Gloucester have signed Scotland international centre Chris Harris from Newcastle Falcons on an undisclosed deal after activating a release clause.

Harris leaves the Falcons on the back of relegation from the Premiership this past season, having made 77 league appearances and scored 11 tries.

The 28-year-old received international recognition at Kingston Park, and scored one try in eight Test matches.

"I've loved every minute of my time with the Falcons," Harris said.

"I will be forever grateful to them. However, I'm at the stage of my career where I need to be performing at the highest level of the club game."

The Cherry and Whites finished in the top four last season, securing European Champions Cup rugby at Kingsholm next season.

Director of rugby David Humphreys added: "We're delighted that Chris has agreed to join Gloucester Rugby and to add another international calibre player to the squad, one who also possesses significant Premiership experience."

Australian rugby international Israel Folau is seeking "substantial remedies" after being sacked for a social media post saying "hell awaits" gay people.

The 30-year-old devout Christian had his contract terminated by Rugby Australia and has now launched legal action against RA.

Folau is claiming his employment was unlawfully terminated.

"No Australian of any faith should be fired for practising their religion," Folau said.

A case has been filed with Australia's Fair Workplace Commission, an industrial relations tribunal.

"Ours is an amazing country built on important principles, including freedom of religion. A nation made up of so many different faiths and cultural backgrounds will never be truly rich unless this freedom applies to all of us," Folau, who played club rugby for New South Wales Waratahs, added.

"The messages of support we have received over these difficult few weeks have made me realise there are many Australians who feel their fundamental rights are being steadily eroded."

The application says: "Accordingly, Mr Folau is seeking substantial remedies from his former employers should they be found to have breached the Fair Work Act in terminating his employment."

The full-back, who has played 73 Tests for Australia and was expected to represent his national side at this year's Rugby World Cup, had a contract until 2022.

As well as the termination of his contract, he lost sponsorship deals with companies including car manufacturer Land Rover and sportswear brand Asics.

He could be seeking up to AUS$10m (£5.5m) in damages, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Rugby Australia and New South Wales Rugby later issued a joint statement which stressed Folau had been sacked "because of a serious breach of the Professional Players Code of Conduct".

"This is an issue of an employee and his obligations to his employers within the contract that he signed," the statement added.

"He was bound by a Code of Conduct for all professional players in Australia that spells out clear guidelines and obligations regarding player behaviour, including respectful use of social media."

Brother released for personal reasons

Folau's younger brother John was also under contract with the Waratahs and the 24-year-old back, who was yet to make his Super Rugby debut after being signed before the 2019 season, has been granted an immediate release for personal reasons.

"We gave John some time off for leave and he has come back to us recently and asked for a release, which we're happy to grant," said Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson.

"John has been in a difficult position for the last wee while. He has got really divided loyalties to his family and his brother and then also to the team. He wanted to stress how much he enjoyed being with the team and what a difficult decision it was for him."

HAMPTON, Ga. — The Thunder Ring sprang to life on Wednesday night for the second round of Thursday Thunder presented by Papa John’s Pizza as a handful of drivers collected their first victory in their respective divisions.

The Racing Radios Rookie Bandoleros opened up the round two action with Kerbi Mueller posting her first career win at the Thunder Ring during Thursday Thunder.  Mueller held off Bailey Buchanan, who finished second, and Baylor O’Neil, who was third, for the victory.

In the Associates Group Young Lions feature race, Lucas Ruark won his second consecutive feature race of the year and extended his lead in the division point standings. Ruark started on the inside of the second row and jumped door to door with pole sitter Ashton Whitener on the opening lap of the race.  Whitener got tangled up with Austin MacDonald on lap six and fell to the back of the pack allowing Ruark to pull away from the field for the win.

Carson Ramsey earned the win in a heated Racing Radios Outlaws feature.  Ramsey started fifth, but was able to move to the front of the field by the fourth lap.  Two laps later, Trevor Wester got past Ramsey for the lead. Glued to the back bumper of Wester for eight laps, Ramsey made a last lap pass to take the the checkered flag.

