Sale blow 14-0 lead and slump to home defeat by Glasgow in Champions Cup opener

Losing is in danger of becoming a habit for Sale after a stellar ­Glasgow side headed back north with a ­bonus-point win in this Champions Cup opener.Alex Sanderson’s hosts, beaten here by Exeter a week ago and already off the pace in their Prem campaign, let slip an early 14-0 lead to a Warriors team packed with some of Scotland’s finest talent.Franco Smith’s men, inspired by the captain, Kyle Steyn, and centre pairing Stafford McDowall and Sione Tuipulotu, showed their mettle to beat Sale in this competition for the second season running.Several of Sale’s England internationals – George Ford, Tom Roebuck, Bevan Rodd, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joe Carpenter and Asher Opoku-Fordjour – were unavailable. But defeats on their home turf on the outskirts of Salford have been a rarity in recent seasons under Sanderson; now they have suffered two inside a week

Norris’ date with F1 destiny arrives as he aims to keep Verstappen and Piastri at bay

He has a 12-point lead before Sunday’s Abu Dhabi GP but the British driver vows to ‘crack on’ if the title goes elsewhereThe atmosphere at a season-deciding finale in the Formula One world championship is like no other. The paddock positively hums with a febrile, pulsing excitement and sense of expectation that is impossible to ignore. Amid all of which the title favourite, Lando Norris, finds himself at the moment he has dedicated his life toward, destiny lying in his own hands.After a gruelling 23-race trek around the world, the conclusion of all the work, sacrifice and effort will be decided in just an hour and a half on Sunday afternoon in Abu Dhabi.Norris has been fascinating to observe across a season during which he opened on top, was then eclipsed by his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri before mounting a comeback in the final third to retake the lead

Your Guardian sport weekend: F1 finale, the Ashes and Premier League

James Wallace and Rob Smyth will cover all the day-three action, over by over. The day-nighter at the Gabba has already thrown up more storylines than an entire season of Neighbours, and our team of writers – Ali Martin, Geoff Lemon and Simon Burnton – are in Brisbane for reports, news and analysis. Australian supporters are welcome to join the conversation, too.Emillia Hawkins and John Brewin take the controls for our essential weekly gateway to the day’s football action. There’ll be plenty of washup from Friday’s World Cup draw in Washington DC as well as team news, breaking stories and snippets from our reporters around the grounds

L’Eau Du Sud bids to create history in Tingle Creek for title leader Skelton

After his Crisp-like capitulation around the Elbow in the last two National Hunt trainers’ championships, Dan Skelton has set off at an even faster pace in this season’s title race and has already amassed more than £1.7m in prize money, nearly £1m ahead of second-placed Olly Murphy.The tally that is likely to matter most in April 2026, of course, will belong to Willie Mullins, who has shown that quality matters more than quantity by winning the last two titles with big hauls at the spring festivals, despite an overall aggregate winner-count of 300-66 in Skelton’s favour.But in that respect too there is encouragement for Skelton, who saddled 20 fewer winners in from May to the end of November than in the 2024-25 campaign, but upped his prize money total by nearly £450,000 year-on-year.It is a step up in terms of quality that may be further underscored at Sandown on Saturday when Skelton’s L’Eau Du Sud lines up for the Grade One Tingle Creek Chase against two top-class rivals in Mullins’s Il Etait Temps and Nicky Henderson’s popular and consistent Jonbon, the winner for the past two seasons

Saracens hatch plan to put dent in French dominance against Clermont

Judging by the Saracens side ­starting their Champions Cup campaign against Clermont Auvergne on Saturday, a show of strength is the aim. Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, Tom Willis and Nick Isiekwe are some of the ­distinguished names who will line up in north ­London aiming to put a small, symbolic dent in the notion that French clubs are poised to dominate the competition again.Even without the rested England captain, Maro Itoje, and back-row Ben Earl – both recently returned from a successful autumn campaign – the quality of the lineup indicates the depth required for a deep tournament run.Noah Caluori, the 19-year-old who shot to prominence in October and was rewarded with an England call-up, makes his European debut: the presence of the 6ft 4in wing, allied to Farrell’s kicking prowess, will be causing some stress among Clermont’s coaching team.Saracens last lifted the trophy in 2019, when they beat Leinster in the final, and Caluori had yet to enter his teens

McLaren will use team orders in quest for F1 world drivers’ title in Abu Dhabi

Zak Brown has said McLaren will use team orders for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri if required to ensure the team secure the Formula One drivers’ championship in the season finale at Abu Dhabi on Sunday.With Red Bull’s Max ­Verstappen trailing Norris by 12 points, the Dutchman still has a shot at taking the title from McLaren’s grasp. Piastri is a further four points back. Having spent all season allowing their drivers to race and attempting to be scrupulously fair to both, Brown announced at the Yas Marina circuit that if circumstances rendered it ­necessary, they would use orders.“Yes, of course