Lions may strike deal for Top 14 stars - Farrell

 

The British and Irish Lions may negotiate with top French clubs for early release of players for this summer's tour of Australia.

Blair Kinghorn, Jack Willis, Ben White and Kyle Sinckler are among the potential tourists in contention to play in the Top 14 play-offs that clash with the start of the Lions' itinerary.

"Maybe a team in France might be open to a conversation about letting people go early," said Lions head coach Andy Farrell to Rugby Union Weekly, adding that there was no set Lions policy on France-based players.

"If someone gets through to the final in France, they would probably get to us for game three [of the Australian leg of the tour]. How that all fits is something we will carry on discussing."

The Top 14 final – the climax of French rugby's domestic season – takes place on 28 June in Paris.

On the same day, on the opposite side of the world, the Lions play Perth's Western Force in their first match on Australian soil.

With travel and jetlag, it is unlikely any player involved in the Top 14 final would turn out for the Lions before their match against the Waratahs on 5 July, just a fortnight before the first Test against Australia.

Toulouse – who have played in four of the last five Top 14 finals and lead this season's standings – have Scotland's versatile star Kinghorn and flanker Willis among their squad.

Willis has shone since moving to France in late 2022. However his decision to extend his contract with Toulouse, rather than return home in the aftermath of former club Wasps going bust, means he is currently ineligible for England selection and hasn't played Test rugby since the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

There is precedent for the Lions negotiating the early release of players from French clubs.

In 2013, Welsh prop Gethin Jenkins, whose contract was coming to an end with Toulon, was cleared to link up Warren Gatland's Lions before they left for Australia.

However, French sides have recently been highly protective of their talent, striking a deal to excuse players involved in the Top 14 final from the national team's summer tour of New Zealand.

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Top seed Zverev out of men's singles

 

Eala received a walkover in the fourth round when Spanish 10th seed Paula Badosa withdrew injured, but showed again why she is regarded as an emerging star in Wednesday's quarter-final.

Fearless, ferocious and hitting a flurry of winners, Eala produced a quality performance in her first career match against Swiatek.

However, they had met previously when Swiatek, along with 22-time major champion Nadal, presented Eala with her graduation certificate two years ago.

"It's so surreal," added Eala, who had Nadal's uncle, and former coach, Toni, with her team against Swiatek.

"I'm so happy and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage.

"My coach told me to run, to go for every ball, to take all the opportunities I can, because a five-time Slam champion is not going to give you the win."

Top seed Zverev out of men's singles

In the men's singles, German top seed Alexander Zverev was knocked out by France's Arthur Fils in the fourth round.

Zverev lost 3-6 6-3 6-4 to 17th seed Fils, leaving only Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic as the remaining top-10 seeds in the last eight.

Djokovic, seeded fourth, plays his quarter-final against American 24th seed Sebastian Korda later on Wednesday.

The winner will face Bulgarian 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who produced a remarkable mental and physical effort to beat Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo.

Dimitrov, 33, could not convert any of seven set points in the first set, and looked exhausted in the latter stages, before securing a 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) win.

Moments after victory he was breathing heavily and assessed by a doctor on his chair.

British pair Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool reached the men's doubles semi-finals with a 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 10-8 win over India's Yuki Bhambri and Portugal's Nuno Borges.

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So surreal' - teenager Eala stuns out-of-sorts Swiatek

 

Five-time major champion Iga Swiatek was on the end of a monumental shock as Filipina teenager Alexandra Eala continued her dream run to reach the Miami Open semi-finals.

Second seed Swiatek, playing with increased security in Miami after being verbally abused by an "aggressive and taunting" fan, was completely out of sorts as she lost 6-2 7-5 to the world number 140.

The 23-year-old's serve was broken eight times as she continually struggled to hold serve, while her baseline game was shaky and led to a host of forehand errors.

Eala, 19, remained composed and focused as she completed the biggest win of her career.

"It might be one of the biggest upsets I've been on the side of the court for," said former British number one Tim Henman, who was watching in his role as a Sky Sports analyst.

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Man City and Chelsea could earn £97m at Club World Cup

 

very worthwhile for biggest clubs involved'

The success of this tournament, which has barely registered on the global football consciousness so far, largely hinges on clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

They have negotiated substantial revenue to be part of it - they should earn a minimum of £40m if they progress from the group stage and can earn up to £97m for winning it. That revenue is comparable to the money earned from taking part in the Champions League.