In the Wallace Electric Masters feature, Bill Plemons held off Robbie Woodall over the final two laps to earn his second consecutive feature win of the season.  Plemons started on the outside of the front row and was able to slide down in front of Tony Armbruster who was on the point on the first lap to take the lead.  A late caution helped Woodall move up to second and set up the two lap shootout between the top two finishers in the division from a year ago.

Last year’s Young Lion’s champion Ryan Rackley notched his first win the VP Racing Fuels Pro Division in just his second start amongst the best competition in Legend cars.  Bumping and banging with Joshua Hicks on the white flag lap, Rackley was able to slide to the inside of Hicks coming out of turn four and won the drag race down the frontstrch for the win.

“We qualified so bad,” said an excited Rackley after the victory, “and we started ninth and we were able to drive through the field and get the win. I was going to be happy getting a top five and then everybody was getting shoved out and I was just filling in and filling in. Then the top two started racing each other hard and I just filled in the gap and passed them.”

Rackley qualified seventh and ended up on the inside of row five in the ninth position following the Pro Qualifying pick.  Taylor Jorgensen started on the pole and dominated the early part of the race and was vying for the win until she got shuffled out of the lead with three laps left and couldn’t get past the front runners of Rackely and Hicks.

Max Brady was the beneficiary of a last lap caution to help him earn his first career win at the Thunder Ring in the CMS Group Environmental Services Semi-Pro feature.

“This is my first ever Thursday Thunder win,” said and excited Brady. “I’ve been racing here for four years and I’ve gone through a lot of struggles with these things and this just means a lot. I just don’t know what to say.”

Brady was chasing Audrie Ruark, who led every lap of the race until she got spun exiting turn four on the final lap of the feature.  DJ Canipe came home second and Rickey Springer was third while Ruark finished ninth.

The Racing Radios Bandits closed out the action with the final feature race of night as Lucas Vera dominated the action leading all 20 laps for the win.  Vera outgunned Jacob Brindley from the outside pole to take an early lead on lap one and never looked back as he claimed his first win of the season. Cody King, Carson Ruark, Garrett Gumm and Kaleb Brandley battled hard for third with three wide racing across the strip with three laps to go.  It was King who earned the podium finish as he pull ahead of the trio and crossed the strip in third.

LAWTON, Okla. — A podium finish the night before was bettered by two spots Wednesday at Lawton Speedway as Sam Hafertepe Jr. picked up his fourth victory of the season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network during round three of ASCS Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek.

“Our team right now is clicking better than I’ve ever had a team click in my entire career,” said Hafertepe. “Having the right people behind me and in the right places, we’ve been able to win a lot of races so I’m very fortunate to be the monkey driving the car sometimes. This is a hell of a team. We’ve been building it over the course of five years now and we get better every night.”

Racing to the lead from second starting spot, Hafertepe held off all challenges the first half of the race with a pair of cautions working lap two and lap 15.

Back to the 14th lap on the restart, that is where the Heidbreder Foundation No. 15h was challenged for the lead. Moving off the cushion of the first two turns, Hafertepe surrendered the point to Scott Bogucki down the back straightaway.

Driving 20-foot deeper into turn three to pitch the car across the fourth turn, Hafertepe snagged the top spot with the pair again trading the position through turns one and two. Exchanging another round of slide jobs coming to lap 16, Hafertepe broke the momentum of the Sawblade.com No. 28 to begin pulling away until the red lights blinked on with 21 laps complete for Roger Crockett who slammed into the wall off the second turn.

“I shouldn’t have moved off the top,” Hafertepe said. “We were able to get him back, but I just second guessed myself and should have just stayed on the cushion on the restart, but at least it made it interesting for the fans”

Keeping the pack at bay on the restart, the race for second picked up as Wayne Johnson flew past Bogucki on the cushion in turns three and four.

In pursuit of the No. 15h, Johnson was unable to keep pace with Hafertepe. Bogucki held on for third with Jordon Mallett posting his first top-five finish of the season in fourth. John Caney II picked up a pair of spots to cross fifth.

