Darcy Graham and Jack Dempsey will start for Scotland in Saturday’s Six Nations meeting with France at Murrayfield, while Zander Fagerson drops to the bench.
Wing Graham, 28, has come off the bench in the Scots’ past three Tests. Kyle Steyn moves from right to left wing to accommodate Graham with Duhan van der Merwe missing out. Graham, like Van der Merwe, has scored 35 international tries.
Back-rower Dempsey, 31, was expected to miss the rest of the tournament after picking up a bicep injury in the Calcutta Cup win over England but returned to the squad following the victory away to Wales in round three.
Scotland Rugby Podcast: France ‘biggest test in world rugby’
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Gregor Brown moves from six to the second row to partner Scott Cummings as Max Williamson makes way.
Pierre Schoeman, George Turner and D’Arcy Rae form a new front row. After starting Scotland’s past 17 Six Nations matches dating back to 2023, Zander Fagerson is named among the replacements. Nathan McBeth and Dave Cherry drop out altogether.
Scotland XV to face France
Scotland: Blair Kinghorn; Darcy Graham, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (capt), Kyle Steyn; Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, D’Arcy Rae, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.
At the age of 10, when most children were discovering playgrounds and cartoons, Abidemi Praise Omowarola discovered something more enduring: a pencil and a quiet refuge in art.
READ ALSO: How Abidemi Praise Sketched Her Way Into The Record Books
She began drawing not for fame or applause but for survival. The young girl used sketches as a form of emotional release after witnessing domestic violence in her home.
“I didn’t know it was called art therapy at the time,” she said in an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, explaining how she would retreat into a world of scribbles and broken lines to process the turmoil around her.
Years later, that coping mechanism transformed into a historic triumph. Abidemi recently set a Guinness World Record for the longest marathon drawing portraits, standing and sketching for an extraordinary 90 hours. During the endurance test, she completed 15 detailed portraits of figures ranging from Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to King Charles III, as well as religious leader David Oyedepo and football icon Cristiano Ronaldo.
Preparation for the feat was as demanding as the record itself. Abidemi trained physically, even visiting the gym at midnight to build the stamina required to remain standing and focused for nearly four days.
Her attempt was not merely about endurance. It marked a personal renaissance. After relocating to the United Kingdom and taking on jobs that distanced her from art, she saw the record attempt as her “launch back” into the creative world.
Today, the same mother who once encouraged her to pursue medicine or law now sits proudly beside her easel as her greatest supporter.
And for Abidemi, the record is already opening doors.
“I might not get money for it, but I am able to knock on doors, and the doors are opened because I am a Guinness World Record holder,” she said.
Her triumph is emblematic of a larger phenomenon sweeping across Nigeria: a generation of young dreamers rewriting the limits of possibility.
Chessboard Of Dreams
Few stories capture the power of determination like that of Tunde Onakoya, the chess champion and founder of the nonprofit Chess in Slums Africa.
In New York’s Times Square, Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya has surpassed the previous 56-hour chess marathon record.
Raised in modest circumstances by a mother who worked as a cleaner, Onakoya first learned chess in a barber’s shop before going on to study computer science at Yaba College of Technology. His journey has since transformed the lives of hundreds of disadvantaged children through scholarships and educational support.
In April 2025, Onakoya set the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon, playing for 64 consecutive hours in Times Square, New York, alongside chess master Shawn Martinez.
The marathon shattered the previous record of 61 hours held by two Norwegian players. But the Lagos-born chess advocate made it clear that his motivation extended beyond the thrill of breaking records.
“We’re not just doing this for ourselves—we’re doing it for a million dreams,” he said.
The record attempt doubled as a fundraising campaign to build the largest free preschool in Africa for homeless children.
“It is possible to do great things from a small place,” Onakoya wrote while celebrating the feat.
The Nigerian government hailed his accomplishment as a powerful symbol of national pride.
“I received Tunde Onakoya, founder of Chess in Slums Africa, at my residence today, where he also presented his World Record for the longest Chess Marathon. Tunde’s journey, from the streets of Lagos to uplifting underserved children and breaking world records, reflects the resilience and brilliance of Nigeria’s youth,” President Bola Tinubu said as he received him at the State House in June 2025.
