Rangers boss Martin coy on Vardy links
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Telegraph
9 minutes ago
- Telegraph
How England pulled off a coaching masterclass to upset Argentina
Chasing perfection is futile, but England's 35-12 triumph over Argentina was about as close to a complete team performance as Steve Borthwick could have hoped. In private, he would not have been stressing his public claims the Pumas were favourites. That always seemed like a stroke of kidology; a psychological tone-setter. Borthwick has steadfast confidence in his players as well as his own capacity to devise game plans – with good reason. Notwithstanding some sloppiness from an Argentina outfit missing a few top players, what resulted in La Plata was one of the very best England wins of recent years, and one that featured hallmarks of diligent preparation and extremely smart coaching from the backroom staff. Defensive system tailored to Pumas England tempered their defensive press during the Six Nations, opting instead to prioritise connections in the line over the break-neck 'hammer' system that had been in operation during Felix Jones's stint in the set-up. That shift was a legacy of an uncertain autumn as Joe El-Abd took over, and yielded improvements. However, the secondment of Byron McGuigan from Sale Sharks for this campaign has injected a degree of aggression. England were not blitzing quite as rapidly as they did under the supervision of Jones, yet they swarmed and stifled the sweeping, multi-layered Argentina attack that caused issues for South Africa last September. Although it was not perfect and they were broken occasionally, the tourists showed immense desire on the scramble. They were crafty in the contact area as well, not least while defending their own try-line. Joe Heyes, Fin Baxter and Ben Curry combined to hold up Pablo Matera over the whitewash just seconds before Jamie George, Tom Willis and Seb Atkinson did the same to Juan Martín González. George, Sam Underhill and Charlie Ewels made it a hat-trick a while later, absorbing a shunt from Pedro Delgado and wrapping up the ball. Keeping Argentina scoreless for the first half, despite spending 12 minutes with 14 men and six with 13 men due to yellow cards for Alex Coles and Atkinson, was testament to togetherness, graft and tactical nous. Willis (with two), Curry, Guy Pepper and Alex Dombrandt all registered breakdown turnovers as well. Players proving points Significant individual performances dotted the England line-up. Freddie Steward fully justified his return to the starting side, timing his pass for Tom Roebuck's first try perfectly before cutting a neat angle to score himself. The full-back also flung a 15-metre rocket to Cadan Murley to set up England's fourth. 🗣️ "Brilliant finish!" Cadan Murley extends England's lead over Argentina even further ✨ — Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) July 5, 2025 Ewels banished any memories from his last two caps, which comprised eight minutes and two red cards, to replicate his superb form for Bath. He ran the line-out cleverly, often calling four-man set-ups. Club colleague Ben Spencer, calm and accurate at scrum-half, finally landed a Test win at the ninth attempt. Henry Slade was an unselfish contributor, his experience undoubtedly important for those around him. The scrum eked out penalties with Heyes continuing his formidable year at tighthead prop, even popping up with a casual pass from the base of a ruck to release Roebuck. Baxter, still just 23, enhanced his reputation as well, whacking Pumas relentlessly in the tackle. Scrum coach Tom Harrison is doing a terrific job. Among the senior figures who might have been disappointed not to be with the Lions, there was a typically imposing outing from Underhill. The titanic Willis made way on the hour mark and still amassed 19 carries and 21 tackles in what was his most impressive match for England to date. Facundo Isa and Matera, two phenomenal back-rowers, were eclipsed. George Ford and George, the co-captains, led in different ways. The former, who still has plenty to offer at 32, controlled territory, kicked 15 points and picked unfussy passes in an efficient yet imaginative attack. George, meanwhile, fulfilled his set-piece responsibilities and topped the first tackle count with 22, shading Willis and Atkinson (21 tackles each). New faces settling in Will Muir, a 29-year-old who has earned his England bow on the back of prolonged excellence in the Premiership, seemed at home alongside Steward and Roebuck as part of a rangy back three entrusted to rule the skies. One run in the first half, which clattered Gonzalo Bertranou, underlined his bristling power. Industrious and skilful, Atkinson was also assertive on debut. His pull-back to Spencer from the strike play that brought about Roebuck's second was typical of how he manipulates space for Gloucester and Lee Blackett, the England attack coach on this