The best and worst of the last 12 months and hopes for 2025 in our review of the year in rugby union1 Antoine Dupont (France, Toulouse, France sevens)
2 Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)
3 Pieter-Steph du Toit (SA), Ox Nché (SA), Wallace Sititi (New Zealand), Ellie Kildunne (England) Continue reading...
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The Breakdown awards: best rugby matches, players and quotes of 2024
via theguardian.com
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Promising Tuileries tipped for big step up after maiden win
via theage.com.au
It’s not often a horse takes the big step from a maiden win to Benchmark 72, but exciting filly Tuileries is aiming to do just that on Boxing Day.
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Race-by-race preview and tips for Randwick on Boxing Day
via smh.com.au
All you need to pick a winner or two on Boxing Day.
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Shots across the bow: Friendly feud defining this year’s Sydney to Hobart
via smh.com.au
Millionaire entrepreneur Christian Beck talked a big game ahead of this year’s Sydney to Hobart. Now to back it up on the open seas.
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Sam Konstas is the right player at the right time for Australia. Here’s why
via smh.com.au
I have always believed that it is the job of selectors to unearth champions, not pick those who make up the numbers.
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Boat built 120 years ago in English brewery vies for win in Sydney to Hobart race
via theguardian.com
Katwinchar, the oldest boat in the race’s history, is making her third attempt since being found in a dilapidated state on Gumtree and undergoing restorationGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe oldest boat in the history of the Sydney Hobart yacht race, Maritimo Katwinchar, will make her third attempt after undergoing significant modifications.The boat was built by workers at an English brewery in 1904, using off-cuts of timber from the keg-making process. The fir
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Boats on trucks, Rolex watches, and replicas of 260-year-old cannons: Inside the Sydney to Hobart
via smh.com.au
As 104 yachts prepare to battle for the biggest title in Australian sailing, we unpack some of the quirks of the Boxing Day challenge.
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Head to play on Boxing Day, Cummins’ message to debutant Konstas
via theage.com.au
Pat Cummins believes Sam Konstas’ youth will help him on the biggest possible Test debut stage. Cummins should know. He was the previous teenage Test debutant for Australia, 13 years ago.
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‘Doesn’t get any better than this: Cummins’ teen dream debut a blueprint for Konstas
via smh.com.au
Pat Cummins believes Sam Konstas’ youth will help him on the biggest possible Test debut stage. Cummins should know. He was the previous teenage Test debutant for Australia, 13 years ago.
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Sam Kerr's arrest, Titmus breaks records and Raygun's baffling performance: Sport in 2024
via abc.net.au
Look back at the 2024 sporting year through some of your most read stories on ABC Sport.
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A look back at the 2024 sporting year
via abc.net.au
Look back at the 2024 sporting year through some of your most read stories on ABC Sport.
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First stop Hobart, next up Osaka for Annette and Sophie
via abc.net.au
For almost all of the crews in this year's Sydney to Hobart yacht race, the 628-nautical mile bluewater classic is their "grand final" — but for Annette Hesselmans and her daughter, Sophie Snijders, aboard Fika, it's just the qualifier for the Melbourne to Osaka marine marathon.
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How Manchester City went from world’s best to straw men in 12 months | Barney Ronay
via theguardian.com
Rodri’s injury, Erling Haaland and Pep Guardiola all play a role in this champion team’s profound collapseEight weeks, 12 games and nine defeats into Manchester City’s descent into the footballing upside down, Pep Guardiola has at least identified the problem.“We haven’t scored the goals we scored before, and we have conceded the goals we didn’t concede,” Guardiola told the BBC cameras after the defeat at Villa Park on Saturday, speaking in that now
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Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger dies in avalanche accident
via theguardian.com
Hediger represented Switzerland at Winter OlympicsSwiss-Ski federation: ‘We are speechless’The Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger has died following an avalanche accident in Arosa on Monday, the Swiss-Ski federation has announced.Hediger, 26, was a member of the snowboard cross-national team and took part in the 2022 Winter Olympics in China before achieving her first two World Cup podium places in the 2023-24 season. Continue reading...
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Mouse problem compounds Manchester United’s Old Trafford woes
via theguardian.com
Rodent sightings cause club’s food hygiene rating to tumble at century-old stadium already afflicted by roof leaks While matchday punters pay huge sums to see their heroes, it seems rodents have found a way to get into Old Trafford for free, leaving behind Christmas gifts for the food hygiene inspector to find.Manchester United has seen its food hygiene rating tumble to two stars out of five on the most recent inspection, after mouse droppings were found in a kiosk that sells food to fans
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Paris was the Dude: 2024 Olympics were right Games at perfect time
via theguardian.comThe French capital overcame issues including an opening ceremony deluge to deliver 17 days of joyous madnessFour months after Paris 2024’s spectacular finale, starring Tom Cruise abseiling off the top of the Stade de France and hurtling out of a plane above Los Angeles, the executive director of the Olympics is mulling over the lasting impact of the Games. Albeit with the help of a rather different cinematic icon.“I was making a presentation to Deloitte executives recently,” sa
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India to play Champions Trophy games in Dubai after refusal to visit Pakistan
via theguardian.com
India declined to send team to host nation PakistanFinal to move from Lahore to Dubai if India qualifyIndia’s matches at the 2025 Champions Trophy will be held in Dubai, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Tuesday.Pakistan, the tournament hosts, selected the United Arab Emirates as a neutral venue for India’s fixtures with the team not able to play matches in Pakistan due to political tensions. Continue reading...
