RUGBY UNION
Stormers remain unbeaten
The South Africa-based Stormers maintained their unbeaten record in Super Rugby this year, beating the Lions 33-30 in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Stormers were trailing 30-26 nearly two minutes after the final hooter, but kept the ball alive and worked an opportunity for center Ruhan Nel to score a dramatic match-winning try in the last play of the game. In Buenos Aires, hooker Julian Montoya scored three tries as the Jaguares rallied from 24-12 down at halftime to beat the Queensland Reds 43-27.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Folau has winning debut
Former Wallaby Israel Folau scored two tries on his debut for the Catalans Dragons in Saturday’s 36-18 Super League win over the Castleford Tigers. Folau, 30, who joined the French side on Jan. 28, crossed after just six minutes having caught a high kick. Dragons coach Steve McNamara said that the team were not letting controversy over Folau distract them. “The plan all along was to get Israel on the field and give him time. I understand the headlines, but let him play, let him get on the field and we’ll understand the person a little more after that,” McNamara told a post-match news conference. Folau was sacked last year by Rugby Australia after a social media post that said “hell awaits” homosexuals and other groups. Some people inside the ground waved rainbow flags to protest Folau. “People are judging him on a headline,” McNamara said. “When I sign a player I look at him from a football perspective, then I work out what type of person he is. Is he a good person? Is he a good player? Will he add value to the team on and off the field?” Folau’s name was cheered when it was read out on the sound system before the game at the Stade Gilbert Brutus. The Dragons were investigating claims that stadium security asked them to not fly the flags. The Dragons said it was not their policy to ban rainbow flags.
OLYMPICS
Twitter accounts hacked
Twitter on Saturday said that an official Twitter account of the Olympics and the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) media account had been hacked and temporarily locked. The accounts were hacked through a third-party platform, a Twitter spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement, without giving further details. “As soon as we were made aware of the issue, we locked the compromised accounts and are working closely with our partners to restore them,” the spokesperson said. A spokesperson for the IOC separately said that it was investigating the potential breach. La Liga soccer club Barcelona’s account faced a similar incident, Twitter said later. “FC Barcelona will conduct a cybersecurity audit and will review all protocols and links with third-party tools in order to avoid such incidents,” the club said in a tweet after the hack.
ATHLETICS
Pole vault record set
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis on Saturday set a world pole vault record of 6.18m at an indoor meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, adding 1cm to the record he set in Poland this month. Duplantis cleared the bar with something to spare and won a world-record bonus check of US$30,000. The record of 6.16m set by French vaulter Renaud Lavillenie had stood since 2014 until Duplantis broke it in Torun on Feb. 8.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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