Saracens fall to Champions Cup defeat by Sharks

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Investec Champions Cup, Pool One

Sharks (21) 28

Tries: Kolisi, Fassi, Van der Merwe, Williams Cons: Whitehead 4

Saracens (15) 23

Saracens’ ill-discipline proved costly as they fell to a 28-23 Investec Champions Cup defeat by the Sharks in torrential rain in Durban.

The Prem side were set to take a hard-earned lead into the half-time break but a late tackle by Saracens captain Andy Onyeama-Christie gave the ball back to the Sharks.

The South African side punished Saracens by powering up the field and freeing up Edwill van der Merwe to go over in the corner for a 21-15 lead.

With Saracens trailing by just three points midway through the second half, hooker Theo Dan was shown a yellow card for a high tackle.

Almost immediately the home side extended their lead to 28-18 when Springbok scrum-half Grant Williams sprinted past Saracens’ stretched defence.

With supreme effort, Saracens cut the gap to five points through Tom Willis’ try and piled on further pressure, but the Sharks held on to secure their first win in Pool Three in JP Pietersen’s first game since taking over as head coach.

After South Africa captain Siya Kolisi gave his team an early lead, it looked ominous for a Saracens side showing 10 changes from their opening win over Clermont Auvergne.

Saracens responded well with a try through livewire Dan, which was confirmed when referee Luc Ramos ruled out a possible obstruction in the maul by Harry Wilson.

Mark McCall’s side took the lead when Sam Spink touched down unopposed after Aphelele Fassi failed to gather a wet ball on the slide from Elliot Daly’s cute kick through.

Fergus Burke kicked a penalty to extend Saracens’ lead to 15-7, but Fassi’s try cut the visitors’ advantage before Onyeama-Christie’s late hit on Williams changed the momentum of the match.

Another Burke penalty brought Sarries within range but their task got harder when Dan was sent to the sin-bin for a shoulder-to-head tackle on Makazole Mapimpi.

Ethan Hooker made the crucial break to give Williams the opportunity to sprint over for the home side’s fourth try.

Despite being a man down, Saracens muscled their way into the corner and the impressive Willis battled through the mass of bodies to touch down and set up a tense final 15 minutes, but it was not to be as the hosts won for just the second time this season.

What’s next?

Saracens host six-time winners Toulouse in the third round of pool matches on Sunday, 11 January, after the Sharks take on Sale on Saturday, 10 January.

Sarries return to Prem action next Saturday when they welcome Exeter to StoneX Stadium.

    • 2 hours ago

Line-ups

Sharks: Fassi; Van der Merwe, Hooker, Esterhuizen (capt), Mapimpi; Whitehead, Williams; Ganyane, Mbonambi, Jacobs, Jenkins, Van Heerden, Kolisi, Tshituka, Buthelezi.

Replacements: Swart, Mazibuko, Mdanda, Orie, Romao, Hatton, Jaden Henrikse, Jordan Henrikse.

Saracens: Daly; Segun, Spink, Hartley, Hall; Burke, Bracken; Mawi, Dan, Riccioni, Isiekwe, Wilson, McFarland, Onyeama-Christie (capt), Willis.

Replacements: Hadfield, O’Driscoll, Street, Tizard, Michelow, Earl, Simpson, Losowski.

Match officials

Referee: Luc Ramos (Fra)

Assistant referees: Kevin Bralley (Fra) and Flavien Hourquet (Fra)

Related topics

  • Saracens
  • Rugby Union
  • English Rugby

Jamie Laing slammed after swipe at £6,000 a night maternity ward

Jamie Laing’s latest post has left his followers scratching their heads after he complained about having a bad back while sleeping in a private suite during the birth of his first child

Jamie Laing has left his followers unimpressed after sharing a social media post following the birth of his first child. The 37-year-old former Made In Chelsea star welcomed his first child with wife Sophie Habboo last week, and so decided to make a tongue-in-cheek post on TikTok, soon after the birth.

Sophie has given birth to their son Ziggy in the private Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital, which carries an estimated cost of £6,000 a night for a standard package. Kate Middleton gave birth to all three of her children at the same private wing of the West London hospital.

And as part of the package, Jamie was able to sleep in his own single bed to be close to his wife and newborn son. He jokingly posted a picture of himself holding his back in pain, claiming to have had an uncomfortable sleep.

READ MORE: Stacey Solomon ditches ‘bulky ugly night lights’ for elegant plug-in smart lamp that is under £20

He captioned it saying: “Note to self: Don’t limp, hold your back or complain just after your wife has given birth because your bed was uncomfortable.” While many got his attempt at a joke, his post seemed to prompt a few of his followers to call out his lack of awareness.

One person wrote: “My partner had to sleep on the floor because they only gave us a small plastic chair.” Another person said: “Omg you got a bed! You should see the chairs at the poor people’s hospitals lol.”