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Erling Haaland drought not to blame for Manchester City slump, insists Guardiola
via theguardian.com
Striker has one goal in his last six league matches‘It’s about all of us, not just one player’ says GuardiolaPep Guardiola has denied Erling Haaland needs to score more to help Manchester City out of their dire run of nine defeats in 12 games.City have managed only one victory in the sequence, 3-0 against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. The champions are seventh on 27 points, four behind fourth-placed Forest. Continue reading...
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Ruben Amorim tells Marcus Rashford to show leadership at Manchester United
via theguardian.com
Long-serving players have ‘big responsibility’ says coachRashford is still keen to play for United, insists AmorimRuben Amorim has stated Marcus Rashford has a “big responsibility” to help Manchester United out of one of the club’s lowest moments by performing at his best, with the manager saying the forward wants to play.Rashford has been excluded from United’s past three match-day squads owing to his performance in training and for “selection reasons&r
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‘We are lucky to have him’: Cody Gakpo hopes Salah will extend Liverpool stay
via theguardian.com
Gakpo wants Salah to stay at Anfield ‘for a long time’In-form Egyptian is out of contract at end of seasonCody Gakpo is hopeful that his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah will extend his stay at Anfield. The 32-year-old Egypt forward is out of contract at the end of the season and a new deal is yet to be agreed.Salah has been in sensational form so far this season and the two goals he scored against Tottenham on Sunday took him above Billy Liddell into fourth place on Liverpool’
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Grey Dawning bids to follow in Desert Orchid tradition for King George glory
via theguardian.com
The Dan Skelton-trained chaser is hoping to follow in the hoofprints of great greys at Kempton on Boxing DayA bold-jumping grey in the King George at Kempton: for a dozen years from the mid-1980s, it was a Boxing Day tradition as Desert Orchid, One Man and Teeton Mill racked up seven wins from nine appearances between them. And as Robert Kirkland, a racehorse owner for nearly 40 years, still recalls, there might have been another.“The first horse I ever had a share in was called High Edge
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Juve Stabia fans appear to celebrate goal by Mussolini’s great-grandson with fascist salutes
via theguardian.com
Romano Floriani Mussolini scored winner against CesenaItalian football federation launches investigationThe Italian football federation has opened an investigation after supporters of the second division club, Juve Stabia, appeared to celebrate a goal scored by Benito Mussolini’s great-grandson with fascist salutes.Footage captured during the team’s win at home to Cesena showed the moments after Romano Floriani Mussolini, 21, scored the only goal. As the announcer calls out “Ro
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Postecoglou insists Spurs will target signings in January after recent slide
via theguardian.com
Manager says club are ‘still a bit short in a couple of areas’Tottenham are 11th before trip to Nottingham ForestAnge Postecoglou has confirmed Tottenham plan to be active in the January transfer window. Spurs have been beset by injuries and suspensions over the past month and have fallen to 11th in the Premier League amid inconsistent form.A thrilling 4-3 win over Manchester United in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals last Thursday was followed by a humbling 6-3 loss at home to Liverpo
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Green Bay Packers clinch playoff berth with 34-0 whitewash of injury-hit Saints
via theguardian.com
Packers clinch spot with first shutout in NFL this yearNew Orleans played without QB Carr and RB KamaraWith a dominant defense leading the way, the Green Bay Packers clinched a playoff berth by producing their most lopsided win in a decade.Josh Jacobs gained 107 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown for a sixth straight game as the Packers recorded the first shutout of the NFL season, 34-0 over the hapless New Orleans Saints on Monday night. Continue reading...
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‘Why are they destroying this?’: the battle for Germany’s Fanprojekte
via theguardian.com
In Germany Fanprojekte play a crucial social-work role with football fans but a court case in Karlsruhe is threatening their existenceIn a section of woodland next to Wildparkstadion, this winter’s festivities are in full swing. It is a cold, crackling December day and Karlsruhe’s ultras have set up their version of a Christmas market. Warm glühwein may be the best bet in conditions such as these but one of their number has also brought a portable outpost of the brewery that he
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Valencia make approach to take Carlos Corberán from West Brom as head coach
via theguardian.comCorberán has buyout clause of about £3mHe played for Valencia’s youth and B teamsValencia have made an approach for the West Bromwich Albion head coach, Carlos Corberán, and negotiations are expected to accelerate on Tuesday. Corberán, who has a buyout clause of about £3m, is wanted by the Spanish club after their sacking of Rubén Baraja on Monday.Valencia are second-bottom of La Liga after two wins in 17 league matches and have an emotional as well
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'Sign her up': Comanche's secret weapon
via smh.com.au
Anna Meares oversaw Australia's most successful Olympic campaign in Paris. Now, the chef de mission could be the inspiration Comanche needs to avenge last year's heartbreaking Sydney to Hobart loss.
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Length of Mam's ban revealed
via smh.com.au
Ezra Mam is facing a nine-week suspension as details of the breach notice he received from the NRL emerge.
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David Squires on … ‘must-have’ Christmas gifts for football fans
via theguardian.com
From Tickle Me ElMou to Tiny Tears, our cartoonist has you covered if you need a last-minute football-related presentBuy a cartoon from our Print ShopDavid’s new book, Chaos in the Box: order it now Continue reading...
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The NFL’s rushing renaissance: how running backs reclaimed the narrative
via theguardian.com
The NFL is said to be a passing league with running backs are no longer critical to success. The metrics are telling a different story in 2024 – and not just in Philly and BaltimoreIf you’re remotely familiar with the National Football League these days, you know what people say about both modern offenses and the value of running backs within them. Over the last two decades, with the increase in having multiple receivers on the field, and the decreasing value of running backs both in
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