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Arundell scores hat-trick as England heap misery on Wales

Mike Henson

BBC Sport rugby union news reporter
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Men’s Six Nations

England (29) 48

Tries: Arundell (3), Earl, Roebuck, penalty try, Freeman Cons: Ford (4) Pens: Ford

Wales (0) 7

A remorseless England piled pain and points on Wales as they began their hunt for the Six Nations title with a 48-7 victory at Allianz Stadium.

Wing Henry Arundell, making his first start for his country in more than two years, scored a first-half hat-trick as England put themselves out of sight before the break.

Josh Adams was picked out by Dan Edwards’ precise punt for Wales’s solitary try five minutes after the restart, but, for the most part, the one-way traffic continued to steamroll the visitors.

Tom Roebuck added to Ben Earl’s first-half try, before the introduction of Marcus Smith, Henry Pollock and returning captain Maro Itoje energised England for the final quarter.

Earl, as he did in the 68-14 romp in Cardiff last year, switched to midfield late on as England used the remaining game time to try out new patterns for the campaign to come.

Tommy Freeman, who scored in all five of England’s games in the tournament last year, powered his way over in the last play of the game to keep his scoring streak going.

Wales have now won only two of their past 24 Test matches, while the domestic game is racked with uncertainty and rancour as the Welsh Rugby Union attempt to restructure four regional sides.

Ominously they take on France, the defending champions who took apart Ireland on Thursday night, next weekend.

The contrast to England is stark. The hosts’ 12th straight victory was roared to the rafters and belief is swelling that their run can carry them to a first title since 2020.

A far tougher test of those credentials awaits in the shape of a wounded Scotland in Edinburgh next weekend, but their mix of accurate attack and furious defence was hard to fault.

It was certainly too potent for Wales.

Line-ups

England: Steward; Roebuck, Freeman, Dingwall, Arundell; Ford, Mitchell; Genge, George, Heyes; Coles, Chessum; Pepper, Underhill, Earl

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Rodd, Davison, Itoje, T Curry, Pollock, Spencer, M Smith

Wales: Rees-Zammit; Mee, James, B Thomas, Adams; Edwards, T Williams; Smith, Lake (capt), Griffin, D Jenkins, Beard, Mann, Macleod, Wainwright.

Match officials

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)

Assistant referees: Nic Berry (Australia) and South African Morne Ferreira (South Africa)

Television match official (TMO): Tual Trainini (France)

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Boulter seals fourth WTA title with Ostrava Open win

Lorraine McKenna

BBC Sport journalist

Britain’s Katie Boulter claimed her fourth WTA Tour title with a three-set victory over Tamara Korpatsch at the Ostrava Open on Saturday.

The British number four, who had dropped to 120th in the world rankings, came back strongly from a set down in the final to beat German Korpatsch 5-7 6-2 6-1.

Boulter’s positive performance in the Czech Republic this week after an inconsistent 2025 season means she will return to the top 100 at number 84.

The 29-year-old split from her long-time coach Biljana Veselinovic last year and appointed Michael Joyce at the start of 2026.

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Boulter then joked: “And it was on your birthday week. Massive week for you, 53 years old, big one, so that was your present to you.

“I hope we can keep doing a lot of work.”

The title win was in contrast with fellow Brit Emma Raducanu, who was well beaten by Romanian Sorana Cirstea in the Transylvania Open final.

Boulter has lost only one of the five WTA finals she has reached and her win in Ostrava will be added to her two Nottingham titles (2023 and 2024) and her triumph in San Diego two years ago.

Despite losing three games in a row on her way to dropping the first set, plus the opening game of the second, Boulter was able to regroup and take the final to a decider.

From there, she was fully in control and broke 30-year-old Korpatsch’s serve three times on her way to a first trophy in nearly 15 months.

“To my stable team, my whole family back home… Everyone close to me knows how hard this last year has been for me,” Boulter added.

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A Destabilized Nigeria Will Embolden Terrorists, Make Christians Less Safe – Riley Moore

A United States congressman, Riley Moore, has warned that efforts to strengthen separatist groups in the country would further endanger Christian communities rather than protect them.

Moore made the remarks following his visit to Nigeria in December, where he embarked on what he described as a fact-finding mission to assess claims of widespread violence against Christians.

The visit came amid heightened international attention after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested a possible military intervention in Nigeria to confront those responsible for the attacks.

While in the country, the American lawmaker held discussions with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, on the security challenges facing affected regions. He also visited Benue State, where he met with Governor Hyacinth Alia, as well as religious and traditional leaders.

Moore and other members of the US delegation visited IDPs in Benue State.

READ ALSO: [Insecurity] US Congressman Riley Moore To Brief Trump On Nigeria Visit

Moore further engaged humanitarian organisations and internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have been forced to flee their homes due to persistent insecurity, gaining first-hand insight into the humanitarian impact of the violence on local communities.

In a post on his X handle on Saturday, Moore said the issue of dividing Nigeria did not feature prominently in his discussions.

“In my discussions, the idea of dividing the country has not come up in any serious way. Efforts to embolden separatists hurt Christians in Nigeria—especially in the North and Middle Belt,” he wrote.

Moore and other members of the US delegation visited IDPs in Benue State.

He added that a destabilised Nigeria would worsen the security situation.

“A destabilised Nigeria would embolden terrorists and make Christians less safe in Nigeria and across the continent.”

The U.S. congressman reiterated his commitment to working towards protecting the lives of Christians and all Nigerians affected by terrorist activities.

“I remain committed to working to save the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ—and, for that matter, all Nigerians—suffering from the instability wrought by terrorists throughout Nigeria,” he said.

