Category Sports News

World champion Luke Littler hit a sensational 152 checkout in the deciding leg of a thrilling World Grand Prix quarter-final against Gerwyn Price to reach the last four in Leicester.

That wonderful finish capped the 18-year-old’s fightback from two sets down against 2020 World Grand Prix winner Price, who missed three match darts at doubles in the fourth set.

Littler had seemed poised for victory in the final set before Price took out an incredible 156 finish to send the match into a sudden-death leg, in which the Welshman had the advantage of throwing first.

Both players struggled to find an opening double in the decider and neither scored heavily, until the English teenager’s moment of magic finished the match.

Asked how he felt after falling 2-0 behind in sets, Littler told Sky Sports: “I just said that it’s now or never – you have to switch on, find those trebles and not stay on the wire for the entire match.

“I switched up, started going for double 16s and it worked in parts. Double 16 is the one that got me the World Championship and it’s always there to be hit.”

Clayton, the 2021 champion, lost the first leg of his quarter-final against Dirk van Duijvenbode but then won nine in succession to take a convincing 3-0 victory.

Saturday’s other match in the best-of-nine semi-finals will be contested by England’s world number one Luke Humphries and Dutchman Danny Noppert.

Humphries, who won the title in 2023 and was runner-up last year, was a 3-1 victor against Scotland’s Cameron Menzies.

Quarter-final results

Danny Noppert 3-1 Gary Anderson

Dirk van Duijvenbode 0-3 Jonny Clayton

Luke Littler 3-2 Gerwyn Price

Semi-finals

Saturday, 11 October (20:00 BST – matches are best of nine sets)

Luke Humphries v Danny Noppert

United Rugby Championship

Munster (10) 20

Tries: Smith, Milne 2, Wycherley

Edinburgh (12) 19

Munster shook off missing four conversion attempts and took advantage of four yellow cards for Edinburgh to squeeze home by one point in Cork.

Fineen Wycherley’s late try was enough to make it three wins from three for the hosts in the United Rugby Championship, while the visitors will rue those moments of ill-discipline as they endured a second narrow away loss of the season.

Both sides had scored unconverted tries within the opening seven minutes, Andrew Smith gathering a long kick from a quick line-out and Scotland hooker Ewan Ashman replying from a driving maul.

Edinburgh scrum-half Ben Vellacott then sniped over for a close range score soon after a home line-out was snaffled, with Ben Healy adding the extras after his earlier effort came back off the post.

Then came two yellows in space of two minutes, with temporary replacement Glen Young infringing on the goal-line and D’arcy Rae guilty of a high tackle.

Up against 13 men, Munster reduced the half-time deficit to two points as Ireland prop Michael Milne crashed through to mark his first start of the season.

JJ Hanrahan again watched his kick drift wide.

Back to their full complement, Edinburgh stretched their lead with a lovely Darcy Graham try as the Scotland winger ran on to a delicate cross-field kick from James Lang and Healy popped over the conversion.

Milne’s second barrelling try followed a breakdown entry yellow for Freddy Douglas and Edinburgh were once again depleted when Wycherley bundled over after 73 minutes, with visiting captain Magnus Bradbury having been sent to the bin for a croc-roll.

In a frantic finale, Munster number eight Gavin Coombes plunged over with the clock at 80, only for the score to be quickly ruled out for an earlier knock-on.

Munster: Haley; Nash, Farrell, O’Brien, Smith; Hanrahan, Patterson; Milne, Barron (capt), Jager; Kleyn, Wycherley; O’Donoghue, Quinn, Coombes.

Replacements: Barron, Wycherley, Ryan, Edogbo, Gleeson, Coughlan, Butler, Kelly.

Edinburgh: Goosen, Graham, O’Conor, Lang, Van der Merwe, Healy, Vellacott; Schoeman, Ashman, Rae, Sykes, Skinner, McConnell, Richardson, Bradbury (capt).

