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England’s two-time World Cup winner Scarratt retires

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Images courtesy of Getty

Sara Orchard

Commentator for the rugby union
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After winning her second World Cup of her career last month, England legend Emily Scarratt has announced her retirement.

With 754 points, Scarratt is England women’s all-time top scorer, an 11-time Six Nations champion and World Player of the Year in 2019.

Scarratt, 35, described her country as “the greatest privilege,” while Red Roses head coach John Mitchell referred to her as “a once in a generation player.”

She became the first female English player to compete in five Rugby World Cups earlier this year.

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Scarratt will continue to coach for the Premiership Women’s Rugby League’s Loughborough Lightning while also serving as a specialist coach and mentor.

“I’m really excited to stay involved with the RFU and contribute to the future of the game,” she continued. “As soon as it’s the right time to stop playing, I’m really excited.”

“I’m proud to still be a part of the women’s game’s journey,” the statement reads.

On and off the field, Emily has been a model professional, leader, and role model for thousands of girls who have picked up the ball because of her, according to RFU CEO Bill Sweeney.

The last of Scarratt’s 119 caps, having made her international debut in 2008, came off the bench in Sunderland for the first match of the Rugby World Cup. Later in the tournament, she was expected to play but suffered a shoulder injury.

She continued to play off-field for the team throughout the tournament, earning even more fans for her sincerity and devotion to the team.

The center spent 13 months on the sidelines after suffering a serious neck injury that required surgery in 2023, which made it her fifth Rugby World Cup.

She won 16 of England’s 21 points in the 2014 Rugby World Cup final against Canada, which is considered one of the sport’s greatest players.

One of the greatest men to sport the England shirt

Emily Scarratt poses for a picture with her England team-mates after winning the 2025 World CupReuters

Emily Scarratt’s trophy cabinet has just enough room for a second World Cup medal, which is hardly noteworthy in the sport.

She declined a basketball scholarship to concentrate on rugby union after growing up in rural Leicestershire.

She has a silky running and kick-making career that is arguably her most memorable moment, winning the World Cup final in 2014 with that title.

Despite growing media coverage, where her charm shines, she has long evaded the spotlight.

After she once mentioned on her podcast that she liked them, fans were frequently seen clutching bags of croissants as presents at games.

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Bob Vylan frontman has ‘no regrets’ over Glastonbury ‘death to IDF’ chant

By in Entertainment News, News

Bobby Vylan has revealed he’s not regretful over his chant at Glastonbury Festival, which saw him say to the crowd, ‘death, death to the IDF’ earlier this year

Daniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor

Bobby Vylan is “not regretful” over his chant at Glastonbury Festival. Reflecting on the controversy, which caused a storm during the BBC coverage, the Bob Vylan frontman said he would “do it again tomorrow.”

While performing at the festival earlier this year, the punk duo led the crowd in a chant in between songs. Frontman Bobby said: “Alright, but have you heard this one, though? Death, death to the IDf.” Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said she was “appalled” by the remarks.

The BBC swiftly removed the performance from iPlayer and apologised for the “deeply offensive” content. But in a new interview, the frontman, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, said he would do it all again.

Speaking to Louis Theroux on the documentary-maker’s podcast, he said: “Oh yeah.”Like what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes, I would do it again. I’m not regretful of it. I’d do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays. I’m not regretful of it at all, like the subsequent backlash that I’ve faced. It’s minimal.”

The musician added: “It’s minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through. If that can be my contribution and if I can have my Palestinian friends and people that I meet from Palestine, that have had to flee, that have lost members in double digits of their family and they can say, yo, your chant, I love it. Or it gave me a breath of fresh air or whatever.

“And I don’t want to overstate the importance of the chant. That’s not what I’m trying to do, but if I have their support, they’re the people that I’m doing it for, they’re the people that I’m being vocal for, then what is there to regret. Oh, because I’ve upset some right-wing politician or some right-wing media?”

The episode of Louis’ podcast was recorded on October 1, with the broadcaster noting that it took place just one day before the tragic Manchester synagogue attack, during which two people were killed and three were injured. It was also recorded nine days before the ceasefire in Gaza commenced on October 10.

Robinson-Foster revealed he was taken aback by the fury that was sparked by his chant. Prime Minsiter, Kier Starmer, said it was “appalling hate speech”. But the musician claims staff at the BBC told him the set was “fantastic”.

The Executive Complaints Unit of the BBC has since found the broadcast breached editorial standards in relation to harm and offence. Robinson-Foster said: “I had no expectations. I honestly hadn’t heard it (the reaction). I hadn’t seen it. Because obviously there was a lot happening at the time. Do you know what I mean?

“It wasn’t like we came off stage, and everybody was like (gasps). It’s just normal. We come off stage. It’s normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like ‘That was fantastic! We loved that!'” He also lashed out at Blur icon Damon Albarn who said that the chant was “one of the most spectacular misfires I’ve seen in my life, especially when he started goose-stepping in tennis gear”.

He said of Albarn: “It was disappointing. Because it lacked self-awareness, I think, his response. I just want to say that categorising it as a ‘spectacular misfire’ implies that somehow the politics of the band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is not thought out.

“And as a more senior, experienced, veteran artist – he’s been in this industry for a long time – I think that there were other ways that he could have handled that question being fielded to him. I take great issue with the phrase ‘goose-stepping’ being used because it’s only used around Nazi Germany. That’s it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his response was disgusting.”

