Four-time European champions Toulouse were dumped out of the European Champions Cup at the pool stage on Sunday after a 27-26 defeat by French rivals Montpellier.
In the quarterfinals, holders Toulon will face Wasps, three-times champions Leinster host Bath, top seeds Racing Metro take on Saracens and Clermont Auvergne play Northampton.
The draw for the semifinals was also made with Toulon or Wasps taking on Leinster or Bath, while Clermont or Northampton face Racing or Saracens.
Photo: AFP
Toulouse started the sixth and final round at the top of Pool 4, but a surprise defeat by previously winless Montpellier left them out of the picture as one of the best runners-up sides in the five pools.
Lucas Dupont touched down twice for Montpellier in the first 10 minutes of the second half after Toulouse had gone 20-9 up.
However, Toby Flood’s boot restored Toulouse’s lead before Ben Lucas kicked the decisive penalty for the hosts.
Bath, who lost their first two games in this season’s competition, won the group after a nervous 20-15 success against the Glasgow Warriors.
Two penalty tries helped Bath come from behind to cling on during an enthralling finish at the Rec, as Glasgow, who had led after tries from Alex Dunbar and Richie Vernon on either side of halftime, pushed for another score in the dying moments.
Clermont beat Saracens 18-6 to top Pool 1, with the English Premiership side also sealing a last eight berth.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite