Category Sports News

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson won Great Britain’s first figure skating World Championship medal in more than 40 years with ice dance bronze in Boston.

Not since 1984, when Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won their fourth and final global title, have British skaters stood on a world podium in any discipline.

But Fear, 25, and Gibson, 30, finally ended that wait on Saturday with a total score of 207.11 points, having finished fourth at the previous two World Championships.

American favourites Madison Chock and Evan Bates defended their title while Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier took silver.

Olympians Fear and Gibson are three-time European medallists and earlier this season claimed Britain’s first ever medal at the Grand Prix final.

In Boston, they had placed third after Friday’s rhythm dance but while their ice dance routine – soundtracked by a trio of Beyonce hits – was judged the sixth best on Saturday, their combined score was enough to land them the greatest success of their careers to date.

Fellow Britons Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez placed 17th.

Earlier this month, Torvill said Fear and Gibson had “taken ice dancing in Great Britain to another level”.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola says he values winning the FA Cup above playing in Europe.

The Cherries host Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the competition on Sunday.

The FA Cup winners are guaranteed a place in the group stages of the Europa League the following season.

In an interview with Guillem Balague for BBC 5 Live’s Football Daily, Iraola said: “The FA Cup is, for me, much more important than playing in Europe. It’s a title.

” Sometimes they talk about the cup competitions as a way to get into Europe. I don’t care about Europe.

“We are playing in a final, we are fighting for a title. For me, it’s much more important”.

Bournemouth face a difficult task against seven-time FA Cup winners City, who were beaten in last year’s final by rivals Manchester United.

But Iraola insists there is no reason to believe his side cannot beat Pep Guardiola’s team and then go on to win the competition.

“I think we can win it”, he added. “Probably we are not the favourites, especially with the opposition we have in the quarter-finals but I think we have shown]we can win it].

As a player, Iraola spent over a decade at Athletic Bilbao and came up against Guardiola’s Barcelona side on several occasions, saying he” lost many times “against them.

Having been so dominant in recent years, City have had a more difficult season comparatively, having not been in the title race for the majority of it.

It has prompted suggestions that his style of football is no longer as effective as it was – something Iraola disputes.

” Pep Guardiola is the best manager I’ve known. I have no doubts, “he said.

” There is a structure, organisation, multiple options, but at the end of the day, I think what he tries to do is put the player in the best scenario to let him shine. “

The Bournemouth boss believes Guardiola sides are among the most difficult to prepare to play against, adding:” Normally, against other teams, they normally play like this, they have these adaptations…

“With Pep, you have to analyse like, I don’t know, nine or 10 different ways they can go.

” The last game we played against them, we prepared for a couple of main structures and straight away, in the third minute, we had to change everything.

Bournemouth are currently 10th in the Premier League, just four points off fifth.

The Cherries have produced some impressive results under Iraola – who took charge of the club in 2023 – notably beating Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham in the league this season.

“I still feel that I have a lot to learn”, Iraola said.

“For me, the jump to the Premier League was a big challenge. Even if you know the teams and the players, you have to really be here to feel what the Premier League is.

One of the players to have shone the most under Iraola this season is Dean Huijsen.

The 19-year-old has risen to prominence this term, swiftly developing into one of the standout defenders in the Premier League.

His form saw him called up by Spain for the first time this year and he has been linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Real Madrid.

” It’s not been a surprise for us, “Iraola said of Huijsen’s form.

” I remember his first game against Nottingham Forest away against Chris Wood – he did a hell of a job and I think we started to realise, ‘ he’s 19, but probably he’s more ready than we expected in this moment’.

“He’s had an amazing season. It’s one of the best feelings as a manager when you feel like you’ve helped that player make a big jump in one season and put him in a position he would’ve arrived in anyway in any team or any competition.

” He would’ve found a way to get to the top level but it’s a big reward for the staff, for the coaches.

“I haven’t even scratched the surface of my potential”.

Those were the words of England full-back Ellie Kildunne in November when she was named World Rugby’s women’s player of the year.

The 25-year-old scored 14 tries in nine tests for the Red Roses last term, and it looked, on the outside, as though maintaining form before a home Rugby World Cup – which starts in August – was all she needed to do.

But Kildunne strived to become even better.

After featuring late off the bench against Italy in York, a first start in this year’s Women’s Six Nations came in the href=”https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/articles/c3w1wgvq36do” class=”ssrcss-k8mrr8-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0″>67-12 hammering of Wales at Principality Stadium in front of a record crowd of 21, 186 for a Wales women’s team event on home soil.

The Harlequin marked her 50th cap with a second-half hat-trick and a player-of-the-match performance to properly kick-start the biggest year of her rugby career to date.

“Pressure is definitely a privilege”, Kildunne told BBC Two.

“Our potential is the unimaginable. We are going to keep getting better. I really think we are going to take it to levels that we’ve not been to before.

” We are just going to keep pushing until we get to a point that we just can’t imagine what is next. “

Two of Kildunne’s tries were relatively straightforward dot downs, with the third an instinctive finish from a kick-through.

When the whistle sounded for the start of the second half, Kildunne had no tries. By the 56th minute, her hand was above her head for yet another signature lasso celebration after a third score.

Kildunne made the most carries (16) and metres (145m) in the game, but it was her kicking game which stood out.

From tidy deft chip-kicks to cause havoc in the backfield to grubber-kicks to turn the Wales defence, Kildunne has widened her game to be more than just a lethal counter-attack runner.

” She is starting to serve the team in different ways and there are going to be times that teams take away the counter-attack from her, “England head coach John Mitchell told BBC Two.

” She is world-class with that plan A]running it back], but she is going to have to adapt in 2025 as certain teams will not allow her to get ball.

