Rangers’ third straight draw at St Mirren has the Rangers saying it’s not the end of the world.
With the loss of their worst domestic debut in 36 years, after three games, Martin’s struggling side could not avoid recording their worst start.
Rangers’ goal rescues point at St Mirren thanks to late Curtis’ goal.
Eight years was, at least for Ireland, worth the wait.
The gap between World Cup appearances for women’s rugby in Ireland included concerns about facilities and playing conditions, as well as the agonizing effects of a shocking elimination in 2021.
However, Scott Bemand’s reconstruction over the past two years has been impressive and perhaps more quickly than many had anticipated.
The Six Nations had a confidence-boosting performance last year, and New Zealand and Australia had a strong year.
And when Ireland made it back to its biggest stage on Sunday, they delivered in style against Japan.
“I’m so proud of each and every one of them,” said injured Ireland back rower Dorothy Wall. “It was amazing.
“One of the best efforts we’ve probably made as a team,” the team said.
We carried out a strong game from start to finish, and I’m so proud of the entire team.
After a difficult few years, Ireland had “turned it around,” according to former Ireland international Anna Caplice, a BBC Sport pundit.
She said, “Japan are not to be messed up with.”
Given that only one player from the squad, replacement hooker Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald, had participated in the World Cup, Ireland’s performance in Northampton was even more impressive.
The 15 players who started the game had a new experience, but they didn’t show any nerves.
Beibhinn Parsons and Fiona Tuite added the bonus point just before half-time, while Amee-Leigh Costigan and Neve Jones crossed in the opening ten minutes.
Enya Breen completed the victory with a score of 1-0 in the opening minute of the second half despite Japan’s early attack. Eve Higgins, who was superb in Northampton, then turned the tables back on Ireland with her intercept score.
Ireland were directed by flyhalf Dannah O’Brien, who is only 21 years old, with precision and skill.
Irish co-captain Edel McMahon said, “This morning, there was a nice cool, calm, and collected energy.”
The energy was positive, they said. Most of the squad, including the first one, were playing in the World Cup, but it didn’t feel like it.
They took it in their stride because of the youngsters’ calmness.
Although Ireland’s recent recovery had been well known, questions had been raised about the depth of the squad as a result of the absences of star players Aoife Wafer and Dorothy Wall.
Due to a number of injuries, Parsons’ minutes had been slowed down, and Sam Monaghan and McMahon’s minutes had also been hampered by injuries over the past year.
McMahon added, “Over the past two years, girls have entered and left the squad.”
The 23 players are not the only ones on the field. The girls are the ones who aren’t present, as well as the ones who are watching.
Former Ireland player and BBC pundit Anna Caplice responded, “I couldn’t agree more,” when asked if they were progressing more quickly than expected, especially given the injuries.
There was a lot of talk about the injuries and the people who didn’t get to the World Cup, and there was also the question, “Will they be able to produce what we saw?” ‘. But that was what we witnessed.
But because of the girls who have been like “forget that underdog status,” they are performing like this in one to 23 to 30 to 40, which includes Doro Wall, Erin King, and Aoife Wafer.
Next Sunday will Ireland play Spain in their second World Cup match. With a shock victory over Ireland, Las Leonas ended the country’s hopes for a World Cup in 2021.
Ireland had already experienced a rock bottom, but they now have a chance to erase those memories and advance to the quarterfinals.
Jeremy Clarkson was seen enjoying a Britpop lager as he took a break from Diddly Squat farm to enjoy creator and Blur star Alex James’ festival.
Jeremy, 65, was seen relaxing in the Cheese Hub at the rustic event, held in Kingham, Oxfordshire. Wearing a brown jacket branded with the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch logo, Jeremy was joined by celebrity chef Thomas Straker as he enjoyed a tipple of the rival brand to his Hawkstone lager.
