Wales coach Warren Gatland says he faces a major decision on whether to take Dragons captain Cory Hill to the World Cup after the lock suffered a small fracture in his leg.

The 27-year-old will miss the World Cup opener against Georgia on 23 September and is a major doubt against Australia six days later.

Wales select their 31-man squad on Saturday evening and name it on Sunday.

"Our big discussion is with Cory Hill," said Gatland.

"He has got a really small fracture in his leg which we got scanned yesterday.

"It could keep him out until game two or three [of the World Cup] so there will be a big discussion point whether we take him or not."

After Wales face Australia on 29 September they have a break before they play Fiji on 9 October and Uruguay four days later.

Hill, who can also play in the back-row, has not played since scoring a try against England in February 2019 during the Six Nations victory.

Captain Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Beard, Jake Ball and Bradley Davies are the other specialist second-rows in the extended 40-man squad, with flanker Aaron Shingler also capable of playing at lock.

Gatland played down fears over Dragons back-rower Ross Moriarty, who was a late withdrawal from the bench for Saturday's 17-22 loss against Ireland because of a hip problem aggravated in training.

GEARY, New Brunswick – The McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 and SpeedWeekend 2019 are fast approaching and the field of pro stocks is beginning to assemble for the final Maritime Crown Jewel race of the year.

More than 20 of the top talents from New Brunswick and some big names from outside provincial borders are getting ready to gather for the 19th annual edition of the 250 on Sunday. Qualifying heat races for the $15,000-to-win McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 will begin on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Ryan Messer led an all New Brunswick podium in the 2018 edition of the McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 and all three drivers have signaled their intentions to compete for the win again. Messer took the lead in last year’s 250 with 16 laps to go over two-time podium finisher Steve Halpin to lock down the biggest win of his young racing career. Lonnie Sommerville finished third in that race and the two-time 250 champion will look to add a third to his resume coming up this Sunday.

Joining Messer and Sommerville as former McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 champions in the field are three time event champions Cassius Clark and Shawn Tucker. Clark is looking to sweep all three Maritime 250-lap races after winning the IWK 250 at Riverside International Speedway in July and the Toromont Cat 250 at Scotia Speedworld earlier this month. Tucker returned to the driver’s seat earlier this season and has split the season in the Geary woods driving with his son, Dustin. Both will look to break the tie Sunday and become the most decorated driver in the race’s 19 year history with four titles.

The RE/MAX East Coast Elite Pro Stock division track championship came down to Brent Roy, Greg Fahey and Ian Rasmussen. While Roy and Fahey each have multiple championships at their home track, neither have a 250 win on their resume. Rasmussen, in his third year as a Pro Stock driver, has continued to improve each and every lap on the track and will look to impress on Sunday in the McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250.

Cole Butcher is readying his car for Sunday’s McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250. Butcher is a two-time Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour champion, two-time Toromont Cat 250 winner and a former Parts for Trucks Tour feature winner at Speedway 660. The two-time Kulwicki Driver Development Program finalist and the sixth place finisher from last Sunday’s Oxford 250 has one previous McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 start.

Matt Harris and Chris Duncan are both familiar faces to Speedway 660 and have a long list of accomplishments at the track. Both are looking to crack Riverview Ford Lincoln Victory Lane on Sunday to put the cherry on the top of their storied careers with a 250 win. Kevin Moore is always a factor in extended distance races and brought a strong No. 88 car home to a top five finish last season in the McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250. Robert Tomlinson has been in the RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock division and will look for a big night on Sunday. Robert Lee has also filed an entry for Sunday’s marquee attraction for SpeedWeekend 2019.

With the experience in the field also come a youth movement. Ashton Tucker has a podium finish in the McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 on his resume and was a podium finisher earlier in the year on the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour at Petty Raceway in May. He and Ben Pelletier are former Bandolero graduates and will be looking to notch their first extended distance Pro Stock feature on Sunday.

Devin Snell and John Rankin have both proven themselves in Late Model competition in Geary and would be popular winners with their home track fans should they be able to pull a victory out in the McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250. Andrew Rodgers has split his time in 2019 between racing on the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour and competing in a Late Model Sportsman, with his most recent resulting being a top five finish in last weekend’s River Glade International Sportsman 100.

Robbie MacEwen enters his first McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 on a career season. MacEwen scored his first Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour win at his home track at Oyster Bed Speedway in August. Like MacEwen, Wyatt Alexander is making his first McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 start on Sunday. Alexander, the winner of Valvoline’s Fast Track to Fame contest in 2018, has several starts between the CARS Tour and the Pro All Stars Series on his resume. The 19-year old finished fourth at Speedway 660 in a RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock division race on Aug. 17.

STAVELOT, Belgium – Charles Leclerc continued Ferrari’s strong form this weekend at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday by winning the pole for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Leclerc, who led two of the three Formula One practice sessions ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session, earned his third pole of the year thanks to his 1:42.519 lap in Q3.

Ferrari swept the front row, with Leclerc’s teammate Sebastian Vettel qualifying second with a fast time of 1:43.267.

Lewis Hamilton qualified third for Mercedes, overcoming a practice crash earlier in the day that had his Mercedes crew scrambling to get his car ready as Q1 began.

An engine failure in Williams’ of Robert Kubica early in the first round of qualifying gave Mercedes extra time to get Hamilton’s car ready, allowing him to make it on track for qualifying.

Valtteri Bottas qualified fourth in the second Mercedes, followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the Renault duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Touring Car driver’s championship points leader Johan Schwartz continued his hot streak by scoring the TC pole for Saturday’s 40-minute race at Watkins Glen Int’l.

Presented by CrowdStrike, the TC America weekend will showcase two 40-minute TC contests at the renowned 11-turn, 3.4-mile road course.

The 15-minute qualifying session was held under sunny 60-degree Fahrenheit conditions. Early on Rearden Racing’s Paul Terry took his No. 33 Nissan 370z to the top of the charts with a 2:03.319, followed by Joseph Federl (2:03.644) and Jeff Ricca (2:03.675).

A lap later, Schwartz, driving the Rooster Hall Racing No. 80 BMW M240iR Cup assumed the top slot posting a 2:02.490, while Auto Technic Racing’s Tom Capizzi slotted in behind Schwartz with a 2:03.022.

With under five minutes remaining in the session, Federl popped back up to second with a 2:02.862, while Schwartz solidified his top position with a 2:02.482. A lap later Federl improved to a 2:02.686.

At the checkered the times held – Schwartz secured his fourth pole of the 2019 season. Federl will start alongside Schwartz while Terry will start third (2:02.871). Chandler Hull (2:02.919), Schwartz’ teammate Steve Streimer (2:02.938) and Capizzi (2:03.022) round out the top three rows.

In TCR, a red flag with roughly eight minutes to go prematurely ended the session, but not before Michael McCann Jr. put down a lap of 1:57.134 in his No. 3 McCann Racing Audi RS3 LMS.

“It was a long night for the team last night getting the car sorted out, so a big shout out to the guys.  Pole feels great,” said McCann.

Mason Filippi and his No. 12 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster N will start from the second position with James Walker and the No. 34 Risi Competizione Alfa Romeo third.

TCR championship leader Michael Hurczyn will start his No. 71 FCP Euro VW Golf GTI fourth with teammate Nate Vincent starting fifth in the No. 72 FCP Euro entry.  Bryan Putt and the No. 15 eEuroparts.com Rowe Racing Audi RS3 LMS took the TCR Cup class pole.

Tyler Maxson wheeled his No. 74 Copeland Motorsports Mazda MX5 Cup to the TCA-class pole with a 2:09.986 fastest lap.

“It was a pretty good qualifying session. We only had one lap, but the guys made some adjustments and the car was perfect,” said Maxson.

Nick Wittmer will start from second in his No. 91 TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ tS with Mark Pombo and the No. 59 MINI Cooper JCW third.  Taylor Hagler in the No. 77 X-Factory Racing Honda Civic Si and Nate Norenberg in the No. 60 MINI Cooper JCW round out the top five.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The poachers who have turned gamekeepers have been working hard to improve the Formula One game.

All that work will come to fruition when the major new technical rules package is introduced in 2021. The plan is to improve the show, increase overtaking, cut costs and make F-1 more entertaining, more accessible, and more sustainable from a both commercial and environmental perspectives.

Ross Brawn, Nikolas Tombazis, Pat Symonds, Steve Nielson and Rob Smedley all worked for F-1 teams as technical directors and engineers. Now they work for the FIA or Liberty Media’s Formula One company. They are working with other members of the FIA, Formula One, the teams and even the drivers to create an all round better F-1 in the future.

“In the past, the drivers never ran F-1,” Nico Hulkenberg said, “and I think they shouldn’t! But we can be listened to. If there are some crazy ideas, because we drive the cars and know how certain things would impact the driving, the show and the racing, we can say hang on guys this is a bit crazy or too extreme.”

Representing all the drivers, Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton attended meeting with the FIA and Formula One.

“It is going to be a group thing,” Hamilton said. “But what is really encouraging was that the drivers were there, and they (the FIA and Formula One) really took it on board.”

One thing the drivers and fans really want is more passing and fewer processional races. The problem with modern F-1 cars is that they create so much “dirty” air that the car behind loses downforce and the driver can’t get close enough to attempt a pass. Much of that dirty wake is created by the complicated front wings and bargeboards, so 2021 will see the return of ground effects downforce that uses Venturi-type tunnels under the car that do not create as much turbulence. Ground effects first appeared in F-1 in the late 1970s and was eventually banned at the end of 1982.

Tombazis, the FIA’s head of Single-Seater Technical Matters, said the 2021 car will go from the current 50 percent loss of downforce for the following car at two car distances to about a 5-10 percent loss.

On the tire front, wheel rim size in 2021 will be 18 inches compared to the 13 inches used for decades. Pirelli will create tires that will enable drivers to race, and don’t degrade or force drivers to manage them so much.

“They will need a broader working range and will not be as sensitive as the current tires,” Tombazis said.

Pat Symonds, the chief technical officer at Formula One, said that altering the characteristics of the tires will be a key component in creating closer racing, although requesting Pirelli to produce a super-hard, “Le Mans-type tire” that will go on and on and on is not part of the plan.

“The high degradation target is not the way to go,” he said, “however, we do believe that pit stops are important in F-1 and we know our fans enjoy these two-second stops. Some of the teams are going to help us with this task through simulation.”

A budget cap of $175 million and other cost controls – including a long list of standardized parts — will be introduced.

Formula One’s managing director of Motorsport Ross Brawn states that the performance gap between teams is too great. A key objective is to tighten the field up in 2021 by a nominal factor of around half.

“We have three teams that can win races at the moment, that’s all,” said Brawn. “Over the next couple of years, F-1 will be on a much better path where a really good, moderately-funded team, can cause a lot of trouble. That’s what we want. If you get a Charles Leclerc or a Max Verstappen in a midfield team, it can make a difference.”

The complete 2021 rules package must be in place by the end of October so that the teams can begin designing their 2021 cars.

F-1 engineers and designers are notorious for finding and exploiting loopholes in the regulations, so the poachers turned gamekeepers plan to put the new rules under a “stress test” to eliminate those loopholes. And if there is anybody who knows about loopholes it is these guys!

Ansu Fati became the youngest Barcelona player to score in La Liga but his side were held to a 2-2 draw away at Osasuna on Saturday.

Ansu -- aged 16 years and 298 days -- came on as a substitute and scored his first professional goal after six minutes to equalise for the Spanish champions.

- Champions League group stage: All you need to know
- ESPN La Liga fantasy: Sign up now!
- All major completed transfer deals

Another substitute Arthur Melo scored his first goal for Barca in 45 appearances with a curling effort to put the visitors ahead.

The hosts took the lead early as Roberto Torres smashed a volley past Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

Barca dominated possession throughout and went ahead through strikes from Ansu and Arthur in the second half.

With less than 10 minutes to go, the hosts were awarded a penalty when the ball struck Gerard Pique's arm and Torres grabbed his second from the spot.

Ernesto Valverde's side have started the campaign with one win, one defeat and one draw.

Before the match, there was a minute's silence held in memory of former manager Luis Enrique's daughter who died from bone cancer.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said Manchester United need to be more clinical after they were held to a 1-1 draw against 10-man Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday.

United took the lead in the first half through a great strike from Daniel James but failed to create too many chances before Southampton equalised after the break with a Jannik Vestergaard header.

- ESPN fantasy: Sign up now!
- When does the transfer window close?

"We started well, got the game where we wanted it and that's where you have to score the second and the third and finish it off," Solskjaer told BT Sport.

"We weren't clinical enough. We had loads of chances, and the last bit is missing. It's getting there though."

United also opened the scoring against Wolves at Molineux but could only leave with a draw and they have failed to win away in the league since February.

United have only won once this season but Solskjaer is confident his side can turn draws into victories.

"The three other games that we haven't won, we played better than against Chelsea," he added.

"We are dominating and creating chances but haven't been clinical enough in front of goal to win games. We have missed penalties, chances - it's a dip in results but not in form."

