Newcastle Falcons forward Santiago Socino is to leave Kingston Park to return to his native Argentina.

The 27-year-old hooker, who has been made 34 first-team appearances in his four seasons with the Falcons, is to join Super Rugby side Jaguares.

"Santi has ambitions to play international rugby for Argentina," said director of rugby Dean Richards.

"We've agreed to release him so he can take up this opportunity in his home land. We wish him the best of luck."

Socino is yet to play for his country, while his elder brother, fly-half Juan Pablo, his team-mate at Newcastle for three seasons, has won four caps.

Juan Pablo Socino left Newcastle last summer to join Pro 14 side Edinburgh on a two-year deal.

Newcastle will play in the Championship next season after finishing bottom of the Premiership.

The inaugural 'Rugby X' tournament will feature a host of Olympic medallists after England, Ireland, USA and France all signed up for the international five-a-side event at London's 02 Arena.

The four countries will all enter men and women's teams on 29 October, with Argentina entering just a men's side.

Tournament organisers are talking to the Barbarians about taking the sixth spot in the men's competition.

There will be four teams in the women's event.

All athletes across the men's and women's competition will be paid the same fee for taking part.

Tom Mitchell, Dan Norton, Ollie Lindsay-Hague and Phil Burgess are among the Team GB Sevens silver medallists from the 2016 Olympics who are set to feature for the England men's side, with Amy Wilson-Hardy and Holly Aitchison among the women players likely to be involved.

It's understood the Barbarians - if confirmed - will include a number of Fiji's Rio 2016 gold medal winners, while some big 15-a-side names could also be included if not still playing at the World Cup.

The event will be split into two sessions, an afternoon slot aimed at families, and an evening one targeting 18-34 year-old event-goers.

It is hoped the inclusion of established Sevens players will help give the fledging concept credibility, as Rugby X tries to revolutionise the sport at both elite and grassroots levels.

How will it work?

SPEED SPORT has been reporting on and covering motorsports happenings from all over the world for 85 years, so we thought it would be fun to take a look back in the archives to see what happened 10, 25 and 50 years ago each week.

So check out what SPEED SPORT was covering 10, 25 and 50 years ago this week in Looking Back!

10 Years (May 20, 2009): Tony Stewart earned his first victory in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and his first victory as a car owner at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Driving the No. 14 he co-owned with Carl Haas, Stewart survived a chaotic final 10 laps that saw him take the lead from Matt Kenseth on lap 99 coming out of turn two. He motored away to a nearly one-second victory.

Other Happenings: John Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay were the unlikely heroes of Bump Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as both men bumped their way into the field for the 93rd Indy 500; Del Worsham delivered his second-straight victory in Funny Car competition for Al-Anabi Racing at Bristol Dragway while Tony Schumacher and Mike Edwards also collected victories; Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Camping World Series East-West combo race at Iowa Speedway.

25 Years (May 18, 1994): Al Unser Jr. put his Penske Mercedes on the pole for the 1994 Indianapolis 500 with a 228.001 mph average lap time. He secured the fastest lap during the first day of qualifications, but had to wait until Sunday to see if his teammate Emerson Fittipaldi could bump him down the order. Fittipaldi could only muster the third-best time, leaving Unser to claim his first Indianapolis 500 pole.

Other Happenings: Ernie Irvan was the class of the field en route to winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series event at Sears Point Raceway in California; NASCAR announced the creation of the SuperTruck Series, with exhibition events planned for July of 1995; two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rodger Ward suffered a heart attack shortly after announcing plans to build a race new track in Adelanto, Calif., known as Southern California Motor Speedway.

50 Years Ago (May 21, 1969): Bobby Isaac and David Pearson split a pair of NASCAR Grand National Series events held over two days at Maryland’s Beltsville Speedway and Virginia’s Langley Field Speedway. Isaac dominated at Beltsville, leading every lap of the 300-lap affair from the pole. Isaac led the most laps at Langley, but ran out of gas late in the race and that allowed Pearson to pick up the win.

