Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny says painful memories of missing the 2015 World Cup are driving him to make the tournament in Japan later this year.

Halfpenny injured his knee in the final warm-up game against Italy in Cardiff just before the World Cup started and was ruled out of the competition.

"It's going to be hugely exciting," said Halfpenny.

"Missing out on the 2015 World Cup was tough and it means I'd love to be on the plane to Japan."

Halfpenny is included in Wales' 42-man extended training squad, after not being involved in their Six Nations Grand Slam triumph because of concussion issues.

The British and Irish Lion is currently having a break along with the rest of the squad and has been relaxing with his partner, Jess, and new baby daughter, Lily.

"There is a chance to have some time off, spend some downtime with the family," said Halfpenny.

"With the little one being born and the start of a family, it's a new chapter in our lives now."

Once the rest and relaxation is over the players face gruelling summer training camps in Switzerland and Turkey, before four home and away warm-up games against England and Ireland.

Wales open their World Cup campaign against Georgia on 23 September in Toyota City, with Australia, Fiji and Uruguay to follow.

"Hopefully I get a chance to put the red jersey on again, but there is a huge amount of work to do before that," said Halfpenny.

"It's going to be a tough couple of training camps ahead. I can't wait for it."

Halfpenny was the victim of a late tackle by Australia centre Samu Kerevi in Wales' win over Australia in November 2018, which resulted in concussion and sidelined him for more than three months, ruling him out of the 2019 Six Nations success.

The 30-year-old has returned to action and believes he has recovered mentally and physically.

"Dealing with injury is tough because you want to be out there playing with the team," said Halfpenny.

"It's difficult when you're not able to do that. I found this injury the hardest mentally out of all of them because of the nature of it. I didn't know when the end would be.

"The medical and coaching staff with both the Scarlets and Wales were amazing and I'm thankful to them.

"The thing with my injury was I didn't know when I would be back and coping with that was tough. Hopefully I can be stronger for it.

"It's all good now. There has been no reaction with the head.

"It's all fine and been good to get a few games under my belt. I feel like I'm over it now and delighted to be back out there on the field with the boys. I've missed it and I'm enjoying it immensely."

In his absence, Halfpenny has seen Liam Williams excel in the full-back jersey, with the Saracens back playing a starring role in the Grand Slam success.

Williams also joined Halfpenny in the exclusive club of Welshmen who have won the Heineken Champions Cup, when Saracens defeated Leinster in the final and scored a try in the Premiership final win against Exeter.

"I'm absolutely delighted for him," said Halfpenny.

"He's been outstanding this season. He's a good friend of mine and it's been really pleasing for me to see him doing well. I was delighted to see him win the Champions Cup because it's an outstanding achievement.

"We're great mates and it's good to have that competition as well."

Olympic champions Fiji sealed their fourth World Rugby Sevens Series title as they won the season-ending Paris Sevens tournament in style.

Victory in the last four against series runners-up USA 33-14 was enough to confirm Fiji's status as champions.

They then produced a superb display in the final to see off New Zealand, who finished third overall, 35-24.

Beaten semi-finalists USA and South Africa completed the four sides to earn direct qualification for Tokyo 2020.

"To round it off as we did is pretty special," said Fiji coach Gareth Baber.

Captain Josua Vakurunabili said he told his team to "make people back home and your family proud", adding: "I said 'if you want to be a history maker, don't let this moment pass you'."

England, who lost to Fiji, Ireland and Argentina in the pool on Saturday, beat Japan 52-7 in the Challenge Trophy quarter-finals before losing 41-28 to Canada in the final four.

Canada went on to beat Ireland 28-12 in the Challenge Trophy final, as Scotland saw off Japan 31-26 in the 13th-place play-off.

England can still secure Great Britain a place at next year's Games in Tokyo via a European qualifying tournament in July.

Meanwhile, Wales retained their place in the World Rugby Sevens Series despite struggling in the final leg in Paris.

Richie Pugh's side lost 26-21 in Pool B to Kenya, who were in the relegation battle with Wales along with Japan, and then lost their Challenge Trophy quarter-final 31-12 to Canada.

But Japan's earlier defeat to England at the same stage meant Wales remain among the elite top-14 nations.

SCARPERIA E SAN PIERO, Italy – Danilo Petrucci emerged with his first MotoGP victory after a valiant battle with his Ducati teammate Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez Sunday at the Mugello Circuit.

Off the line and down into turn one at the start, Marquez held the lead from the pole despite challenges from Cal Crutchlow and Dovizioso. Fabio Quartararo got a far from ideal start and went backwards, whilst Alex Rins got a phenomenal start and climbed seven positions by the end of the opening lap.

In the early stages Jack Miller was beginning to push on in the leading group, with Alex Rins making passes behind, taking Cal Crutchlow at turn one.

It wasn’t long before the first drama of the race would unfold, as Valentino Rossi tangled with Joan Mir at turn four, running across the gravel and rejoining in last place. However, a few laps later, on lap eight, the veteran Italian crashed at high speed at Arrabbiata 2, ending his hopes of success after what was already a tricky home round.

At the front of the field, fireworks were already being set off, as Alex Rins and Dovizioso hit the front. Marquez was also being pushed back down the order, with 14 laps to go as Petrucci got ahead of him, followed closely by Miller.

Marquez was down in fifth and at the front of the field, Petrucci and Rins started to press hard. The leading group consisted of nine riders, with Crutchlow, Takaaki Nakagami, Francesco Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales. Soon though, the group began to fragment, with Bagnaia crashing out with 12 to go at the final corner.

Despite momentarily losing touch, Jack Miller put in the fastest lap of the race in fifth position, pulling himself back into contention. However, disaster struck the Australian as he crashed at turn four. This took the leading group down to four riders.

Going into the last lap, after various lead changes, Dovizioso got ahead of Marquez at turn one but ran wide, leaving the door open for Petrucci to scurry back through and take the advantage, to the roar of the crowd. Petrucci found himself leading at his home Grand Prix, with Marquez fighting into second.

Marquez and Dovizioso tried their best to get on terms with Petrucci and in the final corner, Marquez gained massively, but try as he might, Petrucci held on for his first MotoGP win, ahead of Marquez and Dovizioso in third.

ENSENADA, Mexico – For the second straight race, third-generation desert racing champion Andy McMillin roared to overall and SCORE Trophy Truck race victories Saturday by winning the 51st SCORE Baja 500 in dynamic fashion.

McMillin started first, never lost the physical lead and finished first in the elapsed-time race.

The second race of the four-race SCORE World Desert Championship started and finished in Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean which sits 80 miles south of San Diego.

McMillin, 32, recorded a penalty-free winning time of nine hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds, averaging 49.39 mph in his No. 31 Red Bull McMillin Racing Chevy Silverado built by Mason Motorsports.

After starting the season with the overall at the 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250 in April, McMillin’s 11th career SCORE Trophy Truck race win moved him into a tie for second with Ed and Tim Herbst, Larry Ragland and Robby Gordon.

That group trails Rob MacCachren, the all-time winningest SCORE Trophy Truck racer with 17 career victories.

It was also Andy McMillin’s third overall victory in the SCORE Baja 500, winning in 2010 with his father Scott McMillin along with his solo driving efforts in 2017 and this year.

A. McMillin joins his father and uncle Mark McMillin with three overall wins each in this race, giving his family a combined 11 overall wins in this race.

Family patriarch Corky McMillin has two career overall victories in the SCORE Baja 500.

Joining Andy McMillin, who won the season-opening SCORE San Felipe 250 in April, on the podium were Andy’s cousin Luke McMillin, also of San Diego and Mexico’s Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez.

Luke McMillin, 26, finished second with a penalty-free time of 9:51:06 (49.23 mph) in his No. 83 Mark Racing Ford F-150. Lopez, 24, came home with a penalty-free finishing time of 10:12:43 (47.49 mph) in his No. 9 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck.

Besides podium finishers A. McMillin, L. McMillin and Lopez, 11 of the top 12 overall finishers were SCORE Trophy Trucks. The class had a race-high 38 vehicles start the race.

Fourth were brothers Alan, Aaron and Rodrigo Ampudia (No. 10 Ford Raptor-ID), fifth were Las Vegas brothers Tim Herbst and Ed Herbst (No. 19 Ford F-150-Herbst/Smith), sixth after penalties were assessed was Bryce Menzies (No. 7 Ford Raptor (Huseman) and seventh in class was Mike Lawrence. (No. 85 Ford F-150-Herbst/Smith).

Several returning class winners in the SCORE Baja 500 won again this year. Among them were Jeff Proctor, Glendora, Calif. (Class 7, Honda Ridgeline), David Heredia, Hacienda Heights, Calif. (Class 5-1600, VW Baja Bug), Brad Lovell, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Pro UTV Stock FI, Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo), Francisco Septien, Ensenada, Mexico, Calif./Shane Esposito, Temecula, Calif. (Pro Moto 30, Honda CRF450X), Giovanni Spinali, El Cajon, Calif. (Pro Moto 50, Honda CRF450X) and Said Sanchez, Tijuana Mexico (Pro Quad, Honda TRX450R).

