‘Inspiring’ Lewis Moody will make it a day of emotion at Leicester-Bath clash

Emotions are bound to run high at Welford Road on Saturday, and not just because Bath are in town to renew one of the great rivalries in English rugby.Not even because Leicester’s round-four date with the reigning champions is a repeat of last season’s final, a little over four months ago, when Johann van Graan’s side resisted a fierce Tigers fightback at Twickenham to claim their first league title in 29 years.The emotion for Leicester fans, in particular, will be generated by an appearance from Lewis Moody, the former England flanker, who revealed this month he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Moody spent 14 seasons with the East Midlands club, amassing 223 appearances and scoring 32 tries. Perhaps it is less well remembered that he was a two-club man who finished his career at Bath, finally forced to retire due to injury in 2012

Your Guardian sport weekend: Premier League returns, F1 in the US and World Cup cricket

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reportsThe opening Ashes Test in Perth on 21 November is drawing ever closer, but first England touch down across the Tasman for a limited-overs tour of New Zealand, beginning in Christchurch on Saturday with the first of three T20s. White-ball cricket as a warm-up for the greatest Test series of them all might seem curious but the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka follows hot on the heels of the Ashes. England’s last visit to Asia this year saw them lose 10 out of 11 matches, including seven from eight in India, but Harry Brook’s side are targeting the trophy he helped them win in Australia in 2022. Brook is back to lead the side after being rested last month in Ireland, where Jacob Bethell became England’s youngest men’s captain, aged 21, and guided them to a 2-0 T20 series win. When they last had a full complement, England became the first Test nation to score 300 in a men’s T20, with Phil Salt and Jos Buttler flaying South Africa’s bowlers to all parts at Emirates Old Trafford

‘Great day for the region’: York join Toulouse in 14-team Super League

York Knights’ owner, Clint Goodchild, believes the club’s historic promotion to the Super League for the first time is a watershed moment for the whole of North Yorkshire, after they and Toulouse were granted admission to the top flight in 2026 and London Broncos missed the cut.The Knights will play in rugby league’s highest division for the first time since 1986 after they were selected by an independent panel alongside Toulouse to join the top 12 from Thursday’s IMG gradings and expand the Super League to 14 teams for the first time in more than a decade.Bradford Bulls, who finished 10th in those gradings, replace Salford Red Devils from this year’s 12-team lineup. The Knights, who were playing in League 1 as recently as 2018, and Toulouse have joined the Bulls among the elite after both dominated on the field throughout 2025.Goodchild, who bought the club in 2022, said York and the wider area were long overdue such success after the Knights became the first ­professional sporting team from there to play in a top division in almost 40 years

The beautiful stroll: England’s seniors take walking football to world stage

There’s no running in walking football – at least, not officially. Yet as England’s over-70s took on their final training match before competing in the World Nations Cup in Spain next week, the pace felt anything but pedestrian.Voices echoed across the pitch, sweat beading on foreheads. One man even earned a red card for grabbing another player’s arm and denying him a goal-scoring opportunity. For a sport defined by restraint, it’s surprisingly full-blooded

Owen Farrell to miss out on England recall for autumn internationals

Owen Farrell is expected to be overlooked by Steve Borthwick for England’s autumn internationals campaign despite injury headaches at inside-centre. It is understood that Farrell will not be named in a training squad on Sunday for next week’s mini camp and as a result Borthwick is expected to omit the 34-year-old former captain when he finalises his squad on 26 October.The Gloucester centre Seb Atkinson, who started England’s two summer victories over Argentina, is sidelined through injury and likely to miss all four autumn Tests, against Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina, but as things stand that is not going to prompt Borthwick to turn to Farrell, who has not appeared for his country since the 2023 World Cup.At fly-half, Borthwick has a wealth of options. George Ford is the incumbent after some fine performances against the Pumas, while Fin Smith and Marcus Smith returned from the victorious British & Irish Lions tour of Australia and impressed for Northampton and Harlequins respectively last weekend

Sadia Kabeya: ‘Meeting others in rugby who look like me brought me out of my shell – I can be myself now’

England’s World Cup winner on fitting in, developing a special scrum cap and that ‘wow’ Red Roses triumph at TwickenhamWhen the final whistle blew, relief washed over Sadia Kabeya. In front of a record crowd, she hugged her England teammate Lucy Packer and only then realised that the Red Roses had won the Rugby World Cup. The final against Canada had been so “gruelling”, Kabeya found it hard to believe they were world champions until she heard that sound. “It was amazing,” Kabeya says. “The full-time whistle was a lot of relief, a chance to breathe out and then: ‘Wow, we’ve done it