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England errors led to second-half collapse - Warburton
Six Nations Rugby Special pundit and former Wales captain Sam Warburton analyses the mistakes made by England during their 27-22 loss to Ireland in their opening game.
WATCH MORE: Ireland start title defence with convincing win over England
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Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Theo Dan (Saracens), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Ted Hill (Bath Rugby), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby), Tom Willis (Saracens).
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Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Saracens), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), George Ford (Sale Sharks), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints), Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints), Fin Smith (Northampton Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers).
STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn. Staffords premier SK Modified division has added another contender for NAPA Rookie of the Year honors, with Alexander Pearl making the move up from the SK Light division for the upcoming season.
Pearl will be behind the wheel of the No. 71 car with sponsorship from USNE Power, helping to light the fuse on his rookie campaign.
Its a really big opportunity for us, said Pearl. Weve been looking at moving up to the SK division for some time, and we feel like now the time is right. USNE Power is going to help us out tremendously. We got together with USNE through a mutual connection, and thats pretty much how this deal came together. We went up and visited Dave Miller at his shop a couple of weeks ago, and hes been a great person to meet and talk with. The operation that USNE has and the reach they have across multiple states is pretty cool. Its exciting to be part of their team. There are a lot of people behind the scenes who helped put this deal together, and Im really thankful for that.
I have to thank my Dad and my grandfather, along with the rest of my crew, for coming back on board for next season.
Pearl has been a mainstay in the SK Light division since he began racing full-time in 2018. Since then, Pearl has recorded 12 career SK Light wins, placing him ninth on the SK Light all-time win list heading into the 2025 season.
Pearl has also finished in the top-four of the SK Light points standings every year from 2019-2024, after finishing seventh during his first full season. While Pearl has found success at the SK Light level, he is aware that finding success in the SK Modified division especially as a rookie driver can be a fleeting prospect.
Im sure well have some growing pains, but were shooting for some top-10s and maybe some top-fives, said Pearl. If the cards fall our way, maybe we can compete for a top-3 finish or even a win. We have solid expectations going into the season, and were just going to try to learn as much as we can in a new division and get comfortable racing with the best drivers in the country.
A successful year would be finishing as many races as possible because you have to run all 40 laps to learn. Its the toughest division in the country, but we can run really well if everything falls into place for us.
Just as Pearl will find the chase for success in the SK Modified division to be tough, the race for NAPA Rookie of the Year honors should also be a thrilling duel, with Pearl racing against defending SK Light champion Tyler Chapman for top rookie honors.
Pearl and Chapman have been racing together for over 10 years, dating back to their time spent in the Monday night Wild Thing Karts program at Stafford. Pearl is looking forward to the challenge of racing against Chapman for the 2025 NAPA Rookie of the Year title.
I think the Rookie of the Year battle is going to be really exciting between Tyler and me this season, said Pearl. We both have different driving styles, but over the course of a season, its going to be interesting to see how everything shakes out. I think were going to have a great race for Rookie of the Year. We actually started racing each other back in the Tiger B division in Wild Thing Karts over 10 years ago, so weve been racing against each other for a long time now, and Im excited to duel it out for Rookie of the Year.
There are some drivers you like to race with and some drivers you dont like to race with, and Tyler is definitely a driver that I like racing with.
As a preview for his full-time foray into the SK Modified division, Pearl made three starts in the SK Modified division last season, racing in the NAPA SK 5k, the TC 13 Shootout and the NAPA Champions Night feature.
Pearl was one of the 13 cars to qualify for the TC 13 Shootout on Sept. 13, finishing 11th in the 13-lap sprint. As a rookie part-time driver, he was forced to start at the back of the pack for each of his three SK starts, but he was able to work his way up to 12th in each race. Pearl will be looking to put his SK Modified experience to good use as he prepares for his first full season.
We ran a couple of races last year, and we ran the Fall Final the year before that, so we got our feet wet, and now were at the point where we feel like were ready to move up to the next level and be competitive, said Pearl. The experience will definitely help, but theres nothing like the SK Modified division at Stafford.
Its the toughest division in the country, and Im sure well have some growing pains, but were prepared and going to do the best we can. It was so cool to race against some drivers Ive been watching since I was a kid. Being part of the field in the best division in the country was eye-opening, and I think we did pretty well with what we had, and that helped us make the decision to go full-time this season.
The NTT IndyCar Series kicks off its season in four weeks on the streets of St. Petersburg (Fla.) for the March 2 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Ahead of a highly-anticipated season between driver changes, a new race team and new TV partner with FOX Sports, we broke it all down, team-by-team.
Beginning with Chip Ganassi Racing, heres a glance at the teams lineup:
Key Losses
Marcus Armstrong (Meyer Shank Racing), Linus Lundqvist
No. 10 Alex Palou
The defending IndyCar Series champion, Alex Palou, looks to make it four titles in five years this season aboard his familiar No. 10 Honda with Chip Ganassi Racing.
The 27-year-old has checked off practically every accomplishment one could hope for in Indy car, except one thing win the Indianapolis 500.
