Warren Gatland admits ‘the better team lost’ after Wales beat France

• ‘They were excellent and very unlucky – we didn’t play our best’
• France coach Jacques Brunel unhappy with decisive Wales try

Tearful Andy Murray wins first singles title since returning from injury

• Scot beat Stan Wawrinka 3-6 6-4 6-4 in Antwerp
• Murray wins first tournament since March 2017

Andy Murray arrived in China four weeks ago with the humble hope of winning one or two matches per week, gradually building his match fitness while aspiring to feel a little more like himself by the end of it all.

On Sunday afternoon, after four frantic weeks on the road across two different continents, he left Antwerp with so much more after producing one of the most stunning results of his career to defeat Stan Wawrinka 3-6 6-4 6-4 to win his first title since February 2017.

Manchester United v Liverpool: Premier League – live!

Japan’s never-say-die spirit needs nurturing after Rugby World Cup | Andy Bull

Brave Blossoms showed all their fight against South Africa and now need more games against the world’s best

Houston Astros walk off with pennant as José Altuve's homer buries Yankees

• Altuve’s ninth-inning homer off Chapman clinches pennant
• Short starts for both teams in Game 6 a playoff first since 1999
• Astros host Nationals in Game 1 of World Series on Tuesday

José Altuve, the 5ft 6in driving force of Houston, delivered a swing that will play in Astros’ highlights forever.

Altuve homered off Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the ninth inning and Houston outlasted the New York Yankees 6-4 Saturday night to advance to the World Series for the second time in three years.

‘We’ll have a beer’: Steve Hansen and Eddie Jones swap texts before semi-final

Haringey chairman says walk-off for alleged racism must be watershed moment

• Borough’s game against Yeovil abandoned amid alleged racism
• I hope it makes people sit up and take notice, says Aki Achillea

Haringey Borough’s chairman, Aki Achillea, hopes the actions of his players in walking off the pitch after suffering alleged racial abuse from opposition fan will prove to be a watershed moment and prevent others from being targeted after Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Yeovil was abandoned.

New Zealand are ultimate challenge but England can face them down

Strength in depth and a disciplined win against Australia are proof enough for Eddie Jones that his side have what it takes

Michael Cheika lifts lid on Rugby Australia after quitting as head coach

• Cheika spoke of his fractured relations after World Cup exit
• ‘It’s no secret I’ve pretty much got no relationship with the CEO’

Michael Cheika lifted the lid on his broken relationship with Rugby Australia bosses after confirming he will quit as Wallabies coach at the end of the year.

Wales sigh collective relief as Moriarty gives Warren Gatland a shot at glory | Gerard Meagher

Welsh refused to buckle under intense France pressure which bodes well for their semi-final with South Africa

Warren Gatland was contemplating what to say on TV. He was working out in his mind how he would explain it to the press. After 11 years and nearing the end of his 124th match in charge, he was staring down the barrel of the end to his career as the Wales coach. He was oblivious to the thousands of fans streaming out of the stadium but even they will have heard his sigh of relief when Ross Moriarty’s try was awarded with six minutes to go. It could have been heard for miles.

Katie Zelem and Jess Sigsworth fire Manchester United to cup win over City

• Manchester United Women 2-0 Manchester City Women
• United surprise league cup holders to leave group wide open

Casey Stoney said her dressing-room message before a stunning 2-0 defeat of Manchester City in the Continental League Cup – the visitors first in domestic competition this season – was: “You belong at this level, you’ve got to start believing it.”

“And that was my message at the end of the game,” the Manchester United manager added. “‘Do you believe it now?’”

Andy Farrell can reshape Ireland’s future after defeat to New Zealand

South Africa to face Wales in semi-final after grinding down Japan

• Springboks into last four of Rugby World Cup
• Makazole Mapimpi scores two tries for South Africans

South Africa trampled all over a dream to leave many of Japan’s supporters in tears at the final whistle but the home side had already achieved a victory that even five weeks ago looked unlikely: acceptance that a place should be found for an inspired, innovative team who bring a refreshing vibrancy to a game that at the top level was becoming stereotyped and stale.

Players protest unpaid wages by standing still in Mexican football match – video

A game from the top-tier of Mexican football was brought to a standstill after players protested over unpaid wages.

The tie between Veracruz and Tigres was lifeless for the first three minutes. However, after initially taking part in the protest some Tigres players took the opportunity to scores two unchallenged goals. The game finished 3-1 to Tigres.