The finish:

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [2]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [5]; 3. 28-Scott Bogucki, [3]; 4. 14-Jordon Mallett, [6]; 5. J2-John Carney II, [7]; 6. 03-Joe Wood Jr, [13]; 7. 17W-Harli White, [12]; 8. 95-Matt Covington, [15]; 9. 12H-Tony Bruce Jr, [16]; 10. 92-Jordan Weaver, [1]; 11. 52-Blake Hahn, [4]; 12. 5J-Jamie Ball, [9]; 13. 74B-Jake Bubak, [14]; 14. 21P-Robbie Price, [8]; 15. 23X-Grady Chandler, [20]; 16. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [17]; 17. 77X-Alex Hill, [11]; 18. 90-Lance Norick, [19]; 19. (DNF) 11-Roger Crockett, [10]; 20. (DNF) 10K-Kyle Ezell, [18]; 21. (DNF) 22X-Steven Shebester, [21]

LEXINGTON, Ohio – J.R. Hildebrand will join a four-car Dreyer & Reinbold Racing ARX2 Rallycross team this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Americas Rallycross season opener.

Hildebrand, a nine-time Indianapolis 500 starter from Boulder, Colo., will drive the No. 48 WIX Filters ARX2 machine in the ARX2 doubleheader weekends at Mid-Ohio and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill., on July 13-14.  The 2011 Indianapolis 500 runner-up and Rookie of the Year will team with his DRR Indianapolis 500 teammate Sage Karam, ARX2 young star Cole Keatts and teenage female sensation Gray Leadbetter in the four-car DRR assault at Mid-Ohio.

This weekend at Mid-Ohio will be Hildebrand’s ARX2 debut but the 31-year-old California native is no stranger to various forms of motorsports including competing in the Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb, Formula Drift action as well as the American Le Mans Series sports cars. In his open-wheel career, Hildebrand captured the F2000 series and the Indy Lights series championships.

For the past two Indianapolis 500 races, Hildebrand has driven for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing with Salesforce partnership and placed 11th and 20th. Hildebrand began his IndyCar Series career driving for DRR in 2010 with races at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma.

“Can’t wait to jump in the ARX2 car with DRR,” said Hildebrand. “I had a lot of fun briefly testing the car after the Indy test a couple months ago and am excited to learn as much as I can this weekend in Mid Ohio. DRR’s track record is extremely good in these cars, so I’m looking forward to tackling it with them.”

Reinbold has been very excited about Hildebrand and Karam’s ARX2 appearances in the twin WIX Filters cars. Both Indy 500 veterans are debuting in ARX2 this weekend at Mid-Ohio.

“We were very pleased with the feedback and performance of JR in the ARX2 test last month in Indy,” said Reinbold, whose ARX2 team won the 2016 series title. “He has driven a variety of racing machinery over his career and we feel the ARX2 series will be very competitive this year and especially with the new Mid-Ohio ARX course. Having J.R. team up with Sage in the two WIX Filters cars will be a great season opener for our team and partners. Plus, the two youngsters, Cole Keatts and Gray Leadbetter, figure to be right in the mix this weekend too.”

Hildebrand will campaign the No. 48 WIX Filters with Mecum Auctions car at Mid-Ohio, while Karam will drive the No. 24 WIX Filters with ISMI Springs vehicle. Keatts will handle the No. 53 Black Rifle Coffee Company ARX2 car and Leadbetter, the 14-year-old female competitor, will pilot the No. 28 Oil2Soil machine.

Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Thursday night between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden, with the series tied 2-2 after the Blues' 4-2 home win against Boston on Monday night. What can we expect in this critical matchup in Boston?

Here's a little primer in this edition of Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily.

So is Zdeno Chara going to play or what?

That's the 6-foot-9 question looming over Game 5. The Bruins captain broke his jaw -- the team is a calling it a "facial injury" -- when a Brayden Schenn shot deflected off Chara's stick and the puck hit him in the face. He returned to the bench in a full-shield helmet in the third period, but did not play.