Onakoya visited Tinubu at the State House in Abuja
Vice President Kashim Shettima described the achievement as a reflection of the “excellence and resilience that distinguishes Nigerians both locally and internationally.” Meanwhile, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos State, said the record attempt was “a strong testimony to how greatness can come from anywhere.”
Canvas Without Limits
Nigeria’s surge in global recognition is not confined to endurance feats. It is also visible in the creativity of its youngest talents.
READ ALSO: Autistic Teen Sets Guinness World Record For Largest Canvas Painting
In 2025, 15-year-old Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke achieved the Guinness World Record for the largest painting on canvas by an individual, unveiling a breathtaking artwork measuring 12,303 square metres in Abuja.
The teenage artist, who is autistic, titled the monumental work “Impossible is a Myth”. The painting—unveiled on World Autism Awareness Day—symbolises hope and possibility for people on the autism spectrum.
His feat earned him accolades from several quarters. Photo: X@https://x.com/officialABAT
Nigeria’s Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, praised the feat, saying the young artist had demonstrated that “creative expression knows no barriers.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also celebrated the achievement in a message to the teenager.
“You are Brave, Audacious, and Tenacious,” the president wrote. “Congratulations on your recognition. Your story has made history, and Nigeria is proud of you.”
His feat earned him accolades from several quarters. Photo: X@https://x.com/officialABAT
The record-breaking canvas, unveiled at Eagle Square, drew dignitaries, diplomats, and advocates for autism inclusion, underscoring the global resonance of the young artist’s achievement.
‘Cooking Up’ History
Another name synonymous with Nigeria’s Guinness World Record surge is Hilda Baci, the chef whose culinary endurance sparked a nationwide fascination with record-breaking attempts.
Hilda Baci (L) dances as she stands next to a giant pot during an attempt to break the world record for the largest pot of Jollof rice,, on September 12, 2025. (Photo by OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP
Baci first captured global attention in 2023 with a 93-hour cooking marathon, a feat that ignited what many now call Nigeria’s “GWR era.”
Two years later, she added another extraordinary milestone: preparing 8,780 kilograms of Nigerian-style jollof rice, earning recognition for the largest serving of jollof rice—and simultaneously the largest serving of rice overall.
“I was shocked and happy at the same time, completely caught off guard,” Baci said after learning the single attempt had earned her two record titles.
Chef Hilda Baci displaying her second Guinness World Plaque on November 6, 2025. Credit: Hilda Baci/Instagram
Reflecting on her culinary path, she once told Channels Television that cooking seemed woven into every phase of her career.
“Cooking still pretty much shines out the best, and I would say it’s what God wants me to do,” she said.
Nigeria’s Global Moment
From art studios to chessboards, kitchens to colossal canvases, Nigeria’s new generation of record-breakers is reshaping how the world sees the country.
These feats do more than secure plaques. They broadcast a narrative of creativity, resilience, and audacity.
READ ALSO: IN PICTURES: Hilda Baci Takes A Shot At New Guinness World Record
Each record tells a deeper story: of children who found healing in art, of young leaders transforming poverty into purpose, and of dreamers determined to place Nigeria firmly on the world stage.
In the process, these young Nigerians have proven something profound—that greatness often begins with a small spark of possibility.
Adam Lanigan, BBC Sport, North East & Cumbria and Rob Law, BBC Radio Tees commentator
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With 11 games of a gruelling and thrilling Championship promotion race to go, Middlesbrough are primed to end a spell of nine years away from the Premier League.
If they can finish in the top two when the music stops in early May – they now sit second, three points clear of Ipswich Town albeit having played a game more – their unassuming head coach Kim Hellberg will write himself into Boro folklore.
But go back to the start of the campaign and there’s a fair chance few, if any, of the club’s supporters would have known who Hellberg was.
Previously working back home at Hammarby, the 38-year-old Swede arrived at the Riverside Stadium in November as an unheralded replacement for Rob Edwards, who had left for Wolves.
However, in the space of a few months, some thrilling football, allied to warmth and humility off the pitch, means Teesside has taken Hellberg to its heart.
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‘Premier League is goal – that’s what I’m going to do’
Hellberg’s chance at Boro came after Edwards departed for Wolves, less than five months and 15 games into the Welshman’s reign at the club.
But while Edwards’ stay was brief, his replacement believes he has found a place where he sees his future – and one in the Premier League.
“I see myself here in three years,” Hellberg said. “I will try as much as I can every day to get to the Premier League.
Previous managers to lead Middlesbrough to promotion to the top flight include Jack Charlton, Bryan Robson and Aitor Karanka.
A World Cup winner, an England and Manchester United captain, a multiple Champions League winner with Real Madrid.
Storied playing careers that opened doors to the dugout.
Hellberg has not had that luxury.
His playing career was a modest one in Sweden’s lower leagues until he retired at 22, realising he was not good enough to go further.
His ambition was to go into coaching like his father, Stefan, who spent years as assistant at Norrkoping, the town where Kim grew up.
But that meant starting way down the ladder, while at the same time working as first a PE teacher and then a primary school teacher for three-and-a-half years.
“Being a teacher was fun, and I liked it, but it was not something I wanted to do for 40 years,” he said.
“I wanted to be a football coach so much.
“I can always look back to the time I was a teacher, trying to get some sleep in between work and evening training sessions and having no money.
“Going away on vacation was impossible as I had to keep everything together in putting everything on being a football coach.
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‘Every player I’ve coached has been better than me’
Hellberg’s chance came at a club called Kimstad in the seventh tier of Swedish football.
He jokes he was the 12th choice and was put in a charge of a side including some of his best friends.
But proving himself is something that Hellberg has subsequently done consistently during 15 years in the dugout.
Working his way up the ranks, dispelling myths about his lack of a successful playing career, he won promotions down the divisions before landing a job in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s top flight, in 2021 with IFK Varnamo.
Not only did he keep the newly-promoted club up with one of the league’s lowest budgets, he then took them to fifth place the following season.
That brought him to the attention of Stockholm-based Hammarby, with a bigger budget and more pressure and expectation.
Two seasons delivered successive runners-up spots, playing the attractive and fluid possession game he has brought to England, bringing him wider attention, and he was on the radar for the vacant Swansea City job before Boro grabbed him.
But with his biggest achievement possibly just around the corner, what Hellberg is most proud of is how his coaching and personality have allowed him to keep progressing.
“My perspective is very important to have with me as I know where I came from, how hard I worked to be here and I have no playing career,” he said.
“Every player I’ve coached has been better than me, even at the lowest division.
“I’ve grown a lot of confidence from that. I had to be a good person and a good coach even for [Swedish fifth-tier] Kuddby players to respect me.
“That’s been a good journey for me to always come into a club to show I’m good at this – I’m not here because I was good at playing football.
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Quiet boy to inspiring leader
Being a manager or a head coach in football these days makes you a public figure. Whether you like it or not, it is a huge part of the job.
Answering questions in front of TV cameras and rooms full of journalists are commonplace, as well as sessions with supporters’ clubs.
The head coach has to inspire all the staff who work at a football club as well as be comfortable stood up in front of a dressing room of up to 30 players in what can be an intimidating environment.
That is not for everyone and it certainly wouldn’t have been for a young Hellberg, who was described as a ‘quiet, shy boy’ in his youth.
He still says now that he is happiest at home watching a film with his wife, and he would go out of his way to avoid small talk in the street, even with people he knows.
But he is honest enough to admit that putting himself in intimidating situations to speak in public and special breathing techniques have allowed him to develop a successful method of leading in his role as a football coach.
“Wanting something so much, you have to do it,” he said.
“It was trying to find different things to grow from it, breathing exercises and all those different things to give myself more confidence and calmness in doing it.
“I’m very proud of that journey. It was something that was tough as a boy and when I started my career. But I had to do it.
A fire outbreak has razed the St Mary Catholic Cathedral in Wukari, Taraba State, leaving the multi-million-naira structure in ruins.
The Director of Communications for the Catholic Diocese of Wukari, Rev. Fr. John Laikei, said the fire broke out on Wednesday night shortly after electricity was restored in the area.
Laikei explained that the cathedral, a prominent landmark in Wukari town, was completely burnt. However, he confirmed that no casualties were recorded.
He described the incident as a major setback for the diocese, noting that members of the church were still in shock over the destruction.
“It was a scene of utter destruction, with fire everywhere. No roofs and furniture are still standing,” he said.
READ ALSO: Gunmen Attack Police Border Checkpoint In Kebbi, Kill Two Officers
According to him, the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
“The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but all I can say is power was restored and the incident occurred. I also want to say that the authorities are yet to assess the damage,” he added.
