time Scotland have won the match directly after a victory over rivals England in the Six Nations and their second-half resurgence came at the hands of their maverick Finn Russell. Who else could it have been? The fly-half is one of the best in the world and has been the architect of Scotland’s biggest victories over the last few years. He was largely quiet in the first 40 minutes, such was Wales’s impressive start, but two fast-paced tries either scored or created by Russell set Scotland on the comeback path. Continue reading...

All change at Spurs again and Igor Tudor has a relegation battle on his hands | Jonathan Wilson
Posted on Saturday February 21, 2026

Tottenham have rolled the dice and an injury-ravaged side’s anxiety may only get worse as West Ham close the gapWhen did the reality dawn? Perhaps it was towards the end of the first half of West Ham’s game at Chelsea at the end of January with the away side leading 2-0. Or perhaps it was when West Ham took the lead against Manchester United 10 days later. As it turned out, West Ham won neither fixture; had they done so they would have had five points more and so been level with Tottenham going into this weekend. And then Tottenham’s proximity to relegation could not have been denied.West Ham’s revival means this isn’t like last season, when a win at Ipswich at the end of February took Tottenham to 33 points and as good as confirmed their continued presence in the Premier League, allowing Ange Postecoglou to focus on Europe. Were Spurs to pull off something extremely unlikely and beat Arsenal on Sunday, they would move to 32 and, for all the glee their fans would feel, nobody would feel secure. Continue reading...

NFL receiver Rondale Moore dies at age of 25: ‘Way too soon. Way too special’
Posted on Sunday February 22, 2026

Former coach says player was ‘complete joy’Teammates pay tribute after Moore’s deathNFL wide receiver Rondale Moore died on Saturday at the age of 25, his former college coach, Jeff Brohm, has confirmed.“Rondale Moore was a complete joy to coach,” Brohm, who worked with Moore at Purdue, said in a statement. “The ultimate competitor that wouldn’t back down from any challenge. Rondale had a work ethic unmatched by anyone. A great teammate that would come through in any situation. We all loved Rondale, we loved his smile and competitive edge that always wanted to please everyone he came in contact with. We offer all of our thoughts and prayers to Rondale and his family, we love him very much.”In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...