Palou scored two victories and six podium results in 2024 along with tallying an average finish of 6.5.
Palou also won the $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club in California.
No. 9 Scott Dixon
The seemingly ageless Scott Dixon enters his 25th season with the American open-wheel series as he eyes a seventh title, which would tie him with A.J. Foyt for the most all time.
Currently at 58 victories, Dixon is also nine away from tying Foyt for most all-time in that category.
While nine in a single season would be a tall order for the 44-year-old, its a stat worth noting.
Dixon will again pilot the No. 9 Honda for CGR after finishing sixth in the standings last year with two victories.
No. 8 Kyffin Simpson
Entering his second season with CGR is Kyffin Simpson. Piloting the No. 8 Honda, Simpson will look to improve on a rookie season that saw him place 21st in the standings.
With a best finish of 12th in the season opener at St. Petersburg, Simpson will be looking to improve and catch up to his title-winning teammates.
Editors Note: This is another installment in SPEED SPORTs preview of each NTT IndyCar Series team. To read other teams previews, click here.
Team Penske is aiming to score its first NTT IndyCar Series title since 2022 (Will Power) with its three-driver lineup of Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughin and Power.
Ahead of the March 2 season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg (Fla.), heres a look at each driver:
No. 2 Josef Newgarden
Newgarden may have been Alex Palous top threat for the title last season had Newgarden not been disqualified from his season-opening victory at St. Petersburg.
Despite the early-season penalty, Newgarden rebounded with a triumphant second straight Indianapolis 500 victory aboard the No. 2 Chevrolet for Team Penske.
Newgarden placed eighth in the standings in what was perhaps a down year for the two-time champion.
No. 3 Scott McLaughlin
McLaughins transition from Repco Supercars to the IndyCar Series was arguably completed after the Kiwi earned his first oval victory of his career at Iowa Speedway.
McLaughlin snagged two additional wins, along with a pole position for the Indy 500.
The driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet was third in the standings, despite also being disqualified from the race at St. Petersburg.
No. 12 Will Power
Power looked to be on his way to a third IndyCar Series championship at times throughout the 2024 season. Three victories in the final 11 races propelled the driver of the No. 12 Chevrolet to within striking distance of Palou.
However, a seat belt issue during the finale at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway derailed his title hopes.
Power, whos entering a contract year with Team Penske, will be looking for a strong 2025 season to secure his future.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Bowman Gray Stadium legend Tim Brown didnt reach the feature race on Sunday night at The Madhouse after finishing 10th in the Last Chance Qualifier race.
Brown, who piloted a Rick Ware Racing Ford in a one-off appearance, was behind the eight-ball from the get-go due to not having any experience aboard a NASCAR Cup Series race car prior to this weekend.
While he was at a disadvantage, Brown believes he found a rhythm when it mattered most.
Right there at the end of the race I felt like we were as good of a car as anybody out there and those guys were really holding me up, Brown said. Man, that was so much fun racing with (Austin) Dillon and (Justin) Haley and (Ricky) Stenhouse and all those Cup stars. What a blessing this has been. God, thank you so much.
That was fun. Im telling you, it was freaking awesome. It was so cool.
Cool was the word of the day for Brown, who after Sundays LCQ will head back to a modified this season as Bowman Grays all-time wins leader at 101 victories.
Perhaps the biggest victory hell have all season will be achieving his ultimate dream racing in the Cup Series.
This right here is what Ive wanted to do my whole entire life and I think tonight I showed everybody that even at my age I can still do it, Brown said.
Man, I wish my wife and kids were here so I could give them a great big old hug. Its pretty cool.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Sabres leading scorer Tage Thompson passed concussion-related tests after being struck in the head by New Jersey Devils forward Stefan Noesen, coach Lindy Ruff said Sunday.
Noesen faces potential further discipline after being issued a match penalty for elbowing Thompson in the face. The NHL will determine whether Noesen intended to injure Thompson on the play that happened at 5:11 into the third period of the Sabres' 4-3 victory Sunday.
Thompson was lunging for the puck near the blue line when Noesen knocked it away and continued charging into Thompson. The hit knocked Thompson's helmet off and spun him around.
Thompson was down on the ice for a moment before rising to one knee and skating off on his way to the dressing room. Ruff said Thompson "is good, passed all the tests" after the hit and is expected to be available to practice Monday.
"I didn't watch the replay of hit until after the game," Ruff said. "Definitely a hit that you don't like. That penalty was well deserved. I know I had a couple of guys that wanted to go after [Noesen] right away. And where we were at in the game, there was going to be a time to even the score."
Noesen did not speak to reporters after the game. Devils coach Sheldon Keefe did not address the hit in his postgame comments.
The Sabres did not respond on the ice. Jack Hughes scored a shorthanded goal 21 seconds after Noesen's penalty to get the Devils within one. The Sabres killed two penalties in the third to avoid losing for the seventh time this season after holding a multigoal lead.
"Our response is we won," said the Sabres' Jason Zucker, who scored on a pass from Thompson to give Buffalo a 4-1 lead late in the second period. "[Noesen] made two plays that cost their team the win. So, we'll take that all day."
