Archive November 8, 2025

McLaren’s Lando Norris took pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix hours after extending his championship lead with victory in the sprint.

The Briton shrugged off an error on his first lap that left him down in 10th place going into the final runs to secure pole position by 0.174 seconds from Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

Norris’ team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri, fastest on the first laps in the top 10 shootout, could manage only fourth behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Norris had it all to do after locking his front brakes going into the first corner on his first run in the shootout.

Piastri crashed out of third place in the sprint earlier in the day to fall nine points behind Norris in the championship but he nailed his first lap to go fastest from Leclerc.

But Norris has looked the man to beat all weekend and he delivered an impressive lap on his final run, under intense pressure, to beat his team-mate by 0.375secs.

“I felt good. I was under a bit of pressure because I locked up on my first lap so a little bit more stressful than I would have liked but stayed cool and very happy,” said Norris.

“Locking up into Turn One puts unnecessary pressure on myself but when I’m in a good rhythm, when I can out it all together, I’ll be on top.”

Antonelli, who pushed Norris all the way in the sprint, has been the lead Mercedes driver all weekend.

Verstappen was already struggling for pace in the sprint and Red Bull made changes to his car for the grand prix qualifying in the hope of finding more grip.

But they backfired and he was already fearing the worst after his first lap, when he said to his engineer: “The car and ride is a tiny bit better but now sliding even more.”

But he failed to improve on his final run and he suffered his first Q1 elimination since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.

“It’s not what you want see,” Verstappen said. “The whole weekend has been already quite tough.

When England trudged off the field at Headingley, disappointment hung in the air for several reasons.

Not only because of the 30-8 defeat on the day and the 3-0 series loss to Australia, but for the fact that this might be the last time England play in front of a home crowd until 2027.

England do not have a home Test booked in for 2026, before next year’s World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea. They will then play New Zealand in a three-match series, starting 23 months from now.

With Super League expanding to a 14-team competition next term, a mid-season Test fixture, removed from the calendar in 2025, appears unlikely.

It is a shame, given that this Ashes series – the first since 2003 – has proved a huge draw.

A total of 132,418 fans attended the three games, including more than 60,000 at Wembley and 50,000-plus at Hill Dickinson Stadium. One suspects Headingley – the 19,500-seater venue for the final Test – could have sold out at least twice over.

So given its popularity, what chance the Ashes become a regular event?

There is a tour of Australia planned for 2028, and BBC Sport understands it would be an England team who travel rather than Great Britain. The series is likely to happen, but details have not yet been confirmed.

Australia are keen to play England again – and not just because of the glow that comes with a 3-0 series win.

Peter V’landys, chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, told BBC Sport after the first Test: “It’s a high priority for us to make the international game a higher profile and put the pride back in.

After the final match, Australia coach Kevin Walters and his captain Isaah Yeo said they wanted another Ashes series soon.

“Some of the Australian press have been saying it is walk in the park,” Walters said. “But come over and walk with them. It’s great Test football.

“It’s difficult to win games and be at your best all the time. England didn’t let us. We have to learn from that and get better next time.

“We have great respect for England. They play a different type of football here. The Ashes needs to continue on a regular basis for us to both get better as national teams.”

“Twenty-two years has been too long,” added Yeo. “With all the growth in the international space, you don’t want to lose that. The history around that… it needs to be a regular fixture.”

Certainly, Australia have thrown themselves into the touring spirit. As well as winning on the pitch, they defeated England in the PR battle.

England did not do Captain’s Runs – training sessions led by the captain the day before games, a tradition in rugby series – while Australia did. Their session at Wembley coincided with pop star Jon Bon Jovi visiting to promote his upcoming tour, allowing for a great photo opportunity.

After wrapping up the series at Everton’s ground, the Aussies went for a Halloween night out in Liverpool. They visited Edinburgh and had a dip in the North Sea before the third Test, and trained in Leeds – the venue for the game – while England holed up the other side of the Pennines at a camp in Wigan.

Before and after matches, fans queued for pictures with the Australian stars. Nathan Cleary and Reece Walsh were especially popular.

As galling as it is to lose three games on home soil, this was an experience England needed before the World Cup. You cannot be among the world’s best unless you take on the world’s best.

There are certain factors that England will always struggle to overcome. Rugby league is a minority sport here, with 11 times more people playing it in Australia, where the popularity and exposure means far greater funding is on offer.

But there is also a mental block. Did England, who never led at any point during the three games of the series, ever really believe they could beat Australia?

England had better average completion and made more passes than Australia in the opening two games – but come the final whistle in game three, the Kangaroos had won by an aggregate score of 70-18 and scored 11 tries to two.

They showed their ability in flashes across all three games, and their performances improved as the series went on. But failure to take their chances, a hesitant attacking style – carry the ball to 10 metres out, then hope for the best – and regular individual errors in defence cost them dear.

And structural issues are also at play. Super League teams already play more domestic matches than those in Australia’s National Rugby League, and that is before the English league expands in 2026. And the games played in Australia, through the play-off system and hugely significant State of Origin matches, are generally of much higher quality.

“What happens commercially with Super League is out my hands, but the amount of and intensity of games we get is a problem,” said England coach Shaun Wane. “We will play 10 more games and then are expected to kill it at the World Cup next year.

“I need to have a conversation in the next few weeks about the direction we are going in, how to have these players prepare for World Cup next year.”

Wane, despite chants from the Leeds crowd that he will be “sacked in the morning”, says he is “absolutely” the man to lead England into the World Cup, so therefore is likely to be the man who must figure out how they beat Australia.

Norwich City have sacked head coach Liam Manning following a seventh successive home defeat, which has left them second bottom of the Championship.

The 40-year-old was appointed in June, having guided Bristol City to the play-offs last season, but lasted just 17 games in charge.

His final match in charge was Saturday’s 2-1 loss against Leicester City. They have not won in 11 and have lost eight in a row at home in league and cup.

“We have tried absolutely everything possible to work through this incredibly challenging period but, unfortunately, given the recent run of results and performances, we have been left with no choice other than to make a change at this stage,” said sporting director Ben Knapper.

“Liam and his staff worked tirelessly to move our football club forward. They are all fundamentally good people and we wish them the very best in whatever comes next.”

There were protests outside Carrow Road following Saturday’s game, with fans also calling for Knapper to leave the club.

Knapper added: “We very much understand the frustration and criticism from our supporters at this stage. So far, results and performances on the pitch haven’t been good enough.

“We accept that responsibility, but it’s now imperative that we start to repair the relationship with our supporters and do everything we can to give them something to get behind.”

Manning leaves Norwich 23rd in the table, the Canaries having lost 10 of their 15 Championship games under him, including a 3-1 defeat at Ipswich, their first loss in an East Anglia derby for 16 years.

Manning was recruited after Norwich decided not to give the job to former England midfielder Jack Wilshere, who was in interim charge for the final two games of last season and is now manager at Luton Town.

Manning was born in Norwich and played in their academy before switching briefly to Ipswich and then dropping into non-league football.

He began his coaching career with Belgian club Lommel and had spells in charge at MK Dons and Oxford United before joining Bristol City in November 2023.

The Norwich squad was transformed by 12 signings during the summer transfer window, but the club sold Borja Sainz, who supplied 18 goals last season, to Porto for £14.25m, and Marcelino Nunez to rivals Ipswich for £10m.

United States international Josh Sargent scored six goals in five league and cup games at the start of the campaign but has none in the past 11 – and no-one else has managed more than Mathias Kvistgaarden and Jovon Makama’s three.

In his final post-match interview with BBC Radio Norfolk, Manning – who was recently given the public backing of majority shareholder Mark Attanasio – said: “I don’t live my life with regrets, it’s part of my journey.

“I’m learning, I’m hurting, I’m frustrated and I’m hugely disappointed, because this is a club I care deeply about.

“I didn’t come here to be where we are. But we are, so I will do a lot of learning as to why.”

Head coach Shaun Wane says there is “no question” he is the right man to lead England into the 2026 World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea despite his side falling to a 3-0 Ashes Test series defeat.