Kildunne was one of 13 changes Mitchell made to his starting XV from England’s opening round victory over Italy, with the majority of his front-line starters returning.

Like last weekend, the Red Roses ran away with the contest, scoring their bonus-point try inside 27 minutes.

Number eight Maddie Feaunati was named player of the match in York and further pressed her case to continue in the back row with two powerful finishes.

Wales-born Meg Jones scored the pick of England’s 11 tries when she slalomed her way through her native country, showing incredible balance and footwork.

Jones, who was playing her first Red Roses match since both her parents passed away, pointed to the sky and tapped her chest before diving over the line.

“I haven’t played here since I was 12 years old”, Jones, 28, told BBC Two.

“When I heard both the anthems it took me a little bit. I have just tried to enjoy it as much as I can, I know they will both be so proud of me.

Fly-half Zoe Harrison, after an early dropped ball on her own tryline, showcased exactly why Mitchell picked her over Holly Aitchison and Helena Rowland, given her strong kicking game on a wide Principality pitch

Saracens ‘ Harrison helped set up two Abby Dow tries – one from a pin-point cross-field kick – and slotted six conversions, hitting the post twice on two misses from out wide.

Olympian Abi Burton, who spent 25 days in an induced coma in 2022 before having to learn to walk and talk again, capped off the game with two tries on debut.

The 25-year-old packed down at number eight to add another option to Mitchell, who still has regular Alex Matthews to come back at the base of the scrum from suspension.

” When we stood here for the team run I was just relishing it, “Burton told BBC Two.

” It is unbelievable to make my debut here and a dream come true. “

When Burton came out of her coma she had lost more than three stone (19kg), but she miraculously returned to rugby sevens in time for her second Olympics in Paris, before impressing on her return to XVs with Trailfinders Women.

” To just be back living is amazing, never mind going to the Olympics and fighting her way back into that competitive back row, “2014 England World Cup-winner Katy Daley-Mclean added.

The fallow week offers Mitchell a chance to reflect on his two squads for the opening two games, before the Red Roses travel to Cork to face Ireland on 12 April.

“I haven’t even scratched the surface of my potential”.

Those were the words of England full-back Ellie Kildunne in November when she was named World Rugby’s women’s player of the year.

The 25-year-old scored 14 tries in nine tests for the Red Roses last term, and it looked, on the outside, as though maintaining form before a home Rugby World Cup – which starts in August – was all she needed to do.

But Kildunne strived to become even better.

After featuring late off the bench against Italy in York, a first start in this year’s Women’s Six Nations came in the 67-12 hammering of Wales at Principality Stadium.

The Harlequin marked her 50th cap with a second-half hat-trick and a player-of-the-match performance to properly kick-start the biggest year of her rugby career to date.

“Pressure is definitely a privilege”, Kildunne told BBC Two.

“Our potential is the unimaginable. We are going to keep getting better. I really think we are going to take it to levels that we’ve not been to before.

” We are just going to keep pushing until we get to a point that we just can’t imagine what is next. “

Two of Kildunne’s tries were relatively straightforward dot downs, with the third an instinctive finish from a kick-through.

When the whistle sounded for the start of the second half, Kildunne had no tries. By the 56th minute, her hand was above her head for yet another signature lasso celebration after a third score.

Kildunne made the most carries (16) and metres (145m) in the game, but it was her kicking game which stood out.

From tidy deft chip-kicks to cause havoc in the backfield to grubber-kicks to turn the Wales defence, Kildunne has widened her game to be more than just a lethal counter-attack runner.

” She is starting to serve the team in different ways and there are going to be times that teams take away the counter-attack from her, “England head coach John Mitchell told BBC Two.

” She is world-class with that plan A]running it back], but she is going to have to adapt in 2025 as certain teams will not allow her to get ball.

Kildunne was one of 13 changes Mitchell made to his starting XV from England’s opening round victory over Italy, with the majority of his front-line starters returning.

Like last weekend, the Red Roses ran away with the contest, scoring their bonus-point try inside 27 minutes.

Number eight Maddie Feaunati was named player of the match in York and further pressed her case to continue in the back row with two powerful finishes.

Wales-born Meg Jones scored the pick of England’s 11 tries when she slalomed her way through her native country, showing incredible balance and footwork.

Jones, who was playing her first Red Roses match since both her parents passed away, pointed to the sky and tapped her chest before diving over the line.

“I haven’t played here since I was 12 years old”, Jones, 28, told BBC Two.

“When I heard both the anthems it took me a little bit. I have just tried to enjoy it as much as I can, I know they will both be so proud of me.

Fly-half Zoe Harrison, after an early dropped ball on her own tryline, showcased exactly why Mitchell picked her over Holly Aitchison and Helena Rowland, given her strong kicking game on a wide Principality pitch

Saracens ‘ Harrison helped set up two Abby Dow tries – one from a pin-point cross-field kick – and slotted six conversions, hitting the post twice on two misses from out wide.

Olympian Abi Burton, who spent 25 days in an induced coma in 2022 before having to learn to walk and talk again, capped off the game with two tries on debut.

The 25-year-old packed down at number eight to add another option to Mitchell, who still has regular Alex Matthews to come back at the base of the scrum from suspension.

” When we stood here for the team run I was just relishing it, “Burton told BBC Two.

” It is unbelievable to make my debut here and a dream come true. “

When Burton came out of her coma she had lost more than three stone (19kg), but she miraculously returned to rugby sevens in time for her second Olympics in Paris, before impressing on her return to XVs with Trailfinders Women.

” To just be back living is amazing, never mind going to the Olympics and fighting her way back into that competitive back row, “2014 England World Cup-winner Katy Daley-McLean added.

The fallow week offers Mitchell a chance to reflect on his two squads for the opening two games, before the Red Roses travel to Cork to face Ireland on 12 April.