Magical battles home to win first Champion Stakes at Ascot for Aidan O’Brien

• Hot favourite holds off Addeybb in gruelling ground
• Trainer celebrates Champions Day successes at Ascot

She may not rack up extended winning streaks like her old rival Enable – her career strike-rate, in fact, is below 50% – but Aidan O’Brien still felt able to describe Magical as “the ultimate racehorse” after a typically resolute success in the Champion Stakes gave the trainer his first success in the race here on Saturday. “Every day, she wakes up with a total clean sheet,” O’Brien said. “She accepts everything on the chin and says what do you want me to do today? It’s internally with her, it’s her mind. She never says no.”

New Zealand edge Australia in one-goal Constellation Cup thriller

• Ekenasio hits winner as New Zealand beat Australia 54-53
• Silver Ferns poised to win series for first time since 2012

Rivalry was the word of the day as fans filed into Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena for game three of the Constellation Cup. In the 151st encounter between Australia and New Zealand, the screens were full of flashbacks to previous games, dating back to 1938. It was a sign of things to come – this was to be a classic battle between the two old foes.

It was with a renewed sense of purpose the Diamonds took to the court. After a heartbreaking one-goal loss to their old rivals last week in Christchurch, and an at-times unconvincing win in Auckland, this was a team that looked fired up to be back on home soil.

New Zealand thrash Ireland to set up World Cup semi-final with England

• Aaron Smith’s double sets rampant All Blacks on way to victory
• England await reigning champions in Yokohama semi-final

The forecast rain did not turn up but a big black cloud did. New Zealand are never more menacing than when they are portrayed as vulnerable, but they left Ireland scattered all over the turf after ruthlessly battering them up front in an awesome display of power and precision to set up a semi-final against England.

‘Some big men are in tears’: Rory Best rues Ireland’s World Cup failings

• Captain says team are fixated with poor quarter-final record
• Ulster stalwart retires after winning 124th cap in All Blacks defeat

Rory Best admitted Ireland’s fixation with their World Cup failings proved their undoing in the record 46-14 defeat to New Zealand as they lost their seventh quarter-final in nine attempts.

Best’s Ireland career is now at an end after 124 caps, the 37-year-old Ulster stalwart having retired straight after the crushing All Blacks defeat. Ireland long ago admitted experimenting in this year’s Six Nations in a bid to peak at the World Cup, but Best has now conceded that strategy backfired.

Matt Targett scores late winner for Aston Villa against 10-man Brighton

Seldom can a manager have greeted a last-gasp winning goal for his team so angrily. After Matt Targett struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time for Aston Villa, Dean Smith had an expression like thunder. He was still dismayed, he explained, by two things: his team’s all-round performance and what he considered to be the most outrageous intervention yet by VAR against Aston Villa, who had a goal contentiously disallowed for the third time this season.

“I couldn’t even celebrate at the end,” said Smith. Nearly everyone else supporting Villa went wild, as Targett’s first goal for the club secured three points from a match in which Brighton had been dominant until Aaron Mooy got himself sent off in the 35th minute. The visitors had been leading thanks to Adam Webster, and although the excellent Jack Grealish equalised before the break, Brighton looked good value for a point until Grealish set up Targett for the decisive breakthrough. “We probably didn’t deserve to win,” said Smith.

Golden aura around marginal gains is beginning to look a little tarnished | Tim Lewis

Comfy mattresses and the proper washing of hands prove no match for extra-special shoes

I don’t remember much about reading Bradley Wiggins’s last autobiography, his 16th I believe, but one detail has stayed with me. It was an incident from around 2011 or 2012 when, having shed six kilos, “Twiggo” started to be considered a serious contender for the Tour de France. When he left home to compete in the race, his preparations were so forensic that it was decided he should not lift his cases into the car taking him to the airport. Why risk an injury now after months of brutal training and near-starvation? Cath, the long‑suffering Mrs Wiggins, did the honours.

Looking back, this was perhaps the period when we fell hard for marginal gains. The theory was developed by Dave Brailsford, the wonkish head of British cycling on the track and Team Sky on the road. The core principle was that if you made 1% improvements in multiple areas, you could reap significant rewards overall.