The Big Feastival will see stars including Nelly Furtado, Faithless, Travis, Wombats and Sophie Ellis-Bextor perform for attendees across the weekend. Alex hosts the event on the grounds of his six-bedroom 17th-century farmhouse, which boasts 200 acres of farmland.
Alex will close the festival with his Britpop Classical set on Sunday evening as a live band and an orchestra join him on stage. Jeremy’s outing comes after a stressful few weeks for him at his Cotswolds farm, which led to calls from PETA to cease animal farming at his property following a “devastating” tuberculosis outbreak.
In recent weeks, The Clarkson’s Farm star hastened the devastation of his animals by mentioning bovine TB. Clarkson has since written a letter to the organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to urge him to stop breeding animals and turn the site into a plant-based operation.
A man might be hiding behind the bravado and banter in the correspondence, which was exclusive to the Express. We’re writing to you today for this reason.
We think that this could be your turning point and a fantastic opportunity to stop fostering and rearing animal cruelty. Incorporate mushroom and vegetable farming, and watch Diddly Squat Farm turn into a sanctuary for both you and the animals there. No more murdering. No more agonizing.”
Jeremy confirmed the “dreadful” news regarding the outbreak during a conversation with Times Radio earlier this month. He declared, “It’s awful, it’s awful. Every six months, you have a test on the cows, which is a hypothetical threat.
The vet then says, “I’m really sorry this one’s failed,” as he did yesterday lunchtime. So that implies that we are now completely locked up and that the situation is dreadful.
A post on X, formerly Twitter, stated: “Bad news from Diddly Squat. We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.”
If Clarkson accepts the plant-based proposal, PETA will make him the face of BritishFarming, PETA’s new website. by promoting the practice of kind, sustainable plant farming that encourages farmers, consumers, and policymakers to end animal suffering, protect the environment, and support rural communities.
All mammals, including humans, can become infected with TB. Because Clarkson’s farm is located within a “edge area” for the disease, which provides a buffer between high risk and low risk areas, it is subject to twice yearly TB testing.
The disease, which has been associated with devastating farming industries, primarily affects the respiratory system and can spread through saliva, urine, faeces, and milk exposure.
Following a dispute over the Irish band’s use of a Palestinian flag on the stage on Friday (August 22), Victorious Festival issued a new statement following The Mary Wallopers’ set was cut.
The festival had released a statement claiming the “artist’s decision to stop the song” and that the sound was only removed “after the band used a chant that is widely understood to have a discriminatory context.” Additionally, the band was warned about their no-flags policy, according to the festival.
In retaliation, The Mary Wallopers put up a lengthy post on Instagram that read: “Yesterday, a famine was declared in Gaza, where at least 65 people were killed by Israeli attacks, all the while Israel pushed ahead with plans to split the West Bank in two.
These are the crucial details of yesterday. This video was uploaded so that everyone could see how short a Palestinian flag stood for at our show.
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The festival responded to the press with a derogatory statement, saying that they cut our sound because of a racist chant and not because the band had called for Free Palestine.
Our video clearly depicts a Victorious crew member entering the stage, interfering with our show, taking the stage off, and then cutting the sound as a result of a chant for “Free Palestine.” Later, the same crew member can be heard saying, “You’re not playing until the flag is removed.”
They continued, “We completely reject Victorious’s portrayal of the events of today, and we request that they retract their statement right away. We are aware that this is receiving some attention, so we don’t want another diversion that distracts from the ongoing genocide in Palestine. FREE PALESTINE
Victorious Festival has since offered an apology for the incident in a new statement. They continued, “We were very much looking forward to The Mary Wallopers’ performance at Victorious on Friday.
This is the last thing we wanted, for the band, their fans, and ourselves, because we are in the business of putting on great shows and not cutting them off.
“We didn’t approach the explanation of our policies with care or care enough to reach a justifiable conclusion.”
The band and our own team were in a precarious position because of this. We apologize to everyone who is involved.
