A 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Exquisite Rookie Patch Autograph LeBron James card sold for $1.159 million, including buyer's premium, at Goldin Auctions on Saturday night. It's the second James RPA from this set to eclipse the $1 million plateau with Goldin Auctions in five weeks.

In the same auction, Caitlin Clark's 2024 Panini Prizm WNBA Signatures Gold Vinyl Prizm card -- numbered 1-of-1, receiving a perfect 10 grade with a 10 autograph grade from grader Professional Sports Authenticator -- sold for $366,000, including buyer's premium.

It set a record for a women's sports card, shattering the previous mark of $266,400 paid for a 2003 NetPro Serena Williams RPA in May 2022.

The 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection -- one of the most lucrative NBA sets of all time, featuring RPAs of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and James -- features base Exquisite Rookie Patch autographs numbered to 99, parallels numbered to the rookie's jersey number and a rainbow parallel numbered 1-of-1.

The $1.159 million James card is numbered to 99 while the James RPA sold five weeks ago -- for $1.22 million -- is numbered to 23. According to population reports, there's no James Exquisite Rookie Patch Autograph in the base, parallel or rainbow versions with a higher grade than the 9.5 grade the $1.159 million James RPA received from Beckett Grading Services.

In early 2021, a numbered-to-23 parallel James RPA from this set sold for $5.2 million privately via PWCC Marketplace (now owned by Fanatics, rebranded as Fanatics Collect), which set the still-standing record for most expensive basketball card ever sold.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Grizzlies general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman took sole responsibility for the surprise firing of coach Taylor Jenkins on Friday.

"I came to the conclusion that this is in the best interest of the team, and urgency is a core principle of ours, so decided to go on with the move," Kleiman said Saturday, speaking publicly for the first time since Jenkins' dismissal while his team had shootaround in preparation for its game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kleiman said he did not speak to anyone on the roster before letting Jenkins go.

"The players were not consulted on this decision," Kleiman said. "This decision is mine and mine only."

Jenkins, 40, coached Memphis to a 250-214 record (.539) in nearly six full seasons and a 44-29 record this season -- No. 5 in the Western Conference with nine games remaining in the regular season at the time of his dismissal.

But the Grizzlies had lost four of their past five by an average margin of 16.8 points and had gone 8-12 in their past 20 games.

Kleiman, 37, was elevated to his current role in charge of the Memphis front office in April 2019. Jenkins was hired two months later after six seasons as an assistant coach in Atlanta and Milwaukee under Mike Budenholzer.

The general manager said Jenkins "leaves the team in a much better position than when he started" but would not address what prompted him to fire the coach at this juncture of the season.

"In this case, I am going to leave it that I of course gave this real thought and came to the conclusion that this is in the best interest of our team going forward," Kleiman said.

Tuomas Iisalo, named the 2024 EuroCup Coach of the Year for his work leading Paris Basketball, was named the Grizzlies' interim head coach. His first game resulted in a 134-127 loss to the Lakers.

"There's clearly noise now around the team and that's something that can also be a destabilizing factor for the whole team. And we just talked about it like control the controllables, there will be other talking points hopefully in a few days and let's do what we do best, which is our own job," Iisalo told reporters before the game, with reference to him meeting with the team earlier. "And then, we talked about also the time constraints, what we want to do that, how we want to approach it day by day. One practice at a time."

Kleiman is optimistic.

"Looking forward to seeing what he is able to do with this group," he said of Iisalo. "There is realistic expectations. There's not going to be time to install a bunch of things this time of the year. My expectations are clarity of direction, and we'll see what we can do, we'll see what we can execute."

Asked if the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs would be an audition for Iisalo to fully assume the role of coaching the team, Kleiman sidestepped the question.

"We're focused on the Lakers tonight," Kleiman said.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- With the Los Angeles Lakers looking to salvage some momentum on their four-game road trip that featured a gut-punch loss on a half-court buzzer-beater by the Chicago Bulls, Lakers coach JJ Redick gathered LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for a meeting in Memphis on Saturday morning.

"We challenged all three of them when we get to their three-man actions to play with a little more force and a little more thrust and a little more creativity," Redick said of his message.

The trio responded by combining for 85 points and 25 assists in Los Angeles' 134-127 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The three generated 120 of Los Angeles' points.

"We played as well as we've played so far, offensively," Redick said.

Reaves led all scorers with 31 points on 8-for-16 shooting (5-of-8 on 3-pointers), adding 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Doncic scored 29 with 9 assists and 8 rebounds. James scored 25 with 8 assists and 6 rebounds -- his most points since returning from a two-week absence because of a strained left groin.

"I think the meeting was just still trying to build that chemistry amongst the three of us to help the team be successful," Reaves said. "Tonight, it just showed that when we play the right way and trust one another, especially offensively, we can have open looks on almost every possession. ... It was really just a conversation about how bad all of us want to win and win at a high level."

Los Angeles shot 50.6% and 44.2% on 3-pointers, hitting 19-for-43 from the outside.

Seven of those 3s came from reserves Gabe Vincent (4-of-6) and Dorian Finney-Smith (3-of-7).

"The ball was flying around because of the advantages and [James, Doncic and Reaves] getting into the paint," Finney-Smith said. "Me, Gabe, Rui [Hachimura], [Jarred Vanderbilt], just recipients of them playing well."

The Lakers' approach from the start, with James dunking on and taking a charge from the Grizzlies' 7-foot-4, 305-pound rookie center Zach Edey in the first quarter, showed that they were ready to move past the nightmarish end to their game in Chicago.

"He was an incredible leader tonight," Redick said of James. "And it was early. It was throughout the game. When we got down, I challenged the group in a timeout and he was as vocal as he's been since he got back from injury. And that galvanized the group. ... I think if he doesn't say what he said in the timeout, we probably don't win the game."

"It was the first time I've heard him yell in a while," Reaves said of James' timeout address. "It was refreshing, to be honest. I loved it."

Redick might not have shouted, but before the game in Memphis, he checked in with his players after the Bulls handed them their eighth loss in their previous 12 games. He wanted to remind them of their potential and the dire consequences of those losses as the regular season winds down with playoff seeding up for grabs.

"I'm not surprised at how hard we played and how well we played tonight," Redick said. "I made sure the group knew that I believed still, and that the coaching staff believed and they were resolute in their belief in this team."

The win kept the Lakers (45-29) fourth in the Western Conference standings, taking a one-game lead over No. 5 Memphis and earning the tiebreaker by winning the season series.

Los Angeles' remaining eight regular-season games are against West opponents, starting with a three-game homestand versus Houston, Golden State and New Orleans this week.

"I think this was a big game for us in the sense of how we lost the other night. We hadn't been playing great," Reaves said. "So, coming into this game, it was obviously high intensity. It's hard, the last game on a road trip because you're pretty excited to go home. But for that three hours or whatever the game is, you got to lock in and try to put your best foot forward and win."

LOS ANGELES -- Shohei Ohtani threw his first bullpen session in a month on Saturday, but the reigning National League MVP still has plenty to do before he takes the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ohtani threw more than 20 pitches in the bullpen at Dodger Stadium after throwing long toss in the outfield. The two-way superstar was also in his customary leadoff spot in the Dodgers' lineup as the designated hitter for their series finale against the Detroit Tigers.

He hadn't thrown off a mound since Feb. 25, when he paused his pitching work in spring training to prepare for the regular season as a hitter. Ohtani has still thrown regularly on flat ground in the ensuing month.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier in the year that Ohtani might make his pitching debut for the Dodgers by May, but he reiterated Saturday that there's no firm timeline.

"It's going to be a while," Roberts said. "I think that you start with the natural progression of a bullpen [session], and you've got to then mix different pitches in to face hitters again. So I don't have a timeline. I don't think anyone does, but we're a ways away."

Ohtani hasn't pitched in a major league game since he had surgery on his right elbow in September 2023 during his final month with the Los Angeles Angels. He had more surgery on his left shoulder last November after recording the first 50-homer, 50-stolen base season in major league history and leading the Dodgers to their World Series championship.

The Dodgers have the luxury of time with Ohtani, who is in the second season of his 10-year, $700 million contract. He already has two homers among his six hits with a 1.286 OPS in the first four games of the new season.

Los Angeles' rotation is loaded with newcomers Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki pitching alongside Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Dustin May.

But the Dodgers have a lengthy recent history of serious injuries to their starting pitchers, and Ohtani's return likely will allow the team to establish a six-man rotation because Ohtani won't take up a roster spot as a pitcher.

"I think that we're still a very good club with him as a DH, obviously," Roberts said. "We still want him to pitch. He wants to pitch, and I do think that he can handle it. He's done it in the past. I think the question is, 'How much do we need him right now?' And I think we've answered that. His health is most important. It's paramount, and so whenever that time is, his buildup reaches that full maturation, he'll pitch for us."

LOS ANGELES -- Roki Sasaki's career with the Dodgers is not off to a sensational start.

For a young pitcher who has been a dominant force at every other step in his meteoric baseball career, that's both a surprise and a challenge.

Sasaki's Dodger Stadium debut ended in the second inning Saturday night after the touted right-hander again struggled with his control against the Detroit Tigers. He issued four walks and got only five outs while throwing 61 pitches to 12 batters before manager Dave Roberts pulled him.

Sasaki made his major league debut last week against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, where he walked five in three innings while throwing just 25 strikes among 56 pitches. Back in Los Angeles, he allowed two runs and three singles while throwing 32 strikes and repeatedly falling behind the Tigers early in counts.

Sasaki didn't blame nervousness for his wildness, although his manager and catcher said it had to be a factor.

"I felt like I was able to get into the game pretty well, without any nerves," Sasaki said through interpreter Will Ireton. "I just didn't feel like I had the stuff today."

It's far too early for the Dodgers to worry seriously about Sasaki, but the 23-year-old prospect touted as Japan's most impressive young pitcher in several years has not yet found his groove with Los Angeles.

Aside from control issues for a pitcher who consistently hit the strike zone throughout his tenure with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki isn't getting consistency from his splitter, which can be unhittable at its best.

"We have full faith in him," catcher Will Smith said. "He's a super-talented pitcher. He knows what he's doing. He's pitched on the biggest stages and stuff like that. So back to the drawing board. Have a good bullpen this week, and I expect him to come back out in five, six days and be dominant."

A crowd of 51,788 roared for Sasaki before his first pitch at Chavez Ravine, but he struggled to settle in from the start of his 41-pitch first inning. Detroit had five baserunners and scored twice. Manuel Margot got credit for an RBI single on a 30-foot squib, and Trey Sweeney drew a 10-pitch walk with the bases loaded.

"Dodger Stadium is intimidating," Smith said. "There's four decks here. It's loud. It's fun. It takes a lot to be able to perform here. Again, we have full confidence in Roki. He'll settle in. He'll start pitching better. He'll start dominating soon. It'll be really good for us."

Sasaki issued two more walks in the second, and Roberts decided to end this debut before it got ugly.

"All he's known is success, and so I think that he's certainly upset, disappointed," Roberts said. "But you've got to be a pro and get back to work, and it's not the first time that the starting pitcher has had two bad outings. This is all a learning curve."

Not everything was poor against the Tigers for Sasaki, who blew a 97 mph fastball past Riley Greene for one of his two strikeouts. Zach McKinstry's leadoff single was the Tigers' only hard-hit ball.

But it's clearly not what Sasaki had in mind when he decided to leap stateside with the defending World Series champion Dodgers, who have said from the start that Sasaki's development is far from finished.

"I don't expect myself to be able to fix everything in a short period of time," Sasaki said. "With that being said, though, I am going to be pitching every week, so I do expect as a major league pitcher to be able to put up quality outings. But it's something I can expect myself to work on throughout."

Jack Dreyer replaced Sasaki and got out of the second-inning jam, striking out Kerry Carpenter on four pitches. Los Angeles' formidable lineup and bullpen easily covered for Sasaki's struggles, powering to a 7-3 win and keeping the Dodgers (5-0) perfect to start the season.

Sasaki's next start is next weekend at Philadelphia. He will have time to work on his issues in the upcoming weeks, because the Dodgers have enough days off in April to keep Sasaki on a comfortable rest schedule.

Although the club has no firm timetable for Shohei Ohtani to join the rotation, the National League MVP threw a bullpen Saturday as he ramps up toward a possible return to the mound in May. When Ohtani returns, the Dodgers likely will go to a six-man rotation.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers became the first major league player to strike out 10 times in the first three games of a season.