Dynamic duo Sam Underhill and Tom Curry give England comic-book gusto

For all England’s skilful touches, it was Eddie Jones’s Kamikaze Kids who dominated Australia with 36 hard-hitting tackles

Eddie Jones calls them his Kamikaze Kids, which fits – because the way Tom Curry and Sam Underhill play is right out of a comic book. You could picture it in Roy Lichtenstein prints. Pop! Pow! Whaam! Boom! They made 36 tackles between them against Australia, none better than the one Underhill put in on the strapping No 8, Isi Naisarani, early in the first half, which was one of those blows that seem to reverse the entire flow of a game. It was in the 15th minute, or thereabouts, and Australia had made a hot start, thinking that they would catch England napping after that two-week break since they beat Argentina. It worked.

England 40-16 Australia: Rugby World Cup quarter-final player ratings

Tom Curry produced a relentless display to be man of the match but Tolu Latu could not handle England’s intensity

Elliot Daly Knock-on led to Koroibete’s try and he was made to look foolish by the Australia winger’s finish. Joins the line so well, though. 6

Patrick Day didn't need to be saved

The dangers of boxing are often justified by the direction it offers to many wayward youths. Boxing saves, but what about when it takes someone who doesn’t need saving?

Two days before fight night, Patrick Day walked to the podium for the event’s final press conference. He complimented Chicago, a city he said reminded him of New York, “just less crowded”. He then remarked that the other fighters looked fit and healthy, and promised an entertaining fight with Charles Conwell. He sounded more like the promoter than one of the participants, a point he addressed.

“People look at me, look at my demeanor, and say, ‘Oh you’re such a nice guy, well-spoken, why do you choose to box?’ It’s about what’s in your heart … I have a fighter’s soul, a fighter’s spirit, and I love this sport,” Day said. “Boxing makes me happy, that’s why I choose to do it.”

Hannah Mills: ‘I don’t wake up thinking about making sailing history in Tokyo’

The 31-year-old tried retirement after winning gold in Rio but the call of the sport to which she has dedicated her life was too strong

Rugby World Cup 2019: fixtures, tables and results

Check out the full match schedule and latest standings for Japan 2019

Rugby World Cup 2019: top try and points scorers

Sevu Reece? Cheslin Kolbe? Owen Farrell? Who will score the most tries and kick the most points at the 2019 rugby world cup in Japan?

Almighty All Blacks lay waste to the side that inspired their rebuild | Liam Napier

Youthful exuberance was at the heart of a new-look New Zealand’s stunning quarter-final win over their recent nemesis

‘We’ve not played our best’: England can improve, Eddie Jones tells New Zealand

• ‘The challenge is how do we get better as a team,’ says coach
• England must beat All Blacks for first time since 2012

Eddie Jones has warned New Zealand that the best is still to come from his England side after they booked a World Cup semi-final showdown against the All Blacks.

Australia's pain self-inflicted in Rugby World Cup loss to England

Critical errors at critical moments killed the Wallabies’ campaign as they failed to move past the quarter-final stage.

The Wallabies’ played with great attacking spirit at the World Cup in Japan, but their lofty ambition exceeded their skill-level.

Statistically, the Wallabies entered their quarter-final against England at Oita Stadium on Saturday as one of the most dominant attacking teams in the tournament in terms of tackle busts, line-breaks and metres gained. But Australia also committed the most turnovers of any team in the final eight, the Achilles heel that led to their record 40-16 defeat to England and early exit from the tournament.

England into World Cup semi-finals after bruising victory over Australia

England’s Maro Itoje warns rugby to be vigilant over racism after Sofia

• Abuse in Euro 2020 qualifier appalling and abysmal, says Itoje
• ‘Punishment needs to be more severe’ for racist abuse in sport

England’s Maro Itoje has slammed this week’s racist abuse in football as appalling and abysmal and warned that rugby union should not consider itself immune from similar problems. Itoje says he has teammates who have been the target of abuse and believes the time has come for more black sports people to take a public stand.

When England flopped in the quarter-finals of the first Rugby World Cup

England went into the tournament in 1987 believing they could ‘beat anyone’. Wales dispelled that notion in the quarter-finals

Hearts investigate claim that Rangers' Morelos was racially abused in draw

Hearts have opened an investigation after reports that Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos was racially abused during Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Tynecastle.

The Edinburgh club have say they will ban any fan found guilty of racism after it was alleged that the Colombian was abused after scoring a 39th minute equaliser.