But not all clubs are equal. The smaller European clubs to have qualified, such as RB Salzburg, will only get around £15m if they qualify from the group. South American clubs such as Boca Juniors, River Plate and Flamengo are due a similar sum.

Teams in North America, Asia, Africa and Auckland City, the only club from Oceania, will get even less.

Of course, the biggest clubs will argue they are already stretched in terms of the football calendar and will miss out on pre-season revenue but this tournament now looks very worthwhile for those involved.

Those revenues will give Chelsea and Manchester City more room to stay on the right side of profit and sustainability regulations, but they could distort the competition with smaller leagues in Europe and beyond, in the same way that Champions League participation gives those involved a major financial advantage.

Fifa said this tournament will help grow the game beyond Europe and distribute money to clubs outside the traditional elite.

But the elite have leveraged their importance in negotiations to get a bigger share of the total prize fund.

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A magical high in rollercoaster Arsenal campaign

 

Willis has shone since moving to France in late 2022. However his decision to extend his contract with Toulouse, rather than return home in the aftermath of former club Wasps going bust, means he is currently ineligible for England selection and hasn't played Test rugby since the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

There is precedent for the Lions negotiating the early release of players from French clubs.

In 2013, Welsh prop Gethin Jenkins, whose contract was coming to an end with Toulon, was cleared to link up Warren Gatland's Lions before they left for Australia.

However, French sides have recently been highly protective of their talent, striking a deal to excuse players involved in the Top 14 final from the national team's summer tour of New Zealand.

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Electric' & 'masterful' - Gunners show character in comeback

Fans were on their feet at full-time, singing and waving scarves as the players walked around the pitch receiving their deserved plaudits.

It had been a complete performance from the Gunners - a total turnaround from their placid display in Spain a week before when they lost 2-0.

They pressed with intensity, tested Real Madrid's defence with Kelly's teasing balls and could rely on Russo's sharpness in front of goal.

"It was electric - a masterful gameplan from Renee Slegers and well executed by the Arsenal players," said ex-England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley on 5 Live. "They had to go for it.

"They had so many opportunities in the first half and managed to capitalise in the second half and that's what counts. Real Madrid had nothing left."

Arsenal have had their fair share of success stories at Emirates Stadium. But in a rollercoaster campaign, this was a wonderful high, and a result that will stand out as they booked an eighth semi-final appearance in the competition.

Slegers' first victory in charge as interim manager, a day after Eidevall resigned, was in this competition when Arsenal overcame Valerenga 4-1.

It felt a stretch then to consider them as European semi-finalists but now, having booked their spot in the last four, Slegers admitted this was "probably the clearest" example of their character to fight back.

"We have done really good things before, coming back from setbacks and good performances against top teams," she added.

"But this is definitely one of the clearest ones where you play an opponent away, the game looks like it does, the result is what it is, then you have to put this performance and result in.

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Ruthless Red Bull drop Lawson after two races

 

having two years remaining on his contract.

That decision was made after a difficult 2024 for Perez, who failed to finish on the podium after the fifth race of the season.

Perez's performances contributed to the team finishing third in the constructors' championship last year, behind McLaren and Ferrari.

As Perez's slump in 2024 had mirrored a similar pattern of performance in 2023, Red Bull decided the time had come to get rid of him.

They had the choice between Lawson and Tsunoda as a replacement and chose the New Zealander, despite the fact he had completed just 11 grands prix split over two seasons - whereas Tsunoda has raced for the company since 2021.

Red Bull's decision 'extraordinary'

The decision to promote Lawson to Red Bull, alongside Max Verstappen, after just 11 grands prix spread across two seasons was already questionable.

To demote him back to second team Racing Bulls after just two races in a swap with Tsunoda - who was passed over only three months ago - is, quite simply, extraordinary.

It raises serious questions about Red Bull's management, primarily team principal Horner.

It was Horner's decision to offer a new two-year contract to Sergio Perez last May even though the Mexican was starting to struggle in the second Red Bull - just as he had through the second half of 2023.

He did that despite Carlos Sainz being available following Ferrari's signing of Lewis Hamilton for 2025.

