RUGBY UNION
Navy brawl video goes viral
More than 200 years after Britain and France fought the bloody Siege of Toulon during the French Revolutionary Wars, their modern-day navies came to blows again in the city — this time on the rugby field. A video of a mass brawl between the teams of the French Marine Nationale and the British Royal Navy, taking part in the annual Babcock International Trophy, went viral on Thursday. The two rugby sides, the French in blue and the British in gray, fought a running brawl which appeared to involve both sets of players as well as some support staff on the sidelines. Despite the incident, both teams attempted to play down the punch-up. “We are aware of an incident at a rugby match between the Royal Navy and the Marine Nationale in Toulon, France,” a Royal Navy spokesman said. “We understand the match continued without further incident and the two sides socialized together after the game.”
OLYMPICS
Test event called off
Rio de Janeiro Olympics organizers have called off a test event for track cycling because the wooden track has not been installed in the new velodrome. The test event was scheduled for April 30 to May 1. Rio spokesman Mario Andrada said he is “120 percent” sure the venue will be ready for the Olympics. The Games open on Aug. 5, and track cycling is scheduled for Aug. 11 to Aug. 16. Andrada said the velodrome will be “fully ready” by May 31, adding that a small training event is scheduled to take place there between June 25 and June 27. Despite countless problems plaguing South America’s first Olympics, Rio organizers have been largely successful completing venue construction. The velodrome has been the most problematic. Construction has repeatedly been delayed. The test event was initially scheduled for mid-March.
AFL
Drug policy defended
The embattled Australian Football League (AFL) have defended their policy for illicit drug use after local media reported that 11 players from one of the code’s top clubs allegedly tested positive during the off-season. The Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne reported late on Thursday that 11 players from the Collingwood Football Club had failed tests for illicit, but not performance-enhancing, drugs. Under a new policy, agreed with the AFL Players Association last year, first-time offenders receive a suspended fine and are made to attend mandatory counselling sessions. The players’ identities remain confidential until a second offence, which increases the financial penalty, imposes a four-match ban and is publicly announced. A third-offence results in a 12-month ban and a A$10,000 (US$7,530) fine.
SOCCER
Beckham secures land
Former England soccer great David Beckham has taken a key step toward his goal of launching a Major League Soccer franchise by buying land for a stadium in Miami, Florida, one of his partners said on Thursday. Beckham’s group of investors acquired land in the Overtown neighborhood northwest of downtown Miami. “Big News: We’ve closed on our #Miami stadium site. Excited to bring a world-class @MLS club to our fans,” Beckham’s partner Marcelo Claure posted on his Twitter account. Beckham, 40, has pursued the project for a 20,000-seat stadium since late 2013. Several attempts to buy land at other sites failed in the face of opposition from residents and local authorities.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
RSS