Archive November 6, 2025

Abu Dhabi Championship first round leaderboard

-8 A Saddier (Fra), R Sterne (SA), T Fleetwood (Eng), S Lowry (Ire), K Kobori (NZ); -7 I Elvira (Spa), M Kim (US), K Nakajima (Jpn), A Noren (Swe), N Hojgaard (Den), A Sullivan (Eng) N Von Dellingshausen (Ger)

Selected others: -6 A Fitzpatrick (Eng), R Mansell (Eng), M Armitage (Eng), A Rai (Eng), T Hatton (Eng); -5 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), C Hill (Sco), M Penge (Eng); -4 R McIlroy (NI)

Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry are in a share of the lead after the first round of the Abu Dhabi Championship.

England’s Fleetwood and Irishman Lowry, who helped Europe beat the USA at Bethpage in September, both carded an eight-under 64 at Yas Links.

Adrien Saddier, Richard Sterne and Kazuma Kobori complete the five leaders after day one of the DP World Tour’s penultimate tournament of the year – with a field of 70 whittled down to 50 for next week’s DP World Tour Championship finale.

Sterne made a flying start as the South African was seven under after the front nine, before landing a 75-foot putt on the 18th to claim his second eagle of the day and take the clubhouse lead.

Two-time winner Fleetwood then finished with eight birdies in a spotless round while 2019 champion Lowry had nine birdies and a single bogey.

Rasmus Hojgaard also played with the Ryder Cup duo and Lowry said: “I was pretty excited when I saw the group, my pairing today. It was nice to go out there with the boys.

“I was paired with [Fleetwood] in India the first two days and I shot 64 as well, so yeah, something about me and Tommy. I just like playing with him, a friend and a really good player too. You kind of feed off each other.”

England’s Marco Penge has emerged as the closest challenger to leader Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai.

The 27-year-old played with McIlroy for the first time on Thursday and is among seven players who are three shots off the lead, with McIlroy a shot further back.

Abu Dhabi Championship first round leaderboard

-8 A Saddier (Fra), R Sterne (SA), T Fleetwood (Eng), S Lowry (Ire), K Kobori (NZ); -7 I Elvira (Spa), M Kim (US), K Nakajima (Jpn), A Noren (Swe), N Hojgaard (Den), A Sullivan (Eng) N Von Dellingshausen (Ger)

Selected others: -6 A Fitzpatrick (Eng), R Mansell (Eng), M Armitage (Eng), A Rai (Eng), T Hatton (Eng); -5 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), C Hill (Sco), M Penge (Eng); -4 R McIlroy (NI)

Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry are in a share of the lead after the first round of the Abu Dhabi Championship.

England’s Fleetwood and Irishman Lowry, who helped Europe beat the USA at Bethpage in September, both carded an eight-under 64 at Yas Links.

Adrien Saddier, Richard Sterne and Kazuma Kobori complete the five leaders after day one of the DP World Tour’s penultimate tournament of the year – with a field of 70 whittled down to 50 for next week’s DP World Tour Championship finale.

Sterne made a flying start as the South African was seven under after the front nine, before landing a 75-foot putt on the 18th to claim his second eagle of the day and take the clubhouse lead.

Two-time winner Fleetwood then finished with eight birdies in a spotless round while 2019 champion Lowry had nine birdies and a single bogey.

Rasmus Hojgaard also played with the Ryder Cup duo and Lowry said: “I was pretty excited when I saw the group, my pairing today. It was nice to go out there with the boys.

“I was paired with [Fleetwood] in India the first two days and I shot 64 as well, so yeah, something about me and Tommy. I just like playing with him, a friend and a really good player too. You kind of feed off each other.”

England’s Marco Penge has emerged as the closest challenger to leader Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai.

The 27-year-old played with McIlroy for the first time on Thursday and is among seven players who are three shots off the lead, with McIlroy a shot further back.

Quilter Nations Series: England v Fiji

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 8 November Kick-off: 17:40 GMT

Fin Smith will start at fly-half against Fiji on Saturday, with Marcus Smith at full-back and regular captain Maro Itoje on the bench, as England head coach Steve Borthwick rotates through his combinations once more.

Chandler Cunningham-South, who can play at flanker and second row, will make his first Test start at number eight as Borthwick attempts to add depth in the position following Tom Willis’ decision to move to France at the end of the season and out of international eligibility.

Lawrence tore his Achilles tendon in the Six Nations win over Italy in March, but has made a faster-than-expected recovery after a rehabilitation, featuring hyperbaric chambers and red light therapy, which he documented on social media.

Northampton’s Alex Coles comes into the second row, with Itoje’s influence saved for the second half. Prop Ellis Genge, back in the starting line-up, will be the on-field captain from the start.

England: M Smith; Freeman, Lawrence, Dingwall, Feyi-Waboso; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes, Coles, Chessum, Pepper, Earl, Cunningham-South

England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield admitted that frustration was inevitable among his trio of fly-halves.

“You don’t,” he told Rugby Union Weekly when asked how he managed to keep them all happy.

“But that is how it should be. At this level there is always someone who is a little disgruntled, who has maybe has a little bit of frustration.

“They are all impatient because they all want to play now, and want the shirt now, but an understanding of that is how it is different to their clubs – and their selflessness and putting the team first – is really important.

“Of course it takes some managing, but they are all good guys and understand the value of the team and that sometimes they are going to get bad news and have to work through it like everyone else.

“We have seen other nations be able to interchange who starts at 10 and done it very, very well. The quality of our 10s means we are able to do similar.”

Fin Smith, the youngest of the three fly-half options at 23, oversaw England’s successful end to last year’s Six Nations after being handed his first Test start in the wake of an opening-round defeat by Ireland.