Devers went 0-for-4 with three more strikeouts Saturday night in Boston's 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers, including his last at-bat in the ninth inning when he swung and missed at a 92.3 mph cutter from former teammate Chris Martin. Devers is 0-for-12 this season, though he drew a bases-loaded walk in the second inning Saturday.

The 10 strikeouts broke the previous record of nine in the first three games, which was done five times previously since 1901, according to SportRadar.

Devers moved to DH after Boston's offseason acquisition of Alex Bregman, a move the team's longtime third baseman did not initially welcome. However, after Friday's loss to the Rangers, Devers shrugged off the notion that the move might have something to do with his slow start.

"No, I think that's in the past," Devers said, according to MLB.com. "That was in spring training. Right now, we're in the season. I'm a DH and I feel like you guys need to change the subject because that is over and I'm the DH."

The others to strike out nine times to open a season were Brent Rooker of the Athletics in 2024, Cincinnati's Will Benson in 2023, Colorado's Jack Cust in 2002, Philadelphia's Greg Luzinski in 1974 and Wally Post for Cincinnati in 1956.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three home runs on the first three pitches.

Aaron Judge followed Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger to combine for unprecedented fireworks Saturday, starting one of the most memorable days of Judge's already indelible career.

"It was electric, from the stadium crowd to just the guys in the dugout locked in and fired up," Judge said after homering three times, including a grand slam, and setting a career high with eight RBIs in the New York Yankees' 20-9 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Elias Sports Bureau said it was the first time a team homered on its first three pitches ever.

Before the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone saw Reggie Jackson, who hit three home runs on three pitches in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

"Maybe it was that," Boone said.

New York hit a team-record nine homers, matching the 1999 Cincinnati Reds against Philadelphia and one shy of the major league mark set by Toronto vs. Baltimore in 1987. The first of the Reds' homers that day was hit by Boone.

Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Oswald Peraza also homered on the unusually warm 78-degree afternoon.

"Kind of a weird, crazy game," Boone said.

Five of the homers were off old friend Nestor Cortes, dealt from the Yankees to the Brewers in December, including four in the first inning. Cortes left the ballpark without speaking to reporters in what the Brewers said was a miscommunication.

"My heart goes out to him because he's a great, great young man, great teammate," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "Your heart just hurts for him."

Wells homered in the first as the Yankees burst ahead 4-0 in the first four-homer first inning in team history. Volpe hit a three-run drive in the second for a 7-3 lead, and Judge's ninth career slam opened a 12-3 margin in the third against Connor Thomas.

Chisholm made it back-to-back long balls, and the Yankees became the first big league team to hit seven homers in the first three innings.

Judge added a two-run homer in the fourth off Thomas, who was making his big league debut.

With a chance to become the 19th player to hit four homers in a game, Judge hit a sixth-inning fly that short-hopped the right-field wall for an RBI double. The two-time AL MVP flied out to deep left in the eighth against former teammate Jake Bauers, an outfielder and first baseman making a mop-up appearance.

"He told me when I was on deck, is he was going to hit me in the shoulder. He didn't want to see a fourth home run," Judge said, smiling.

He flied out on a 55.3 mph offering.

"Gave him the best curveball I had and he still hit it pretty good," Bauers said.

Batting leadoff for the first time in his 15-year major league career, Goldschmidt drove a fastball 413 feet into the Brewers' bullpen in left field. Wells homered starting Thursday's opening win, also atop the lineup for the first time.

Goldschmidt had just gotten back to the dugout when Bellinger sent a fastball into the right-field bleachers.

"I was putting my equipment up and, yeah, I just heard it and looked up and I saw it flying out of there," Goldschmidt said.

Judge had to settle himself.

"Bleacher Creatures are jumping up and down. Kind of got to step out and catch your breath there for a second before you step in the box because it kind of gets the heart rate going a little bit," he said.

His first homer, on a cutter, went 468 feet and appeared to land in left field's second deck.

"It was like just bang! bang! bang!" Bellinger said.

Judge had his 40th multihomer game. And with14 total bases on Saturday, he now has 16 total bases through two games this season. That's the most by any player in his team's first two games of a season over the last 100 years, according to ESPN Research.

While proud, he didn't want to make too much of one win, framing it within last year's World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also noted the Yankees' sloppiness: five errors that led to four unearned runs and caused Max Fried to be removed with a high pitch count after 4 innings, costing him a chance to win in his Yankees debut.