I believe in what we’re doing, says defiant Townsend

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George O’Neill

BBC Sport Scotland

Scotland Rugby Podcast: Inquest begins after Italy defeat

07/02/2026 17:00

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Head coach Gregor Townsend insists he is still the man to lead Scotland despite a hugely dispiriting 18-15 defeat by Italy in their Six Nations opener.

Townsend was already under pressure after autumn losses against both Argentina and New Zealand, and the below-par performance in a sodden Stadio Olimpico will only increase the speculation surrounding his future.

Scotland went 12 points behind after stumbling out of the blocks and they were unable to overhaul that deficit as their scrum and lineout both malfunctioned badly.

Before the Italy match, the former fly-half – who is contracted as head coach until the end of the 2027 World Cup – dismissed a report that he has agreed to take over at Newcastle Red Bulls after the World Cup as “pure speculation”.

He was asked again after the full-time whistle in Rome if he remains confident in his ability to lead the national team, starting next Saturday against England at Murrayfield.

“Yeah, of course,” he said. “I believe in the players, I believe in what we’re doing. It didn’t happen and we’ve got to make sure it happens next week.”

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Townsend acknowledges that speculation is inevitable given the result, but was able to take some positives from the performance.

“That’s par for the course if you’re a coach,” he said when asked if pressure will ramp up before the Calcutta Cup. “No-one is more disappointed than me and the players.

“Of course there will be criticism for the result and the performance, but I’m with my team.

“I was hugely proud of the effort they put in at the end trying to find a way to win. It was really tough and we know we have to be better than that first 20 minutes.”

Needing a penalty for a draw or a try for a win, Scotland went through 29 phases before replacement lock Max Williamson was held up in contact to end the contest.

Former Grand Slam-winning Irish fly-half Ronan O’Gara says if Townsend’s side had shown that level of fight for the entire game, they would not have been left needing a last-gasp miracle.

“Italy were the better team on reflection for the 80 minutes but you just got a glimpse of what Scotland stood for in the last two minutes of the game,” he said.

“If they had played like that for 80 minutes, it wouldn’t have been a contest.

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‘Italy got on right side of key moments’

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With torrential rain falling throughout, handling errors were a theme for both sides, but Italy’s clinical edge in the opening stages and their superior set-piece proved to be the difference.

Scotland’s starting hooker Ewan Ashman had a torrid time at the lineout, with Scotland losing five of their own throws.

The new-look back three of Glasgow wingers Jamie Dobie and Kyle Steyn – and makeshift full-back Tom Jordan – were left wanting for both Italy tries.

Far too much space was left for Louis Lynagh’s opening score before the Benetton winger beat Dobie in the air moments before Tommaso Menoncello raced over in the other corner.

“Obviously, the guys are very disappointed,” Townsend added. “The effort was there. A lot of what we trained was in place. We just gave away too many possessions.

“We just weren’t able to score more points in the first half. It was extremely difficult the second half but the effort the players put in was tremendous just not enough to win the game.

“We shouldn’t have let them get ahead. They got a couple of breakaway tries. We had opportunities we didn’t take and then it made it tough after that.”

Despite the almost impossible conditions, BBC pundits unanimously agreed Italy dealt with them better.

“Both teams were playing in the same conditions,” former Scotland captain John Barclay said.

“The key moments in the game, Italy got on the right side of those.”

“Italy’s start gave them the win,” former England skipper Martin Johnson agreed.

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Suryakumar rescues India as United States threaten T20 World Cup upset

India captain Suryakumar Yadav led ‌by example as the tournament co-hosts began their Twenty20 World Cup title defence with a 29-run victory against the United States in a group A contest on Saturday.

India recovered from a dire 77-6 to post a decent 161-9 with Suryakumar hitting a scintillating 84 not out off 49 balls.

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The US managed 132-8 in reply, putting up a decent fight but never really coming ⁠close to chasing down the target.

Earlier, the predominantly Indian fans at the Wankhede Stadium probably expected sixes and fours to rain down after US captain Monank Patel elected to field.

Instead, it was a long procession of India’s top-order batters returning to the pavilion after a spectacular meltdown of the world’s top-ranked T20 team.

Opener Abhishek Sharma, currently the world’s number one T20 batter, fell for a first-ball duck in perhaps an inkling of what was in ⁠store for the home side.

The real nightmare unfolded in the final Powerplay over when Shadley van Schalkwyk claimed three wickets in five deliveries to leave India reeling on 46-4.

Ishan Kishan (20) and Tilak Varma (25) could not convert their starts, while Shivam Dube departed with a golden duck against his name in that eventful over from van Schalkwyk.

It could easily have been worse, but bowler Shubham Ranjane could not hold onto a return catch from Suryakumar when the batter was on 15.

Wickets kept tumbling at the other end though.

Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya and ‌Axar Patel perished trying to swing their way out of trouble.

Suryakumar responded to the crisis with a captain’s knock as he raced to a 36-ball fifty before plundering 21 runs from the final over from Saurabh Netravalkar.

India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah missed ‌the match due to illness, and they were also forced into replacing Harshit Rana, who was ruled out of the tournament barely 24 hours before ‌their opening match with a thigh injury.

Mohammed Siraj (3-29) vindicated his last-minute ⁠inclusion as Rana’s replacement with a two-wicket burst, while Arshdeep Singh also tasted success as they reduced the US to 31-3 in the six Powerplay overs.

Sanjay Krishnamurthi (37) and Milind Kumar (34) defied India for a while with a 58-run stand, but once the partnership ‌ended, India were firmly in charge.

In Colombo, the Netherlands nearly pulled off a major upset before Faheem Ashraf’s breezy cameo secured Pakistan’s nervy three-wicket win with three balls to spare in another group A contest.

I love watching Palmer play football – Rosenior

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior praises Cole Palmer’s performance after scoring a hat-trick against Wolves, and insists the midfielder is happy at the club.

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