With him at 10, England won their remaining four games to come second in the table, their highest finish since lifting the title in the Covid-affected 2020 tournament.

However Smith admitted he was disappointed by his form on the subsequent Lions tour, as he was unable to mount a serious challenge to Scotland’s Finn Russell as the Test 10.

Sale prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour is named on the bench with British and Irish Lion Will Stuart left out of the squad, while Bath’s Henry Arundell, whose last England appearance before a move to Racing 92 was at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, is the only backline cover among the replacements.

England have won eight of their nine meetings with Fiji, most recently prevailing 30-24 in a bruising quarter-final at France 2023.

Quilter Nations Series: England v Fiji

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 8 November Kick-off: 17:40 GMT

Fin Smith will start at fly-half against Fiji on Saturday, with Marcus Smith at full-back and regular captain Maro Itoje on the bench, as England head coach Steve Borthwick rotates through his combinations once more.

Chandler Cunningham-South, who can play at flanker and second row, will make his first Test start at number eight as Borthwick attempts to add depth in the position following Tom Willis’ decision to move to France at the end of the season and out of international eligibility.

Lawrence tore his Achilles tendon in the Six Nations win over Italy in March, but has made a faster-than-expected recovery after a rehabilitation, featuring hyperbaric chambers and red light therapy, which he documented on social media.

Northampton’s Alex Coles comes into the second row, with Itoje’s influence saved for the second half. Prop Ellis Genge, back in the starting line-up, will be the on-field captain from the start.

England: M Smith; Freeman, Lawrence, Dingwall, Feyi-Waboso; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes, Coles, Chessum, Pepper, Earl, Cunningham-South

England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield admitted that frustration was inevitable among his trio of fly-halves.

“You don’t,” he told Rugby Union Weekly when asked how he managed to keep them all happy.

“But that is how it should be. At this level there is always someone who is a little disgruntled, who has maybe has a little bit of frustration.

“They are all impatient because they all want to play now, and want the shirt now, but an understanding of that is how it is different to their clubs – and their selflessness and putting the team first – is really important.

“Of course it takes some managing, but they are all good guys and understand the value of the team and that sometimes they are going to get bad news and have to work through it like everyone else.

“We have seen other nations be able to interchange who starts at 10 and done it very, very well. The quality of our 10s means we are able to do similar.”

Fin Smith, the youngest of the three fly-half options at 23, oversaw England’s successful end to last year’s Six Nations after being handed his first Test start in the wake of an opening-round defeat by Ireland.

With him at 10, England won their remaining four games to come second in the table, their highest finish since lifting the title in the Covid-affected 2020 tournament.

However Smith admitted he was disappointed by his form on the subsequent Lions tour, as he was unable to mount a serious challenge to Scotland’s Finn Russell as the Test 10.

Sale prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour is named on the bench with British and Irish Lion Will Stuart left out of the squad, while Bath’s Henry Arundell, whose last England appearance before a move to Racing 92 was at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, is the only backline cover among the replacements.

England have won eight of their nine meetings with Fiji, most recently prevailing 30-24 in a bruising quarter-final at France 2023.

Quilter Nations Series: England v Fiji

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 8 November Kick-off: 17:40 GMT

Fin Smith will start at fly-half against Fiji on Saturday, with Marcus Smith at full-back and regular captain Maro Itoje on the bench, as England head coach Steve Borthwick rotates through his combinations once more.

Chandler Cunningham-South, who can play at flanker and second row, will make his first Test start at number eight as Borthwick attempts to add depth in the position following Tom Willis’ decision to move to France at the end of the season and out of international eligibility.

Lawrence tore his Achilles tendon in the Six Nations win over Italy in March, but has made a faster-than-expected recovery after a rehabilitation, featuring hyperbaric chambers and red light therapy, which he documented on social media.

Northampton’s Alex Coles comes into the second row, with Itoje’s influence saved for the second half. Prop Ellis Genge, back in the starting line-up, will be the on-field captain from the start.

England: M Smith; Freeman, Lawrence, Dingwall, Feyi-Waboso; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes, Coles, Chessum, Pepper, Earl, Cunningham-South

England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield admitted that frustration was inevitable among his trio of fly-halves.

“You don’t,” he told Rugby Union Weekly when asked how he managed to keep them all happy.

“But that is how it should be. At this level there is always someone who is a little disgruntled, who has maybe has a little bit of frustration.

“They are all impatient because they all want to play now, and want the shirt now, but an understanding of that is how it is different to their clubs – and their selflessness and putting the team first – is really important.

“Of course it takes some managing, but they are all good guys and understand the value of the team and that sometimes they are going to get bad news and have to work through it like everyone else.

“We have seen other nations be able to interchange who starts at 10 and done it very, very well. The quality of our 10s means we are able to do similar.”

Fin Smith, the youngest of the three fly-half options at 23, oversaw England’s successful end to last year’s Six Nations after being handed his first Test start in the wake of an opening-round defeat by Ireland.

With him at 10, England won their remaining four games to come second in the table, their highest finish since lifting the title in the Covid-affected 2020 tournament.

However Smith admitted he was disappointed by his form on the subsequent Lions tour, as he was unable to mount a serious challenge to Scotland’s Finn Russell as the Test 10.

Sale prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour is named on the bench with British and Irish Lion Will Stuart left out of the squad, while Bath’s Henry Arundell, whose last England appearance before a move to Racing 92 was at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, is the only backline cover among the replacements.

England have won eight of their nine meetings with Fiji, most recently prevailing 30-24 in a bruising quarter-final at France 2023.