Wane, 61, took the England job in 2020 after succeeding Wayne Bennett and led them to a World Cup semi-final in 2022 where they suffered an agonising golden-point defeat by Samoa.

Since then, series wins over Tonga and Samoa have followed – the former Wigan boss has won 14 of his 19 matches in charge.

But his position has been scrutinised by sections of the English media and some fans during the course of the Ashes series, with world champions Australia winning at Wembley, Hill Dickinson Stadium and AMT Headingley.

When asked directly whether he should stay at the helm, Wane told BBC Sport: “Absolutely. No question about that.”

In a post-match media conference later, he was asked if he believed he was the right man to take England into the World Cup, and said: “I don’t believe – I know I am. The only people I want [the backing of] are the players and staff and I know I have that.

“Talks aren’t planned yet but they will be planned. We’ll do a report on the series and what we think we need to make it better. We’re all going in the same direction.

“I need to have a conversation with the RFL in the next few weeks about the direction we’re going in. I’ll make recommendations to give us a chance to have these players prepared for a World Cup and we’ll take it from there.”

Wane’s detractors will point to three unforced changes to England’s spine after their first Test defeat by Australia at Wembley and a lack of penetration in attack.

Without Victor Radley, England have lacked a ball-playing 13 – and while performances did improve once they reverted to a halves combination of Harry Smith and George Williams, and Morgan Smithies was brought in, to some extent Wane began the series in a no-win situation.

His omission of Super League’s Man of Steel winner Jake Connor raised eyebrows before a ball had been kicked and Mikey Lewis’ limited role in the second Test also proved an unwelcome talking point.

However, there is unanimous support for Wane among his players, captain George Williams explained.

“No doubt at all. We all believe in him 100%,” said Williams..

“What we’ve built in this series has been really good and Shaun is definitely the right man. As players, we’re just looking at ourselves really. We really believed we could do something special in this series and it’s 3-0, which is a bit embarrassing.”

Earlier in the week, Hull KR hooker Jez Litten said he “loved” playing under Wane, while St Helens prop Matty Lees also gave him a firm endorsement.

Shaun Wane’s defiance about his position as England head coach comes from a lifetime of fighting against the odds – whether turning his life around as a troubled teen to become a professional rugby league player or now battling to stay in an England job which has always been his ultimate goal.

That steely determination has made him a success at most things he has turned his hand to – whether winning all the major honours with Wigan, leading England to Test series victories over Tonga and Samoa, or public speaking to corporate audiences away from the sport.

So a 3-0 loss to Australia is unfamiliar territory. His side carried all the hallmarks of a Wane team – tough, spirited and full of heart. But they were unable to execute effectively against the world’s number one international side.

He found England a new gear and motivation after they got their World Cup semi-final against Samoa wrong three years ago, putting the loss to one side with back-to-back series wins.

Wane would back himself to do so again, but falling short in three games against Australia requires an immediate response with a World Cup on the horizon.

His critics will point to a stubbornness around selection. Where was Jake Connor? Why was Mikey Lewis used so sparingly?

Is Wane to blame for a lack of creativity after a total of two tries in the series? Is that a gameplan issue, or a wider Super League problem relating to breaking down the best defences?

In response, he can point to players who have shown their mettle at the elite level, given England went into this series unbeaten in five Tests.

Wane also pertinently points out that, before the players were released to him for this series, he had no on-field sessions with them in 2025. That is a league scheduling issue.

Those involved in Wane’s squad have spoken glowingly of his camps, the preparation and his nurturing of the players. Despite the losses, they feel progress has been made under the head coach.

And there was tangible game-by-game improvement through the series, despite the three defeats. So England clearly benefited from facing the best.

Australia sharpen their tools throughout the year with State of Origin and high-intensity NRL fixtures. Super League’s need for longer seasons to fulfil broadcaster requirements and generate club incomes comes at a cost to wider quality. More blowouts, fewer intense games and bigger workloads in terms of minutes.

Wane said before the third Test that he had not had conversations about his future yet. He will submit a report into the series, highlighting concerns over preparation and game time for his squad.