United Rugby Championship

Scarlets (0) 0

Stormers (17) 34

Scarlets were nilled in a league game for the first time in more than 18 years as Stormers maintained their perfect start to the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Evan Roos and Paul de Villiers crossed in a one-sided first half, with the sluggish hosts fortunate to only trail 17-0.

Scarlets toiled after the break, but could do little to prevent Ruben van Heerden, Imad Khan and man of the moment Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu completing a five-try rout.

It was another hugely disappointing home performance from Scarlets – while their injury list continues to grow – in front of new Wales boss Steve Tandy.

Despite an all international front row, there was early concern at scrum time for Scarlets, with the injured Jake Ball and Sam Lousi big misses in the second-row.

Stormers were equally dominant in the maul, with Roos benefitting from a 10-metre rumble to cross for the opening try – his fourth in two games.

Springbok superstar Feinberg-Mngomezulu let Scarlets off the hook with some early misses but the power of the pack proved decisive even when flanker Ben-Jason Dixon was shown a yellow card.

A raft of changes saw Scarlets slightly improve in the second half, with skipper Johnny Williams leading the charge with some powerful runs through the midfield .

Ellis Mee will also caught the eye of Tandy who was among the 6,114 Llanelli crowd.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu was shown a yellow card for an infringement at the ruck in a niggly encounter but still Stormers dominated.

Van Heerden crossed just before the hour mark before the returning Feinberg-Mngomezulu scooped up a loose ball to score in the corner for a bonus.

Things went from bad to worse when Macs Page was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-when Stormers threatened a fifth try, and that eventually came from replacement Khan five minutes from time.

Scarlets: Murray; Rogers, J Roberts, J Williams (capt), Mee; Hawkins, G Davies; Hepburn, Van der Merwe, H Thomas, T Davies, Douglas, Taylor, Davis, Plumtree.

Replacements: Myhill, S O’Connor, Holz, Cummins, B Williams, Blacker, Costelow, Page.

Sin bin: Plumtree (33), Page (72)

Stormers: D Willemse; Senatla, Simelane, R Nel (capt), Zas; Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ungerer; Vermaak, Kotze, Sandi, Schickerling, R van Heerden, P de Villiers, Dixon, Roos.

Replacements: A-H Venter, Matongo, Porthen, Evans, Theunissen, Fourie, Khan, Matthee.

Sin bin: Dixon (29), Feinberg-Mngomezulu (53)

Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)

Assistant referees: Ben Connor, Carwyn Sion (WRU)

United Rugby Championship

Scarlets (0) 0

Stormers (17) 34

Scarlets were nilled in a league game for the first time in more than 18 years as Stormers maintained their perfect start to the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Evan Roos and Paul de Villiers crossed in a one-sided first half, with the sluggish hosts fortunate to only trail 17-0.

Scarlets toiled after the break, but could do little to prevent Ruben van Heerden, Imad Khan and man of the moment Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu completing a five-try rout.

It was another hugely disappointing home performance from Scarlets – while their injury list continues to grow – in front of new Wales boss Steve Tandy.

Despite an all international front row, there was early concern at scrum time for Scarlets, with the injured Jake Ball and Sam Lousi big misses in the second-row.

Stormers were equally dominant in the maul, with Roos benefitting from a 10-metre rumble to cross for the opening try – his fourth in two games.

Springbok superstar Feinberg-Mngomezulu let Scarlets off the hook with some early misses but the power of the pack proved decisive even when flanker Ben-Jason Dixon was shown a yellow card.

A raft of changes saw Scarlets slightly improve in the second half, with skipper Johnny Williams leading the charge with some powerful runs through the midfield .

Ellis Mee will also caught the eye of Tandy who was among the 6,114 Llanelli crowd.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu was shown a yellow card for an infringement at the ruck in a niggly encounter but still Stormers dominated.

Van Heerden crossed just before the hour mark before the returning Feinberg-Mngomezulu scooped up a loose ball to score in the corner for a bonus.

Things went from bad to worse when Macs Page was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-when Stormers threatened a fifth try, and that eventually came from replacement Khan five minutes from time.

