NRL 2026: the big questions to be answered over the course of the season | Jack Snape

The 2026 season is one of the most open in years. Defending minor premiers Canberra, ultra-consistent Cronulla, the fast-improving Dolphins and the sleeping giant in Canterbury are all tipped for a run at the top four. Just who will get there is one of many questions only 27 rounds of rugby league can answer.Both heavyweights were undone by the Broncos’ stirring finals run, but each of the NRL’s two modern benchmarks were left disappointed by their 2025 season. The Panthers started slowly and were clearly tested by years of key departures, while the Storm struggled with their defence for most of the season

Borthwick says England failed to meet ‘unwavering standards’ after axing players

Steve Borthwick has pointed to his misfiring players’ failure to meet his unwavering standards as justification for the most radical England overhaul in the professional era, after ripping up his side for the Six Nations clash against Italy on Saturday.Borthwick has wielded the axe for the match in Rome on Saturday, ­making nine personnel and three position changes, and sent a clear message to his out-of-form players that performances have not been up to scratch. The head coach has also fielded an entirely new backline with Tommy Freeman, the only survivor from the 42-21 defeat by Ireland, shifting from wing to outside‑centre.George Ford, Freddie Steward, Henry Arundell and Fraser Dingwall are axed from the matchday squad while Fin Smith comes in at fly-half and Seb Atkinson is selected for a Six Nations bow at inside-centre. Tom Roebuck returns on the right wing with Cadan Murley selected on the left and Elliot Daly tasked with providing experience from full-back

‘We back ourselves in one-offs’: Black Caps plan revenge against South Africa

In Colombo on Saturday New Zealand’s players and staff gathered in small groups at various locations around the city. One assembled in a beachside bar overlooking the Laccadive Sea, where they shared snacks, nursed drinks and tried their best to engage in conversation while making furtive glances towards the big screen. There was another in the team hotel, crammed into the room of their captain, Mitchell Santner. All of them monitored Pakistan’s game against Sri Lanka, and their pursuit of a victory that would enable them to pip the Black Caps to a place in the World Cup’s final four.In the end Pakistan did win, but not by the margin they required – and on Tuesday it was reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board had fined each player around £13,500 as punishment, informing them that if they can accept rewards for good performances they “must also pay penalties for poor ones”

Racing’s crisis intensifies with tracks on verge of civil war after Allen quits BHA

A grouping that includes most of Britain’s major racecourses on Tuesday fired the opening shot in what could prove to be a civil war involving the country’s tracks, following confirmation by the British ­Horseracing Authority earlier in the day that Charles Allen had resigned from his position as chair of the sport’s ruling body after just six months in the role.Jockey Club Racecourses, which controls a significant number of high‑profile tracks ­including ­Cheltenham, Aintree, Epsom and Newmarket, issued a joint ­statement with four of the biggest “independent” courses: Ascot, ­Newbury, York and Goodwood shortly after Lord Allen had issued a statement of his own, confirming his departure.The racecourses’ statement made it plain that the major tracks were supportive of Allen’s plans for a fully independent BHA board, the first step in what he saw as a plan to turn the sport into “a modern, commercial and cultural powerhouse”. This, in effect, directed the blame for his departure directly at the sport’s smaller tracks, and in particular those owned by Arena Racing ­Company, which run mainly lower-grade ­meetings to serve the off-course betting market.“Ascot, Goodwood, the Jockey Club, Newbury and York racecourses have today written to the chairman of the Racecourse Association,” the statement said, “calling for a formal governance review of the RCA [and] requesting a proposal for reform by the end of April 2026

Jon Rahm accuses DP World Tour of ‘extorting players’ by issuing LIV fines

Jon Rahm’s dispute with the DP World Tour has escalated after the Spaniard accused the ­organisation of “­extorting” golfers over fines for competing on the LIV circuit. Rahm’s Ryder Cup future remains in peril with no resolution to the matter in sight, with insiders at the DP World Tour and Europe’s Ryder Cup fans baffled by his stance.Rahm incurred fines and suspen­sions as a DP World (formerly European) Tour member playing on what are regarded as ­competing Saudi‑backed LIV events. Rahm signed for LIV in 2023 in a deal ­reportedly worth hundreds of ­millions of dollars.Rahm has appealed against those sanctions, with a ­hearing to come

Inside Cadillac’s F1 journey: ‘Our Silverstone shakedown was a miracle’

Formula One’s newest team join the grid having designed a car from scratch in only 12 months with the aim of becoming a championship-winning forceWhen the new Formula One season begins on Sunday in the usual fever of excitement and anticipation, consider amid the maelstrom the Cadillac team. Before the lights go out in Melbourne, F1’s newest entrant will have a deserved chance to take a breath and savour for but a moment, their remarkable achievement of simply having made it to the grid.The US team backed by General Motors has been built, aside from those involved in the pre‑planning, from scratch in what will be a year and a day since its entry was formally approved. As their team principal, Graeme Lowdon, explained, that process had begun in an empty room with a screwdriver and an A4 sheet of paper.While Audi are also new entrants, they have taken over the extant Sauber team; Cadillac are the first new constructor to enter as a startup since Haas joined a decade ago