India's Sai Kishore joins Surrey for two matches
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
Maranoa Charlie on course for City of York test
Christopher Head's son of Wootton Bassett was a headline purchase by the Yorkshire-based Bond Thoroughbred operation – the racing entity of the late Reg Bond now overseen by son Charlie – prior to the Deauville Group One and proved himself to be a quality acquisition with a fine run amongst a stellar cast. 'It's exciting times and it was quite a pressure run having invested a lot of money but it worked out well and he backed everything up that we had seen previously,' said Charlie Bond. 'Christopher was very complimentary of him and told us after we had purchased him he thinks this is the best horse he has ever trained, so we knew we had bought into a serious horse and he went and proved it.' WOODSHAUNA WINS THE PRIX JEAN PRAT! 🏆 — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 6, 2025 Attempting to make all on the Normandy coast, Maranoa Charlie was able to repel the likes of Aidan O'Brien's The Lion In Winter and Charlie Appleby's Shadow Of Light before being thwarted by the narrowest of margins after the late thrust of the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained Woodshauna. Bond added: 'He sort of ran four races and three horses took him on, he eyeballed them and got the better of them, just unfortunately the fourth one didn't give him enough time to react, even though the jockey said he went after him and a stride after the line he was getting back on top of him again. 'The jockey said this horse just does not like to get beat and it's incredible how three of them came there on the bridle, but once he eyeballed them he saw them off and they were proper Group One contenders, so you can definitely upgrade our run.' Although trained in France by Chantilly-based Head, Maranoa Charlie will be seen as a local hero if able set the record straight and register a first victory in the famous yellow and black colours of his ownership team on their home soil in York's newly upgraded Group One on August 23. 'I think Christopher and the jockey may try some different tactics at York, but you'll see what they decide on the day,' continued Bond. 'It's a kink at York rather than a straight and a bit of a dogleg, which I think will benefit us and we hope he loves the Knavesmire as it's the race Christopher has in mind for him. 'It's exciting times for Bond Thoroughbreds, so we can look forward to York and go again.'
South Wales Argus
2 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Volunteer to use award as platform for women and girls' rugby
Emily Dean has been recognised in the 'Connecting the Community' category at the Honda Volunteer of the Year Awards, which celebrate those who have had a major impact in their clubs and communities and demonstrated their commitment to the game. Dean has been fundamental in growing opportunities for female players of all ages at Driffield, organising regular fixtures for girls' teams and fostering a growing relationship with the Women's Institute to make the club more approachable. 'When I took [the volunteering] on, I didn't expect to be recognised for it, but it is a platform that allows other clubs to see what is possible,' she said. 'It gives you the opportunity to say, making rugby more community based rather than just being a rugby club has worked, and it is working really well. It gives us a platform to shout about that. 'I love what rugby has given me. A team sport like rugby gives you so much more than the team aspect. You walk into a club and you are a part of a family automatically. 'When you get the opportunity to share that with other clubs and with other women, that's something that I feel very passionately about. It's given me so much more than just a team sport.' Dean was driven to start a now flourishing girls' section in order to ensure the women's team could continue running long into the future. It means that what was formerly a male-oriented community at the rugby club has become an inclusive space that is now promoting opportunity for all through sport. Yorkshire seal the Gill Burns Women's County Championship division 1! 🔥 June 21, 2025 'We wanted to future proof the women's game,' Dean added. 'We had enough for a team when we started, but it was obvious to me that we didn't have anyone coming through. 'The girls could play up to under-11s, but then they had nothing in the juniors, so we didn't want to lose them. 'We started the girls' section, and we have pulled players from all over. We've built such a good pathway. 'We had two girls from under-18 picked for PDG (Player Development Groups) and two girls at under-16. They're growing the game themselves because they're showing the younger girls that this can happen for you.' Such is the success of the club, Driffield now make sure they can play competitive matches by taking additional players to lend to the opposition. Dean has also ensured there is a female presence across the whole club by bringing the Women's Institute on board to build a community at the club that extends off the pitch to volunteers and supporters. 'When you have put multiple people together, you can come up with so many more ideas. They've had lunches, they've had dance classes and there's things in the pipeline to be part of a breast cancer awareness afternoon tea in August,' added Dean. 'We noticed that we haven't got many women within the club who are over a certain age, but actually through increasing that footfall, some of them have come and watched us play. 'We've also worked with a Syrian refugee group through the WI. During half term, they came with their children, and we had a group of 20 outside playing a game of football together even though they didn't necessarily understand each other's language. It's increasing the depth of community.' Volunteers are the backbone of grassroots rugby in England. If you'd like to get involved and make a difference at your community club, visit:
South Wales Argus
2 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Head coach Jones delighted with Division 2 final win
Twelve months ago, Cheshire saw a big lead against Oxfordshire evaporate in losing 38-37, but this time held their nerve in another try fest to triumph 50-38 against a Devon side who refused to go quietly. This was despite Cheshire storming into a 31-7 lead after half an hour, through tries by Will Norris, Joe Sanders, Tom Akehurst and Ciaron Connolly, with their opponents fighting their way back to bring back memories of last year. However, another Akehurst try and the boot of Mark Williams proved to be the difference, with the fly-half, who serves in the Royal Air Force, converting all five tries and kicking five penalties for a haul of 25 points. Jones said: 'It was long overdue. We've been in this position quite a few times and we've had a good bunch of boys who have knitted well from quite early on. 'I'm pleased with that today, it's probably the biggest group of lads we've had in a long time – normally we're orientated around one club, like Macclesfield last year and Caldy the years before that, so it's good to have a good mix. 'We've not emphasised a lot what happened last year, but we ran away with it first half last year and lost by a point in the dying minutes. 'A big focus was making sure the bench was strong, so we could bring on experience, and we went from there.' Cheshire's campaign has seen them use the facilities at Chester RFC for their training sessions, where their hard work in bringing a team together from the county's clubs has brought silverware. Jones, who coaches at Championship club Caldy, hopes to compete in Division 1 of the County Championship in the coming years and loves the opportunity it gives players from Level 5 downwards in the rugby pyramid. He said: 'This level is something the RFU really needs to buy into. 'It's massive, it's an opportunity for some of the smaller clubs, and some of the bigger clubs, to showcase what they have available. 'Equally, players that play in this get to go back and share the experience [with their clubmates] and I think it's required for the RFU to invest heavily towards it because it's brilliant.'
