Steve Borthwick warns England to prepare for pain in All Blacks clash

Steve Borthwick has called on his side to prepare for “pain and suffering” if they are to end their losing run against the All Blacks, demanding the most selfless England team in history in the showdown on Saturday.Predicting an aerial bombardment from New Zealand, Borthwick has recalled George Ford, insisting his fly‑half general “will be an England coach in the future”, and again loaded his bench with the “Pom Squad”, including six British & Irish Lions among his replacements.Freddie Steward returns at full‑back and Borthwick has stacked his bench with Ellis Genge – who was captain last week –Luke Cowan‑Dickie, Will Stuart, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock and Marcus Smith; all of whom toured Australia with the Lions during the summer.England have not beaten New Zealand since the 2019 World Cup semi-final and lost three narrow encounters against them last year. The All Blacks are unbeaten in five Twickenham games, a run dating back to 2012

Judy Bell obituary

In 1996, Judy Bell, who has died aged 89, was made the first female president of the United States Golf Association. It had taken 102 years before the USGA could bring itself to appoint a woman to their top job, but when it did so, it got it right.Bell was a good golfer, an even better administrator and diplomat, and someone with whom it was always a delight to talk about the game. She was extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of her sport and it was characteristic that she spent much of her time as president, until 1999, encouraging its spread in areas from which it had been excluded, including the inner cities.Right from the time she joined the USGA executive committee in 1987 she had travelled thousands of miles per year to encourage the creation of reasonably priced public facilities in the cities

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones speaks of grief over death of ‘unique’ Marshawn Kneeland at 24

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has spoken about his grief at the death of Dallas defensive end Marshawn Kneeland last week.Kneeland, who was in his second year with the Cowboys, was 24 at the time of his death.“He was very unique in his zest for life, and he was very unique for his passion for the game,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday. “Of course, the saddest thing for someone like me is the fact that he’s only 24 years old

Dallas Mavericks fire GM Nico Harrison nine months after Luka Dončić trade

The Dallas Mavericks have fired general manager Nico Harrison, the team’s governor, Patrick Dumont, has confirmed.“This decision reflects our continued commitment to building a championship-caliber organization, one that delivers for our players, our partners, and most importantly, our fans,” Dumont said in a statement.His exit comes nine months after Harrison sent five-time first-team All-NBA selection Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster trade. It also comes one day after Dumont, an owner of the Mavs and the team’s representative on the NBA’s board of governors, was seen talking to a fan who was wearing a Lakers Dončić jersey during Monday’s 116-114 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.“Fire Nico!” chants were audible during the fourth-quarter of the game, in which Dallas squandered a 13-point lead

Carlos Alcaraz battles back to beat Taylor Fritz: ATP Finals tennis – as it happened

Somehow, Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Taylor Fritz to win an absolute epic 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-3.Fritz may never have played better than he did this afternoon, his aggressive intentions clear from the outset as the first four games took 29 minutes. It was Alcaraz who broke first but Fritz soon struck back and dominated the eventual first-set tiebreaker.The second offered more of the same: brilliant tennis, Fritz the better player. But at the crucial moment he wilted, physically and mentally, a loose service-game at 5-6 handing over the set

The remarkable story of the 1879 Sydney riot that set the tone for 150 years of Ashes rivalry

Test cricket gets described as a gentleman’s game but this is a lie. Rashes of gentility break out here and there but it’s still a game birthed by rascals, popularised by crooks and sustained by the patronage of louts. This story is one of the finest examples, just after the third Test ever played. It was Melbourne 1879 when Fred Spofforth lived up to his nickname of “The Demon”: he rissoled England with 6 for 48 in the first innings and 7 for 62 in the second, taking the first Test hat-trick along the way. In a timeless match, Australia won in three days