"We're on a mission," Judge said. "A lot of guys are disappointed with what happened last year, myself included, and it starts with and preparing ourself now."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Let's get this out of the way, even if it's way too early to even start thinking about it: Aaron Judge's chase for 63 is on.

In his second game of the regular season, Judge mashed three home runs, part of a franchise-record barrage of nine home runs belted by the New York Yankees in a 20-9 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Judge just missed a record-tying fourth home with a double off the right-field wall in the sixth inning and had another chance for a fourth home run facing position player Jake Bauers in the eighth inning but lined out to left field on a 55 mph curveball.

All in all, not a bad first Saturday of the season.

We should have known something unusual might happen. The game-time temperature at Yankee Stadium, on March 29 (!), was a balmy 78 degrees. It wasn't a record-setting high -- New York City hit 86 degrees on this date in 1945 -- but the Yankees were intent on setting some records anyway.

Facing former Yankee Nestor Cortes, Paul Goldschmidt -- leading off for the first time in his long career -- hit a home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the first. Cody Bellinger then hit a home run on the second pitch of the inning. Judge swung at Cortes' third pitch and destroyed a cutter 468 feet to left field, estimated exit velocity somewhere between 115 and a thousand mph. According to Statcast metrics, the home run had an expected batting average of 1.000 and was a home run in 30 out of 30 parks. Or 31 of 31 if you include the Grand Canyon.

The Yankees became the first team to hit home runs on the first three pitches they saw in a game. Austin Wells later added a fourth home run for the first four-homer inning in Yankees history.

In the understatement of the day, Judge said after the game, "Well, that was a fun inning."

Judge and the Yankees were hardly done, however. In the third inning, facing Connor Thomas -- who was making his major league debut -- Judge belted a grand slam. As Tim Kurkjian pointed out on ESPN Radio, Hall of Famer Jim Palmer pitched his entire career without giving up a grand slam; Thomas allowed one in his first inning in the big leagues.

To be fair, Palmer never had to face Judge.

Judge's third home run also came off Thomas. Judge would finish 4-for-6 with the double, three home runs, four runs and eight RBIs -- his third career three-homer game and the first eight-RBI game for a Yankees player since Didi Gregorius in 2018. The fans responded with curtain calls and "M-V-P!" chants.

The Yankees would finish with nine home runs -- just the third team in MLB history to hit that many. The Reds hit nine in a 1999 game against the Phillies (Yankees manager Aaron Boone happily pointed out he homered for the Reds in that game) while the Blue Jays own the record with a 10-homer game against the Orioles in 1987. Kurkjian covered that game when he was a beat writer in Baltimore, so he just missed witnessing the only two 10-homer games in MLB history.

As for Judge, it's a booming start to the follow-up season after arguably the best year a right-handed batter ever had. He hit .322/.458/.701 with 58 home runs in 2024, with his 223 OPS+ the highest ever for a right-hander. And don't forget -- he did all that despite a slow start, hitting just .207 with six home runs through the end of April. Of course, he holds the American League record with his 62-homer season in 2022. With a hot start this month, maybe he can chase that mark from ahead of pace rather than from playing catch-up, as was the case last season, when he managed to make a good run at 62 until a 16-game homerless streak from late August into September.

Our last memory of Judge's 2024 season, unfortunately, was his error in Game 5 of the World Series, when his dropped fly ball in center field led to the Dodgers rallying from a 5-0 deficit to clinch the World Series with a 7-6 victory. Judge also didn't have a great postseason overall, hitting just .184 with three home runs in 14 games, whiffing 20 times. That lowered his career postseason mark to .205/.318/.450 and continued the questions of whether he can carry a team in October.

We'll worry about that in six months. For one thing, the Yankees have to get back there, a task made more difficult with Gerrit Cole going down for the season and Luis Gil out for three months. New ace Max Fried also scuffled in his debut -- despite a mountain of runs of support he couldn't even finish five innings to get the win. The defense was sloppy with five errors, turning this game into a bit of a comedy of errors (the Yankees became just the second team in 50 years to both score 20 runs and make five errors).