Noesen was trailing the play on Buffalo's fourth goal and pushed Zucker into the net after he scored.
"Why isn't there a call after he gets cross-checked after he scores a goal?" Ruff said. "In a game where there's all kinds of strange calls, why isn't there a call on that?"
Thompson had a goal and two assists in helping the Eastern Conference's last-place team win its third game in a row. Thompson's 26 goals rank among the top 10 in the NHL, and he leads the Sabres with 48 points in 47 games.
Rasmus Dahlin had two assists to move ahead of Mike Ramsey for the second-most points among Sabres defenseman with 331.
The Sabres' three-game win streak is their fifth this season. They have not won four in a row since January 2023.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Star defenseman Quinn Hughes sat out the Canucks' game against Detroit on Sunday after sustaining an undisclosed injury two days earlier in a loss at Dallas.
The reigning Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenseman, Hughes participated in the pregame warmup, but spent extended time talking to the trainers on the bench and left the ice early. He was then scratched from the lineup.
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said earlier Sunday that Hughes would be a game-time decision. Derek Forbort took Hughes' spot alongside Filip Hronek on Vancouver's top defensive pairing.
Hughes has 14 goals and 45 assists in 47 games to lead the Canucks in scoring.
Rangers' Quick becomes 1st U.S. goalie to win 400
NEW YORK -- Jonathan Quick became the first U.S.-born goaltender to win 400 games, and the 15th overall in NHL history, in the New York Rangers' 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night.
Defenseman K'Andre Miller scored the go-ahead goal, and forwards Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and two assists in the New York effort, which began one day after a disheartening 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins, and ended with the milestone.
"It means I've been lucky enough to play with a lot of great hockey players that value winning and put that above all else," Quick said. "I'm grateful that I've been on some great teams over the course of my career, this one included."
Alexis Lafreniere also scored for the Rangers, and J.T. Miller -- two days removed from a trade that sent him off the Vancouver Canucks -- had two assists in his first home game since returning to New York, the club that originally drafted him in 2011.
Quick had 13 saves in the first period, 14 in the second and seven in the third before being mobbed by his jubilant teammates inside the crease of an arena -- Madison Square Garden -- that is becoming familiar with this accomplishment. Of those 15 goaltenders in the exclusive 400 club, in fact, Quick, 39, is the fourth to play for the Rangers, joining Henrik Lundqvist, Terry Sawchuk and Jacques Plante.
"It means he's been really good for a long time," New York coach Peter Laviolette said of Quick. "First American goaltender to do so, and there's been a lot of great goaltenders. But if you watch him on a daily basis, it's not hard to figure out why he reached that number."
Zibanejad -- playing his 900th NHL game -- tied the score 2-2 on the power play at 5:04 of the third with his 10th goal, as the Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak.
Jack Eichel scored two goals for Vegas, which lost its third straight. Adin Hill had 24 saves in the loss. Eichel opened the scoring with a power-play goal with 19 seconds remaining in the first period, and added his second at the 9:16 mark of the second period before New York rattled off three straight tallies to conclude the scoring.
Quick, named the game's first star, hadn't played since Jan. 19, in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
"It's his work ethic, it's the teammate that we get to see on a daily basis," Laviolette said in his describing the reasons for his goaltender's success. "He's a great person that works hard, a total professional, goes about his business every day to try and get better, try to be the best he can be.
"It's an unbelievable milestone. We're all really happy for him."
Quick, Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers, and Marc-Andre Fleury of the Minnesota Wild are the only active goalies with 400 victories.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
John Stones branded Manchester City's performance in the final 30 minutes as "unacceptable" as they were thrashed 5-1 by Arsenal on Sunday.
After briefly levelling the game at 1-1, City conceded four second-half goals at the Emirates, including three in the final half hour.
Stones apologised for the display before criticising the late collapse.
"It's difficult, I think all of us don't take losing well," Stones told Sky Sports.
"Hard for me to put into words. Sorry to the fans that traveled to the game and watched that, how we played in the last 30 minutes was not acceptable.
"Not nice to be involved in that when it's not your team or yourself within those situations."
Asked later about the comments, Pep Guardiola said agreed with the England defender's assessment.
"You can lose by two or three or four, but in the last 30 minutes we have to do it and we don't have a defence," said Guardiola.
"We had a plan and we didn't do it because they have pride and want to solve it but that's not the way.
"At that level, you have to stick to what we did. Unfortunately what happened, happened and hopefully we can learn the lesson for the future."
Guardiola has watched his team give up two-goal leads against Brentford and Paris Saint-Germain in the last month.
The defeat at Arsenal was another example of City letting a situation quickly unravel. And after a difficult season which has not been up to their usual standards, Guardiola admitted his players are "fragile."
"You can have setbacks but this season it doesn't matter what happens," said Guardiola.
"We can lose but we have to continue to do what we do. That is how you are stable. We cannot think we are going to solve it in another way. We are not used to that.
"They can be fragile but they have a duty to do what they have to do and they didn't do it. We can learn and always there is a margin to get better."
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