IT WAS 3½ HOURS before tipoff at Barclays Center and the Philadelphia 76ers already had claimed a piece of the court.

As the Brooklyn Nets' drum line and dancers practiced nearby, the Sixers' training staff went through its own prep before a first-round playoff game. The makeshift on-court training area featured:

• Two black EarthLite folding massage tables

• A green exercise ball borrowed from the Nets

• A red, plastic Tri-Stretch balance pad placed by the basket

• Three black, cylindrical ViPR tubes weighing 16, 24 and 32 pounds

• Two dumbbells borrowed from the Nets (JJ Redick prefers them to the tubes)

• Two black roller bags stuffed with assorted tension bands, jump ropes and other tools of the trade.

While other teams use cramped visitors training rooms to stretch and work on their players before games, Todd Wright, the 76ers' assistant coach and head of strength and conditioning, brought his on-court method with him from the University of Texas in 2015. Wright takes advantage of the extra space on the court while allowing players to enjoy the atmosphere of the arena.

A similar scene will play out along a baseline at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto prior to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday. Only the exercise ball borrowed from the Toronto Raptors will be gray and the on-court entertainment will be limited to the dance team and a performer's dry run of "O Canada."

"IT'S DIFFERENT," Greg Monroe said, breaking into a hearty laugh before Game 3 of the Sixers' first-round series in Brooklyn. And Monroe has plenty to compare it to. The 6-foot-11 center has played for five franchises in his nine-year career, including three teams this season alone.

"But it is easier," Monroe said. "Get your stretch in, get your warm-up and [you're already on] the court. So, that actually makes sense."

One by one, Sixers players ambled out to the Barclays court before Game 3 and plopped onto a massage table to start a sequence of stretches required before they're allowed to hoist up a shot.

Wright manned one of the tables, while Todor Pandov, the assistant strength and conditioning coach, manned the other. They worked on the players like mechanics under a hood -- stretching, pushing, pulling and kneading the players' limbs to get them ready for the game.

Wright has a shaved head, dark, pronounced eyebrows and intense blue eyes. His thick frame "looks like a bag of meat," said one Sixers staffer. Philly's players rave about Wright's subtle sense of humor, expertise and personal touch. He is the type of guy who offers up a, "Thanks, brother," to a total stranger, as he did before Game 1 in Toronto when a Raptors locker room attendant delivered the exercise ball to the court.

A Bulgaria native who played forward for Western Kentucky University in the early 2000s, the 6-foot-9 Pandov offers a visual contrast to Wright, with his full head of hair, gray, speckled beard and lanky limbs.

"They're just good people," guard T.J. McConnell said. "You want to be surrounded by good people. But obviously, when you're great at your job, it makes it that much better."

After the massage, the players worked their way down an assembly line.

Guard Furkan Korkmaz performed a set of calf raises, trying to gain access to the next level of the Sixers' required pregame prep: Lifting those, um, big rubber things that look like empty paper towel rolls.

"What do you call them? Dang, I forgot the name," Tobias Harris said. "I forgot. I guess we call them 'the bar.' Yeah, 'the bar.'"

"The bar" is the ViPR weighted cylinder that allows Philly players to turn their little corner of the court into a weight room

"We obviously can't bring [full] weights onto the floor, but it simulates lifting weights and movement," McConnell explained. "Kind of kills two birds with one stone."

NBA PLAYERS ARE large human beings, and the room required to have those bodies stretch out and move around is considerable.

While changes in ownership and a flood of new revenue in the past several decades have led to modernized NBA arenas -- 18 of the league's 29 arenas were opened in 1999 or later -- the visitors training rooms didn't get the same priority in the blueprints as, say, luxury boxes and club lounges.

"The visiting training rooms are usually super small," Nets guard Joe Harris said. "If you went in and saw a lot of the training rooms, we have to stagger our treatment times because you can't have more than like three people in the training room at a time. There's not enough space."

Measuring 7-foot-3 and weighing 291 pounds, Sixers backup center Boban Marjanovic might benefit the most from the change in settings.