Bristol City investigate alleged racist chants by their fans at Luton supporters

• City say they ‘condemn any form of abuse or racist language’
• Alleged chants come on day Haringey-Yeovil game abandoned

Bristol City are investigating reports that a small group of their supporters engaged in alleged racist chanting towards Luton Town fans during the Championship match at Kenilworth Road on Saturday.

“We naturally condemn any form of abuse or racist language,” City said in a statement. “We are a family club which celebrates its diversity and inclusivity and will take action against anyone behaving in a racist manner at a Bristol City match who has purchased their ticket or season card through the club, as well as reporting them to the relevant authorities.

Wayne Rooney's MLS career ends on bench as DC United lose in playoffs

• Toronto FC score four goals in extra-time to progress
• Rooney to return to England as player-coach with Derby County

Wayne Rooney’s Major League Soccer adventure came to a sour end along with DC United’s season on Saturday as Toronto FC scored four goals in extra-time to complete a 5-1 playoff win.

VAR chaos distracts from Pochettino’s relief as Spurs’ Alli pegs back Watford

Was this a point to be savoured, or another match best quickly forgotten? Spurs fans will probably spend the weekend mulling it over after a late poke from Dele Alli – one that required, and was eventually granted, the approval of VAR – hauled Mauricio Pochettino’s misfiring team back, just, from a deficit they had laboured under since the opening minutes.

For Watford this was one of those so-near-yet-so-far days, but the commitment from his players gave heart to Quique Sánchez Flores. The league’s bottom side were far from the rabble of early season here and, had they been more decisive in one of several counterattacking opportunities, they might yet have secured their first win of the season.

Gabriel Jesus and David Silva on target as Manchester City pick off Palace

‘I thought VAR was supposed to help,’ fumes Quique Sánchez Flores

• Watford manager unhappy over decisions in 1-1 draw
• Spurs’ Pochettino: ‘I think our goal was legal’

Quique Sánchez Flores branded VAR “weird” and questioned its objectivity after two controversial moments helped deny his Watford team their first league win of the season at Spurs.

Dele Alli’s late equaliser, which cancelled out an early strike from Abdoulaye Doucouré, was eventually given even though the stadium screens said it had been ruled out, while at the end of the first half VAR failed to intervene in what looked like a clear penalty for the visitors after Gerard Deulofeu was stopped by Jan Vertonghen.

European roundup: Real Madrid and Bayern suffer shocks, Barcelona cruise

• Barça go top after Mallorca’s surprise win over Real Madrid
• Augsburg hold Bayern, Ronaldo on target for Juventus

Real Madrid fell to a shock defeat at Real Mallorca on a day when they were leapfrogged by Barcelona at the top of La Liga. The hosts took the lead early on when Lago Junior cut inside and struck as well-placed finish into the bottom corner of Thibaut Courtois’ goal, and despite having time on their side Madrid could not muster a response. The right-back Álvaro Odriozola was sent off late on for a second booking on a night to forget for Zinedine Zidane’s side, who drop to second, one point behind their Catalan rivals and one ahead of high-flying Granada.

Football League: Phillips caps off Leeds gala, Bowen lands maiden Reading win

• Eze penalty double edges Hull, Stoke climb over Barnsley
• Sunderland lose Parkinson debut, Morecambe off the bottom

Hal Robson-Kanu strikes late against Middlesbrough to keep West Brom top

A little over an hour had passed, the rain was unrelenting and West Bromwich uninspired when a clearly agitated Slaven Bilic liberated Hal Robson-Kanu and Kyle Edwards from the bench.

Thirty minutes later the clouds were lifting, Edwards had created the decisive goal for Robson-Kanu and the visiting fans were singing “We’re top of the league.” West Brom’s first win on Teesside in 10 years had done more than just leave Bilic’s side two points clear of second-placed Leeds, though. In consigning Middlesbrough to a fourth defeat in a run of five games in which Jonathan Woodgate’s team have collected a solitary point they raised all sorts of awkward questions about the former England centre-back’s powers of defensive organisation.

Rugby World Cup: Wales edge France and South Africa beat Japan – video highlights

Wales booked their place in the semi-finals after they squeezed past a 14-man French side after Sébastien Vahaamahina was dismissed for an elbow in the second-half. They will face an South Africa side that dominated Japan in their quarter-final, defeating the hosts by 26-3 in Tokyo. 