One thing we learned though: Aaron Judge is still going to mash. For all the attention Shohei Ohtani has rightfully received all offseason and heading into 2025, Judge reminded us that he actually had the better offensive season in 2024. For all the preseason predictions that Bobby Witt Jr. will win the AL MVP Award in 2025, Judge reminded us that he's a two-time MVP winner and, as wonderful as Witt was last season with 9.4 WAR, Judge was still the unanimous MVP selection.

The onslaught also showed that even minus Juan Soto, maybe this Yankees lineup will still score runs, at least as long as Judge remains healthy -- and he's averaged 142 games the last four seasons, only missing time with that toe injury in 2023. Boone said he wrestled all day yesterday with figuring out the lineup against the left-handed Cortes, settling on the unusual decision of Goldschmidt hitting leadoff. This after catcher Austin Wells hit leadoff on Opening Day against a right-handed starter. There are a lot of questions in New York's lineup, from if the 37-year-old Goldschmidt can still produce to what rookie Jasson Dominguez will do to how much more Anthony Volpe and Wells will improve, but this may prove to be a better offense than many expect.

For now, the one certainty: Judge will be great. Sixty-three is in play.

Northampton Saints boss Phil Dowson hailed Henry Pollock as a "world-class" talent following the back row's brilliant try against Sale Sharks.

The 20-year-old collected his own chip over Sale scrum-half Gus Warr to touch down and make the score 17-17 - but Saints eventually lost 27-24.

Pollock scored twice on his England debut against Wales during the Six Nations and is now being spoken of as a possible for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in the summer.

"He has that ability to both change the game and inspire the people around him," director of rugby Dowson told BBC Radio Northampton.

"He can do things others can't do - yes, [he is] world-class."

England wing Tommy Freeman, who added a try to the five he scored during the Six Nations, described his young team-mate as "different gravy".

Despite their efforts, the 2024 Premiership champions suffered their eighth defeat in 13 league games this season and are 11 points adrift of the play-off places with five left to play.

"We showed a lot of heart and wanted to do that after last week's game [a 33-0 home loss to Leicester Tigers] - there are some things to take away that are pretty positive," Freeman added.

"As the game opened up, we moved the ball and started to play how we wanted to play, we asked questions and created some tired legs for them, and it felt we were in the drivers' seat.

"But a few errors and some penalties we gave away, and they managed to get the scoreboard [moving]. It kind of cost us, so we'll get back to the drawing board and be excited for Clermont in a different competition next week."

The last 16 European Champions Cup tie against Clermont Auvergne on Friday now assumes even greater significance for Saints in their quest to add further silverware this season.

"They're all massive games [now] - this was a huge game as well - and we've got to make sure we continue to work hard in training and give ourselves the opportunity to be better than we were tonight," Dowson said.

Rugby union should consider banning head coaches from matches if their players are repeatedly involved in head-on-head tackles, says former England women's boss Simon Middleton.

In the Women's Six Nations opening round, France centre Gabrielle Vernier was sent off for a head-on-head hit in their win over Ireland, followed by Wales' Georgia Evans receiving a second yellow card for a similar tackle in their defeat by Scotland.

In this year's men's Six Nations, Ireland centre Garry Ringrose received a red card for a head-on-head tackle on Wales' Ben Thomas.

Middleton - England head coach from 2015 to 2023 - suggests that three illegal head-on-head tackles in a game should result in a one-match touchline ban for that team's head coach.

"You want to make it impactful and resonate," Middleton told BBC Sport.

"If I am a defence coach and I know the action of my player is going to impact the availability of the head coach then I am probably going to be more diligent and aware of the consequences of what I am coaching.

"As a head coach you are charged with overseeing your coaching group so ultimately the buck stops with the head coach.

"I do think reducing head contact in rugby is moving in the right direction, but there has been a notable change in terms of the nature of incidents now being more head-on-head than shoulder-to-head."

Middleton coached the Red Roses to the World Cup final in 2022, where his side lost to New Zealand after playing the majority of the game with 14 players following a high, head-on-head tackle by wing Lydia Thompson.

The 59-year-old says more detail around tackle height from his coaching team could have prevented the red card.

"We paid a huge price for it in the World Cup and rightly so as that was the correct decision and we have to live with that," he said.

"I look back on the build-up to the World Cup and think 'what was our part in that?' We clearly played a part.

"We have to be accountable as it is never just about the players, it is about why the player has actioned in that way. There are some things you can't control but most of the actions are a product of what they are coached."