After Perez's performances slumped through the remainder of 2024, the decision was made to terminate his contract. That resulted in a pay-off of many millions of dollars.

And rather than pick Tsunoda, who had four years' experience and had edged Lawson as a team-mate, they picked the New Zealander, apparently because of his mental fortitude.

Now they have to find a way to justify this series of decisions - and the almost unprecedented one to dump Lawson after so little time to bed himself in.

To many, it will smack of a team in denial about the size of the problem they have with their car. And a lack of understanding of what to expect when picking drivers who are yet to prove they are world class as the team-mate of a champion of genius level and expecting them to perform in a car with fundamental issues.

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Poor performances led to Lawson's downfall

 

Lawson took part in six races in 2023 as a substitute for Daniel Ricciardo when the Australian broke his hand in a crash, scoring points with a ninth-place finish in Singapore.

And last year he competed in five races after Ricciardo was dropped following the Singapore Grand Prix, taking points for ninth-place finishes in the US and Sao Paulo Grands Prix.

Tsunoda out-qualified Lawson by a ratio of four times to two in 2023 and seven times to two in 2024. In races, Tsunoda has been ahead six times against four when both have finished.

Red Bull chose Lawson on the basis they believed the Japanese lacked the mental toughness to survive at Red Bull alongside Verstappen, while his fellow driver had more potential to improve.

They had been planning to wait until at least the Japanese Grand Prix before making a call because it is the first track on this year's calendar at which Lawson has previous experience.

But in the end Lawson's poor performances have led to his downfall after just two races.

Verstappen is said by insiders to believe the decision is an error, on the basis that the problem is Red Bull's car - not the second driver.

The Dutchman has said the 2025 Red Bull is the fourth quickest car - behind rival top teams McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari.

The car continues to have balance problems which hampered the team last year and meant Verstappen won only two of the final 14 races of last year, while fighting off a late assault from McLaren's Lando Norris to win his fourth world title

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What are the shortest F1 drivers stints?

 Lawson's two races in his first full season at Red Bull will go down as one of the shortest ever driver stints for an F1 team.

While Lawson at least gets to stay on the grid, Japanese driver Yuji Ide had no such luck in 2006. The 31-year-old was dumped by Super Aguri after just four grands prix - and had his FIA super licence revoked - after struggling to adapt during his rookie season.

Dutchman Nyck de Vries impressed enough during a stand-in drive for Williams in 2022 to claim a full seat with the Red Bull's second team, then called Alpha Tauri, a year later.

But his F1 career ended only 10 races in to the 2023 campaign when he was replaced mid-season by Ricciardo.

Indian driver Karun Chandhok managed one race more than De Vries in 2010, when he lost his place at the HRT team to Japan's Sakon Yamamoto after just 11 grands prix.

There were some memorable substitute appearances, including Markus Winkelhock's one-race deal - and retirement - with Spyker in 2007.

Andre Lotterer famously called it a day after two laps for Caterham in 2014, while Luca Badoer's double cameo for Ferrari in 2009 - when the Italian fineished at the back of the field on both occasions - caused much dismay for Scuderia fans

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Russo on 'fire' as forward shows 'maturity'

 

Having come so close to a first Arsenal hat-trick, Russo could have been forgiven for feeling frustrated at full-time.

Two video assistant referee (VAR) interventions meant she had two goals chalked off for offside, either side of a wasted opportunity when one-on-one with visiting goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez.

But the England forward celebrated at the final whistle and said the thought of being in the last four had "not sunk in yet".

"It was just amazing - the result, the fans, playing at the Emirates... it just doesn't get old," Russo told BBC Sport.

"When we went to Madrid we were disappointed, but we knew we had the belief and we knew what we needed to do. There was disappointment and it turned into fire quite quickly."

Her contribution, alongside that of team-mate Kelly, played a key role in Arsenal's courageous comeback and Houghton said it showed Russo's "maturity".

She is now the joint-top scorer in the Champions League with six goals and has 17 in all competitions for her best goalscoring season to date.

"She got a lot of criticism at the beginning of the season and was probably doing too much work for the team - not being selfish enough as a striker," added Houghton.

"She showed a real maturity about her display [against Real Madrid]. Almost everything she touched went in the back of the net.

"She's got the goals that have sent Arsenal into a semi-final of the Champions League."

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