Saracens claimed a seventh win in seven games to stay top of the English Premiership with a 26-16 victory over Wasps, while England skipper Chris Robshaw returned to Twickenham for the first time since his Rugby World Cup nightmare.
Despite Wasps keeping pace with the leaders at 9-9 at the Ricoh Arena, it was Saracens who put their foot on the gas, with two tries in three minutes from Duncan Taylor and Owen Farrell.
England flyhalf Farrell converted both tries and kicked four penalties as Saracens reclaimed top spot after temporarily relinquishing it to Exeter on Saturday.
Wasps could only manage a late try from Frank Halai, converted by Jimmy Gopperth, who kicked two penalties. Elliot Daly added another.
Robshaw returned to Twickenham for the first time since England’s World Cup exit at the hands of Australia in October, as his Harlequins side fought out an epic 39-39 draw against Gloucester in front of a 70,718 crowd.
Quins, the 2012 Premiership champions, had a late chance to win with a drop-goal, but Danny Care’s pass to Nick Evans was poor and the former New Zealand flyhalf’s kick drifted wide.
It was a near touchline conversion from Evans that had drawn Quins level in the 77th minute after the Kiwi playmaker had set up a vital try for Ross Chisholm.
Of the 10 tries scored, the best belonged to Gloucester fullback Rob Cook, who beat four defenders and carried three more over the line after returning Mike Brown’s clearance.
Gloucester winger Jonny May limped off in the 42nd minute with a left hamstring problem, which could sideline him for the Six Nations.
Bath won for just the third time in the league this season by edging out Worcester 21-14.
First-half tries by center Ollie Devoto and wing Horacio Agulla set Bath on their way.
Wales international flyhalf Rhys Priestland kicked three penalties and a conversion, while Worcester replied through a Cooper Vuna try, plus two penalties from Tom Heathcote and a long-range Ryan Mills strike.
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB