England bet on Pollock spark against Ireland to reignite Six Nations charge

The third weekend of the Six Nations used to be a time for contemplation and reflection. After the fury of the first two rounds, everything would stop for a much-needed fallow week in which to restore energy levels. And now? The battle-scarred gladiators are about to “go again”, putting their bodies on the line out on the pitch or, in the case of travelling supporters, in the pub.Player welfare rules OK? That debate still rumbles on but certain other areas – fitness, mental resilience, squad depth – traditionally reserved for the tournament’s closing fortnight are increasingly front and centre. The rhythm of this year’s championship is subtly different, particularly for sides such as England with only two home fixtures

Winter Olympics showcase golden oldies, fourth-place pain and sliding-doors moments | Lizzy Yarnold

Milano Cortina has been the first Games where I’ve been around town, not just being whisked from the sliding centre to the athletes’ village. It has given me the chance to really be present and feel the excitement and anticipation that sport brings, not to mention the importance it has in giving us something else to focus on in difficult times.As a TV pundit, it was hard to keep my emotions in check watching Great Britain’s skeleton success because I knew what it meant to Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker to become Olympic champions – Matt twice, of course. Their achievements are not only historic but the day-to-day impact will be so meaningful to both of them. I remember seeing kids’ drawings of me and people dressing up as “Lizzy” and now I’m seeing it from a different perspective

The Winter Olympics finale, Six Nations stardust and Tottenham v Arsenal – follow with us

Emillia Hawkins welcomes all-comers to the weekend’s football action with a sprightly mix of breaking news, reader observations and vibes from around the grounds. It’s a frantic day in the Premier League, with five fixtures culminating in the evening clash of Manchester City and Newcastle. Elsewhere, there’s a full Championship and EFL programme. In the Scottish Premiership, the leaders, Hearts – unbeaten at home this season – tackle Falkirk. Continental matters feature Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter, with the clash of Juventus v Como the pick of the bunch in Serie A

The rock history of Ireland’s stone lifters | Letters

Your article on the ancient sport of stone lifting in Ireland (14 February) didn’t explain the historic origin of the rocks. Most of these boulders are glacial erratics, eroded and transported by Irish ice sheets during which the rocks have their edges worn down as they grind against other rocks. This explains their rounded appearance.Prof Murray GrayQueen Mary University of London My great-great-great-grandfather, born in Ireland in 1824, was living in Wapping in 1861, working as a “ballast-getter”. Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor (1851) said these were “men employed in raising ballast from the river by bodily labour … they are all very powerful men … mostly very tall, big-boned and muscular

Charles Leclerc clocks quickest time at final F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took the bragging rights with the quickest time at the final Formula One test before the season proper begins in Australia in just two weeks, while Aston Martin endured a horror show.At the end of the final day of the third test, some of the cars were let off the leash to put in some runs on soft tyres with lower fuel loads and Leclerc looked very much at home as he hurled his Ferrari around the circuit in Bahrain. He set a time of 1min 31.992sec, eight-tenths clear of the second-placed McLaren of Lando Norris and a second up on Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.Nonetheless, Russell and Mercedes will head to Australia with no little confidence, having been consistently quick across all three tests, and Russell remains the early favourite

Australia thrash Oman by nine wickets in T20 World Cup cricket dead rubber – as it happened

That’s it from me and from Australia at this World Cup. They were imperious today but when it really mattered they couldn’t quite get themselves going, losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka left them way off the pace and the rain washed away any remote they had when Ireland and Zimbabwe couldn’t get on the park. Mitch Marsh’s side head home without making the Super 8s with plenty to ponder.We’ll be back to OBO the latter stages of the tournament, it’s been a belter so far. Thanks for your company