Avon and Somerset Police confirmed in the weeks after Bob Vylan’s set that it was still being investigated. After their set, the force said: “Video footage and audio from Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s performances at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday has been reviewed.

“Following the completion of that assessment process, we have decided further enquiries are required and a criminal investigation is now being undertaken. A senior detective has been appointed to lead this investigation.

“This has been recorded as a public order incident at this time while our enquiries are at an early stage. The investigation will be evidence-led and will closely consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes.”

The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify now.

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Blackpool appoint ex-Bolton boss Evatt as manager

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Former Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt has been appointed as Blackpool’s manager under a two-and-a-half-year deal.

After four and a half years at Bolton, the 43-year-old left in January to become a manager.

Steve Bruce was fired earlier in October, and Evatt replaces him, who spent seven years with the Tangerines during his professional career.

With nine points from 13 matches, Blackpool are at the bottom of the third tier.

He told the club website, “It’s incredibly emotional to be back here and to be given this opportunity.”

“I have firsthand experience with what this club and its supporters can accomplish. We all want to see fearless attacking football at Bloomfield Road, which is a particularly difficult field for any team to play.

In his first game as manager of the club, he made 254 appearances. Saturday’s trip to Peterborough, a team that struggled previously, will be his first.

After a brief spell in charge of Chesterfield the previous year, Evatt left Barrow for his managerial position in June 2018.

After the Covid-interrupted 2019-20 season, he led the Bluebirds to promotion to the English Football League, before leaving to take over then League Two Bolton in the summer of 2020.

He eventually helped them return to League One at the first opportunity with a third-place finish despite a poor season opener.

In 2022-22 and 23-24, they received back-to-back play-off victories in the third tier, but they were unable to reclaim the Championship.

In the League One play-off final in May 2024, they defeated Oxford United, who struggled for form during the first half of last term, leading to his departure in January of that year.

Under Bruce, Blackpool had a poor start to the season, finishing ninth in League One last year, and by the time he left, the team had lost seven of their 11 league games and were second from the bottom of the table.

Under the temporary leadership of Stephen Dobbie, the club has won one game out of three in all competitions. However, since beating Barnsley 1-0 on September 20, they have not won the league.

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Who is Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s ‘Iron Lady’ and first female prime minister?

By in News, World News

EXPLAINER

After winning a leadership vote in the legislature, Sanae Takaichi will take office as Japan’s first female prime minister.

Following her victory, she was scheduled to meet with Emperor Naruhito on Tuesday, cementing her position in history.

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What details about Japan’s upcoming leader are essential to know:

What is the history of Takaichi? &nbsp, &nbsp,

In the 1990s, Takaichi, 64, joined the long-serving Liberal Democratic Party in politics.

According to her official biography, she was born in central Japan’s Nara prefecture and received her degree from Kobe University.

Her family background was a little less than that of other LDP senior members, many of whom had degrees from prestigious institutions like the University of Tokyo and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Takaichi is best remembered as Shinzo Abe’s protégé. She was a member of both his cabinet and that of former prime minister Fumio Kishida.

What are Takaichi’s political views? &nbsp, &nbsp,

Takaichi, a fan of Margaret Thatcher’s death, has been referred to in media circles as “Iron Lady” of Japan due to her similarly conservative bent.

In the most recent leadership race, Takaichi pushed for economic policies that were similar to those used by her mentor, “Abenomics,” a combination of structural reform, monetary policy, and fiscal expansion.

She opposes same-sex unions, opposes immigration, and thinks the imperial succession should still prioritize men.

She is also known as a “China hawk,” a proponent of a more militarized and stable Taiwan Strait. Much to China’s chagrin, she has also traveled to meet with the LDP and has also made several appearances there.

Past visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial to the Japanese who died in the war, have also been controversial. Due to the shrine’s inclusion of World War II war criminals, it is a contentious issue both in Japan and abroad.

What does Takaichi’s win mean for Japan?

Takaichi’s victory means that Japan will continue down a path of conservative governance with a more right-wing shift, according to experts.

Conservative politics in Japan, however, are somewhat different from the West, says Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at Japan’s International Christian University.

While Takaichi wants to strengthen Japan’s defence force and curb immigration, one thing she will not be changing is Japan’s social welfare system.

“Conservative in Japan means strong on security, it means strong on China, it means strong US-Japan relations. It means protecting the emperor system”, he told Al Jazeera ahead of the vote. “It usually]also] means an interventionist government that provides quite a bit of social welfare programmes.

” We’ll see Takaichi lead a new conservative LDP party – but conservative in the Japanese-defined sense of conservative, “he added.

What’s next for Takaichi?

Takaichi’s road to victory was not straightforward, and she still faces many uncertainties.

She will become Japan’s fourth prime minister in five years and takes the helm from a relatively weak position.

While the LDP has been the dominant political force in post-war Japan, the party has lost its majority in both houses of the legislature over the past two years. Its long-term coalition with the far-right Sanseito party also collapsed shortly after Takaichi was elected leader of the LDP in October, due to disagreements about campaign donations and anticorruption measures.

The LDP was able to form a new alliance with the Japan Innovation Party, another conservative party, securing enough seats in the legislature for Takaichi’s win this week.

But as PM, Takaichi will need to address challenges ranging from Japan’s cost of living crisis to the effects of US President Donald Trump’s trade war, and the country’s long-term security concerns about China and North Korea. The LDP is also still recovering from a major corruption scandal.