Harlequins coach refuses to rule out move for Northampton back George Furbank

The Harlequins senior coach, Jason Gilmore, has praised the ability of Northampton’s George Furbank and declined to rule out a move for the England back.The 29-year-old Saints star is out of contract next summer and has reportedly held talks with the south‑west London club over a switch from the 2023-24 Premiership winners.Gilmore, who is preparing the Harlequins squad for Big Game 17 against Bristol Bears at Twickenham on Saturday, said he is an admirer of the England international but he refused to comment on specific “ins and outs”.“George is a good player, isn’t he? And a good leader,” Gilmore said, when asked about transfer speculation surrounding the full‑back, who made his international debut under Eddie Jones in 2020.“He’s going to attract interest

The Breakdown | Storming ahead means increasingly little in era of rugby’s comeback kings

They won’t always say so publicly but every journalist is familiar with the concept of a “reverse ferret”. In the heyday of printed newspapers a piece might be filed in good faith only for new information to force a frantic, face-saving rejig for later editions. Plenty of coruscating “why oh why” match reports, confidently hammered out at half-time, have been known to morph into gushing symphonies of praise thanks to an improbable late twist.It may just be that one or two backpedalling ferrets were spotted in the west of Scotland on Saturday night. To be fair, those reporters in attendance had every excuse

Joshua v Paul makes Joe Louis’ ‘Bum of the Month’ look like the Rumble in the Jungle | Sean Ingle

Precisely 85 years ago, one of the most fearsome heavyweight boxers in history stunk out the joint. Joe Louis was in the midst of his “Bum of the Month club”: a staggering run of 13 world title defences in 29 months against an assortment of stiffs, wild men and colourful characters. And when he arrived in Boston on 16 December 1940, most believed that Al McCoy would rapidly become his next victim. Only it didn’t quite turn out that way.“McCoy was expected to crumple under the first punch Louis tossed in his direction,” the New York Times’ correspondent wrote

Laying waste to Bazball just offers Australians an extra dollop of Ashes relish | Geoff Lemon

Adelaide comes across as a genteel city, but for a long time there was a contrasting degree of brutality to the Adelaide Test. At peak summer late in January it was a saucepan: hot, flat, home to impossibly long days. The mood changed in recent decades when it shifted to milder weeks in late spring, then further to nighttime contests. But with the third Test being a day match, and with forecasts this week as high as 39C, there’s anticipation of the old flavour returning. And if England’s 2-0 deficit becomes an Ashes-losing 3-0, we will see awaken in the Australian sporting public a concomitant lust for total destruction

If Harry Brook is truly a generational talent, that promise needs to be delivered now | Barney Ronay

“They were shocking shots. I’ll admit that every day of the week. Especially the one in Perth. It was nearly a bouncer and I’ve tried to drive it. It was just bad batting

Ben Stokes calls on England to show some ‘dog’ in Adelaide and keep Ashes hopes alive

Ben Stokes has called on his England players to summon up the rage witnessed against India in the summer and show some “dog” as they seek to keep their slim Ashes hopes alive in Adelaide.After going 2-0 down in Brisbane, Stokes spoke of Australia being “no country for weak men” and stressed the same went for the England ­dressing room under his captaincy.Looking ahead to the third Test that gets under way on Wednesday, that comment was seemingly no slip of the tongue.Instead, having allowed it initially to sit with his players ­during their mid-series break in Noosa, Stokes has since doubled down internally. This included a reminder of the timewasting row with India at Lord’s in July that triggered a spate of running verbals and, in the end, a 22-run win