"Sometimes, we don't have space for ourselves," Marjanovic said. "I think it's a good idea. To be very honest, it's a good idea."

The space might be the biggest perk to the trainers -- Wright appreciates the consistent training environment the court provides on the road -- but the players have their own reasons why they enjoy the unusual setup.

"For me, it's more about feeling the atmosphere of the arena, breathing the air, just being around it and being on the court and hearing the sound of the basketballs. It just helps me better prepare." Joel Embiid

"For me, it's more about feeling the atmosphere of the arena, breathing the air, just being around it and being on the court and hearing the sound of the basketballs," Joel Embiid said. "It just helps me better prepare."

Other players agree.

"I do like the way it feels. I do like the way it kind of gets me going," Monroe said.

As Tobias Harris added; "You get the energy, for sure. That's always cool."

Embiid missed the entire 2014-15 season with a broken navicular bone in his right foot. The following season, his rookie year, he played in just 31 out of 82 games because of a rest plan, combined with a torn meniscus in his left knee that wiped out what was left of his season in late February.

If the byproduct of having more room to operate means keeping Embiid more connected and engaged in the periods he is out, it makes sense that Wright and Pandov don't mind lugging all that equipment -- each cumbersome massage table weigh 38 pounds -- to 41 road games a year. And in a league in which teams go to great lengths to keep their star players happy by shuffling practice times and accommodating travel plans, it's a small concession to make.

"It's all for Joel," a team source said.

Just a massage and some anime to get hype for Game 1. ?

Never change, @JoelEmbiid. pic.twitter.com/LMhav2Qy62

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 30, 2018

TAKING A NORMALLY private activity and making it public can have its drawbacks.

While Embiid was getting his shoulders worked on prior to the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Boston Celtics in 2018, TNT cameras showed the big man watching the Japanese anime "Dragon Ball Z" on his phone.

Earlier in the 2018 playoff run, before a first-round game at the Miami Heat, Embiid was seen eating a chicken sandwich on the massage table out on the court while his back was being poked and prodded.

But Embiid isn't concerned.

"I don't care," Embiid said. "I'm a chill guy. I don't care. I'm a human being at the end of the day. I don't want to be different than anybody else walking on the streets. If they can do it, I can do it too."

A lack of privacy isn't the only challenge the Sixers face.

As Wright contorted the large frame of Marjanovic, who was spilling over the massage table before Game 3 in Brooklyn, Pandov was attending to James Ennis III while simultaneously protecting his turf. Television reporters and camera crews were setting up a couple of feet from the training tables for live shots to preview the game. The extra space the 76ers coveted had been shrunk to a few feet.

Pandov did his best to secure his space.

"We all got to work together," Pandov pleaded with the encroaching media. "We got players to get going."

BALTIMORE -- Boston Red Sox left-hander David Price has been placed on the 10-day injured list because of tendinitis in his pitching elbow.

Boston announced the move Monday, a day ahead of Price's scheduled start at Baltimore.

Price told reporters that his arm is "bothering" him, but hopes to miss only one or two starts.

The 33-year-old Price is 1-2 with a 3.75 ERA in six starts and has allowed three runs or fewer in his last four appearances.

The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner with Tampa Bay, Price was slowed by elbow problems throughout 2017. He did not make his first start for Boston until May 29 due to a strained elbow and did not pitch for the Red Sox between July 22 and Sept. 17 because of elbow inflammation.

He was 6-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 11 starts and five relief appearances, then rebounded to go 16-7 with a 3.58 ERA in 30 starts last year as Boston won the World Series.

Boston made the roster move retroactive to Friday. The Red Sox selected the contract of 28-year-old right-hander Ryan Weber from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Major League Baseball suspended Atlanta Braves right-hander Kevin Gausman for five games on Monday for throwing a 97 mph fastball behind the Miami Marlins' Jose Urena in the second inning of the Braves' 7-2 victory Friday.

Gausman has appealed the suspension.

Urena was at the center of a melee last season with the Braves.

