Category Sports News

England vs. Spain warm-up for the Rugby World Cup

Location: Mattioli Woods Welford Road, Saturday, August 2nd Kick-off: 00 BST

With a warm-up match against Spain on Saturday, Flanker Abi Burton makes her first Test debut for England as they begin their bid for a home women’s rugby title.

After more than three weeks in an induced coma as a result of her treatment for autoimmune encephalitis in 2022, the 25-year-old has fought her way back to the top.

In this year’s Six Nations campaign, the former Sevens player made just one save appearance for the Red Roses.

England makes 10 changes to the starting lineup that defeated France in their Grand Slam decider in April, with the rest of the stars making their first appearance.

Both second row Lilli Ives Campion and inside center Jade Shekells are given the opportunity to stake their claims, while Lucy Packer will start at scrum-half alongside Natasha Hunt on the bench.

Helena Rowland, who has previously played the role from the bench, makes her debut on the wing. Emma Sing continues at full-back while Jessica Breach is on the other.

The replacements include Abby Down, Holly Aitchison, Sadia Kabeya, and Zoe Aldcroft.

The first of two World Cup warm-up matches is between England and Spain, which is ranked 13th in the world.

Next weekend in Mont-de-Marsan, when Mitchell is likely to field a team of the same caliber as them, they will also take on France.

The depth of England’s offensive might be a key component of their campaign, with players developed in the nation’s elite PWR competition.

In Sunderland on August 22 for the first time, they will face the United States.

England: Sing, Rowland, Jones, Shekells, Breach, Harrison, L. Packer, Clifford, Bern, Galligan, Campion, Burton, M. Packer (capt.) Feaunati.

third Test match between Australia and the British and Irish Lions

Accor Stadium Date: Saturday, August 2nd, 2019 12:00 BST

For the third and final Test against the Wallabies on Saturday, British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell said a series win “would mean the world to us.”

James Lowe is replaced on the left by Blair Kinghorn, and Ollie Chessum is replaced by James Ryan. The Leinsterman joins Chessum and Joe McCarthy as Maro Itoje’s third alternate starting Test partner in the second-row, making up the other nine Irish players in the starting lineup.

McCarthy and Mack Hansen, as well as Sione Tuipulotu, are not members of the squad. None of the three had any training on Wednesday, and Farrell claimed their fitness levels were 85%. All three have been dealing with injuries.

Chessum is moved to the bench with the backs and forwards split in six-two. Low has completely left the team. The two backs on the bench are Alex Mitchell and Owen Farrell, who cover 10 and 12 respectively.

After missing the 23 in Melbourne, Ben Earl will also be taking the place. Earl can also be used as a temporary center in both the back row and the field.

Tizzano has been blamed on former players who are now pundits, according to Joe Schmidt, the Wallaby coach. Tizzano is not included in Australia’s 23-day Saturday lineup. Any online abuse that Farrell described as “disgusting” was a fact.

There is no consensus on whether Farrell would offer Test spots to some players who hadn’t yet appeared in the series, most notably Josh van der Flier, but there is no such thing.

Itoje will start his ninth Test start in a row for the Lions in 2017, making eight starts and one off the bench in New Zealand in 2017.

The Lions are attempting to win three Tests in a row since Willie John McBride’s side in South Africa in 1974. The Lions’ team will become the first to finish a clean sweep since the boys of 1927 in Argentina won with a 4-0 victory if they are successful in winning Saturday’s Test.

After recovering from the calf injury that kept him out of the first Test in Brisbane, the Wallabies will be without their wonderful flanker, Rob Valetini.

Allan Alaalatoa, a highly skilled prop, who leaves the team with a shoulder issue, is another senior player who Schmidt is missing. Following last week’s impressive performance for First Nations &amp, Pasifika against the Lions in Melbourne, the hulking Taniela Tupou takes the place of Alaalatoa.

