RUGBY UNION
Clermont top Pool Four
Clermont Auvergne edged out Ulster 19-15 to finish top of Pool Four on Saturday, but both sides still qualified for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. Ulster go through as one of the best two runners-up irrespective of what happens in the final set of pool matches, despite succumbing to the boot of Morgan Parra and Ti’i Paulo’s try. Ireland’s Munster had already reached the last eight, but they were desperate to be the top seed by winning all their matches and they beat eliminated Northampton 51-36 away thanks to a hat-trick of tries from Simon Zebo and one apiece from B.J. Botha and Johne Murphy. Holders Leinster, who also qualified earlier this month, outclassed Montpellier 25-3 in their final Pool Three match. Toulouse stumbled into the knockout stages on Friday when a 34-24 defeat at Gloucester opened the door for Harlequins, but the London club could only lose 9-8 at Connacht in Pool Six.
GOLF
Grace, Colsaerts share lead
Branden Grace of South Africa and Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium had contrasting third rounds in wet and windy conditions to share the lead at the Volvo Golf Champions in George, South Africa, on Saturday. Grace made two double-bogeys on his back nine to shoot a two-over 75 and join Colsaerts (69) on 10-under 209. South African pair Retief Goosen (70) and Charl Schwartzel (68) were a stroke back. After two days of benign weather, the Links course showed a glimpse of its fearsome reputation as the wind and intermittent rain made for a difficult day. It took its toll on Spain’s Pablo Martin. The three-time European Tour winner shot a 90 to sit last on 20-over. European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal maintained his good form with a 72 and an eight-under 211 total.
GOLF
Humana Challenge halted
Play was suspended at the Humana Challenge in La Quinta, California, on Saturday because of strong winds and sand storms in the Coachella Valley, with the unfinished third round spilling over into yesterday. Organizers said third-round play would resume at 7:30am yesterday, before the final round was scheduled to get underway from 10am. Mark Wilson of the US, one of three leaders overnight, was three shots clear of the chasing pack at 21-under after 15 holes. Compatriot Ben Crane was in second after 12 holes with another American, Zach Johnson, a further stroke back after 13 holes.
SOCCER
Clark header seals US win
Ricardo Clark’s header in stoppage-time on Saturday lifted the US to a 1-0 victory over Venezuela in an international friendly. Clark, who came on in the 86th minute, rose to head Jermaine Jones’ corner kick past Venezuela goalkeeper Jose Morales. Neither country fielded their best side, with top players instead staying with their clubs. One exception was Jones, who was called up by US coach Jurgen Klinsmann for national duty as he is serving an eight-game suspension in Germany. The Schalke midfielder was slapped with the ban for intentionally stepping on Marco Reus of Borussia Moenchengladbach last month.
SOCCER
Mechelen shock Brugge
Taiwan international Xavier Chen’s KV Mechelen pulled off a surprise 1-0 win away at high-flying Club Brugge KV on Saturday. Alessandro Cordaro scored after just seven minutes and the visitors held on to grab all three points. Chen played the full 90 minutes.
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
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