Other Happenings: Ramo Stott ran out of gas, but still managed to win the second running of the Tennessee 500 stock car race at Bristol Int’l Speedway by 10 laps when rain stopped the race early on lap 412; With 84 cars in attendance attempting to qualify, rain washed out the first weekend of Indianapolis 500 time trials for the first time in history; Al Unser’s dream of competing in the Indianapolis 500 were dashed when he was injured in a motorcycle accident that resulted in a compound fracture of his left leg.

SALISBURY, N.C. – Just over a week ago, Lucas Sipka didn’t even have an Open division outlaw kart of his own, but now the teenager has a shot to race in the QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport for the first time.

Sipka will make his maiden attempt at Millbridge Speedway’s biggest race, as well as just his third Wednesday Open division appearance at the sixth-mile dirt oval, during the May 20-22 spectacle.

His opportunity to compete in the Speed51 Open came after his older brother Adam, who works for a start-up technology company, purchased one of Tyler Reddick’s former outlaw karts for Sipka to drive at his home race track.

That opened the door, and from there, the former Box Stock regular knew he had to seize the chance.

“My brother played a big part in getting this thing and I’m so grateful to him for getting involved and helping me out going into the biggest race week of the year,” Sipka said. “The only thing that he asked was that he could drive it if he wanted to come down and turn some laps, and I figured I could make that deal. He is family, after all, and we have each other’s backs.

“I’m just so excited to be a part of this. I’ve watched the QRC Open for a few years now, and it’s one of the craziest nights there is at this race track every year,” he added. “To think that I’m going to be a part of it this week is a little insane, but I can’t wait to get started.”

Sipka is particularly excited to be wheeling a family-owned No. 54 entry, with backing from Clouatre Motorsports, during this week’s event.

He made his Open division debut driving for Kyle Beattie earlier in the spring, but feels like he can drive harder in his own kart than driving for another team owner.

“It’s a cool feeling (to drive for family). A lot of drivers may not talk about this, but at least for me, when I drive someone else’s equipment, I’m out of my comfort zone. When I drive my own stuff, it allows me to drive a little more like a bat out of hell,” Sipka joked. “You can just be a little bit more aggressive, I feel like, when you’re not worrying as much because you don’t want to tear someone else’s kart up.

“When I drove (Kyle) Beattie’s kart in my debut, other than the No. 21 … I maybe took it a touch easier, just because I knew it wasn’t my machine and I don’t like tearing up other people’s stuff,” he noted. “I’m more comfortable and fitted to my kart, and in my mind it lets me take a few more chances than I might normally take otherwise. Now, we just have to go forward into the week and see what happens.”

Though he only has two prior starts in Open division equipment, Sipka is aiming high for Wednesday night’s $5,151-to-win program, hopeful of racing his way through the alphabet soup and into the big show.

A confidence-building 11th-place finish in Sunday’s Clash at the Creek, held at nearby Mountain Creek Speedway, has buoyed Sipka’s hopes even more.

“I’m shooting for a shot to contend in the B-main at the Open. In a perfect world, that’s my goal,” said Sipka. “I know the competition is going to be tough, but I’d like to get that far if I can. The main mission is just to keep the kart clean, though. We want to not tear anything up and roll it back in the trailer in one piece.

“After we had a shot at a top 10 at Mountain Creek (Speedway), I’m feeling a lot more confident now.”

Sipka’s rapid ascent from Box Stocks to the premier class over the past six months has surprised even himself, but he’s focused forward and not looking back when it comes to the biggest race of his career.

“It hasn’t really set in yet that I get to do this. I don’t think it’ll set in until I get out on track Tuesday for the first session of hot laps,” Sipka noted. “Monday’s practice … that’s cool and all, but it’s still just an open practice with a few more karts than normal, really. That first race day is when it starts counting.

“My mind is honestly blown that last year I was in a Box Stock, and now I’ve got triple the power and so much more competition because I’m running with the Opens. It’s crazy,” Sipka added. “Who would have thought, right?”

Practice for the QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport at Millbridge Speedway begins on Monday, May 20.

Feature racing takes place on both Tuesday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 22.

The Indianapolis 500 isn’t called The Greatest Spectacle in Racing for no reason. Every year 33 of the greatest racers in the world converge on Indianapolis Motor Speedway to compete for the honor to be called Indianapolis 500 champion.

