■ RUGBY UNION
De Villiers under review
A disastrous South Africa Tri-Nations campaign and controversial comments by embattled coach Peter de Villiers will be reviewed this month, a statement said on Sunday. “Rugby followers are extremely disappointed with results in the Tri-Nations as are the Springbok team and management,” South African Rugby Union (SARU) president Oregan Hoskins said. “We take the situation very seriously, but there is a process in place and we will follow that through. SARU will make no further comment until the review process is complete.” Sections of the South African media predicted De Villiers, who became the first black coach of the Springboks when appointed two years ago, would be fired on Sunday with one blogger labeling him a “clown.” The thick-skinned coach has grown used to hostile reporters and repeatedly claims that when his team triumphs he is a “superman” and when they flop he is a “clown.”
■ RUGBY UNION
NZ wins women’s cup
New Zealand won the women’s rugby World Cup for the fourth successive time when they overcame three sin-binnings to beat England 13-10 at Harlequins’ Stoop Memorial ground on Sunday. Despite being reduced to 13 players for a spell in the first half after yellow cards for Anna Richards and Mel Bosman, New Zealand led 7-0 at the break after a try by winger Carla Hohepa, who also scored two in the 45-7 semi-final thrashing of France. After a penalty apiece England, who have now lost the last three finals, drew level at 10-10 with a Charlotte Barras try when the Kiwis were again reduced to 14. However, a 65th-minute Kelly Brazier penalty put the holders back in front and they held out to maintain their stranglehold on the tournament despite playing far fewer regular matches than their European opponents.
■BASEBALL
Hamilton out with injury
Texas Rangers All-Star Josh Hamilton sat out his team’s 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday and will miss extended time with a rib injury. Major League Baseball does not have a disabled list during the month of September, but Hamilton will be out of the lineup for an undetermined amount of time after slamming into the wall while making a catch on Saturday against the Twins. “It’s not good. All signs point to not soon,” Hamilton told the team’s Web site in regards to his timetable for return. “I feel like I have been in a car wreck.” Hamilton is enjoying the best year of his career and is leading the American League with a .361 batting average while hitting 31 home runs and driving in 97 runs. The absence of slugger Hamilton leaves a sizeable hole. “The last time it happened I felt a lot better after a week,” said Hamilton, who had a similar injury last year when he missed 13 games. “So we’ll see.”
■ GOLF
Blind golfers tee up
Three blind golfers will test their skills this week against Asian Tour professionals during the inaugural Handa Singapore Classic in a drive to encourage more people with disabilities to tee off. Australian David Blyth, England’s Neil Baxter and Yam Ting Woo of Malaysia will play a three-hole challenge, each paired with a professional who will be blind-folded. The initiative is the brainchild of Japanese philanthropist and businessman Haruhisa Handa, whose Tokyo-based company International Sports Promotion Society is the main tournament sponsor. Australian Unho Park has been confirmed as one of the Asian Tour professionals to take the challenge.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
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