England beat Germany 24-14 to finish third at the Moscow Sevens in the first round of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix Series.

They had earlier beaten Wales 45-14 in the quarter-final but lost 24-19 to France in the semi-final.

England won all three group games on Saturday against Spain, Georgia and Russia.

The tournament serves as a ranking event for the official European Olympic qualification event in July.

In the third-place play-off against Germany, two first-half tries from Ben Harris gave England a 10-7 lead at the break.

Dan Norton extended the lead after the break, with a further try from Harry Glover securing the win.

Sale Sharks winger Chris Ashton has pulled out of the England World Cup training squad for family reasons.

The 32-year-old has not been replaced in the preliminary 29-man squad.

Ashton, who scored 20 tries in 44 England caps, says he has decided to stay with his wife Melissa, who is pregnant with their second child.

"Pulling on the white shirt is always special. I'm grateful to [coach] Eddie [Jones] for giving me the opportunity to have done so again," Ashton said.

"When I returned from Toulon last season it was for two reasons; firstly for my family and secondly to try and realise the dream of playing for England again.

"In the meantime I wish Owen [Farrell] and the boys all the very best with their preparation over the coming months."

The squad named last week is mainly made up of players who were not involved in the Premiership semi-finals at the end of May, who are guaranteed a five-week rest after the end of their season and will come into contention once they have completed their mandatory rest periods.

Danny Care, Chris Robshaw, Nathan Hughes and Dylan Hartley were all eligible but not selected, while Ruaridh McConnochie and Alex Dombrandt were handed their first senior call-ups.

The World Cup will take place in Japan from 20 September-2 November.

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Continued rain leading to over-saturated grounds, as well as a forecast for additional rain, has led to the cancellation of Sunday’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series event at Dubuque Speedway.

The event will not be rescheduled.

Those who bought tickets in advance will receive a full refund at the point of purchase, while those who purchased tickets at O’Reilly Auto Parts can mail their tickets to SLS Promotions at 2134 East Waverly Lane, Arlington Heights, Ill., 6004.

The next scheduled World of Outlaws sprint car event is set for Thursday, June 27 at Minnesota’s Jackson Motorplex.

Brad Sweet is the current World of Outlaws point leader on the strength of five victories this season, including Saturday night at Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin.

CONCORD, N.C. – Amid ongoing preparations for the second running of the Bank of America ROVAL 400, Sept. 27-29, Charlotte Motor Speedway officials announced major changes to the 2.28-mile road course oval’s backstretch chicane on Sunday.

An expanded configuration of the challenging chicane will create additional passing opportunities and more side-by-side action – increasing the drama and raising the stakes throughout all 17 turns of the revolutionary course that will conclude the first round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

The chicane’s original layout was 32 feet wide at its widest point, while the new version will be 54 feet at its widest point and will feature additional runoff areas which were unavailable in its first iteration.

Speedway operations staff moved back parts of the inside wall near oval turn three to accommodate more on-track space for the updated chicane.

“The Bank of America ROVAL 400 is all about excitement and creating memorable moments for our fans,” said Marcus Smith, the president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc. “Having our backstretch chicane upgraded will give drivers an additional opportunity to go for a season-making or season-breaking pass like we saw on the frontstretch chicane last year. Every turn matters on the ROVAL.”

The new turns will require heavier braking and a sharper entry, but a wider radius promises to provide drivers with the ideal mix of risk-taking opportunities and a slightly increased margin for error on exit – if the driver’s entry is correct.

The track distance and turn count will not be affected by the new layout, which featured input from NASCAR drivers Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Justin Allgaier, as well as former Formula One racers Alex Wurz and Max Papis.

“My hat’s off to Marcus and the team at Charlotte Motor Speedway for talking with drivers and industry experts as they work to further improve the ROVAL,” Larson said. “The changes to the backstretch look like they will help create an additional passing zone and make it that much more exciting for the fans. After last year’s wild finish, I’ll take every possible opportunity to gain track position and earn some points.”

Construction on the chicane began this week and is expected to conclude in early August.

In addition to the restructured backstretch chicane, speedway officials also announced an increase in race distance for the Sept. 28 NASCAR Xfinity Series race.

The 200-kilometer, 55-lap event will become the 250-kilometer, 67-lap Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship leader Braden Eves returned to the top step of the podium Sunday with Cape Motorsports after a dominating drive in the all-green Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Road America powered by Elite Engines.

Eves took the lead from polesitter and Pabst Racing driver Hunter McElrea on the second lap and pulled away to win by 4.4508 seconds.

“After struggling last month on the oval and struggling again yesterday, this one feels so good,” said Eves. “We put our heads down, worked on the car and got it better and better every session. We moved from eighth to fourth and got the fastest lap yesterday, and to finish the weekend off with our fifth win was great.

“I knew I had the tire advantage, since Hunter (McElrea) used his new tires yesterday, and with the car being the best it’s been all weekend, all I had to do was get into the lead and try to build a gap,” Eves added, “With all the guys behind me, I know that I can’t have any DNFs to stay in the title fight, so it’s all about calculated moves and getting to the finish.”

Eves’ teammate Darren Keane followed him home in second place after a protracted battle with Saturday race winner McElrea.

McElrea, who earned his opportunity this year after winning the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout in December, survived a scare even before the start when his engine went into limp-mode on the pre-grid.

However, Elite Engines’ Steve Knapp was on hand to rectify the problem and send McElrea on his way.

The New Zealander made a good start to maintain his advantage around the first 4.014-mile lap, but Eves took advantage of a strong draft at the end of the first lap to slingshot past into the lead at turn one.

Eves was never seriously challenged after that on the way to his fifth win of the season and yet another PFC Award for race-winning car owners Dominic and Nicholas Cape. Eves now holds a 41-point margin over McElrea with seven of the season’s 15 races in the books.

In his wake, McElrea became embroiled in a thrilling battle for second with Denmark’s Christian Rasmussen, Pabst Racing teammate Colin Kaminsky and Keane.

The quartet exchanged positions on a regular basis until lap nine, when McElrea made an incisive move to pass his teammate Kaminsky. Immediately behind, Rasmussen spun while trying to hold on around the outside of Keane. The Dane rejoined in fifth.

Later in the lap at the Carousel, Kaminsky ran a little wide onto the grass, which enabled Keane to slip past into third. Keane and McElrea then continued to fight it out for the runner-up position.

The decisive pass came at turn five on lap 11 as Keane squeezed through and just held off McElrea’s attempts to regain the position over the final couple of laps.

Squabbles all the way down the 18-car field ensured an exciting 12-lap race and plenty of action for an enthusiastic crowd at America’s National Park of Speed.

Mexico’s Manuel Sulaiman and Frenchman Alex Baron both picked up drive-through penalties for blocking, which enabled 14-year-old Jak Crawford to emerge in sixth place ahead of Eduardo Barrichello.

Barrichello, the Brazilian son of former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello, earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after battling his way forward from 13th on the grid.

Matt Round-Garrido also drove impressively for BN Racing. The Englishman encountered a problem in turn six on the opening lap when his gearbox suddenly fell into neutral, dropping him to the tail of the field.

Last year’s Northern Ireland Formula Ford 1600 champion methodically worked his way up to eighth at the checkered flag, with Australian Cameron Shields and Reece Gold completing the top 10.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Kyle Kirkwood remained perfect in four Road to Indy starts at Road America by winning Sunday’s Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Road America powered by Elite Engines.

Kirkwood chased pole-sitting Indy Pro 2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires points leader Rasmus Lindh for the opening five laps before pouncing at turn five.

He then held off Lindh’s unrelenting, but ultimately unsuccessful, effort to regain the advantage to score his fourth straight victory at the historic Wisconsin road course.