Meanwhile, a third added: “You had a bed?! My fella slept in a chair for 6 days and not even a reclining one!” Jamie and Sophie announced the arrival of their first child via Instagram by sharing a series of pictures from the birth.

The podcast and radio presenter captioned the post saying: “Ziggy, you have our whole hearts.” Soon after his initial post-birth, Jamie was quick to praise his wife, whom he first met on Made In Chelsea.

He shared with fans: “A wild, incredible experience. Exhausted, full of love, and in awe of my Wife. Already knew she was 10/10, but didn’t realise that level could go even higher, and it continues to grow. You are a complete rockstar and to women around the world.” And their celebrity friends rushed to the comment section of their post.

Their former co-star Emily Blackwell wrote: “Oh my god!!! Congratulations guys I can’t wait to meet him.” The One Show host Alex Jones shared the same sentiment saying: “Hooray!!! Let the adventures begin.”

And singer Jessie J, who has appeared on Jamie’s podcast, wrote: “You did it mama.” Mum of five Stacey Solomon added: “Congratulations.” Back in June, the pair shared the news that they were expecting their first child by posting a video of their scan.

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Followers saw Sophie, 31, laying on the hospital bed as the two looked on in awe at the sound of their baby’s heartbeat. Jamie was heard saying: “Are you kidding me?”, while Sophie just stared at the screen showing her unborn child.

While things have remained the same for Jamie, the same can not be said for his wife as she spoke about the downside of pregnancy. She previously admitted that her teeth were “frail and rotting” and has had moments where she fainted while pregnant.

Sale claim superb bonus-point win against Clermont

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Investec Champions Cup Pool One

Clermont Auvergne (7) 14

Tries: Fall, Zamora Cons: Bezy, Zamora

Sale Sharks (20) 35

Sale Sharks clinched an impressive bonus-point win against Clermont Auvergne to boost their hopes of qualifying from Pool One of the Investec Champions Cup.

Sale led 20-7 at half-time, outscoring their opponents by three tries to one in the first period despite the French side enjoying greater territory.

Tom O’Flaherty went over inside two minutes and although Yerim Fall replied for the hosts, Sale moved clear with scores by Marius Louw and Arron Reed.

Reed was yellow-carded early in the second half for making head-to-head contact with Sebastien Bezy when attempting a clearout at a ruck – an incident which meant Jacques Vermeulen’s try was disallowed.

Lucas Zamora crossed for Clermont while Sale were down to 14 men, reducing the deficit to six.

But, after surviving a spell of pressure from the hosts, Sale then scored 15 points without reply to secure an emphatic victory.

    • 23 hours ago

A record of two wins from four pool matches has usually been good enough for a team to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions Cup.

Sale were on the back foot having lost their opening game at home to Glasgow and, given their final pool match is a daunting-looking trip to six-time winners Toulouse, the pressure was on to gain a positive result.

Rob du Preez again started at fly-half with England’s George Ford still injured, and he made the final passes for the first-half tries scored by O’Flaherty and Reed.

Scrum-half Raffi Quirke was the chief architect of Louw’s score, darting through Clermont’s line in the middle of the field to create an opening which the South African centre finished off.

What’s next?

In the January block of matches, Sale host South African side Sharks and then end the pool phase with a trip to Toulouse.

Line-ups

Clermont Auvergne: Guillaud; Fall, Frier, Moala, Raka; Simone, Bezy; Lotrian, Fourcade, Ojovan, Simmons, Ceyte, Tixeront (capt), Kremer, Tolofua.

Replacements: Lam, Akhaladze, Tutisani, Ratuva, Muarua, Zamora, Plummer, Newsome.

Sale: Reed; O’Flaherty, Bedlow, Louw, Wills; Du Preez, Quirke; McIntyre, Jibulu, John, Burrow, Bamber, Vermeulen, Van Rhyn (capt), B Curry.

Match officials

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)

Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (Italy) and Manuel Bottino (Italy)

Related topics

  • Sale
  • Rugby Union
  • English Rugby

Ellie Goulding sells off £1.3m London cottage – but at a huge loss

Ellie Goulding has reportedly had another loss on properties after selling her cottage in Paddington before she welcomes her second child

Ellie Goulding might be expecting her second child, but she would have also been expecting more money for her lavish property. The 38-year-old singer has recently sold another home at a loss after flogging her £1.3million abode in London.

The luxury cottage is said to have fetched a loss of £263,000 on the cottage in Paddington. It comes a year after she also made a loss on her former marital home, shifting the £3.1m property or £625,000 less than she’d paid for it.

Now, legal documents on her property developing firm, Miss EG Properties Ltd, lodged earlier this year showed that a mortgage on her Paddington three-bed house had been completed. But it’s claimed there are still a number of properties left in her portfolio.

READ MORE: Strictly’s Amy Dowden shares heartbreak over becoming a mum after cancer diagnosisREAD MORE: X Factor’s Ant and Seb make ‘iconic’ return – 17 years after first audition

According to The Sun, she sold a mews cottage in Paddington for £1,375,000, which is a loss of £263,000. But Ellie will be fully focused on her second child.