They continued to state that the decision to cut the performance wasn’t due to political reasons, saying, “We firmly support the right of artists to freely express their opinions from the stage, within the law, and given the event’s inclusive nature.
Our policy of allowing flags of any kind, which has been in place for broader event management and safety reasons, is not intended to compromise that right.
We accept that The Mary Wallopers’ audience received cut audio despite having the microphones remain active for longer, as the band’s video claims, and that comments made after that were audible.
As a way of apologie, the festival’s supporters were informed that they would be contributing a “substantial donation to humanitarian relief efforts for the Palestinian people.”
The Last Dinner Party, a collaboration of musicians who were cut after the band was cut, announced they were boycotting the festival after giving a statement.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 146 prisoners of war (POWs) have been exchanged between Russia and Ukraine since the United Arab Emirates’ mediation.
The ministry announced on Sunday on Telegram that “146 Russian servicemen were re-entertained from the Kyiv-controlled” territory on August 24.
“146 Ukrainian Armed Forces prisoners of war were transferred,” the statement continued.
The ministry claimed that Belarus’s freed Russians were receiving psychological and medical care.
Three meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul from May through July produced nothing but large-scale prisoner exchanges.
Since Russia’s conflict with its neighbor started in 2022, they are one of the few areas where the two countries have exchanged.
Additionally, Russia added that the exchange included the return of “eight citizens of the Russian Federation – residents of the Kursk region … illegally detained” by Kyiv. On the Ukrainian-Ukrainian border, Kursk is located.
Russia also claimed on Sunday that Ukraine had attacked a nuclear power plant overnight, which reportedly sparked a fire and damaged an auxiliary transformer.
According to Russian officials, the attack resulted in a 50% decrease in the operating capacity of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, which is located 60 kilometers (38 miles) away from the Russian-Ukraine border.
According to a report in US media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Washington had revoked permission to strike Russia with American-made weapons.
He continued, noting that Kyiv has recently discussed this with Washington and has been using its own weapons to attack its adversary.
Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy were “requited to meet immediately at all costs,” according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday.
The developments occurred as Ukraine observed its independence day on Sunday in honor of its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Since Donald Trump and Donald Trump held talks in Alaska a week ago, efforts to resolve the conflict have been ongoing, but Trump has been unable to coerce Putin into attending a meeting with Zelenskyy.
Leeds Festival is entering its final day, and Sheffield icons Bring Me The Horizon will headline tonight. But while thousands have been watching from the main arena, hundreds of lucky VIP guests have been able to kick back in comfort in the swanky backstage guest area.
They can also drink Casamigos tequila and alcoholic beverages in a private bar here. They can listen to live music from a DJ playing until the headline act has finished their set in the guest bar.
As people danced away, a mix of Pulp, Erasure, and other Britpop songs were projected across the speakers last night.
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You can also get your hands on delicious food, including chicken rice bowls filled with everything from Korean BBQ to Vietnamese sweet chilli.
But how much are the drinks backstage? Well, look no further as the Mirror has you covered.
You’re bound to see some acts performing over the weekend in the guest area. I bumped into the Red Rum Club guys yesterday, who are unquestionably one of Merseyside’s top bands.
Scattered around are various Reading and Leeds posters from previous years, showcasing the incredible lineups the festival has drawn in, from Pulp, Oasis, and Stereophonics to Blur, Green Day, Foo Fighters, and Jay-Z.
Reading &, Leeds, who consistently pushed boundaries, won the Innovation Award at the UK Festival Awards 2024 for the groundbreaking Chevron Stage.
The Chevron Stage opens a new chapter for Reading & Leeds, redefines what can be achieved for an open-air venue of this size with unprecedented immersive lighting and stage design.
The Reading and Leeds Festival takes place on Thursday, August 21st through Sunday, August 24th, 2025 at Bramham Park in Leeds and Richfield Avenue in Reading.
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