Scarlets: Murray; Rogers, J Roberts, J Williams (capt), Mee; Hawkins, G Davies; Hepburn, Van der Merwe, H Thomas, T Davies, Douglas, Taylor, Davis, Plumtree.

Replacements: Myhill, S O’Connor, Holz, Cummins, B Williams, Blacker, Costelow, Page.

Sin bin: Plumtree (33), Page (72)

Stormers: D Willemse; Senatla, Simelane, R Nel (capt), Zas; Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ungerer; Vermaak, Kotze, Sandi, Schickerling, R van Heerden, P de Villiers, Dixon, Roos.

Replacements: A-H Venter, Matongo, Porthen, Evans, Theunissen, Fourie, Khan, Matthee.

Sin bin: Dixon (29), Feinberg-Mngomezulu (53)

Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)

Assistant referees: Ben Connor, Carwyn Sion (WRU)

The Prem

Sale (31) 57

Tries: R du Preez, Roebuck 3, Cowan-Dickie, van Rhyn, Reed 2, Jibulu Cons: Ford 6

Sin-bin: Cowan-Dickie (35 mins)

Newcastle (0) 5

Try: Obatoyinbo

Tom Roebuck scored a hat-trick as nine-try Sale Sharks piled on the agony for the Prem’s bottom club Newcastle Red Bulls with a crushing 57-5 victory at the CorpAcq Stadium.

The England man’s opposite wing Arron Reed added two tries of his own and British and Irish Lions hero Luke Cowan-Dickie also grabbed a try on his return to action for his club.

With Rob du Preez and Ernst van Rhyn also scoring, the Sharks racked up the bonus-point in the first half as they raced to a 31-0 lead at the break.

Newcastle, who have now heavily lost their first two league games since the takeover by Red Bull in the summer, showed signs of a revival as the home side got sloppy and Elliott Obatoyinbo muscled his way over.

Newcastle head coach Alan Dickens told BBC Radio Newcastle:

“We gave Sale a lot of opportunities. It wasn’t the start we had talked about in the week and that was disappointing.

“What we talked about at half-time was the need to stick together and, for a long period of time in that second half, I thought we did, probably up to 72 minutes and then Sale scored three quick tries and ran away with it.

“We gave them too much time on the ball and when you do that with such a quality player [George Ford] he’s going to pull the strings and put people in holes.

Newcastle fans had hoped that the addition of their club to the Red Bull sporting stable might bring an upturn in their fortunes, with new players and a new head coach heading to Kingston Park.

That has made little difference so far as the Geordies shipped 77 points in defeats by Saracens and Exeter Chiefs, and have now lost the Northern “derby” by a record scoreline.

For Sale, the big win was a perfect pick-me-up after last week’s defeat by champions Bath as they continue to ensure their home on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal remains a fortress.

Alex Sanderson’s side were quick out of the blocks with du Preez, who this week announced he will leave the club at the end of the season, following Gus Warr down the blindside for an easy opening try and Roebuck carving through a sluggish defence for another.

Max Clark was yellow-carded for repeat infringements as Sale hammered away at the Newcastle line and Cowan-Dickie took advantage by forcing his way over.

Skipper Van Rhyn marked his 50th Sale appearance with the bonus-point try and even the sin-binning of Cowan-Dickie could not stop Sale as Reed dribbled du Preez’s lovely kick over the line for a great finish.

Obatobinyo’s first try since March 2023 gave Newcastle a glimmer of hope, as did the debut of exciting Argentina scrum-half Simon Benitez Cruz from the bench but it was all short-lived.

South African centre Marius Louw sent Roebuck through for his second, and hooker Nathan Jibulu made up for his malfunctioning lineout work by making it a try in each of his first three Prem games for the club.

Sale: Carpenter; Roebuck, R. du Preez, Louw, Reed; Ford, Warr; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Bamber, Andrews, van Rhyn, Woodman, Dugdale.

