‘A huge day out’: Lachlan Morton makes history with 648km Auckland to Wellington ride in less than a day

Australian cyclist’s day began at 4.09am in Auckland, New Zealand, and ended 18-and-a-half hours later in WellingtonThroughout his career, Lachlan Morton – among the world’s pre-eminent ultra-endurance cyclists – has spent some long days on the bike. The Australian has raced the Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia, ridden from Land’s End to John o’Groats in the United Kingdom, and last year spent a month riding 14,200km around Australia.But no single day has compared to an effort last month, beginning at 4.09am in Auckland, New Zealand, and ending 18-and-a-half hours later in Wellington

Time for England to end Calcutta Cup blues and show France was no fluke | Robert Kitson

Red Rose have lost four in row against Scots, but if they can back up Les Bleus win there will be talk of top-two finishIn recent times the Calcutta Cup has morphed into the “Scottish play” the English would rather not mention by name. One Red Rose win in seven attempts and four consecutive victories for Gregor Townsend’s side has certainly been an uncomfortable sequence for those who, for decades, regarded death and taxes as only marginally more inevitable than Scotland losing down south.So much for the supposed dead weight of history. “What’s done cannot be undone,” murmured Lady Macbeth but she wasn’t privy to the skill and daring of Finn Russell or the killer finishing of Duhan van der Merwe. The last time England lost three or more consecutive home games in this fixture was in the early 1900s before Twickenham became their spiritual home

Sherratt rings the changes as Wales start life after Gatland against Ireland

Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes. Matt Sherratt, newly installed as Warren Gatland’s replacement, however temporarily, has picked his first Wales team. No one is expecting much more from it than a 15th consecutive defeat when Ireland come to Cardiff for round three, but there is at least a feeling of the rational about his selection.Perhaps 14 losses in a row can mess with even the most seasoned mind. This is not suddenly a team bursting with experience, but where some of Gatland’s selections seemed wanton rejections of received wisdom Sherratt has responded with the selector’s equivalent of putting his foot on the ball

England to show ‘nastiness’ as Itoje backs side to wrestle back Calcutta Cup

England have vowed to show their nasty side against Scotland on Saturday with the captain, Maro Itoje, calling on his team to buck the trend of recent history by clinching the Calcutta Cup for the first time in five years.Buoyed by their one-point victory over France last time out, England have been champing at the bit all week with Tom Curry saying there was an edginess to training on Monday and Ben Earl revealing the squad were subjecting to a series of video clips showcasing their failings in recent defeats by Scotland.England last beat Scotland in 2020 and have not defeated Saturday’s opponents at Twickenham since 2017 but victory can keep Steve Borthwick’s side in the hunt for the Six Nations title.Itoje is one of only five of England’s starting team to taste victory over Scotland and will be aware that defeat on Saturday will ensure a worst ever run against the auld enemy.“You don’t want blind rage and you don’t want blind, beating-your-chest fury, but you need some of that,” said Itoje

Scotland happy to let England play favourites before Calcutta Cup clash

Among the many questions hanging over the 132nd Calcutta Cup, the hardest to answer might just be exactly how many times you need to beat the English before they stop thinking of themselves as favourites for the next game. Since Gregor Townsend took over as head coach, Scotland have been unbeaten in six out of seven matches, including, count them, the last one, two, three, four in a row. And yet England have contrived a way to arrive at this fixture, which could yet be a record-breaking fifth defeat, as odds-on favourites with every bookmaker, and on a wash of pundits’ promises about how their forwards are going to “monster the auld enemy”.Well, Townsend knows exactly what those laurels are worth, and is happy enough to let England have them.“They’re favourites, there’s no denying that,” he said on Thursday

Dubois’ absence hurts ‘fight card of the century’ but Bakole brings danger

Saudi Arabia’s attempts to seize control of boxing have been relentless but not even its massive wealth and swaggering certainty can overrule the harsh vagaries of life. Boxing is an extreme and unhinged version of real life and it is always subject to bedlam and disruption. And so, on Thursday afternoon, there was a familiarly knotty twist in the sleek Saudi plan to stage “the greatest fight card in the history of boxing” in Riyadh on Saturday night.Daniel Dubois, fresh from his destruction of Anthony Joshua, was meant to defend his IBF world heavyweight title against Joseph Parker as the main undercard bout in a seven-fight extravaganza. It carried the promise of an intriguing and dangerous contest for both men – only for Dubois to fall ill with a virus