Urena said after Friday's game that Gausman and the Braves set a bad example for the fans.

"That's the way they claim they are professional?" the Dominican said in Spanish. "I've never had anything against them. They are the ones keeping it going."

Urena was suspended six games last season for hitting the Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr., who had homered in five straight games at the time, including three straight against the Marlins.

Gausman, who was acquired by the Braves last season from the Baltimore Orioles, is 1-2 with a 4.83 ERA in six starts this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ron Darling, former New York Mets pitcher and current broadcaster for SNY, said in a statement Monday that he has thyroid cancer.

"After the removal of the mass on my chest along with further tests, I have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer," said Darling, 58. "My doctors have said they are optimistic that the cancer is treatable and that I would be back on air talking baseball in the next month or so. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their continued support."

Last month, Darling took a leave of absence from calling games on SNY to have a mass removed from his chest.

Darling played for the Mets from 1983 to 1991 and was a member of their 1986 World Series championship team. He also pitched for the Oakland Athletics through 1995.

CINCINNATI -- A swarm of bees settled above the backstop screen shortly before the first pitch, prompting an 18-minute delay to the start of a game between the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds.

The game began after the swarm moved toward the upper deck.

Ready now... play ball! ? pic.twitter.com/Z4ioWU8Ojp

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 6, 2019

It's the second time the Giants have been involved in a bee delay in Cincinnati. A swarm went into the Giants' dugout at Riverfront Stadium on April 17, 1976, forcing a 35-minute delay. The Reds won the game 11-0

There was a 17-minute bee delay before another game at Riverfront on May 11, 1987, against the Phillies. Reds starter Ted Power got stung on his hand.

Pablo Sandoval on Monday became the first major league player since 1905 to hit a home run, steal a base and pitch a scoreless inning in the same game.

Sandoval achieved the feat in the San Francisco Giants' 12-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.

The only other time the feat was achieved was also by a Giants player in a game against the Reds. Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson threw nine shutout innings, hit a homer and stole a base in a victory on May 23, 1905, according to the Elias Sports Bureau's data.

Chief Johnson of the Kansas City Packers also accomplished this feat playing in the Federal League on August 14, 1915.

Sandoval's steal of third base in the second inning of Monday's game was his first stolen base since the 2012 season. His home run Monday was a three-run shot in the sixth inning that cut the Giants' deficit at the time to 7-4. He has three home runs this season.

In his scoreless inning Monday, which came during the eighth inning, he hit Jose Peraza to lead off the inning but got Josh VanMeter to fly out and induced a ground ball double-play off the bat of Nick Senzel. When Sandoval hit Peraza, it marked the fifth time in Monday's game that a Reds player was hit by a pitch, tying a National League record.

Sandoval has now pitched two innings in his career and has not allowed a run.

After crawling across the London Marathon finish line to a 2:33 PB, the England international marathoner tells AW about her mental strength, training and future plans

When asked about the biggest lessons she has learned in her running career so far, Hayley Carruthers replies: “That ultimately nothing beats hard work and that the sport will reward persistence and resilience.”

Her own resilience and persistence was proved at the recent Virgin Money London Marathon, when Carruthers crawled across the finish line after collapsing just metres from it. Swinging her leg across the timing mat, the Birchfield athlete clocked a PB of 2:33:59.

The 26-year-old NHS radiographer has come a long way since starting out in the sport just three years ago (she ran 3:22:58 on her marathon debut in Manchester). Having had time to reflect on London, she shared some insight into her performance, mental strength, training and future plans.

Athletics Weekly: The past week must have felt like a bit of a whirlwind. Now you’ve had time to reflect on your run in London, how are you feeling?

Hayley Carruthers: I suppose it is mixed emotions. The disappointment from the outcome is still there as we really, really wanted to qualify for Doha (World Championships) and so it is bound to hurt for a while. On the other hand, people have been so lovely and supportive that it’s been hard to feel too sorry for myself.