Laikei also lamented the absence of functional fire service vehicles in the area, describing it as a long-standing challenge in Wukari and called for urgent government intervention.
The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has been postponed just 12 days before the finals were set to kick off in Morocco.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) in a statement released on Thursday said it was rescheduling the tournament due to “unforseen [sic] circumstances”.
The tournament, which this year doubles up as a qualifier for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, was scheduled to be held from 17 March to 3 April.
Morocco was set to stage a third successive edition of the finals but reports of a potential hosting change had created anxiety among players and fans in recent weeks.
Speculation about the country’s willingness to host the tournament increased after the chaotic scenes that played out in the 2025 men’s Afcon final, which Morocco lost 1-0 to Senegal in a dramatic match at the Stade Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat.
Caf said the decision to postpone the tournament was taken to “ensure the success of this important women’s competition”.
It did not indicate a new host, or dates, stating that “preparations for the tournament are underway”.
The group stage draw for the expanded 16-team tournament was made on 15 January but Caf had not yet published the full match schedule.
At the start of February, South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie was forced to clarify remarks from his deputy that South Africa was set to take over as Wafcon 2026 hosts.
The postponement will once again lead to questions about Caf’s commitment to the women’s game, with the 2020 Wafcon cancelled entirely because of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations was rescheduled until early 2022.
The 2024 Wafcon, won by Nigeria, was only held in July last year because of scheduling conflicts including the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Wafcon is the second continental tournament to be moved at short notice in the past 14 months.
Caf postponed the 2024 African Nations Championship just 18 days before it was due to start in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda on 1 February 2025.
On that occasion, the continent’s governing body said its experts had advised that more time was required to ensure infrastructure and facilities were “at the levels necessary”.
Uncertainty over Wafcon 2026 disappointing – Oparanozie
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Prior to Caf’s announcement, the BBC spoke to former Super Falcons captain Desire Oparanozie, who voiced profound disappointment at the recurring setbacks for women’s football on the continent.
“I’m very much worried and I would say I’m disappointed because this keeps happening with women’s football,” she told BBC Sport Africa.
“During Covid the Wafcon was postponed [but] the men went on to play the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.”
“I think it’s because it’s women’s football, people really don’t give that much importance to it,” she said.
Morocco successfully hosted Wafcon in 2022 and the delayed 2024 edition held in 2025, which saw record attendance figures and strong television audiences across Africa.
“It’s disappointing that we’re depending so much on Morocco,” says Oparanozie, who won Wafcon four times with Nigeria.
“Caf should start looking for possible countries that will actually come up to take the spot if Morocco were to pull out.”
Oparanozie said the postponement could have a physical and mental impact on players, who were already preparing for the tournament.
Teams like Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana had continued their preparations with high-profile friendlies, with the Black Queens of Ghana on a training tour in the United Arab Emirates.
“They [players] will be very worried considering the amount of work they’ve put in so far physically and mentally.”
“They’ve put their lives on hold just to focus for this tournament and prolonged uncertainty could demoralise some,” she said.
The escalating conflict in the Middle East, which has caused airspace closures and flight cancellations, had further raised concerns about the tournament, with the Ghanaian team needing assurances and support from the country’s foreign mission.
“We are currently safe, our mission is in touch with us and working on ensuring our safety and we shall leave as soon as possible, when our flight gets scheduled,” the team’s media officer, Matilda Dzifo Dimedo, told BBC Sport Africa.
The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed that four persons were abducted along the Igbeti–Kishi Road in the Oke-Ogun axis of the state.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, confirmed the incident to journalists on Thursday.
According to him, the Commissioner of Police directed the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) of Kishi and Igbeti divisions to deploy personnel to the area following reports of the abduction.
Ayanlade said tactical teams had also been mobilised to support efforts to rescue the victims and track down the perpetrators.
READ ALSO: Gunmen Shoot Farmer, Abduct Wife In Ondo
He added that security operatives were combing the surrounding forests and nearby communities as part of ongoing search efforts.
“The Commissioner of Police immediately directed the Divisional Police Officers of Kishi and Igbeti divisions, supported by other tactical teams, to deploy necessary operational assets to ensure the safe rescue of the victims and the arrest of the perpetrators,” he said.
The police spokesperson noted that intelligence gathering had been intensified in the area as part of efforts to locate the suspects.