trip, will enjoy working with him. A proud day for Seb Atkinson 🌹 @O2 | #WearTheRose — England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) July 6, 2025 Pepper, the third and final rookie, was granted the last 20 minutes, which was enough opportunity for a trademark steal. As has been apparent for some time, England's glut of scavenging flankers is ludicrous. Ben Curry adds string to his bow At the beginning of the Six Nations prior to a start in Dublin, Ben Curry spoke with a degree of reverence about how his brother, Tom, had rounded out his game by learning to be a line-out jumper at the very top level. Tom assumed these additional responsibilities in 2019, which allowed Eddie Jones to team him up with Underhill either side of Billy Vunipola. For Ben Curry to start at blindside flanker against Argentina and form his own double-act with Underhill, he needed to emulate his sibling and step up as an outlet at the front of the line-out. He did so tidily. The 27-year-old secured four throws, second only to Coles, who took eight, among England jumpers. George, who stayed at hooker for 75 minutes, and strategist Ewels deserve credit here and Borthwick is a renowned line-out technician. But Ben Curry can also be proud of himself for broadening his inventory. Positional flexibility As an erstwhile mentee of Eddie Jones, Borthwick is open-minded about players covering multiple positions. He puts this into practice, too, rather than merely theorising. Chandler Cunningham-South, increasingly regarded as a lock in this England squad, came on when Ewels dislocated his finger and had a brief cameo at lock to complement an hour there against Wales last time out as a replacement for Ollie Chessum. The hardy Ewels returned, switching places with Cunningham-South and ending the game alongside Coles. Cunningham-South came back on for five more minutes at the death, meaning that he ended up with Dombrandt and Pepper in England's finishing back row. Murley, the second back on a bench that featured a six-two split of forwards, rolled back the years to cover outside centre for 10 minutes while Atkinson was temporarily withdrawn, with Slade shifting further in. Training camps must throw funky scenarios at this squad, because they roll with the punches. Phil Morrow's first campaign as conditioning chief is off to a strong start, too. Crowding the depth chart These tours, while a contingent of internationals are away with the British and Irish Lions, present opportunities to develop depth ahead with the World Cup in mind. It will be interesting to see if Borthwick rotates slightly for San Juan, even if the prospect of a 2-0 series victory might tempt him to roll out a similar match-day squad. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, who arrived from the bench on Saturday with Bevan Rodd, may have a run at loosehead prop against the USA in the third and final outing of this trip. Inside centre Max Ojomoh and hooker Curtis Langdon, who is behind Theo Dan, are two others who should feature at some stage. England could do with bolstering contingencies at fly-half and lock, but every other position looks to be in decent shape.
Telegraph
24 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Martin Brundle's Alan Partridge act helped Silverstone wipe the floor with Wimbledon
The Grand Prix was viewable on two stations yesterday: Channel 4's coverage is good but there is nobody like Martin Brundle, and his contributions put Sky Sports on top of the podium. His pre-race grid walks remain unmissable TV, balanced always on the knife edge between virtuoso live broadcasting and Alan Partridgian fiasco. The segment has evolved from being a strictly-for-the-hardcore series of flash interviews with drivers and team directors into a superbly postmodern mash-up where genuine A-listers and, at the risk of being unkind, total nobodies alike all come in for the same Brundle treatment: urgent, affable, and with a rich tang of potential chaos. Its appeal lies in a double jeopardy element because the interviewees often don't know who the hell the pushy middle-aged British guy is and, crucially, Brundle has on occasion been far from certain as to who they are either. It often has the feel of an anxiety dream or a pub quiz in hell. The time he was talking to NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes but it was in fact an NBA player called Paolo Banchero. The time he didn't know who rapper Machine Gun Kelly was but tried to fish it out of him by saying 'and how's your career going?' while looking frantically for context clues in the fact that Mr Kelly was covered in spiked metal and a lemon skintight vest. A classic Martin Brundle gridwalk moment with Machine Gun Kelly 😅 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 5, 2023 The time in China he asked the CEO of Ferrari's sponsor 'do you speak English?' (She did). The time he had an each way bet 'Are you Marco Mariachi, Matazzi?' on Marco