Replacements: Jibulu, McIntyre, Harper, Burrow, Caine, Quirke, O’Flaherty, Bedlow.

Newcastle: Grayson; Obatoyinbo, Doherty, Clark, Hearle; Chamberlain, Elliott; Brocklebank, McGuigan, Palframan, Hodgson, Clarke, Lee-Warner, Gordon, Mafi.

Replacements: Fletcher, Rewcastle, McCallum, Usher, Neild, Cruz, Connon, Spencer.

The Prem

Sale (31) 57

Tries: R du Preez, Roebuck 3, Cowan-Dickie, van Rhyn, Reed 2, Jibulu Cons: Ford 6

Sin-bin: Cowan-Dickie (35 mins)

Newcastle (0) 5

Try: Obatoyinbo

Tom Roebuck scored a hat-trick as nine-try Sale Sharks piled on the agony for the Prem’s bottom club Newcastle Red Bulls with a crushing 57-5 victory at the CorpAcq Stadium.

The England man’s opposite wing Arron Reed added two tries of his own and British and Irish Lions hero Luke Cowan-Dickie also grabbed a try on his return to action for his club.

With Rob du Preez and Ernst van Rhyn also scoring, the Sharks racked up the bonus-point in the first half as they raced to a 31-0 lead at the break.

Newcastle, who have now heavily lost their first two league games since the takeover by Red Bull in the summer, showed signs of a revival as the home side got sloppy and Elliott Obatoyinbo muscled his way over.

Newcastle head coach Alan Dickens told BBC Radio Newcastle:

“We gave Sale a lot of opportunities. It wasn’t the start we had talked about in the week and that was disappointing.

“What we talked about at half-time was the need to stick together and, for a long period of time in that second half, I thought we did, probably up to 72 minutes and then Sale scored three quick tries and ran away with it.

“We gave them too much time on the ball and when you do that with such a quality player [George Ford] he’s going to pull the strings and put people in holes.

Newcastle fans had hoped that the addition of their club to the Red Bull sporting stable might bring an upturn in their fortunes, with new players and a new head coach heading to Kingston Park.

That has made little difference so far as the Geordies shipped 77 points in defeats by Saracens and Exeter Chiefs, and have now lost the Northern “derby” by a record scoreline.

For Sale, the big win was a perfect pick-me-up after last week’s defeat by champions Bath as they continue to ensure their home on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal remains a fortress.

Alex Sanderson’s side were quick out of the blocks with du Preez, who this week announced he will leave the club at the end of the season, following Gus Warr down the blindside for an easy opening try and Roebuck carving through a sluggish defence for another.

Max Clark was yellow-carded for repeat infringements as Sale hammered away at the Newcastle line and Cowan-Dickie took advantage by forcing his way over.

Skipper Van Rhyn marked his 50th Sale appearance with the bonus-point try and even the sin-binning of Cowan-Dickie could not stop Sale as Reed dribbled du Preez’s lovely kick over the line for a great finish.

Obatobinyo’s first try since March 2023 gave Newcastle a glimmer of hope, as did the debut of exciting Argentina scrum-half Simon Benitez Cruz from the bench but it was all short-lived.

South African centre Marius Louw sent Roebuck through for his second, and hooker Nathan Jibulu made up for his malfunctioning lineout work by making it a try in each of his first three Prem games for the club.

Sale: Carpenter; Roebuck, R. du Preez, Louw, Reed; Ford, Warr; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Bamber, Andrews, van Rhyn, Woodman, Dugdale.

Replacements: Jibulu, McIntyre, Harper, Burrow, Caine, Quirke, O’Flaherty, Bedlow.

Newcastle: Grayson; Obatoyinbo, Doherty, Clark, Hearle; Chamberlain, Elliott; Brocklebank, McGuigan, Palframan, Hodgson, Clarke, Lee-Warner, Gordon, Mafi.

Replacements: Fletcher, Rewcastle, McCallum, Usher, Neild, Cruz, Connon, Spencer.