Schmidt’s scrum-half has changed. Tate McDermott will replace Nic White on the bench for the first time following Saturday’s Test.

Farrell praised his 23-man squad for playing against the Wallabies and, particularly, the players who are currently unable to play in a Test after naming their squads.

The coach expressed how proud his players are of his team’s dedication by saying, “It actually touches you.” “It does. You sense how important it is to them, in your opinion. For instance, you enter after winning so many games on Saturday, but I simply left them alone because I couldn’t get a word in.

You guys were aware of this because it seemed natural for them to celebrate together. The ones who didn’t put on the shirt were the ones who were most excited. To be honest, it says it all.

It would mean the world to us [to win the series 3-0], as you can imagine. We made a promise to ourselves that we would pursue it. We have a big responsibility this week because we represent the jersey and the British and Irish Lions’ brands.

With only two substitutions in place for James Lowe and Chessum, the versatile Toulouse thoroughbred, Kinghorn, the Leinster lock, Ryan, the starting lineup, will make two changes.

James [Ryan] merits his start, according to Farrell. Through this tour, he has grown. All eyes have been on his physicality when he has been on the bench and when he has worn the jersey for the past three or four weeks. Therefore, we believe he is the ideal candidate to begin the examination.

We thought Blair was a great athlete, but his unpredictability made him a dangerous one. I believe this game suits him because the conditions we’re anticipating will be of the highest caliber for the aerial game.

Farrell praised Furlong when he was chosen to start what will be his ninth consecutive Lions Test. The performances are not the only thing that has been outstanding. Additionally, it was his manner while touring with the Lions. He’s ready to go again because I’ve never seen him in such good spirits.

Replacements: Pollard, Bell, Nonggorr, Williams, Gleeson, McDermott, Donaldson, Kellaway, and Bell.

Keenan, Freeman, Jones, Aki, Kinghorn, Russell, Gibson-Park, Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, Itoje, Ryan, Beirne, Curry, Conan, and Freeman are the Irish and British Lions.

Ben O’Keeffe (NZ) and Andrea Piardi (Ita) serve as assistant referees.

Marius Jonker (SA) TMO

In Group A, runners-up Manchester City from the previous season were drawn drawn against second-tier Nottingham Forest, Everton, and Newcastle.

Chelsea, who have been given a bye into the quarter-finals along with Arsenal as a result of Champions League qualification, defeated Manchester City 2-1 in the March final.

Due to having to qualify for Champions League, Manchester United was also excluded from the draw. There will be another draw to determine whether they will be selected for Group A or Group B if they don’t make it to the group stage in Europe.

On September 24 and 25th, the group-stage matches will begin.

Completely drawn:

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

As he nears his 50th birthday, Jamie Cureton is not in any hurry to call it a day after a playing career spanning 22 clubs, three promotions and three relegations.

“I’ve just registered myself as a player for the 2025-26 season and would like to make at least one appearance after my birthday,” says Cambridge City’s player-manager as he prepares his team for Saturday’s FA Cup extra preliminary round tie at Kirkley & Pakefield.

Cureton was 19 when he made his Premier League debut for Norwich City against Everton in November 1994.

Back then, Oldham Athletic and Swindon Town had just been relegated from the top flight, Neville Southall was Everton’s goalkeeper and Blackburn Rovers were on their way to being crowned champions of England.

Cureton will make it a remarkable 32 successive seasons as a player across nine tiers of English football, from the Premier League to the Essex Senior League, should he turn out for Cambridge City this campaign.

The list of clubs he has represented is endless.

Norwich, Bournemouth (loan), Bristol Rovers, Reading, Busan I’Cons (South Korea), QPR, Swindon Town, Colchester, Barnsley (loan), Shrewsbury (loan), Exeter, Leyton Orient.

There’s more.

Cheltenham, Dagenham & Redbridge, Farnborough, Eastleigh, St Albans City, Bishop’s Stortford, Enfield, Hornchurch, Maldon & Tiptree and now Cambridge City, where he is about to start his second season in charge.