Ashley Young, who made his first start of the season against Southampton, also said the team need to be more ruthless in front of goal.

"I think it's two points dropped, even before they went down to 10 men we felt comfortable," Young told BBC Sport.

"We didn't come down here to draw, we came to win. The chances are there, we just need to take them."

SOUTHAMPTON, England -- Is it possible for one man to be his team's best and worst player in the same game?

Every time Paul Pogba got the ball during Manchester United's 1-1 draw against Southampton, you sat up, eyes widened, because it looked like something terrific was about to happen, something you would not want to miss. Then, though, more often than not the complete opposite happened.

There was a short period toward the end of the first half in which Pogba relinquished possession three times in the space of around 90 seconds. Two attempted passes, cumulatively of around 15 yards in length, went astray, while the other instance came when he was easily muscled off the ball inside his own half. That, in a nutshell, was essentially his game.

It would have been mind-bendingly frustrating had an ordinary player made such basic mistakes, but for the French World Cup winner to be guilty of such deficiencies is doubly infuriating. He is better than that. There were times in this game when he provided a threat with driving forward runs, but, yet again, his inconsistency loomed large.

Like another United talisman -- Wayne Rooney, who moved to Old Trafford on this day 15 year ago -- Pogba at his best can be a world-class match winner, but at his worst you might as well stick a traffic cone in the middle of the pitch. Such is the range of his club's problems, though, that Pogba's poor performances are highlighted more than his peers at other clubs.

In elite teams, others step up when the main man goes missing. If Kevin De Bruyne has a bad game, Manchester City know David Silva or Bernardo Silva or Raheem Sterling are there. Mo Salah off the pace? Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, as well as full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, can pick up Liverpool's slack.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer relies on Pogba because there really is nobody else in midfield. Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira are game triers but are not going to control many battles, while Juan Mata has settled into the "looks nice but does little" groove and Nemanja Matic moves too slowly (among other things) to be a real factor. Fred, meanwhile, remains absent.

And therein lies the real folly of United's summer in the transfer market. To allow two midfielders -- Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini -- to leave without being replaced would be questionable at the best of times, but leaving themselves so deficient of options when they know that their main man is so inconsistent is unforgivable.

A knock-on effect is that too much pressure is being placed on a set of extremely talented but young and inexperienced players. In an ideal world, United should be easing Daniel James into the team, but all of a sudden this 20-year-old, who made his senior debut just over 18 months ago and has one season in the Championship to his name, is their most potent attacker. His fine goal at St Mary's means he has three already this season.

- Man United ratings: James the lone bright spot
- United not clinical enough - Solskjaer

Ditto Mason Greenwood, who looked lively after coming on, but he is 17 and is now essentially first reserve for Manchester United. Even Marcus Rashford, who is actually only a month older than James, is a senior player when he should be learning alongside someone older and wiser. These youngsters will inevitably be inconsistent, but those dips in performance would matter less if they had more than Pogba as their point of reference.

"We as a team started giving sloppy balls away after about half an hour," Solskjaer said after the game. "Paul was one of [the players responsible for that]. He wasn't any different to anyone else. We as a team didn't play well. In the last half hour he created loads for us.

"Everyone expects everything from him every game," the United manager continued. "He has to defend, he has to attack, he has to win headers, he has to win tackles, he has to dribble, he has to make passes."

Solskjaer meant the wider world when discussing what is expected of Pogba, but in truth he was describing how his team is composed. United lean on one player so much, but that player cannot be relied upon to be the central pillar every week.

"That's just Paul, and he'll thrive on that."

Will he? Solskjaer has always been an optimist, but that is among his most hopeful statements.

When Pogba, who limped away from this game after suffering a late knock, spoke of wanting "a new challenge" in the summer, Solskjaer insisted that he could get what he desired at Old Trafford. But the 26-year-old's recent form has only served to further highlight myriad issues faced by the club.

Since winning at Paris Saint-Germain in March -- a game in which Pogba did not play -- United have won just three of 16 games in all competitions. From the emotion and sentiment of early spring, reality has bitten in the months; this result, against opponents who played the last 20 minutes a man down after Kevin Danso was sent off, was simply the latest example.

"We've dominated the last three games, and we know we're on the right track," Solskjaer said of a team that has claimed five points from its opening four Premier League games. He might "know" that, but with a squad so thin and a team that looks to Pogba to lead every week, it does not look like it to everyone else.