'The better team lost': Warren Gatland relieved after Wales squeeze past France – video

Wales are through to the semi-finals of the World Cup after a 20-19 win over 14-man France. The turning point in the match came when Sebastian Vahaamahina was sent off for an elbow in the second half, helping Wales to score 10 unanswered points. Speaking after the quarter-final, Wales head coach Warren Gatland admitted that 'I think the better team lost today, but that red card was obviously significant'. Wales will face South Africa in the semi-final next Sunday. 

'I've got a soft spot for New Zealand,' says England's Eddie Jones ahead of semi-final – video

England have booked a place in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 12 years with a thrilling and highly competitive 40-16 win against Australia in Oita. 

Air New Zealand pokes fun at Ireland fans before Rugby World Cup quarter-final – video

New Zealand's national airline has poked fun at Ireland supporters with a mock pre-match 'safety tips' video before the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup quarter-final against the Irish.

The video, which mimics a pre-flight safety briefing, advises fans of Joe Schmidt's team, who have won two of their last three matches against the All Blacks, that they can expect 'some upcoming turbulence' at Tokyo Stadium on Saturday.

Children should also be stowed away 'in the event that language becomes colourful', while fans are advised to put their heads in their hands in the crouch position if the All Blacks score an early try.

Australia's Matt To'omua ribs some of his former Leicester teammates – video

The Australia fly-half Matt To'omua aimed a few light-hearted barbs at some of his former Leicester teammates as he prepares to face them when the  Wallabies take on England in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.

England's Ben Youngs responded to his former teammate's character assassinations of the Leicester squad, saying 'he's not far wrong with some of it'. 

'It was like war': North Korea v South Korea ends in goalless draw – video report

It was the first time that the teams had met in North Korea for 30 years, although the game was played out with no fans, no media and sadly no goals. The game in Pyongyang ended in a 0-0 draw. Speaking after returning to South Korea, captain and Tottenham star Son Heung-min said: 'To be honest, the game was so tough that I think we were very lucky already to be back with no one injured.'

The Fiver | The Glazer family, that real-life version of Succession season four

Sports quiz of the week: winners, losers, movers and history makers

Who is in Sydney? Who is in Leicester? And who is at home?

Liverpool have started the season with eight wins in a row. Which club once began a top-flight campaign with 11 straight victories?

Manchester United

Arsenal

Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea

Which of the quarter-finals at the Rugby World Cup this weekend features two former champions?

England v Australia

New Zealand v Ireland

Wales v France

Japan v South Africa

None of them

Which two teams at the tournament flew home having lost all four of their games?

Georgia and Uruguay

Russia and USA

Tonga and Samoa

Namibia and Canada

England are playing Australia at the Rugby World Cup on Saturday. At which other World Cup – which is being held in Australia over the weekend – are England playing France, Lebanon and Wales (in the men’s event) and Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand (in the women’s event)?

Table-tennis World Cup

BBQ World Cup

Rugby League Nines World Cup

Barrecore World Cup

Pedro Pasculli managed Bangor City to a 1-1 draw against Ruthin Town in the Welsh second division this week. What did he do in June 1986?

He was top of the UK albums charts with his band Super Furry Animals

He and his co-pilot Richard Branson became the first people to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon

He was elected as an MEP for Plaid Cymru

He played in the Argentina team that won the World Cup

Which capital city hosted a World Cup qualifier this week that had no goals, no fans, no journalists and no live broadcast on TV?

Beijing

Baku

Pyongyang

Doha

Lee Ann Walker received 58 penalty shots at a golf tournament in Indiana this week. What had she done wrong?

She was caught smoking marijuana midway through her round

She “knowingly” killed an animal (a beetle) while putting on the green

She picked up her opponent's ball and threw it into a lake

Her caddie helped her line up shots while she was on the green

Mighty Mike, Voltage, Superchin, Bully Boy, The Flying Scotsman, Snakebite, The Iceman and The Machine will be in Leicester this weekend. Which sport will they be playing?

Pool

Snooker

Darts

Squash

If La Liga have their way, where will the match between Atlético Madrid and Villarreal be played in December?

Catalonia

Miami

Scotland

Lapland

As a player, he scored his country’s first (and so far only) goals at the European Championship. And now, as the team's manager, he has helped them qualify for the Euros next year. Who is he?

Gheorghe Hagi

Theodoros Zagorakis

Andriy Shevchenko

Savo Milosevic

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 700th goal of his career this week. For which team did he score the first goal of his career?

Manchester United

Benfica

Sporting

Porto

11 and above.

Perfection! Have a great weekend.

1 and above.

