Zinedine who? Bordeaux's rise to rugby-mad city with Europe's biggest crowds
Merger is a dirty word in rugby. Time and time and place again, attempts to combine teams are viewed as a sacrifice of history. Better to fail alone than succeed together. Not so much in Bordeaux and, because it's a merger, in Bègles. Though the city of wine carries the cachet, her southern suburb is an equal partner in the club with the highest attendances in Europe, on the cusp of success to match.
Union Bordeaux Bègles, born in 2006, could become European champions on Saturday. As
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Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Test cricket needed a thrilling, feisty series like this - even if the schedule has been too tight, writes NASSER HUSSAIN
India will feel like they deserve to get on their flight home next week having drawn this exceptional series. They have won as many sessions as England, if not more. They have just been found wanting in some of the crucial moments. But they can put that right today. I have been hugely impressed with the character and fight they have shown throughout this series. Some people thought they might roll over after the way they lost at Headingley, but they have since shown what a tough side they are to beat. It is especially impressive when you consider they lost legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli right before the series. One thing you know about India, though, is that when great players retire, others will come along and make their mark. With the bat, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishab Pant have done just that. These are players who will take India into the future and score a lot of runs for them. They have also got two fantastic all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. And then you've got Mohammed Siraj, who has shown massive character and heart, particularly when Jasprit Bumrah has not played. With Chris Woakes going down injured for England, Siraj is the only fast bowler who has lasted the course of the series and put in spell after spell. He is the sort of bloke a captain absolutely loves. He lifts the team. I always talk about Darren Gough being that sort of person when I was England captain, and Siraj is that man for India. This series has been feisty and played with a bit of needle and I like that. I did not like Akash Deep putting his arm around Ben Duckett after he got him out on Friday. For me, any form of physical contact is a no-no. But in general, the fight between the teams has made it much more watchable. It has been great TV. We talked at the start of the summer about two iconic series coming up for England, India at home and then Australia away. When you build a series up, sometimes it can be a bit one-sided and deflating. But this has not disappointed and I think Test cricket needed a series like this. There have been so many memorable moments. There was that over at Zak Crawley on the last night at Lord's. You had Pant strolling down the stairs on one leg at Old Trafford, hobbling around as he batted with a broken foot. Here at the Oval, we saw Joe Root – the most mild-mannered, calm individual – going off at one after some verbals from Prasidh Krishna. Then there was Sai Sudharsan, another calm person, walking into the England huddle and having words with Duckett. Mohammed Siraj was bowled on the final day at Lord's as India tried to pull off an extraordinary victory I have enjoyed every single minute of it. The only downsides have been the pitches and the schedule. Make no mistake, this series needed this Oval pitch. Although every Test has gone to the last session, it has slightly been too much in favour of the bat. Here, ball has dominated bat just enough to make it an incredibly watchable match. As for the schedule, five Tests in six weeks has been too tight and the dates have also been odd. I agreed with Ben Stokes when he questioned why there have been two long turnarounds between Tests, of eight or nine days, and then two short ones of three days. It would be better to have a five-day break between them all. There has to be some leeway because every venue wants weekend cricket. But it is mad to push cricketers to the limit, especially on the pitches that they have played. You have to look after them. It is no surprise when you get to the last Test and you are without world-class cricketers like Bumrah and Stokes. It is a shame that after today we will not have any Test matches until the big one in Australia. Still, it is incredible that you can get to the 24th day of the series and you still do not know which way it will go. Of course, India are favourites to win today but, because of the way England play, you can never rule them out. A lot will depend on how this pitch plays, but the more the wicket does, the harder England will go at India. Who knows, we could yet see one final twist, with England needing 20 to win and them wheeling Chris Woakes out to bat with his arm in a sling. It would certainly be a fitting way to finish this thrilling summer.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Andy Farrell not ruling out leading the Lions for New Zealand tour
