Record losses and bumper bonuses – the pay row tearing apart English rugby

When the Rugby Football Union published its annual report at the end of November, on the back of a lacklustre autumn campaign for England, it emerged the chief executive, Bill Sweeney, was paid £1.1m for the year ending June 2024, which included a one-off £358,000 bonus as part of a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) scheme. It also emerged five other executive directors shared a bonus of close to £1m while the annual report showed record losses to reserves of £42m. In the ensuing weeks the calls for the chairman, Tom Ilube, and Sweeney to go have grown louder across all levels of the English game.Put simply, because it made Sweeney the best paid chief executive at a British sports governing body – excluding payouts – at a time when the union announced record losses and 42 redundancies

England must accept the need for ruthlessness alongside entertainment | Mark Ramprakash

Sometimes I feel this England team can’t take two steps forward without doing something that makes me think they’ve gone backwards. So much progress has been made, so many reasons for optimism provided before a year that is likely to define them. But then they end it with a display that forces me to wonder whether they have it in them to become the best in the world, to win the World Test Championship, to be more than just entertainers.Ben Stokes says he hates the word “ruthless”, but I am puzzled by him attaching a negative connotation to a word that is synonymous with all the greatest teams in the history of sport. No team relishes facing talented and ruthless opponents – well England have the talent, but not the attitude

Fury channels destructive intentions for deeply personal Usyk rematch

British heavyweight is intent on setting the record straight after his defeat in May but this showdown goes far beyond boxingThis has been a year like no other for Tyson Fury. He has again earned vast fortunes but, as he prepares to climb into the ring to once more face Oleksandr Usyk in the early hours of Sunday morning in Riyadh, 2024 has until now been defined most clearly by loss. In May, Fury endured the first defeat of a professional career which began 16 years ago this month. Usyk won a split decision over him to become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion this century.Far more significantly, and in a devastating personal tragedy, Paris Fury suffered a miscarriage the day before the fight

The Wallpark bids to continue Irish jumps domination in the Long Walk

Only four of Britain’s 38 Grade One events over jumps have yet to be won by a horse trained in Ireland, and the list could be down to three after the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday, when four of the 10-strong field, including Gordon Elliott’s progressive six-year-old, The Wallpark (2.25), will be running for Irish stables.The Wallpark has had an unconventional preparation for Saturday’s race with one race a month from May to October, when he was an impressive winner under 11st 7lb in a handicap at Cheltenham’s first meeting of the winter campaign.That was The Wallpark’s first run over three miles and marked a career-best with the clear possibility of better still to come, not least as the quirks he showed earlier in his career for Elliott now seem to be on the wane.Strong Leader, the winner of Newbury’s Long Distance Hurdle in November, is the top-rated runner in the field and is the obvious leader of the home team, while Crambo, last year’s winner, is also in the field, though he has not been out since finishing down the field behind Strong Leader in the Grade One Liverpool Hurdle in April

NFL playoff race: Lamar Jackson and Ravens out to snap Pittsburgh hoodoo

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) v Baltimore Ravens (9-5)The battle for the AFC North nears its climax with two bitter rivals gutting it out for hallowed home-field advantage in the playoffs. If the Pittsburgh Steelers continue their hot streak and earn a fifth successive win in Baltimore then the division is theirs while the Ravens can clinch a playoff spot with victory and see a path to the top of the class if Mike Tomlin’s team fall to the Chiefs or Bengals to close out the season.Both teams will feel they have an edge on the other as the Ravens have flattered to deceive at times (see: defeats to Raiders and Browns), while the Steelers have struggled to move the ball without George Pickens. John Harbaugh’s team boasts a total offense that rivals Buffalo and Detroit in efficiency and explosiveness. The incredible tandem of quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry can tie even the best defense in knots on their day

Chess: Gukesh and India celebrate after win but new challenges are emerging

Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, had a rapturous reception from Indian fans when he flew back to Chennai after deposing China’s Ding Liren for the world title 7.5-6.5 by winning their 14th and final game in Singapore.It was an occasion which, in Indian terms, could only have been surpassed in intensity by a winning IPL cricket team, while its English equivalent would be a home city football celebration for Premier or Champions League winners.The underlying message was that India’s chess ecosystem is strong, with over 80 grandmasters, over 120 international masters, and tens of thousands of rated players