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Wigan Warriors and Wakefield Trinity were both comfortable winners in the Challenge Cup third round, with two other Super League teams – Bradford Bulls and Catalans Dragons – also going through.

The Warriors scored 15 tries to beat the hapless Rochdale Hornets 83-0, while Trinity ran in one fewer in a 82-6 mauling of the Swinton Lions.

The Bulls secured their first win under new coach Kurt Haggerty, defeating London Broncos 26-8 at Plough Lane, and the Dragons scored 10 tries in a 56-4 demolition of Batley Bulldogs.

Goole Vikings, who were only formed in 2018, defeated fellow Championship side Halifax Panthers 18-14 at The Shay.

Zach Eckersley scored four tries and Jake Wardle three as the Warriors, last year’s Super League runners-up, easily despatched the Hornets.

Wakefield showed no mercy in their victory either, with Max Jowitt, Matthew Storton and Josh Rourke sharing seven tries between them against the Lions.

Batley were overwhelmed by Catalans, conceding within the first 17 seconds before the visitors ran in a further nine tries.

Elsewhere, Oldham easily defeated Dewsbury Rams 46-0 and Keighley Cougars edged a low-scoring encounter against Midlands Hurricanes 18-14.

The draw for the fourth round will take place on Monday, 9 February, with live coverage on BBC Radio Manchester from 18:40 GMT.

Men’s T20 World Cup, Group B, Colombo

Sri Lanka 163-6 (20 overs): Kusal Mendis 56* (43); Dockrell 2-17

Ireland 143 all out (19.5 overs): Tector 40 (34); Theekshana 3-23

Sri Lanka won by 20 runs

Ireland could not overcome a host of errors in the field as they fell 20 runs short of Sri Lanka to lose their T20 World Cup opener.

Having failed to win a game at this tournament two years ago and having never beaten Sri Lanka, Ireland got the desired return from their spinners as the co-hosts were restricted to 104-4 after 16 overs.

George Dockrell was the pick of their bowlers and took the wicket of opener Pathum Nissanka for 24 thanks to a fine catch from skipper Paul Stirling.

The rest of Ireland’s work in the field was not nearly as exemplary, however, with five drops, four of them in the final four overs as Sri Lanka tacked on a further 59 runs, making the chase all the tougher.

With Ireland winning the toss and electing to bowl, it was an early test of how the side’s spinners would adjust not only to the conditions but superior opposition

Through a three-match series with Italy and two against the UAE in their preparations, Heinrich Malan’s side eventually settled upon a bowling attack missing the out-of-sorts Josh Little.

A change facilitated by the bowling renaissance of Dockrell, the decision to leave out Ireland’s most dangerous quick was vindicated as the spinners stymied Sri Lanka in the middle overs.

Dockrell led the way with figures of 2-17, ably assisted by Gareth Delany whose one wicket came at the cost of 24 runs. With Sri Lanka 50-1 after the powerplay, eight consecutive overs of spin held them to just 87-4.

Having hit Barry McCarthy’s final delivery of the powerplay for four, the co-hosts would not find another boundary until Kamindu Mendis brought up his side’s 100 in the 16th over.

With Sri Lanka having finally seen the back of Delany and Dockrell, the partnership of Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Mendis were belatedly able to accelerate ahead, although they were helped in no small part by Irish errors in the field.

There were three drops in the space of four deliveries off Matthew Humphreys, who will feel his figures of 0-44 should come with an asterisk.

While Ross Adair always felt the most likely to open the batting with Stirling, there was still a decision to be made between the 31-year-old and Tim Tector coming into this tournament.

After averaging 14 across the five warm-ups at the top of the order, Ireland’s faith in the man who hit a T20 century against South Africa in 2024 again appeared wholly justified when, despite some less than aesthetic moments, he quickly motored to 34 thanks to five fours and a six.

But, after contributing two of those five drops in Sri Lanka’s innings, Adair had another moment to forget when taking a wild heave at the bowling of a hobbling Hasaranga and having his stumps uprooted.

