England 47-24 Italy: Six Nations 2025 – as it happened

“It wasn’t perfect by any means,” says Jamie George who raised his bat for a 100 caps for his country today.He played well. Earlier in the week he said he wasn’t sure if his England career was over after he lost the armband, but he stood up well.Hopefully he’ll read Rob Kitson’s report that has just landed. I hope you do as well

India beat New Zealand by four wickets to win Champions Trophy – as it happened

I’d say that’s enough from me. Many congratulations again to India, a wonderful side packed with class and clutch all-rounders. New Zealand, it’ll happen eventually.I should add, my criticism of the tournament’s shape is not a pop at the players in that India side. Rohit Sharma remains remarkable at the top of the order – proved today – while that was an outstanding display from the spinners in the first innings

Seven-try England maintain Six Nations title hopes with emphatic win over Italy

Six weeks ago England would definitely have settled for their current position, still mathematically in the hunt for the Six Nations title this season. France may now be strong favourites to lift the trophy on Satur­day night but three consecutive home wins with a total of 12 tries scored have finally offered tangible evidence of red rose improvement after an often frustrating winter.In isolation there was nothing particularly special about this seven-try victory against an outgunned Italy team on a beautiful Sunday afternoon but inside the camp it will be seized upon as further proof that England are ­genuinely on track for the sunlit uplands. Another bonus‑point victory against Wales in Cardiff will be needed to put pressure on Les Bleus when they face Scotland in Paris later the same day but this was the first time in 32 Tests under Steve ­Borthwick that England have registered more than 40 points against tier-one opponents.England will also be pleased with the way they responded to the loss of Ollie Lawrence with an ­achilles injury after eight minutes

India see off New Zealand to complete clinical Champions Trophy triumph

And so ends an impressively fatuous experiment: what happens when the best side in the world get the dice loaded in their favour? On a sultry night at the Dubai International Stadium, we got the entirely foreseeable answer. Pakistan’s tournament is India’s glory, by four wickets with six balls to spare: a triumph that felt as immaculately controlled as the months of sabre-rattling and politicking that preceded it.None of which is to diminish the acclaim due to India’s players: men of skill and men of character, men who step up and deliver under pressure. They did not devise the format in which everyone else travelled, toiled and adapted while they stayed put. They did not construct the apparatus of a global game run in the interests of one country

Finn Callaghan brings the heat as Giants win puts Collingwood into meltdown | Jonathan Horn

Their finals exit was an opportunity squandered. Their post season function was appalling. Their scratch matches were lifeless. They were missing their best onballer. And their premier forward was unavailable after he hurt his thumb in a toilet door on a bus

How Ireland came to dominate big-money era at Cheltenham festival

Cheltenham has made several changes to races at its festival in an attempt to boost the competitiveness of the action on the track, but there is one long odds-on shot over the four days that is still reliably rock‑solid. The 2025 festival will be the 10th anniversary of the last season when British trainers saddled more winners at the meeting than their Irish counterparts and Ireland is no bigger than 1-9 to extend its winning streak into a second decade.As an annual celebration of Irish culture and achievement on foreign soil, the Cheltenham festival now feels inked into the calendar as firmly as the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York. Yet it is a situation that would have seemed unthinkable at the turn of the century, when Ireland’s return of three wins at what was then a 19-race festival was pretty much par for the course.Nor is it simply in terms of winners that Ireland now dominates the festival