Ah well, you tried. Have a good weekend. Not great

2 and above.

Ah well, you tried. Have a good weekend.

3 and above.

Ah well, you tried. Have a good weekend.

4 and above.

Ah well, you tried. Have a good weekend.

5 and above.

You were there or thereabouts Have a good weekend.

6 and above.

You were there or thereabouts Have a good weekend.

7 and above.

You were there or thereabouts Have a good weekend.

8 and above.

You nailed it. Have a good weekend.

9 and above.

You nailed it. Have a great weekend.

0 and above.

Ah well, you tried. Have a good weekend.

10 and above.

You nailed it. Have a great weekend.

Football transfer rumours: Kessié to Wolves? Håland to Manchester City?

Today’s fluff is guessing Norway’s coverage has started already

Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, cartwheels and magic marathons | Classic YouTube

Also featuring classic Manchester United v Liverpool matches, a player running to the wrong end zone and Sergio Parisse

Euro 2020 updates, China's grand plan and Petr Cech on ice – Football Weekly

Buy a classic David Squires cartoon from our collection

Who is the oldest footballer to make their debut in a top-flight division? | The Knowledge

Plus: more former pros turning out for Sunday league sides, eponymous international goalscorers and Derek Acorah

“With Leon Clarke making his Premier League debut at the age of 34 for Sheffield United against Liverpool, who is the oldest debutant in a top division?” tweets Joe Turner.

We’ve unearthed a golden oldie who can beat the ageing Blade by two years. Now-retired Brighton defender Bruno captained the Seagulls to promotion and then made his first appearance in the English top flight at 36 and only two months shy of his 37th birthday. But Tom Aldous points us in the direction of Graham Alexander who, at the ripe age of 37, made his Premier League debut for Burnley in 2009.

Buy a classic sport photograph: Kelly Holmes' eye-popping celebration

Paltry fines and spineless words helped create the poison in Sofia | Barney Ronay

Uefa is historically culpable for what happened in Bulgaria’s national stadium but there are losers on all sides

The taxi driver on the morning run to Sofia airport was lugubrious, middle-aged and wearing an England football shirt. What had he made of the racist abuse of England’s footballers by sections of the Bulgaria crowd the night before. “These people,” he said, curtly, “are idiots.”

The taxi driver wondered aloud why the Sofia police did not prevent the black-clad cohort of Bulgaria ultras from entering the stadium, the same tight-knit group who would later (it seemed) offer Nazi-style salutes – as those who know them knew they would. Instead the police had escorted the ultras inside.

Armchair viewers get a glimpse of the future and it looks to be laser-guided | Richard Williams

For all its help in straightening out rugby union and its recent assistance to Eliud Kipchoge, what effect will green-line technology have on the off-the-cuff spontaneity of live sport?

While the glorious phenomenon that is Simone Biles was winning a fifth all‑around world gymnastics title last week with routines that included a triple-twisting double backflip during the floor exercise and a two‑flips‑two-twists dismount from the beam, she was doing things that the human eye could barely take in. But there were no worries that what she was doing might be missed.

Her every movement, and those of her 546 rivals, was being captured by three-dimensional laser sensors hidden inside boxes placed around the floor of the Stuttgart arena. Developed by Fujitsu, the system has at its centre an artificial intelligence system. Body measurements are taken from the competitors – in the case of the few who declined in Stuttgart, a standard template was used – and their movements are then tracked for position, angle and speed, instantly processed and fed to the competition judges in graphic form as a clear real-time analysis of every performance.

'Impressive and moving' – Football School/Guardian Young Sportswriters of the Year revealed

Eight-year-old Caleb Waterhouse and Billy Taylor, 12, are our inaugural winners

A fact-filled profile of the snowboard champion Katie Ormerod and a thrilling basketball match report have been revealed as the winners of the inaugural Guardian and Football School Young Sportswriters of the Year award.

The winner of the category for writers aged seven to nine, eight-year-old Caleb Waterhouse, wrote about Ormerod, who attended his primary school in West Yorkshire. In the category for ages 10 to 12, Billy Taylor, 12, wrote about the time he saw an NBA game in Los Angeles.

'We knew it was right': cricketers Nat Sciver and Katherine Brunt get engaged

England team-mates tell of their plans to marry after love blossomed in the wake of a historic World Cup win

It’s a familiar scene. After several years living under the same roof, one member of the shared house plucks up the courage to declare their love to another as the sun sets on a midsummer evening.