Materazzi. Nurse, the screens. Sunday's edition went relatively smoothly: being on British soil is an advantage, with Martin on surer footing picking out your Jeremy Clarksons and the Gordon Ramsays of this world than he is with American hip hoppers, and fair enough, why wouldn't he be? One highlight at Silverstone was national treasure Hannah Waddingham, who told Martin: 'I can go home now. What an unbelievable privilege to meet you, sir.' Quite right too. He also grabbed Damson Idris (whose F1 film with Brad Pitt has done $200million at the box office already before the weekend), Tom Holland (who remained admirably calm when Martin began freestyling with 'waiting for the track to dry out is like waiting for an avocado to ripen') and, er, Kaleb out of Clarkson's Farm, who started talking about combine harvesters. Only momentarily did Martin wobble, when it got crowded and he couldn't find anyone he recognised (we can add Aaron Taylor Johnson, current star of box office smash 28 Years Later but completely blanked by Martin about five times, to the list of famous people who aren't on the Brundle radar yet) and it all got very fraught as he dived under a security rope, clearly losing his shape. But salvation hove into view! 'Ah, Ian Wright!' said Martin. Panic over, we're in safe hands. Wrighty was having a lovely time, obviously, and the good vibes were back. Do you see now, Eni Aluko? Do you? Anyhow, the depth and breadth of stars on display suggests that everyone involved in the marketing of F1 should be given an extra helping of diesel for tea, or however it is they are incentivised, because it blew the other big British sporting showpiece of the day away in terms of star wattage on parade. Over at Wimbledon, the crowd was invited to show its appreciation for a smorgasbord of sporting Royal Box attendees, almost all of whom could walk down the high street, or indeed through an F1 grid, utterly untroubled by unwanted attention from the citizenry: coxless fours this, equestrian that. Brian Charles Lara the exception, obvs. Nice that they get a day out, but come on. Back to the F1 TV coverage, there was a feature pre-race where actual Brad Pitt did some race car driving under the tutelage of Brundle, and another stunt where Brundle and Oliver Bearman drove original 1950s cars around the track. Very enjoyable, and (to this agnostic at least) a bonus in that the race itself was quite a lot less boring than usual. Winner. Added to the success of Drive To Survive, it's further evidence that F1 is doing imaginative work in selling itself in different markets and cross-pollinating to audiences beyond the existing fans. Other sports should take note, or even try to find themselves a Martin Brundle.
The Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Sun
Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Gunners ‘in ADVANCED Gyokeres talks', £50m-plus bids ‘expected for Madueke', Zubimendi DONE
ARSENAL have a HUGE summer of business to take care of in the transfer market. The Gunners have announced the £51million signing of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. Elsewhere, Viktor Gyokeres is reportedly willing to give up around £2million of his salary to help push through a move to the Emirates. Meanwhile, Chelsea are braced for offers of more than £50m for Noni Madueke after Arsenal AGREED personal terms with the winger, according to reports. 6th Jul 2025, 23:00 By Anthony Chapman Al-Nassr in for Rodrygo Arsenal's dreams of signing Rodrygo are in danger. That's after Al-Nassr launched a bid for the Real Madrid star. Rodrygo appears to be out of Xabi Alonso's plans after being benched throughout the Club World Cup. And Al-Nassr's mega-money wages make them the favourites to sign him this summer. 6th Jul 2025, 22:00 By Anthony Chapman Gyokeres prepared to cut wages Viktor Gyokeres is willing to give up some of his wages to complete a move to Arsenal. Fabrizio Romano claims the striker is desperate to leave Sporting Lisbon for the Gunners. His side want nearly £70million to make a deal happen. And to make things easier for Arsenal, Gyokeres is ready to take a pay cut so they can meet Sporting's price tag. 6th Jul 2025, 21:00 By Anthony Chapman No Madueke bid yet Arsenal are yet to make a formal offer for Noni Madueke. That's despite agreeing a five-year contract with the Chelsea winger. Mikel Arteta is desperate to bring Madueke to the Emirates. But it remains unclear how much Chelsea will want if they are open to selling. 6th Jul 2025, 20:00 By Anthony Chapman Spanish duo on horizon Arsenal will face a double dose of Spain in pre-season. The Gunners have announced a friendly against Villarreal on August 6. And three days later they will play Athletic Bilbao. Among the stars going up against Arsenal will be Nico Williams, who has just penned a lucrative new contract after snubbing Barcelona. 