Today I learnt how NOT to run a marathon! ?? #londonmarathon atleast I PB’d … pic.twitter.com/iD1FYZSA5N

— Hayley Carruthers (@mileswithhayley) April 28, 2019

AW: We know mental strength is something you’ve worked on and we featured some advice from your coach Dan Robinson before the race. How important is mental strength and using that strength alongside listening to your body? Is that what you had to do in London?

HC: We always talk about having a toolkit of mental strategies available. It allows me to feel more relaxed that I have something else I can turn to in the difficult moments. I think by the end on Sunday I was looking around in the bottom of the bag! Seriously though, I was having to employ those strategies from around 10km onwards. It helped because I was able to focus on dealing with the here and now rather than contemplating having 20 miles to go feeling like that!

AW: Can you give some insight into your training set-up and diary in the lead-up to London?

HC: Dan is my coach and also, despite being middle-aged, he can still do the sessions with me which is great. Up until the autumn I was coached remotely by someone else which worked well at the time. Since I have started working with Dan though I have really felt the benefit of building up a close relationship where we speak all the time. He knows when I am tired or stressed and can adapt the training accordingly. I am sure this has helped to avoid injury and illness.

A typical training week might be:

Monday: AM – 30min easy, PM – 45min easy / gym

Tuesday: AM – 40min easy, PM – track – 4 x (5x400m)

Wednesday: AM – 30min easy, PM – 60min easy

Thursday: AM – rest, PM – 4x10min threshold / S&C session

Friday: Rest day

Saturday: AM – parkrun and 6x2min off 60sec

Sunday: AM – 2 miles easy, 4×4 miles at marathon effort with a 1 mile float

AW: Is it hard to combine your running with your full-time job as an NHS radiographer?

HC: I think for the most part it has worked pretty easily up to this point. The fact that I am new to running has meant that we have built up the volume quite gradually and so the job hasn’t been too much of a problem in that respect. Maybe in the future that will change as I get stronger and we can progress the training further. I am conscious that in this build-up, recovery became more of an issue as the intensity increased.

Don’t worry guys! I am a’ok! Back to reality… ? #doublelife pic.twitter.com/ba03G05zaQ

— Hayley Carruthers (@mileswithhayley) April 29, 2019

AW: What are your next goals – both long and short term?

HC: In the short term I am having a much needed rest before racing the Vitality London 10,000 at the end of the month. It will be good to race in London again and hopefully finish a race vertical. I will then try and get as fit as possible to run well at Highgate (Night of the 10,000m PBs) in the summer. It is already an iconic event and I can’t wait to race there. Longer term we will look at an autumn marathon but I don’t want to think about that too much just yet.

AW: You must have received many messages since last Sunday – are there any which have meant that bit more to you?

HC: It’s hard to pick out individual messages because they’ve all been so positive. Some teachers have been in touch saying that they have used the footage in school assemblies or with their junior cross-country teams. That’s very gratifying and if there is a positive message associated with what happened I feel very fortunate.

AW: What are the biggest lessons you have learned in your running career so far?

HC: That ultimately nothing beats hard work and that the sport will reward persistence and resilience. Absorbing disappointments is just part of it but that makes successes all the more satisfying.

Brother and sister Leo and Annie Au are runners-up in KL
By HOWARD HARDING – Squash Mad International Correspondent

India celebrated an historic first-ever double as Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa won the men’s and women’s crowns at the 20th Asian Individual Squash Championships in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Chinappa successfully retained the women’s title after fending off a strong challenge by top seed Annie Au of Hong Kong in the final at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.

The Indian number one was certainly fired up as she stuck to her game plan for an 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 win.

The match was a display of excellent shot-making and retrieval but it was Chinappa who drew first blood by taking the first game 11-5. World No.11 Au did well to keep herself in the game and as she stepped with a more aggressive approach to level proceedings.

But Joshna wasn’t going to let this slip away and she took crucial points before sealing the win in 42 minutes.

“I lost to Annie in our last three meetings with a 3-0 scoreline so this was obviously going to be hard match but I felt I was much better prepared this time,” said the 32-year-old Chennai native.

“Physically I felt I was in good shape and I also thought she was struggling a bit on the big points so I wanted to capitalise on that.

