The Breakdown | Red Roses triumph again but cannot afford another World Cup wobble

Seven straight Six Nations titles is impressive but rivals may have been encouraged by the nervous finish against FranceThere are two contrasting schools of thought after England’s grand-slam clinching win against France on Saturday. According to John Mitchell, the Red Roses’ head coach, his side’s nervy 43-42 victory was ideal preparation for the World Cup this year. Alternatively, as the former England hooker Brian Moore succinctly put it during post-match TV analysis: “If they were playing New Zealand, would they have got away with that?”Between them Mitchell and Moore know plenty about World Cup disappointment. The former was head coach of the All Blacks side beaten in the semi-finals of the 2003 men’s tournament in Australia. Moore was part of the England team edged out by the Wallabies in the final in 1991

Marathon great Des Linden’s last dance: what happens when an 18-year career ends?

One of America’s greatest distance runners is excited about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead after a job she modestly describes as ‘cushy’There is no better word to describe Des Linden’s 18-year professional career than consistent. No matter the race, weather, or competition, she always showed up with her best – and the results back it up. A two-time Olympian, winner of the 2018 Boston Marathon, and world record-holder in the 50k, Linden is one of America’s greatest ever distance runners. But like any good thing, her career can’t last for ever.“This will be my last time racing Boston in the professional field,” Linden said a few weeks before this year’s race

Jofra Archer’s form and swagger is back. Can he bloom for England again? | Jonathan Liew

This season, in an attempt to distract everyone from the fact that its main sponsors are one of the world’s largest steel companies and the literal state of Saudi Arabia, the Tata Indian Premier League has been planting trees for every dot ball bowled during the tournament. At the post‑match presentation, the bowler who delivered the most dot balls in the game is awarded a ceremonial sapling. Which means that on four occasions this season – the most of any player – Jofra Archer has been contractually obliged to receive a small tree on live television.The first time Archer gets his sapling, he eyes it with the kind of narrow-eyed suspicion any of us might exhibit. By the time he gets his fourth sapling – 10 dot balls against Delhi Capitals, 180 trees planted – he’s basically a pro at this

Constitution Hill ready to burst through last-chance saloon doors at Punchestown

The British jumps season drew to a dramatic close on Saturday, the first Classics of 2025 will be run this weekend and yet there will still be time to squeeze in a final moment of drama over jumps on Friday evening when Constitution Hill is due to burst through the doors of the last-chance saloon in the Champion Hurdle at Punchestown’s festival meeting.He will do so with two F’s against his name, having crashed out when odds-on for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March and then fallen again, as an uneasy even-money shot, in the Aintree Hurdle at the Grand National meeting three weeks ago. There is still enough of a glow of a freakish, otherworldly talent about him, however, to make his date in County Kildare a moment no jumping fan will want to miss.If nothing else, the simple fact Constitution Hill is travelling to Punchestown is an impressive riposte to those who claim Nicky Henderson wraps his stable star in too much cotton wool. Henderson and Michael Buckley, Constitution Hill’s owner, have already turned away from several obvious opportunities to put him away for the summer, with the most recent being the enforced absence of Nico de Boinville, his regular jockey, due to injury

Thousands of playing fields ‘may be lost’ if Sport England stripped of planning role

Thousands of playing fields could be lost to housing if the government strips Sport England of its role in national planning policy, campaigners have warned.As part of the national planning and infrastructure bill the government has said it wants to “speed up the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure” by removing the powers of some of the statutory consultees on planning decisions.These include large organisations such as the Environment Agency and Natural England but the minister for housing and planning, Matthew Pennycook, recently announced that the government’s “initial intention is that this will include Sport England, the Theatres Trust and the Gardens Trust”.Alex Welsh, the chief executive of the London Playing Fields Foundation, said that would be a huge loss. “When a local group are worried about losing the field at the end of the road – who do they call? They call us and we start by saying, do Sport England know?“Every Monday we are looking at a spreadsheet of planning applications on playing fields

Peter Bosustow: a mercurial talent and flamboyant showman who dazzled footy fans | Brendan Foster

The first time I saw two-time Carlton premiership player Peter Bosustow was on a grainy VHS tape of the 1978 WAFL grand final where he kicked one of the greatest goals ever seen.He intercepted a kick in and then danced around his opponents with all the grace and grit of Rudolf Nureyev, before booting a goal from the boundary line with a waterlogged ball that had gained a couple of pounds from the torrential rain. It was hypnotic, mesmerising and electrifying.The flamboyant showman, affectionately known as the Buzz, punched his fist towards the 50,000-strong crowd, huddled under raincoats and umbrellas. No one loved the big stage more than Bosustow