Andy Farrell has left the door open to leading the next British and Irish Lions tour after presiding over a 2-1 series victory against Australia. The Lions' dream of finishing their tour Down Under with a 100 per cent record ended with a 22-12 defeat in the final Test at a rain lashed Accor Stadium, but they return home having achieved the main objective. Advertisement A first series triumph since 2013 puts Farrell in pole position to take charge of the next expedition to New Zealand and the Ireland boss admits his passion for the Lions has only grown over the last two months. Series winners, 2025 🏆🦁 #Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) August 2, 2025 'Everyone knows what I think about this concept and I suppose that says it all,' he said. 'I love everything that the Lions is about and I've thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed the last eight weeks. 'There are always ups and there are always downs, but the inner circle is a special place to be. Advertisement 'Read into that what you want but I suppose four years, there's a long time between drinks isn't there?' Andy Farrell and Australia coach Joe Schmidt shake hands during the final Test (David Davies/PA) An extraordinary third Test that produced three failed HIAs and saw James Ryan knocked out was paused for 37 minutes early in the second-half after the players left the field because of lightening strikes in the area. Australia then used up the full 10 minutes available to warm-up for the resumption of play, while the Lions only took five minutes. TV footage from the Lions' changing room during the break showed Finn Russell and Tom Curry using their phones. 'We agreed on 10 minutes for the warm-up and through the advice from our experts in that field we only made the call to come out five minutes before so that we would be ready to go,' Farrell said. Advertisement 'I hope I'm not in a game like that again, actually. Rigor mortis was setting in at one stage there for the lads! I suppose that is what you come to expect with a schedule like the Lions schedule. We have seen it all now haven't we! 'We were trying to work out what the rules were and what was going to happen. At one stage it looked like it was going be 45 minutes then it was pulled back to 30 minutes. A huge thank you to: Australia 🇦🇺 Our Support Staff 👨⚕️ The Sea of Red 🌊🔴 The Players 🏉 ...and everyone who helped make the #Lions2025 Tour a truly unforgettable experience 🙏 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) August 2, 2025 'There were updates constantly coming in but the lads stayed relaxed enough, had five minutes of a warm-up and got the show back on the road. 'What came off the back of that is Australia hit the ground running and thoroughly deserved their win.' Advertisement Australia boss Joe Schmidt revealed his side had prepared for the incoming bad weather. 'We had been warned that there might be a bit of lightning, so we had a plan and with that plan we made sure that guys kept moving,' Schmidt said. 'We'd four balls in the changing room so guys could throw them around, so that guys could stay connected. 'We had a couple of bikes and different guys were rotating on and off the bikes. The rest of the time, it was just trying to get us organised for the restart.' Advertisement
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Crawley falls late as India take upper hand
Fifth Rothesay Test, The Kia Oval (day three of five)India 224 (Nair 57, Atkinson 5-33, Tongue 3-57) & 396 (Jaiswal 118; Tongue 5-125)England 247 (Crawley 64, Brook 53; Krishna 4-62, Siraj 4-86) & 50-1 (Siraj 1-11)England need 324 runs to win Scorecard Zak Crawley was dismissed from the penultimate ball of day three after England had started to make steady progress in pursuit of an imposing 374 to win the fifth Test against India at The opener was bowled by Mohammed Siraj for 14 as the hosts reached 50-1 at the close, needing a further 324 runs to win, with Ben Duckett unbeaten on 34 to conclude another gripping day. Despite Crawley's departure, England will be boosted by the much-improved batting conditions after they spent most of the day in the field as India racked up 396 under brighter skies. The pitch flattened and offered far less seam movement, with Yashasvi Jaiswal's sublime 118 the highlight for the tourists. There was also a surprising maiden Test fifty for Akash Deep, who added 107 for the third wicket with Jaiswal as England started poorly, unable to take the wicket of the nightwatchman until the final 10 minutes before lunch. Deep was put down on 21, one of six dropped catches in the innings for England as their makeshift bowling line-up - without the injured Chris Woakes - toiled admirably but were again let down in the field. Gus Atkinson pinned captain Shubman Gill lbw for 12 with the first ball after lunch as England improved, but Ravindra Jadeja continued his fine form with 53 and Washington Sundar, with India nine down, blitzed four sixes in a 39-ball fifty to give India the upper hand. Josh Tongue claimed the final three wickets, having also dismissed Jaiswal earlier, to finish with 5-125 for his wholehearted efforts. It feels fitting that England chased 371 to beat India in the opening match at Headingley to ignite a fiery series, though there is rain forecast for Sunday which could impact their aim of comfortably completing the highest Test chase at The Oval, which is currently England's 263-9 against Australia in 1902. Deep and Jaiswal punish England's sloppy morning India started the day with a lead of 52 and there was an immediate sense of trepidation regarding England's depleted bowling attack and the sun shining for the best batting conditions of the Test so who was put down on 20 and 40 late on day three, took the back seat early on as Deep was England's unlikely dropped the chance in the slips, but Deep's half-century was a well-deserved punishment for England bowling far too short in the opening got the breakthrough shortly before lunch, with Deep caught in the covers for 66, and Atkinson's wicket of Gill saw hopes of a fightback the imperious Jaiswal remained, reaching his second century of the series from 127 balls as he expertly punished England's inconsistency. Collectively, they bowled far too short and wide to him, exemplified by 72 runs of his first 100 runs being scored behind square on the off six drops – others being Brook's spill of Karun Nair at slip on 12 and a much tougher chance for Duckett at leg-slip when Jaiswal had 110 – were their most in an innings since 2006 and India's prodigious opener ensured they paid the price.