“Of course, there were times when the game was getting away from me for a bit so I tend to fire myself up on court so that I can take the next few points seriously and I’m so happy to win this.”

In doing so, Chinappa also becomes the first woman since record nine-time champion Nicol David to successfully retain the title.

“I mean wow…Nicol’s shoes is such a big one to fill and I’ve only done one tenth of what she’s done so I’m really pleased to get this result,” added Joshna.

Buoyed by Joshna’s success, world No.10 and top seed Saurav Ghosal went on and completed a fabulous day for India by beating 2015 winner Leo Au 11-9, 11-2, 11-8.

It was a long, hard match especially in the first game as Annie Au’s brother Leo stuck close to Ghosal and picked up almost every shot.

The Indian showed his top 10 pedigree with a quickfire grab of the second game before winning the points when it mattered to take the win, also in 42 minutes.

In doing so, Ghosal becomes the first ever player from India to win the men’s Asian title.

Saurav certainly exorcised some demons of old after falling short numerous times in Asian tournaments, most notably in the final of the Asian meet in 2017 and the final of the Asian Games in 2014.

“I thought Leo played really well in the first and third games. It was some of the best intensity I’ve seen from him and it’s all credit to him,” said Saurav.

“But I stuck to the plans that I wanted to for the most part. There were certain patches where it went off and he took advantage of that but I’m still very pleased to win 3/0 against Leo who has been playing so well all week.

“Of course, winning a tournament is always great, winning my first Asian title is also pleasing but to do it together with Joshna is simply unbelievable.

“If someone had told us 15 years ago that India would win the double, I wouldn’t have believed it. But it’s happened and hopefully it will lead to a lot more in the future.”

India’s National Coach Cyrus Poncha added: “It was a fabulous result in the Asian Championship. What was missed two years ago, we have for the first time won both the titles.

“It is a massive achievement and both players have been working hard for this. Saurav is in the top 10 in the world and Joshna is 15. A system was set two decades ago has now begun to push Indian squash forward in a glorious way.”

The winners both received the ASF Challenge Trophy which was presented by Asian Squash Federation (ASF) president David Mui. 

Asian Championships 2019, Bukit Jalil National Squash Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Men’s Final:
[1] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [4] Leo Au (HKG) 11-9, 11-2, 11-8 (42m)

Semi-finals:
[1] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [7] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 11-2, 11-6, 11-4 (32m)
[4] Leo Au (HKG) bt [2] Yip Tsz Fung (HKG) 11-3, 11-8, 11-4 (38m)

Quarter-finals:
[1] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [6] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (34m)
[7] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt [3] Max Lee (HKG) 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 (50m)
[4] Leo Au (HKG) bt [8] Ivan Yuen (MAS) 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (62m)
[2] Yip Tsz Fung (HKG) bt [5] Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) 11-8, 11-5, 11-3 (26m)

3rd round:
[1] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) 11-5, 11-8, 11-3
[6] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt Robert Garcia (PHI) 13-11, 11-8, 15-13
[7] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt [14] Ammar Altamimi (KUW) 11-2, 11-6, 11-4
[3] Max Lee (HKG) bt [9] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) 11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-1
[4] Leo Au (HKG) bt [11] Asim Khan (PAK) 11-7, 11-6, 11-3
[8] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt [16] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) 10-12, 11-5, 11-9, 11-0
[5] Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) bt [15] Sajad Zareian (IRI) 11-3, 11-9, 11-7
[2] Yip Tsz Fung (HKG) bt [12] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 11-8, 11-4, 11-6

Women’s Final:
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [1] Annie Au (HKG) 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (42m)

Semi-finals:
[1] Annie Au (HKG) bt [4] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 11-6, 11-13, 13-11, 11-4 (47m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [6] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 11-7, 12-10, 11-3 (30m)