“Football is all I have ever known,” Bristol-born Cureton tells BBC Sport.

“I grew up in an area where trouble was around. Maybe I would have fallen into the wrong sort of crowd. Luckily, I had football.

Cureton cannot remember exactly how many appearances he has made over the past 31 years. “I lost count when I reached 1,000,” he adds.

Six years have passed since that extraordinary milestone which placed him in an elite group of players, alongside Barcelona legend Xavi and Real Madrid legend Raul, who have also achieved this feat.

According to Wikipedia, Cureton has clocked up 1,075 games and is 25th on the list of male footballers with 1,000 or more official appearances.

One of those games involved a can of hairspray from a joke shop, when the then-20-year-old dyed his hair green for Norwich’s game with fierce rivals Ipswich in 1996.

His most recent competitive appearance was on 26 April, when the 49-year-old came on as a 68th-minute substitute in Cambridge City’s 1-0 win away to Basildon Town in front of 123 fans in the eighth-tier Isthmian League North Division.

Cureton was 24 years older than team-mate Junior Mubiayi, who scored City’s winner.

“In terms of goals, in my head and from what people have told me, I’m either four or six away from 400,” he says. “I’d like to finish on 400 or above.”

Since his last professional appearance aged 41, Cureton has moved into management in non-league, with player-manager roles at Bishop’s Stortford, Enfield and now Cambridge City.

“It wasn’t something I had in my mind,” adds Cureton, who played under the likes of Martin O’Neill, Ian Holloway, Alan Pardew and the late Glenn Roeder before dropping into non-league.

“I stumbled into management. I got offered a role at Bishop’s Stortford and it just snowballed. I thoroughly enjoy it.”

Cureton also enjoyed a two-year stint as an academy coach at Arsenal between 2017 and 2019, where players under his watch included a 16-year-old Bukayo Saka.

“It’s no surprise to see him doing what he’s doing to be honest,” he says of Saka, who has 44 England caps at the age of 23.

“He’s a very nice guy, humble, no airs and graces about him. He just came in and worked hard. A clever boy as well, he was good at school.

Cureton turns 50 on 28 August, two days before his team’s home game with Wroxham.

Will he gift himself an appearance in that game and achieve his target of playing at 50?

“I won’t ever put myself above players who I feel need the opportunity and need to be playing,” says Cureton, who scored four times in 17 Premier League appearances in his first season at Norwich in 1994-95.

“I won’t pick myself over them. I’ve registered for this season in case I’m needed, in case I need to rest players.

“Towards the end of last season we’d lost a few players and had a few injuries, and there was an opportunity where I felt I could play.”

Cambridge City, founded in 1908, finished 11th in 2024-25 and Cureton is targeting a top-five finish and a play-off place in his second season in charge.

These are exciting times for the Lilywhites, who moved to a brand new 3,000-capacity ground about seven miles south of Cambridge last November.

A crowd of 1,459 watched them play Tilbury in their first competitive game at the FWD-IP Community Stadium, after 10 years of ground-sharing.

Earlier this month, 2,640 turned out at the venue to watch a friendly against neighbours Cambridge United.

“We’ve got a young squad and I’m older than most of their dads!” adds Cureton.

“If I can help any of them with their game, or even with their life, then I think I am doing my job.”

Cambridge City’s game at Lowestoft-based Kirkley & Pakefield is one of 222 FA Cup extra preliminary round ties scheduled for this weekend, 11 weeks after Crystal Palace beat Manchester City in the final at Wembley.

The Lilywhites reached the second round in 2004, their best run in the competition, when Cureton was playing in the Championship for QPR.

Cureton helped Bristol Rovers reach the last-16 in 1998-99 and would, if circumstances allow, like to make one final FA Cup appearance before he hangs up his boots for good.

“I never thought I would still be playing on the verge of 50,” he says. “I’m very grateful. The drive to keep on playing is what has pushed me to this point.