Without the thump of Adair and Stirling, who was earlier out for six after facing 13 balls, Ireland relied upon the running of Lorcan Tucker and Tector to keep the game in the balance.

The required run-rate was always on the rise though and, as Ireland tried to find the accelerator, miscues followed in their attempts to find the boundaries.

By the time Maheesh Theekshana accounted for Ben Caltiz and Delany with consecutive deliveries, Ireland required 44 from the final 20 balls and never looked primed to chase down the tally.

Saracens ran in 13 tries in an 81-0 thrashing of Leicester Tigers to keep up the pressure on Gloucester-Hartpury at the top of the Premiership Women’s table.

Gloucester-Hartpury have won all nine of their matches to lead the way but Saracens are just five points back after an eighth win of the season.

England World Cup winner Jess Breach scored four tries in a typically clinical display while Zoe Harrison kicked seven conversions.

Leicester have one point from nine games and have now conceded 554 points in a winless campaign.

In Sunday’s second match, Harlequins and Exeter Chiefs played out a dramatic 38-38 draw.

Exeter were 35-21 up with half an hour to go but the home side rallied to salvage a remarkable draw when replacement Lagi Tuima scored a try in the 86th minute.

Three Exeter players were yellow-carded in the last minute, and Harlequins had the chance to win it but Claudia Pena’s conversion was wide.

Antrim’s woes in Division 1B of the National Hurling League continued with a 3-21 to 0-20 defeat by Kildare in Newbridge.

Three goals in the space of nine second half minutes including two from man of the match Muiris Curtin saw the Lilywhites build an insurmountable lead as they claimed their first win of the campaign with Antrim now empty-handed from three games.

Down are also without a victory as they endured a long after noon against Clare in Ennis with the Banner men romping to a 3-35 to 0-15 win.

Antrim’s trip to Newbridge began brightly, but soon unravelled as they fell apart early in the second half against Kildare.

Seaan Elliott pointed an early free and Ruairi Donaghy – one of four late changes for the Saffrons – found his range before Jack Sheridan put the hosts on the board.

This score helped settle Kildare who began to get into a flow, yet it was an even start to the game with the sides level at 0-4 apiece after 15 minutes.

Points from Antrim’s Ryan McCambridge and Conal Cunning were cancelled out by Muiris Curtin and a monster score from Paul Dolan, and while James McNaughton restored the Antrim advantage in the 19th minute, it was the last time they would lead.

Kildare began to punish Antrim mistakes as they rattled off four on the spin with three of those from Sheridan and while Elliott and Cunning brought Antrim to within one, Kildare rallied with the next three including one from Cathal Dowling to ensure all six starting forwards were on the board.

Antrim did find a response late in the half with Elliott pointing either side of one from Kildare’s Daire Guerin who punished yet another slack pass from the visitors and it was the hosts leading 0-14 to 0-11 at the break.

Points from Cathal McCabe and Sheridan extended the gap early in the second period before Kildare hit their first goal in the 40th minute as Curtin gathered a long delivery from Sheridan and popped substitute James Dolan in to blast home.

Eight minutes later, Curtin required no assistance as he leapt to gather high, turned and fired an unstoppable shot past Domhnall Nugent and after Ryan McCambridge hit back with an Antrim point, Curtin took a pass from Cathal Dowling and this time blasted low to push the gap out to 13.

In reality, that was that as Antrim never looked like finding a way back into it as they were relying on pointed frees from Elliott for the most part with Eoin O’Neill the only other to contribute on the board in the final 20 minutes.

Elliott would finish with 11 to his name with all but one from the placed ball as Antrim hit the 20-point mark for the first time since last year’s league win over Laois, but this was little consolation as Kildare kept their visitors at arm’s length in the closing stages.

Despite a bright start in Ennis, Down were overpowered by the 2024 All-Ireland champions who ran out 29-point winners.

This was a first meeting between the counties in 15 years and Clare were not in a charitable mood against Ronan Sheehan’s side despite resting Tony Kelly and Shane O’Donnell, as newcomers Senan Dunford, Diarmuid Stritch and Niall O’Farrell make the most of their chance to impress with 10 points between them.