The Bruins haven't ruled him out, with coach Bruce Cassidy saying that he'd know more on Thursday morning, but adding after their practice Wednesday: "Obviously Zee's not here, didn't skate, so it makes it a little more difficult for him. I've always said that: The guys that are skating are obviously a little closer."

If anyone is going to come back and play after an injury like that, it's Chara. The question is whether that'll be in Game 5, Game 6 or if at all this series.

If Chara doesn't go, what's the contingency plan?

Two main options. There's Steven Kampfer, a journeyman defenseman who played 35 games with the Bruins in the regular season and two more in the playoffs. But more intriguing is the potential return of Matt Grzelcyk, the defenseman the Bruins lost in Game 2 on that Oskar Sundqvist hit that earned the latter a suspension. Grzelcyk skated in a noncontact jersey Wednesday as he's still in the concussion protocol, but a return to the ice is a good sign. So in theory, the Bruins could replace one injured defenseman with the return of another.

Is Kampfer ready for this?

As he explained to reporters, he's the kind of defenseman who's always on call. Sometimes it's an injury in the previous game, sometimes it's someone feeling ill after lunch. He's always ready. "You've got to move your feet quick. You've got to make the simple play and I think it comes a lot with transition and getting back on it," he said. "They come down hard, they come down fast, and you've got to make sure that you're ready for everything."

Is Urho Vaakanainen an option?

As a last resort. "That was an option if both guys were out, we've kind of went through them all," Cassidy said. "We're getting into a little bit of hearsay or speculation. That would be a big ask. A real big ask."

Chara or no Chara, what's the game plan for the Bruins?

They have to be remarkably better at 5-on-5. The Blues had the shot attempt advantage in every period of Game 4, with a 49-30 overall advantage. The team that has controlled the tempo on the forecheck has won each game. The Bruins are at their best when they're creating offense off the rush, which the Blues have done a good job limiting in the past two games.

But the real key is not to have one-and-done trips into the St. Louis zone. "Getting the puck to the net, getting inside, rebounds. There'll be some rebounds there if we get there if we have traffic. It sounds cliche, but it's the truth," Cassidy said.

What will the Blues try to do?

Another dose of that formula from Game 4: Big hits, big scoring chances at the net and keeping the penalty box empty as they find their rhythm at 5-on-5. "We just gotta keep doing the same thing," Patrick Maroon said. "Our team's not flashy at all. It's north/south. Dumping it in. Wearing teams down. When we don't do that, their defense is effective in moving up in the play. Odd-man rushes. The D can jump higher. When we're doing well, we're limiting their time and space. We're wearing them down. It makes it difficult for the D to jump into the play."

Are the Blues wearing down the Bruins physically?

They think they are when they roll four lines. "I think we can see it throughout games and throughout the series. It's tough minutes to play against our forward lines when they're playing the way they can," Alex Pietrangelo said. "You you can see the momentum we create by our line changes in the offensive zone, we're just using all four lines. If I was a defenseman, that would be tough to defend against."

Speaking of Pietrangelo, he called former teammate and current Bruins forward David Backes "Buffalo Head" on a recent episode of "In The Crease." What's up with that?

"That's an old nickname," he said Wednesday, and said he might it explain its origins "on another day." Cryptic!

Any lineup changes for the Blues?

If appears Robert Bortuzzo will slot in for Joel Edmundson, who has been rather underwhelming this series. Bortuzzo will play with Vince Dunn, who returned in Game 4.

"We've used everybody, that's what you need to do in the playoffs. It's a good competition. I think all the guys realize it," coach Craig Berube said. "You don't have to be happy about it but you still have to be a good teammate and they have been very good that way. It's great to have the depth."

Is there any chance they can stay out of the penalty box again?

Game 4 marked the first time in the series the Blues killed off fewer than four power plays, and the first time they didn't take at least two penalties in the first period. "We learned our lesson enough times to not be giving them four or five power plays a game. That's just something we touched on," forward Jaden Schwartz said. "We did a good job of that throughout the playoffs, but I think in the first few games, we got away a little bit from that. It's something that you want to pay attention to."

How great are the Blues on the road?