Frederic Vasseur has accepted a new agreement to remain the team’s principal through the end of the year.

The 57-year-old Frenchman had agreed to a “multi-year contract for the coming Formula 1 seasons,” but his deal was scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.

Vasseur signed a three-year contract with the organization at the beginning of 2023.

Benedetto Vigna, the company’s CEO, stated: “We want to acknowledge what has been built and commit to the progress that needs to be made.”

Our confidence in Fred’s leadership is reflected in its mutual respect for shared ambition, expectations, and responsibility.

“We move forward with tenacity and tenacity, united in our pursuit of Ferrari’s desired level of performance.”

“For the trust Ferrari continues to place in me,” Vasseur said. This renewal is more than just a confirmation; it is also a challenge to maintain focus, deliver, and keep making progress.

We’ve laid solid foundations for the past 30 months, and we need to continue building on them with tenacity and tenacity.

Following the initial setback this year that he had caused, the decision is seen as an expression of faith in Vasseur’s leadership.

Following a 2022 season in which the team started off as the fastest on the grid but struggled to maintain its title challenge as a result of poor reliability, stuttering car development, and operational issues, Vasseur was appointed.

Vasseur led a turnaround that made Ferrari the only team to win a race with Carlos Sainz in Singapore at the beginning of the 2023 season.

After a slow start, they did well in the second half of the season and surprisingly missed out on McLaren’s constructors’ title.

Ferrari would have won since 2008, McLaren’s first triumph since 1998.

Vasseur’s involvement in Ferrari’s signing of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will help them add Charles Leclerc to their driver line-up starting this season.

Ferrari have struggled this season, despite the fact that they were hoping to advance and contend for both titles in 2025.

Hamilton, who is in pole position for the second race of the season, won the sprint race in China.

Leclerc finished in second place in Monaco with five, which is his best effort.

Ferrari leads Mercedes in third place, 268 points behind McLaren, and 268 behind McLaren in second place.

While most football fans across Europe patiently wait for the new season to begin, the story of the year in Sweden is already taking shape.

Champions League regulars and legendary players like Malmo, AIK, Hammarby, and Djurgarden can be found in Allsvenskan, the nation’s top tier.

However, Mjallby, based in a town of less than 1, 000 people, is playing with less than half of the season up for grabs and is on course to do so in Europe.

The merger of two local teams in 1939 led to the formation of Mjallby, who spent the majority of their 86 years atop the Swedish top flight.

The Solvesborg municipality’s residents are diligent and proud, living in a coastal region that is closely linked to agriculture and fishing.

They show up in numbers at their modest 6, 500 capacity Strandvallen home in the small town of Hallevik, with average attendances more than four times the size of the local population.

It’s by the sea, but Mjallby and Stockholm and Malmo’s vast arenas are a long way from making up for lost time.

They have won 13 of their 18 league games this season and have only experienced defeat once, finishing fifth overall in the 2024 Allsvenskan. Since July 2024, they have also gone 18 home league matches unbeaten.

Despite having one of the smallest turnovers and budgets in the division, Mjallby have already defeated title rivals Hammarby, who are currently in second place at home and away this year.

Midfielder Elliot Stroud told BBC Sport, “It’s difficult to take it all in because it’s happened so quickly.”

The 23-year-old, Mjallby’s top goal contributor in the league with four goals and five assists, is thriving in a high energy, high pressing attacking system, something only recently introduced at the club.

Karl Marius Aksum is that coach.

When he joined Mjallby in January 2024, he had never previously coached at a senior level, but manager Anders Torstensson was impressed by his academic accomplishments and ideas.

The Norwegian, who regularly shares tactical insights on social media, has a PhD in visual perception in elite football.

The active head movements that players make before receiving the ball in order to gather information from their surroundings are the subject of the particular emphasis.

Because the players move more quickly and the press is more accurate, Aksum said, adding that staying current with your surroundings is a necessary skill in modern football.