The sides were level at 0-4 apiece with Down’s top scorer Pearse Og McCrickard landing two of his side’s scores, but Clare completely took over from then on with the next nine points on the spin.

Jack Kirwin began and ended the sequence with Mark Rodgers on target from frees and while McCrickard broke the run, Clare would hit another nine points before the interval to lead 0-22 to 0-7 with Shane Meehan and Cathal Malone prominent.

Down did rally a little after the break as they matched Clare in the third quarter with the sides scoring five points apiece as Paul Sheehan and Cahal Coleman scored off the bench for the Ulster side.

Clare would find another gear in the final 15 minutes, however, as the Banner finkished with a flourish.

When Arsenal made Olivia Smith the first £1m player player in the history of women’s football, they did not think they were signing a striker.

The 21-year-old Canadian had earned a reputation as a busy right-sided winger, the kind that hugs the sideline and takes pleasure in turning full-backs inside out.

The fee raised eyebrows in some quarters – after all, Chloe Kelly had seemingly made the right flank spot her own during last season’s triumphant Champions League campaign.

What could Smith offer that she – or Beth Mead – could not? As simple as it seems, the answer may well be versatility.

Smith played the unfamiliar role of number nine against runaway Women’s Super League leaders Manchester City on Sunday, but looked right at home as she scored the only goal in a 1-0 win.

With three goals in her past four league games, Smith is one of the most in-form players in the WSL.

“I’ll play wherever I need to be. I was running at the back line, stretching them, runs in behind and trying to get finishes on goal,” Smith told Sky Sports.

Arsenal exploited City’s high defensive line – and lack of pace the back – by playing through passes either side of central defenders Rebecca Knaak and Jade Rose.

Smith beat Knaak to a Mariona Caldentey pass before rounding Ayaka Yamashita and slotting into the empty net, but originally that job was not meant to be her’s.

Stina Blackstenius picked up a calf issue during the week, forcing manager Renee Slegers to find an alternative solution.

“We have been successful with Stina [Blackstenius] in the nine, she is so good with her physicality and speed,” said Slegers.

“She wasn’t available, so we wanted similar qualities even though Olivia and Stina are very different players. Liv [Smith] had two-and-a-half training sessions in the nine position.

“[There was] a lot of meetings with coaches, giving her the details without putting too much information in her head so she could play on intuition, because that is when she is really good.

“She picked up the role brilliantly, the goal was exactly what we wanted.”

Of course, opponents rarely employ defensive lines against Arsenal as high as City did, but the Canada forward showed she can be relied upon.

“We have different options [for different opponents]. This was very specific for us today, Olivia hasn’t done it for us before. But she performed really well, so of course we will see her as an option going forward.”

It’s easy to forget that Smith has been playing in the WSL for less than two years.

After developing in Portugal with Sporting CP, one season at Liverpool was enough to convince Arsenal to spend big.

“There is more to come – she is still a young player, she is settling in the environment,” said Slegers.

“It’s been a while now, but don’t underestimate what it takes for a player and her situation to settle and adjust to a new life.

“She’s great to work with, her ability on the pitch is so good. She helps the team with her specific qualities, but she’s also a pleasure to work with. She is making small steps but she is at a really high level.”

Arsenal may well be 10 points behind table-toppers City, but they look a different team to the one that struggled for consistency during the first half of the campaign.

“Players getting a rest mentally and physically has done us really well,” said Slegers.

“There was a big tournament in the summer which put a high load on lots of players, so the [winter] break was really good.

“They have come back with so much new energy – that reset has been really important.”

Since the cup defeat by United, Arsenal have beaten Chelsea and City either side of winning the inaugural Fifa Champions Cup against Corinthians.

And even if the WSL title looks out of reach – they have eight to play and a game in hand on City – more silverware may not be beyond them.

The European champions are favourites to progress through the next round of both the FA Cup and Champions League.

“The players’ investment is so high at the moment, how we work together and [stay] humble in every moment – it’s really good,” said Slegers.

“Now it’s about working hard on developing and pushing as hard as we can for the rest of the season.