6th Jul 2025, 19:20 By Anthony Chapman Mosquera pushing for move Cristhian Mosquera could be the next arrival at Arsenal. The centre-back has told Valencia he wants to leave for the Emirates. And Mosquera has already agreed a contract with Mikel Arteta's side. However, Valencia want £25million for their star defender and are so far refusing to lower their price. 6th Jul 2025, 18:40 By Anthony Chapman Vieira axes Vardy moves Jamie Vardy reportedly had a sensational move to Genoa BLOCKED by Arsenal legend and Invincible Patrick Vieira. Vieira, who is the boss of Genoa, is said to have vetoed the move after club execs had put things in place for the former Leicester striker to make the move. According to Italian outlet La Repubblica, Genoa had agreed personal terms with Vardy following negotiations spearheaded by sporting director Flavio Ricciardella. But despite claims that Genoa had even enlisted financial help from club sponsors to pay Vardy's wages, the deal was abandoned after Vieira didn't give his seal of approval. 6th Jul 2025, 18:00 By Anthony Chapman Sesko talks at 'stalemate' Arsenal's talks with RB Leipzig for Benjamin Sesko are reportedly at a 'stalemate'. And that has seen them accelerate a move for Viktor Gyokeres instead. The Sporting Lisbon star has agreed a contract to join Arsenal. But the Gunners are yet to strike a fee with his Portuguese club. 6th Jul 2025, 17:18 By Anthony Chapman Palace firm on Eze price Crystal Palace will not let Eberechi Eze leave for less than £68million. The versatile winger is a target for Arsenal. But they are being put off by Palace's asking price, which the Eagles are unwilling to drop. And that has now seen Arsenal make progress for Chelsea's Noni Madueke. 6th Jul 2025, 16:40 By Anthony Chapman Gyokeres price tag revealed More from Charlie Wyett: Sporting Libson are increasingly confident Arsenal will meet their £68.9million price tag for striker Viktor Gyokeres. The clubs remain locked in negotiations for the Swedish striker although the €80m (£68.9million) fee is likely to include add-ons. A deal is not yet complete and Arsenal have yet to make a firm bid but Gyokeres is hoping to get his move to the Emirates. The Swedish international was set to go on strike and miss training today in a bid to force a move. 6th Jul 2025, 16:00 By Anthony Chapman Chelsea line up Nwaneri Chelsea are interested in a stunning swoop for Ethan Nwaneri. The playmaker is considered to be Arsenal's top youth prospect. But he is yet to agree a new contract with the Gunners. And Chelsea are planning to move for Nwaneri in case he fails to strike a deal at the Emirates. 6th Jul 2025, 15:25 By Anthony Chapman Sporting make Gyokeres decision Charlie Wyett writes: Viktor Gyokeres has been given extra time to report for training with Sporting Lisbon as Arsenal move closer to completing a deal. SunSport understands the Gunners are in advanced talks with Sporting over a deal to sign Gyokeres. Discussions regarding the transfer fee are ongoing but personal terms are in place on a five-year contract. The Swedish hitman only wants to move to Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta is pushing for a swift conclusion. 6th Jul 2025, 14:44 By Kostas Lianos Berta on Zubimendi Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta described latest signing Martin Zubimendi as a "key target" and a "perfect fit" for the squad. We are so happy to bring Martin to Arsenal and have a lot of pride in finalising this transfer. Martin was a key target for us and we all know that he is a perfect fit for our squad with the high quality he has. We welcome Martin and his family to the club. We look forward to him settling in with his teammates and are very excited to see him playing in an Arsenal shirt Andrea Berta 6th Jul 2025, 14:17 By Kostas Lianos Arteta on Zubimendi Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta talked about all the attributes new signing Martin Zubimendi will bring to his new team. Martin is a player who will bring a huge amount of quality and football intelligence to our team. He will fit in really well and he has all the attributes to be a key player for us. The standard he has consistently performed at over the last few seasons for both club and country is exactly why we are so excited to have him with us. We all welcome Martin and his family to the club. Mikel Arteta 6th Jul 2025, 13:56 By Kostas Lianos Arsenal 'agree' deal with Madueke Arsenal have reached an agreement with Chelsea ace Noni Madueke. That is according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, who claims the Gunners and Madueke have shaken hands on a five-year contract. And Sky Sports report the Blues are now expecting an offer from the Gunners for the winger. This comes after the North Londoners missed out on Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams. 6th Jul 2025, 13:37 By Kostas Lianos More on Gyokeres Arsenal have jumped ahead of Manchester United and Juventus in the bidding war for Sporting Lisbon star Viktor Gyokeres. That is according to transfer insider David Ornstein, who reports the Gunners are in 'advanced talks' with Sporting over a deal to sign Gyokeres. Discussions regarding the transfer fee are ongoing but personal terms are in place on a five-year contract. The striker 'only wants' to move to the North Londoners and manager Mikel Arteta is pushing for a swift conclusion. 