“It’s especially important for players in the middle of the pitch, because they could have important information 360 degrees around them”.

He was given the freedom to apply other rules to revolutionize their attacking play and worked on the players’ scanning to make them “better passers and better players both offensively and defensively.”

A team that once relied heavily on crosses and set pieces now plays from the back to maintain possession and advance up the pitch as a unit.

Aksum favours “game specific” training over drills like rondos, which focus on a specific skill without recreating real match conditions.

No Playstation training is provided for players, who are given principles but never precise solutions. They must make the choices, he added.

It’s impressive to have just three international players and an average player age 24 competing for the title, but it’s no accident.

Rewind to 2016 and Mjallby were struggling in the third tier and close to bankruptcy.

Although they were spared what would have been a fatal relegation to the fourth tier by virtue of victory on the final day, significant adjustments were required.

Due to the 50+1 rule, wealthy owners cannot finance successful teams in Sweden because they are fans’ favorites.

Mjallby’s transformation over the last decade has been organic, and driven by chairman Magnus Emeus.

“We took control of our costs, we have one of the lowest turnovers in the league, but we also have one of the lowest costs”, Mjallby chief executive Jacob Lennartsson told BBC Sport.

We ask “Is this making us better” for every Swedish Krona that leaves this club.

Football is all about love and passion, but having a good economy is ultimately so important.

Mjallby began to focus on developing young players and selling them as a way to survive.

Colin Rosler, the son of former Manchester City striker Uwe, was sold for £950,000 just 18 months after signing on a free transfer. Aksum has hailed Midfielder Nicklas Rojkjaer as the best player he has ever worked with. He signed for Danish side Nordsjaelland earlier this month for about £1.4 million.

The stars of this season like Gambian forward Abdoulie Manneh, centre-backs Axel Noren and Abdullah Iqbal, and Swedish midfielder Ludwig Malachowski Thorell seem destined for big moves in the future.

Former players like 30-year-old striker Jacob Bergstrom and captain Jesper Gustavsson, who both participated in that crucial final-day game nine years ago, have gained valuable experience.

Lennartsson believes there must be a balance between pursuing honors and such a strategy.

” The problem is when you start to win games, players attract bigger clubs. The goal is to convince them that what is best for the club is at play, he said.

I am aware of the players’ viewpoint. At Mjallby they will get a good education and play for one of the best teams in Sweden, but they will not get the best money.

No player ever requests to leave Mjallby and stays for a while. They may have a half or full season, but ultimately they get their desired result.

While continuing to grow, what has emerged from the near-ruins of 2016 is a club that remains rooted in a tight-knit community.

Where else would a title-challenging squad’s members reside together and frequently interact with fans while shopping?

“We will have a barbecue, cook out, and hang out if we don’t have anything to do,” remarked Stroud.

“Those bonds build off the pitch and follow on the pitch too. The secret is in that. At a relatively small club, we are all so close, which is unusual.

Mjallby’s official supporters ‘ association, Sillastrybarna, has grown from less than 30 hardcore fans to at least 500, all while cultivating a positive, anti-racist and anti-sexist culture in the stands.

The Mjallby Tifo group’s choreographies and displays become more elaborate with each new season, not to mention their Stockholm counterparts.

The emotions of this season are difficult to comprehend for those who have witnessed their journey.

“The greatest feeling is sharing this moment with my mates who have been standing by my side all along this journey”, said Sillastrybarna chairman Patrik Thorell.

After watching his team play at Mjallby, one opposition supporter wrote on social media: “It should be impossible to play football here – nobody lives here, there is one shop and only animals.

You turn right on Strandvallen, a road where the ocean meets the world. It’s amazing that they play world-class football there.

Those words have been adopted by the club as both a source of motivation and grounding.

Lennartsson continued, “We are not that big, we need to keep our feet on the ground.”

We use this to control our expectations.