The singer announced her second pregnancy with her boyfriend, 28, at the Fashion Awards earlier this month. The Love Me Like You Do singer has a son, Arthur, from her prior relationship with art dealer Caspar Jopling. The boy was born in 2021, when Ellie and Caspar had been married for two years. But more recently, she has been connected with Beau Minniear, who is 10 years her junior.

And she looked stunning at the Fashion Awards as she showed off her blossoming bump. Ellie wore a black crop top and low-waisted black trousers for the event, which proudly showed off her pregnancy. She smiled at the cameras, and her long leather jacket stayed unbuttoned to show it off.

She shared snaps on Instagram shortly after the occasion. She captioned them: “So grateful to have attended the Fashion Awards with the visionary @willychavarria, wearing a look that was a little bit custom, a little bit archive.

“Only on a night like this could Willy be the one to empower me and make me feel my absolute bestttt. Thank you for a night filled with meaning, beauty, and so much heart x Congratulations @willychavarria and @laura_weir @britishfashioncouncil for a special night celebrating creativity like no other.”

Ellie also announced at the end of last year that she is preparing new music. At the time, she said: “I’ve been writing about what’s been going on in my life.

“But also just observations, friends, my connection with nature. The usual things that I tend to gravitate towards writing about, maybe slightly more elevated or evolved from the last album.”

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She also explained that songs “don’t come easily to me”. The star admitted they are “time-consuming” to write, but she said been working on an album that has yet to come out.

Bonnie Blue grins as she lands in Heathrow after being ‘blacklisted’ from Bali

Although we didn’t exactly ask for her back, adult content creator Bonnie Blue has returned to the UK after causing a scene in Bali following her arrest on suspicion of breaking ‘morality’ laws

Bonnie Blue has returned to the UK after being deported from Bali, where she was arrested while on the Indonesian island. The 26-year-old ‘content creator’ and adult star, whose real name is Tia Billinger, was at the centre of a dramatic police raid, which saw a rented studio descended on by cops and cameras, vehicles and other equipment seized.

The social media star once again sparked widespread speculation, with questions over whether she would face jail time under the Muslim country’s strict anti-pornography laws. She has also previously been banned from Fiji and Australia after her ‘Schoolies’ campaign saw her target barely-legal 18-year-old boys.

But Billinger was eventually fined less than £10 for a traffic offence related to having no registration for her ‘Bang Bus’. The social media star bragged that she avoided a more serious charge thanks to being “rich” and being able to afford “good lawyers”.

READ MORE: ‘I snitched on Bonnie Blue in Bali – cops were baffled by one disturbing detail’READ MORE: Get 30% off Premier League kits of Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal and more this weekend

After being deported, she arrived back at Heathrow just after midday on Saturday, after flying from Dubai in the morning. Not one to avoid controversy, drama or attention, Billinger was seen revelling in the spectacle she’d created in footage from her legal proceedings.

Having arrived at court laughing, she spoke with onlookers with a kids’ lolly hanging out of her mouth, and was criticised for treating the country’s cultural differences like a press tour. Now she’s back in the UK, the content creator is mocking her critics.

In a defiant statement to the press, she said: “I’m rich and have good lawyers – did you really think I’d face jail time? From sharing fluids with barely legals to watching my content with corrupt men, let’s just say I’m excited to show you what got me in all this trouble.

“It cost me $20 to get out of prison, so I need to recuperate my huge losses. If you want to see what got me deported, you can for less than my fine.”

Confirming the OnlyFans star will only be further capitalising on the saga in Bali, she has already teased new footage and behind-the-scenes material from the experience on social media. In a bid to remain relevant, she has promised to reveal “the whole story” behind what happened on the island, which seems to be that she got arrested and then deported.

Despite being arrested on suspicion of breaking ‘morality’ laws in Indonesia, she got away with a traffic offence due to the lack of the bus’s vehicle registration. The controversial figure has also allegedly been ‘blacklisted’ from returning to Bali for at least a decade.

But while most travellers would be embarrassed to find themselves facing punishment overseas, Bonnie, who is known for performing extreme sex stunts, appears to have taken a more light-hearted approach. Unsurprisingly, the attention-loving OnlyFans creator could be seen grinning in photos following her arrest, and was heard making jokes about subscribing to her content, despite having just been faced with potentially grave prison time.

Criminologist Alex Iszatt told the Mirror: “Bonnie Blue’s operation thrives on a simple, relentless formula: all attention is fuel. Each public complaint, news cycle, and social media debate actively amplifies he brand. Even legal issues are repurposed as promotional material, whether deflecting accountability or, as in Bali, directly instructing an audience to ‘subscribe and find out’.”

“Her quip that ‘people are so stupid’ is less a boast than a diagnosis of her method; she understands that public fascination and outrage are two sides of the same coin in the real-life soap opera she scripts, and she has proven clever enough to dance along the line of the law without decisively crossing it.”

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