Very. The Blues are 6-0 on road when trailing or tied in series this postseason (excluding Game 1s). That's tied for the most such wins in a single postseason all time. The teams that had the most wins without a loss in this situation were the 2002 Red Wings and 2000 Devils, both of whom went on to win the Stanley Cup.

How much do the Bruins need their stars to step up?

Very much. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk have yet to record an even-strength point in the series. (Marchand's goal in Game 1 was an empty-netter.)

"You always want to play the game that's in front of you. I think last game, there was more 5-on-5 and we need to find ways to generate more offensively," Bergeron said.

ST. LOUIS -- Perhaps you saw Barclay when he made his home debut in December. Then just 3 months old, the yellow Labrador retriever was frolicking around the ice with the St. Louis Blues at practice, chasing and gnawing on Brayden Schenn's stick, carrying a puck in his teeth and, yes, slipping just a little without the proper footwear.

Or maybe you saw him on the news (his adorable exploits made SportsCenter, CNN, Fox News, TSN and TMZ). Or you began following him on Instagram (his feed, @stlouisbluespup, has 65,000 followers). Or you saw him cuddling with former Blues player Bobby Plager or flopping on the lap of NBC play-by-play man Doc Emrick in a video that was widely circulated.

Or perhaps you haven't been introduced to him yet.

In that case, meet the good little guy whom the St. Louis Blues consider their good luck charm in a historic season that has led them to their first Stanley Cup Final in 49 years.

A cynic might wonder if Barclay is a marketing ploy. After all, in December, the Blues were reaching their nadir, sinking to last place in the NHL despite high expectations (they have obviously since turned their season around). But the Blues decided to adopt Barclay before the season, and he's around for a greater purpose.

Barclay was born in September and taken in by the Blues when he was 3 months old. The idea to add a dog to the team? That came from Blues broadcaster John Kelly's sister, who is a puppy raiser. She saw that the New York Rangers had brought in a dog that would eventually work with people with autism.

"And we're an organization that likes to go all-in," said Randy Girsch, the Blues' VP of community partnership, who has the lucky job of bringing Barclay home at night. The Islanders, Senators and Canadiens are among the teams that have since followed suit and brought in office dogs.

The Blues agreed to be puppy raisers for the organization Duo, a not-for-profit in St. Louis that trains service dogs. From the moment he was born, Barclay has been around a human 24 hours a day. Duo comes in once a week to provide training assistance, but besides that, it's up to Blues employees to train Barclay.

"Our main goal with Barclay is to acclimate him to all social situations," Girsch said. "We need to make sure he's really comfortable around people."

Barclay -- whose name was chosen by a fan vote, in honor of former Blues player and coach Barclay Plager -- will be with the team for 18 months before he graduates. Depending on his temperament, Barclay will work as a service dog for someone with a disability or serve as a courtroom dog, sitting for hours with children who are testifying in cases in which they were physically, sexually or mentally abused. Children in those situations typically have a difficult time opening up to adults -- especially prosecutors -- so the presence of a dog can help them open up "because dogs don't judge anyone," Girsch said.

To get ready for his adult role, Barclay often walks the concourse during games -- if a puppy can handle an NHL game environment, let's face it, he can face almost anything -- and mingles with players in the locker room.

Barclay has his own space carved out in the Blues' offices at the Enterprise Center. It is essentially a pen extending from Girsch's office door. Girsch has gotten used to having quite a few unexpected visitors throughout the day. Barclay is usually a very good boy, and he hasn't gotten into any garbage or done anything too naughty, though he does have a penchant for eating plants.

The Blues feel good about the fact that they're giving back, but they know Barclay has provided just as much fulfillment for them.

"If I ever have a bad day, it's really nice to see him," forward Ivan Barbashev said. Added Girsch: "When the players see him, they always stop to greet him. They really, really do love him."

Over the past eight weeks of the NHL playoffs, Barclay hasn't been around the team as much as he usually is, but it's probably a good bet that if the Blues win two of the next three games, Barclay will be back on the ice to celebrate the franchise's first Stanley Cup.