‘We’ll start a creche’: how the World Surf League is becoming family friendly for parents on tour | Kieran Pender

The tour brings in maternity wildcard and parental leave, with surfers saying it is a ‘huge step in the right direction’ and ‘so sick’ for the sportThis year’s Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach has felt different for Connor O’Leary. After almost a decade on tour, this is the Australian Japanese surfer’s first World Surf League campaign with a baby in tow. Romii-Sakura O’Leary, who will celebrate her first birthday this month, is one of a growing number of children hanging out in the competitor’s area.“I was watching her crawling around the competition site yesterday,” O’Leary says midway through the Pro, the opening event of the 2026 WSL calendar. “Seeing her crawling around, playing with Kelly [Slater], Steph [Gilmore] was grabbing her, it makes you appreciate the life that we live

Sale believe Courtney Lawes can regain England place after veteran signs one-year deal

Courtney Lawes has been backed to regain his England place following confirmation he will be joining Sale Sharks this summer on a one-year deal. The former national captain has spent the last two seasons with Brive in France’s Pro D2 but has indicated he would love to play international rugby again should the chance arise.While Lawes will be 38 next February and retired from the Test arena after the 2023 World Cup in France, he still feels he can make an impact at the top level of the game. That view is shared by Sale’s director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, who is looking forward to welcoming the former Northampton stalwart to Manchester.“I don’t think we’d have signed him if he was just a player who wanted a paycheck,” said Sanderson

Drone racing to drone strikes: have war and sport become indistinguishable?

The Trump administration’s pushing of the war in Iran reflects a sporting culture driven by clipped-up content, shameless tribalism and a lust for escalation Among the more surprising continuities of 2026 has been the visual kinship between the Winter Olympics and the US’s illegal and unprovoked war in Iran. High-speed camera drones were a highlight of TV coverage of the recent Games in Milano Cortina, bringing viewers within kissing distance of the action as Olympic athletes hurtled down the slopes and around the tracks in the skiing and sliding events. The incessant screech of the drones aside, the introduction of quadcopter-borne cameras felt like a real step forward in coverage of the winter sports, bringing a (literal) new perspective to events that had become, over recent decades, fairly static as a viewing experience.No sooner had the Olympics finished than aerial video was back on our screens – only the footage, in this case, was of a far darker variety. In place of the ludicrous hip flexibility of the slaloming skiers and the high-speed cornering of the monobobbers, for the past month our feeds have been flooded with satellite and drone imagery of the US military blowing Iranian aircraft, ships, vehicles, munitions buildings, and citizens to smithereens

The Breakdown | Mitchell’s Six Nations conundrum: who will be Red Roses’ next Abby Dow?

How do you solve a problem like replacing Abby Dow? Yes, it is a different take on the Sound of Music song but it is a fiendish question to answer. The Red Roses winger retired after the Rugby World Cup, leaving a try-scoring hole in the world champions’ squad, whose next task is to try to win their eighth straight Women’s Six Nations title. And so while Julie Andrews’ character realised she was not a problem after all, the England head coach, John Mitchell, is left with a selection headache before his team start their campaign against Ireland on Saturday.Dow scored 50 tries in 59 caps, with her lightning pace a key characteristic to her game. She retired to pursue a career in engineering and her boots are large ones to fill

Courtney Lawes ‘officially un-retiring’ for England after announcing Sale move

The former England captain Courtney Lawes is returning to the Prem to join Sale at the end of the season after two years withBrive. The 37-year-old retired from international rugby after the 2023 Rugby World Cup and made the move to France after winning the 2023-24 Premiership title with Northampton.Sale confirmed on Tuesday that he would be moving to the north-west of England with his return making him eligible again for international duty. Lawes said: “I’m really excited to be joining Sale. My body feels good and I’m still performing at a high level

The Masters is a welcome oasis in golf’s fractious world, despite its stuffy foibles | Ewan Murray

It is easy to poke fun at the prissy traditions of the Masters. Golfers, never mind spectators, enter a state of panic over what horrible fate may befall them should they break the rules inside Augusta National. It is preposterous in so many ways; adults consumed by fear over missteps at a golf tournament. People do not typically feel this way inside the Sistine Chapel.This year, there are reasons to be grateful for Augusta’s unapologetic approach