Quarter-finals:
[1] Annie Au (HKG) bt [5] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) 12-10, 12-10, 11-5 (29m)
[4] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt [9] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 5-11, 5-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-8 (46m)
[6] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [3] Joey Chan (HKG) 11-7, 11-8, 15-17, 11-8 (38m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [14] Tanvi Khanna (IND) 12-10, 13-11, 11-7 (34m)

3rd round:
[1] Annie Au (HKG) bt [12] Wen Li Lai (MAS) 11-8, 11-0, 11-2
[5] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) bt [16] Aparajitha Balamurukan (IND) 11-9, 11-9, 11-1
[9] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt [8] Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) 11-9, 11-5, 11-9
[4] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt [10] Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7
[3] Joey Chan (HKG) bt [11] Jemyca Aribado (PHI) 11-5, 11-6, 12-10
[6] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [13] Aifa Azman (MAS) 6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7
[14] Tanvi Khanna (IND) bt [7] Rachel Arnold (MAS) 9-11, 5-11, 18-16, 11-7, 11-6 (50m)
[2] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt Jihyun Lee (KOR) 11-5, 11-6, 11-5
 
Full results on www.squashinfo.com

Pictures courtesy of Zheng Guan Kng and WSF

Edinburgh back-row Bill Mata was named Pro14 Players' Player of the Season and Glasgow Warriors' Adam Hastings won the Next Gen Star of the Season award.

New Zealander Kieran Crowley was voted Coach of the Season by his peers for leading Italian side Benetton to the play-offs for the first time.

Edinburgh fly-half Jaco van der Walt received the Gilbert Golden Boot for the best percentage conversion rate.

And team-mate Ross Ford received an award for his "incredible longevity".

The Scotland hooker, who is leaving Edinburgh at the end of the season after 11 years with the club, was recognised with the Chairman's Award to make it a treble celebration for the capital side along with Fijian Mata and South African Van der Walt.

Meanwhile, two of Van der Walt's countrymen were rewarded for Cheetahs' first season in the Pro14.

Rabz Maxwane won the Top Try-Scorer Award for crossing the line 14 times, while Tian Schoeman's "incredible accumulation of 1,564 minutes" meant he was the Dacia Iron Man winner for the 2018-19 season.

Ospreys forward James King was named the Pro14's Tackle Machine, the Australia-born Wales international's 96.6% completion meaning he missed only eight tackles all season - 224 in total.

English flanker Olly Robinson, who was the previous Tackle Machine winner, received a newly introduced award for being the Turnover King, the Cardiff Blues player finishing the season by winning possession against the head 26 times.

Main award winner Mata, the 27-year-old who joined Edinburgh two seasons ago after helping his country to Olympic gold and who has nine full caps, scored five tries as his side finished fifth in Conference B.

The 22-year-old Hastings, who joined Glasgow from Bath in 2017, scored two tries and contributed 38 points with the boot during a Pro14 season in which he took his total of Scotland caps up to 11.

Guinness Pro14 award winners

Guinness Players' Player of the Year: Bill Mata (Edinburgh)

Guinness Coach of the Season: Kieran Crowley (Benetton)

Guinness Pro14 Chairman's Award: Ross Ford (Edinburgh)

Energia Next-Gen Star of the Season: Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors)

Gilbert Golden Boot: Jaco van der Walt (Edinburgh)

SportPesa Top Try-Scorer: Rabz Maxwane (Cheetahs)

Ronseal Tackle Machine: James King (Ospreys)

Big Red Cloud Turnover King: Olly Robinson (Cardiff Blues)

Dacia Iron Man: Tian Schoeman (Cheetahs)

Leicester Tigers have signed Samoa prop Nephi Leatigaga and former academy captain Charlie Clare for next season.

Leatigaga, 25, most recently played for French side Biarritz and has also had a spell with Piacenza in Italy.

"Tigers has a big history of producing some of the game's best front rowers and have a big focus on that part of the game," he said.

Hooker Clare, 27, has played for Northampton and Bedford since leaving Welford Road.

He told the club website: ""Geordan [Murphy, head coach] has such a passion for the club and I want to be a part of what he's building at the club."

Front rower Leatigaga won the last of his five Samoa caps in July 2017.