6th Jul 2025, 12:55 By Kostas Lianos Arsenal closing in on Gyokeres Arsenal are getting closer to signing Sporting Lisbon star Viktor Gyokeres. That is according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, who reports a new round of talks has taken place in recent hours Gyokeres will not return to Sporting for pre-season as he is fully focused on leaving. And the Gunners are getting much closer to finalising a deal for the striker. 6th Jul 2025, 12:33 By Kostas Lianos Martin Zubimendi speaks Arsenal signing Martin Zubimendi stated his move to the Emirates is a "huge moment" and one he wanted to make for a while. This is a huge moment in my career. It's the move I was looking for and one I wanted to make. As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are. I set my sights on Arsenal because their style of play is a good fit for me. They have shown their potential recently and the best is yet to come. Martin Zubimendi 6th Jul 2025, 12:00 By Kostas Lianos Arsenal announce Zubimendi Arsenal have officially announced Martin Zubimendi's arrival from Real Sociedad. Zumbimendi has put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the Gunners. This comes after a £51million deal between the North Londoners and Sociedad. The midfielder is expected to join his new team-mates immediately for pre-season. By Kostas Lianos Arsenal wait on Rodrygo Arsenal are waiting for Real Madrid star Rodrygo's decision during the summer transfer window. According to transfer insider Ben Jacobs, Real are open to selling Rodrygo for about £78million. Jacobs added that the Gunners have only made preliminary enquiries about the forward. The North Londoners are now waiting to see if the Brazil international will ask to leave Madrid 6th Jul 2025, 11:10 By Charlie Wyett Major Gyokeres update Viktor Gyokeres has been given extra time to report for training with Sporting Lisbon but the Arsenal target is still set to go on strike. Sporting have told Swedish international Gyokeres, who was due to report for training tomorrow, he now has until Friday to meet up with the squad. The same applies to other players who have been on international duty - Danish international Conrad Harder and Portuguese Under-21 winger Geovany Quenda who will join Chelsea in 2026. They were also due to report tomorrow but late Saturday night, were handed an extra four days off ahead of the club travelling to the Algarve at the weekend for a pre-season training camp. Gyokeres has once again indicated to Sporting officials that is unlikely to report for training and he wants a move from the club, preferably Arsenal, although Manchester United and Juventus are also interested. He is angry that his club has broken a gentleman's agreement that he could leave for £60million. Sporting, knowing there is massive interest in their star striker, are now demanding at least £68.5m. Club president Frederico Varandas, who has had a public falling out with the former Coventry forward, had hoped that Gyokeres was bluffing and that he would return to training but this now seems unlikely. 6th Jul 2025, 10:50 By Kostas Lianos Rodrygo reacts to snub Real Madrid star Rodrygo was named on the bench for the fourth match in a row at the Club World Cup. The forward didn't start for Real in the quarter-finals against Borussia Dortmund. The Brazil international's lack of involvement in the tournament has fuelled transfer speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal. But the 24-year-old insists he remains focused on Madrid as they push to win the trophy. We're in the World Cup semi-finals. Two more to go to our goal. HALA MADRID! RodrygoInstagram 6th Jul 2025, 10:28 By Kostas Lianos Rodrygo transfer blow Al-Nassr have launched a massive bid to sign Real Madrid star Rodrygo and they're willing to break the bank to get him. The Saudi giants, backed by a whopping transfer kitty, have contacted the forward's representatives to discuss a potential deal. And it's not just any offer, they've reportedly approached the 24-year-old's camp and offered to present him with a blank cheque that could be the difference amid growing interest from the Gunners. According to Sky Sports, Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently extended his contract with the club, has personally named the Brazilian as his top target this summer. However, Rodrygo has made it clear he's not ready to swap Real for Saudi Arabia just yet. The report further adds that the winger has set his sights on the Premier League, with sources saying he's only interested in moving to England if he leaves Madrid.
