Sport shorts: England name Six Nations squad and Coco stuns Venus in Melbourne
Ten things from the world of sport on Monday 20 January
1. England Six Nations squad revealed
England head coach Eddie Jones today announced his 34-man squad for the 2020 Six Nations rugby championship.
Jones has included 22 players who featured in the squad that finished runners-up at the Rugby World Cup. England begin their Six Nations campaign with a trip to Paris to face France on Sunday 2 February.
Eight uncapped players are included in Jones’s squad. Tom Dunn, Ben Earl and Ollie Thorley have previously been involved while Fraser Dingwall, George Furbank, Alex Moon, Will Stuart and Jacob Umaga are called up for the first time.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Jones said: “It is always about winning the next game so we have picked the best squad available. At the same time we wanted to bring some young players in because we need to keep building our depth so for those new players it is an exciting opportunity for them.”
Meanwhile, Steve Borthwick will leave his coaching role with England at the end of the season. Jason Ryles, the current boss of Australian rugby league side Melbourne Storm, will join Jones’s staff in November as skills coach.
England Six Nations squad
- Forwards: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry, Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Charlie Ewels, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Ted Hill, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Joe Marler, Alex Moon, Kyle Sinckler, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill, Mako Vunipola, Harry Williams
- Backs: Elliot Daly, Ollie Devoto, Fraser Dingwall, Owen Farrell, George Ford, George Furbank, Willi Heinz, Jonathan Joseph, Jonny May, Ollie Thorley, Manu Tuilagi, Jacob Umaga, Anthony Watson, Ben Youngs
2. More woe for relegated Saracens
It’s been some weekend for Saracens. England’s most powerful rugby union club of recent years learned on Friday that they will be relegated at the end of this season after breaching salary cap rules.
The squad then faced Racing 92 of Paris in the final game of the Champions Cup pool stage needing a win to reach the quarter-final. They got the victory (a nerve-jangling 27-24 win) but it came at a price - for them and England - with No.8 Billy Vunipola leaving the field in the first half with a broken forearm.
It’s the fourth time in two years that he’s broken the same arm, and it ends Vunipola’s season.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
3. Hamilton to stay at Mercedes?
After months of speculation linking him with a move to Ferrari in 2021, reports in Italy claim that Lewis Hamilton is set to stay with Mercedes and sign a new two-year deal.
British driver Hamilton is out of contract at the end of 2020 and it was revealed last month that he had held informal talks with Mercedes’s main rivals.
However, Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the 35-year-old is on the verge of extending his contract with Mercedes and will continue to drive for the champions in 2021 and 2022.
Hamilton warns rivals: I will be a machine this year
4. Westwood eyes Ryder Cup spot
With his victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship yesterday English golfer Lee Westwood has become only the third player to win European Tour events in four different decades.
The 45-year-old now has his sights set on playing for Team Europe at this year’s Ryder Cup. He said: “It’s only come to the forefront of my mind, that now I’ve got a chance to make the Ryder Cup team.
“I thought I was done in the Ryder Cup to be honest as a player. I would love to play another Ryder Cup as long as I’m good enough.”
5. Gauff stuns Williams again
American teenager Coco Gauff has stolen the headlines on day one of the 2020 Australian Open tennis grand slam in Melbourne after defeating Venus Williams in straight sets. The 15-year-old also beat Williams in the first round at Wimbledon last summer.
In the women’s singles 23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams, world No.1 Ashleigh Barty and defending champion Naomi Osaka are also through to the second round.
Six-time Australian Open winner Roger Federer and British No.1 Dan Evans are through to the men’s singles second round.
6. England secure Test win in Port Elizabeth
England have taken a 2-1 series lead against South Africa after winning the third Test by an innings and 53 runs in Port Elizabeth.
Captain Joe Root said: “The guys are listening to my message, the way we want to play the game. We’ve got a lot of learning to do and we want to keep getting better. Now we’re starting to see results, it’s feeding through the group. Long may that continue.”
The fourth and final Test of the series starts in Johannesburg on Friday.
7. Kerr nets first goal for Chelsea
Australian star Sam Kerr scored her first goal for Chelsea in their impressive 4-1 victory over Women’s Super League (WSL) champions Arsenal yesterday. Beth England, Sophie Ingle and Guro Reiten were also on target.
Manchester City have moved to the top of the WSL table above Arsenal on goal difference after their 2-0 win at Birmingham.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
8. 49ers to face Chiefs in Super Bowl
The countdown is on to Super Bowl LIV after the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs secured their spots in the 2 February spectacle in Miami.
Last night the 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers 37-20 to win the NFC Championship while the Chiefs were 35-24 victors against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship match.
Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw three touchdown passes and ran in one himself, said: “We’re going to the Super Bowl and going to play our best football.”
9. Kop confident of title
Liverpool fans left Anfield yesterday singing about how they’re going to win the league. Now the rest of the country believes them after they maintained their unbeaten Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win over rivals Manchester United.
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were on target as Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table. Jurgen Klopp’s men are now 16 points clear of Manchester City with a game in hand.
Liverpool fans sing ‘we’re going to win the league’ but Klopp keeps calm
10. Today’s back pages
Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Manchester United makes most of the headlines on the back pages, and with it the news that Marcus Rashford is out for at least three months with a stress fracture of his lower back.
“Pain in the Rash” is the rather forced headline in the Daily Star, while the Independent notes that the United striker’s absence will be keenly felt by a club who are already worryingly short of firepower.
Rashford is ruled out and Liverpool march on towards the title
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For analysis of the biggest sport stories - and a concise, balanced take on the week’s news - try The Week magazine. Start your trial today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 2, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Six Nations: a new golden age for French rugby?
feature The hosts of next year’s Rugby World Cup will take some stopping
By The Week Staff Published
-
2022 Six Nations ‘Super Saturday’: round five fixtures, title permutations, TV, standings
In Depth France are on course for the grand slam, but can Ireland pip them to the title?
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Pochettino is Saudi-backed consortium’s ‘No.1 choice’ for Newcastle job
Speed Read Ten things from the world of sport on Wednesday 29 April
By The Week Staff Published
-
French Ligue 1 season is cancelled and Tokyo Olympic Games would be ‘scrapped’ if more delays
Speed Read Ten things from the world of sport on Tuesday 28 April
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sport shorts: F1 targets Austrian Grand Prix on 5 July for start of the 2020 season
Speed Read Ten things from the world of sport on Monday 27 April
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sport shorts: Liverpool-Atletico Madrid tie to be investigated by health authorities
Speed Read Ten things from the world of sport on Friday 24 April
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sport shorts: Bundesliga ready to return on 9 May - if German government approves
Speed Read Ten things from the world of sport on Thursday 23 April
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sport shorts: National League clubs vote to end season and Roger Federer wants the ATP and WTA tours to merge
Speed Read Ten things from the world of sport on Wednesday 22 April
By The Week Staff Published