Justin Davis captured the unlimited Class 1 while finishing eighth overall among four-wheel vehicles in the No. 185 Green Army Motorsports Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car. His winning effort was completed in 10:59:48 (44.10mph).

Davis defeated 13 starters in his class. Starting first he never looked back and finished with a victory margin of 38 minutes, five seconds.

Riding the No. 1x Honda CRF450X, Justin Morgan and his three-rider team raced to the overall motorcycle victory for his sixth consecutive overall motorcycle win in the SCORE World Desert Championship and his fourth overall win in the last five years in this race.

The trio crossed the finish line in 10:50:11 at an average speed of 44.76mph.

Morgan split the riding with Mark Samuels, Yucca Valley, Calif. who won his third overall moto title in this race in three years and Justin Jones, Murrieta, Calif. who won his second consecutive SCORE overall motorcycle title in this race.

Morgan rode from the start to race mile 180, Samuels rode from there to race mile 450, and Jones took it home from that point.

Defeating 24 starters in his class and 37 total UTVs to win the overall UTV win title in this year’s race was former Polaris key executive Craig Scanlon, with a winning time of 13:26.41 in his No. 2931 Polaris RZR Turbo. It was his first SCORE race win as a driver of record.

Besides this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 overall winner Andy McMillin (SCORE Trophy Truck), other San Felipe class winners who won their class in this year’s SCORE Baja 500 to give them two straight wins to start the season were SCORE Baja 500 motorcycle winners were Justin Morgan, El Cajon, Calif. (Pro Moto Unlimited—No. 1x Honda CRF450R).

The other San Felipe 2-wheel class winner who won this race was Giovanni Spinali, El Cajon, Calif. (Pro Moto 50—No. 500x Yamaha YZ450FX). Spinali’s teammates for this race were Earl Roberts, Mexicali, Mexico/Troy Pearce, Ramona, Calif./John Griffin, Lake Forest, Calif./Jim O’Neal, Simi Valley, Calif.

The veteran O’Neal earned his race-record 21st career class win in the SCORE Baja 500.

Pro Quad San Felipe winner Said Sanchez, Tijuana (No. 1a Honda TRX450R) won again for his second class win in this race to remain unbeaten in the 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship.

In one of the closest class finishes in this year’s race a battle of veterans saw the team of Clyde Stacy/Nick Vanderwey defeat Mark Post/Larry Roeseler by just 41 seconds in the SCORE TT Legends class for SCORE Trophy Truck drivers over 50 years old.

Stacy, 74, Bristol, Va. and Vanderwey, 52, Phoenix, drove the No. 5L Chevy Rally Truck V-16 (Geiser) to top Post, 61, Las Vegas and Roeseler, 62, Imperial, Calif., in their 30-year old No. 3L Ford F-150 (Riviera Racing).

ST. LOUIS -- Blues coach Craig Berube said he doesn't know why his team has been penalized so much in the Stanley Cup Final, but he's not happy about it.

"First of all, we were the least penalized team in the league in the first three rounds; now all of a sudden we've taken 14 penalties in one series," Berube said Sunday, a day after a 7-2 Bruins drubbing. "So I don't know. I don't buy into all of that, to be honest with you. I think that we could definitely be more composed after the whistle. I think we've let some frustration get in there where we maybe do too much after the whistle. So we'll clean that up, for sure. But like I said, we were the least penalized team in the league coming into this series. I don't agree with all of the calls."

After averaging less than three penalties per game in the first three series -- a span of 19 games -- the Blues took five penalties in both Games 1 and 2, then four penalties in Game 3. Boston leads the series 2-1, with Game 4 on Monday in St. Louis.

The penalties have been especially damning considering the Bruins' power play has been historically good. Boston's power play has gone 23-for-63 (35.9 percent) this postseason, trailing only the 1981 Islanders for best playoff record of all time (minimum 15 games). Boston has been a ridiculous 14-of-28 on the road (50 percent) and they were frighteningly effective on Saturday; Boston went four-for-four on their power play, needing only four shots to score the four goals.

The Blues were without one of their primary penalty-killing forwards in Game 3. Oskar Sundqvist was serving his one-game suspension for boarding Matt Grzelcyk in Game 2. Sundqvist is poised to return to the lineup on Monday.