Lindh finished just over a half-second back in second place for defending champion team Juncos Racing, taking a 30-point lead in the point standings over Parker Thompson, who completed the podium for Abel Motorsports.

A clean start to the 15-lap race, run entirely under green-flag conditions, saw Lindh maintain his pole position advantage off the initial start.

However, he was unable to shake off the attentions of Kirkwood, who started third before vaulting past Lindh’s teammate, Sting Ray Robb, on the drag race to turn one.

Kirkwood remained seemingly latched onto Lindh’s rear wing as the two leaders traded early fastest laps, before glimpsing an opportunity at turn five and squeezing down the inside under braking.

Now the situation was reversed, with Lindh looking to redress the balance, but Kirkwood was steadfast in his defense and ultimately crossed underneath the checkered flag just .5847 seconds to the good.

Last year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 champion also secured the second PFC Award of the weekend for RP Motorsport USA.

A close battle for third place between Robb, Thompson and Singapore’s Danial Frost ended prematurely when Frost pulled off the road with an electrical failure after nine laps and then Robb retired to the pits shortly afterward with a mechanical problem.

Guatemalan Ian Rodriguez took advantage to finish fourth aboard a second RP Motorsport USA Tatuus PM-18, while Los Angeles-based Russian Nikita Lastochkin made up the three places he had lost on the opening lap to complete the top five.

A thoroughly entertaining race also was enlivened by a tremendous five-car battle over what eventually became sixth place.

Jacob Loomis emerged with the position and the Tilton Hard Charger Award after a fine drive from 10th on the grid in his family-run JDL Racing entry. Phillippe Denes finished hot on his heels in seventh, followed by Canadian Antonio Serravalle.

DEForce teammates Moises de la Vara and Kory Enders had also been part of the scrap before encountering mechanical problems of their own.

JEFFERSON, S.D. – The third night of a three-race swing for the USMTS ended with a third straight rain-out Sunday when officials at Park Jefferson Speedway were forced to pull the plug on the Cookies BBQ Summer Shootout.

Rained out Friday at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa, and again Saturday at the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minn., the series struck out for the weekend with Sunday’s dampened news.

The USMTS has staged just 18 nights of racing thus far in 2019 as the series heads into its annual summer vacation until action resumes in the third week of July.

In comparison, 30 shows were completed by this time last season, and in 2017 there were already 42 race nights in the books by June 18.

The good news is that there are still at least 29 nights remaining on the campaign for the 2019 Casey’s General Stores USMTS National Championship powered by Summit.

The next event is slated for Wednesday, July 17, when the series returns to the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, for the 12th Annual USMTS Summer Classic presented by Keyser Manufacturing.

England beat Cameroon 3-0 to set up a date against Norway in the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup -- but VAR once again dominates the postmatch debate.

Phil Neville's team took the lead in the 14th minute when Cameroon goalkeeper Annette Ngo Ndom was adjudged to have picked up a deliberate back pass from defender Augustine Ejangue. The free kick was placed on the edge of the six-yard box, but Steph Houghton still expertly found the bottom corner.

It was 2-0 deep into first-half stoppage time -- thanks to the intervention of the VAR. Lucy Bronze played Ellen White through the middle, and though the striker fired home past Ngo Ndom the offside flag went up. A VAR review correctly awarded the goal with White behind the last defender.

However, when the incident was replayed on the big screen inside the stadium, the Cameroon players saw an England player in an offside position (but she was not interfering with play) and launched a furious protest.

Their anger was more pronounced straight after half-time when Ajara Nchout scored to bring the African side back into the game. But a VAR check then showed she was inches offside and the goal was chalked off. Nchout was infuriated and had to be calmed down by her coach, Alain Djeumfa.

England added a third through defender Alex Greenwood, who swept in a first-time effort from a well worked corner in the 58th minute to rub salt into the wounds.

England now face Norway in Le Havre on Thursday in the last-eight.