Berube said he has not sought explanation from the league on the officiating. "No, I mean, they make the calls and don't really give us explanations why," Berube said.

Berube said the penalty parade made it difficult for his staff to evaluate Game 3, which was a disaster for the Blues. The city of St. Louis was hosting its first Stanley Cup Final game in 49 years. There was a lengthy pregame ceremony featuring video montages of what this playoff run has meant to the city, and several celebrities were in the crowd, including actors Jon Hamm and Jenna Fischer, as well as Kansas City Chiefs players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. The Blues, however, fell flat, falling behind 3-0 in the first period.

Berube said he thought his team played pretty well when they were 5-on-5.

"The penalties, they get four PPGs out of it," Berube said. "The game gets out of reach, so it's a tough game to evaluate. We're going to be fine tomorrow. Our guys will be dialed in, ready to go. they've always responded well after a loss. Like I said, we've lost Game 3s in all three rounds and really came back and played well in Game 4s."

Six Liverpool players including goalkeeper Alisson, defender Virgil van Dijk and forward Sadio Mane have been named in UEFA's Champions League League squad of the season.

Champions League winners Liverpool's total pipped that of semifinalists Ajax, who had five players including coveted defender Matthijs de Ligt named in the 20-player squad.

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- Champions League seeding confirmed for 2019-20

A panel of nine experts including England manager Gareth Southgate, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez and former Manchester United manager David Moyes picked the squad, which included both Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus.

Messi finished as outright top scorer in the tournament, with 12 goals, for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign, taking the crown from Ronaldo, who ended his European campaign with six strikes.

Liverpool, who beat Tottenham 2-0 to win the trophy in Madrid on Saturday, also had defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson and midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum named in the selection.

Three Spurs players -- defender Jan Vertonghen, midfielder Moussa Sissoko and forward Lucas Moura -- were chosen.

Champions League Squad of the Season:

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)

Defenders: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax) Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham) Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)

Midfielders: Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham) Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) Frenkie de Jong (Ajax) Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon) Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool) David Neres (Ajax) Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Dusan Tadic (Ajax) Sadio Mane (Liverpool) Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) Lucas Moura (Tottenham)

Azhar Mahmood has issued a rallying call to the Pakistan team ahead of their World Cup clash with England, reminding them they only need "ten good balls" to account for England's powerful batting line-up.

Monday's game will be played on the same pitch which saw England reach a record score of 481 for 6 against Australia last summer but the Pakistan bowling coach believes his side's attack has the wicket-taking firepower to ensure that record remains intact.

"We know we have ability, they have skill, and they are the best batting line-up," said Mahmood after Pakistan's training session at Trent Bridge. "But a lot of it going on, the 480 pitch has been a world record pitch, but they have to play 300 balls to get to that record, but we have to bowl 10 good balls to get 10 wickets.

"So we have ability, we have the skills to do that, and hopefully we can do it tomorrow."

Pakistan suffered an 11th straight loss in their dismal opening match against the West Indies at Trent Bridge but will take some inspiration from better performances in their four-match series against England last month. While they lost that series four-nil, Mahmood denied it would be a significant upset should Pakistan pull off a victory over the hosts.

"No upset. We can beat them," said Mahmood. "It's not upset. We have ability to beat them. If you see the one-day series, we were not that far from England. They scored 1430-odd runs, we scored 1370 runs, so we were 70 runs short.

"Unfortunately our fielding was not up to the mark and we gave extra bonus because we have an inexperienced bowling line-up, young bowling line-up. They need to learn from their mistakes. So we know what England can do, and we know what we can do."

Mahmood also pointed out the similarity to Pakistan's position at the same stage of the 2017 Champions Trophy. Pakistan lost heavily to India in their opening match of that tournament but then embarked on a winning streak that included ending England's campaign in the semi-finals and then defeating India in the final.

"We are one win away from coming back, and that's happened in the Champions Trophy as well," said Mahmood. "We lost in the Champions Trophy and then we came back hard. So whenever we have lost, we come back stronger, and we have the ability to bounce back.

"I totally believe in this team - totally. If you see these guys, they were part of the Champions Trophy as well, so they have experience. They've played in England, so they have enough experience and motivation to go and win the game for Pakistan.

"This is a World Cup. It won't be easy for us. It will be a roller coaster, not for us, for all the teams. It's a big tournament, so as long as we learn from our mistakes and we move on, it's better for us."