Everyone remembers the winners – Helio Castroneves, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and more – but we don’t always remember the drivers who competed in the Indianapolis 500.

Today and every day until the 103rd Indianapolis 500 we take a look at 10 drivers you may have forgotten competed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Indianapolis 500.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Blues forward Ivan Barbashev will not receive any supplemental discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety after a high hit that helped take Sharks forward Tomas Hertl out of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, according to a source.

In the first period, Barbashev cut across the middle of the ice and caught Hertl as he skated down the rink. Hertl's head snapped back on impact. Although the Sharks center would remain in the game and play through the second period, he didn't take a shift in the third period -- one of three key players missing for San Jose as they tried, and failed, to rally in the Blues' eventual 5-0 victory to take a 3-2 series lead.

The Barbashev hit on Hertl.#SJSharks #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/kAXPyjo3Ma

— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) May 19, 2019

There was no penalty on the play.

San Jose coach Peter DeBoer called the play "an arguably five-minute major on Tommy Hertl that, if it's called, maybe that's a momentum-changing play right there."

A source told ESPN that establishing that Hertl's head was the main point of contact on the hit was difficult, considering that Barbashev also connected with Hertl's arms and shoulder. There also was a question on whether the force of the hit was enough to warrant supplemental discipline, even if it might have been enough for a penalty in the game.

The decision not to give Barbashev a hearing probably won't sit well with the Sharks, who already feel that the Blues avoided a suspension on Sammy Blais's hit to the head of San Jose defenseman Justin Braun back in Game 3. Forward Logan Couture went as far as to say that the lack of punishment on that hit opened the door for this one to occur.

"I saw the Hertl hit. Just watched the replay. Yeah, that's a tough one. But they had one in Game 3 on Braun and nothing happened, so they can do it again, right?" he said after the Game 5 loss.

Elite women's hockey players have announced the formation of the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association -- a united front of some American, Canadian and European players which will serve as "a vehicle to support the creation of a single, viable women's pro league in North America."

The PWHPA includes stars like Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hilary Knight of Team USA and Shannon Szabados, Marie-Philip Poulin of Team Canada and Noora Raty of Finland -- as well as the nearly 200 professional women's hockey players who have announced they are not playing in a league next season until they are provided with better financial support and resources, as well as stronger health insurance.

The PWHA will help those players navigate training needs as well as help them land support from sponsors.

"We are fortunate to be ambassadors of this beautiful game, and it's our responsibility to make sure the next generation of players have more opportunities than we had," Coyne Schofield said in a statement. "It's time to stand together and work to create a viable league that will allow us to enjoy the benefits of our hard work."

The PWHPA is receiving pro bono support from the law firm Ballard Spahr, which has also advised the U.S. women's national team in its dispute over equitable support with USA Hockey.

The women's hockey landscape has endured major upheaval over the past two months. In late March, the Canadian Women's Hockey League made the stunning announcement that it was shutting down, citing a business model that "has proven to be economically unstable." The news came a week after the league's Clarkson Cup had a record 175,000 fans tune in as the CWHL brokered a last-minute deal with the NHL Network to stream the game to a United States audience.

The U.S.-based National Women's Hockey League is the only remaining league in North America, but the 200 players announcing they would not play in any league next season is an indictment on the NWHL's reputation. The NWHL also had a successful season last year, including seeing the All-Star game in Nashville, Tennessee draw 6,200 fans -- the largest crowd for a pro women's hockey game in the United States. There were also encouraging attendance figures, including the Minnesota Whitecaps, in their first NWHL season as an expansion team selling out every home game. (TRIA Rink in Saint Paul has a capacity of 1,200).

Even though the NWHL has promised to increase salaries for the 2019-20 season -- the lowest salary last year was $2,500 -- and give players a 50-50 cut of all revenue from league-level sponsorship and media deals, many players have expressed skepticism of the league's viability, as well as frustration with the lack of transparency that has existed in the past.

Terry and Kim Pegula, who also own the NHL Sabres, turned over their ownership of the Buffalo Beauts this offseason, effectively cutting ties with the NWHL. Also, the New Jersey Devils dissolved their marketing partnership with the Metropolitan Riveters.

The NWHL still insists it will have a 2019-20 season. Monday, the NWHL announced its first two player signings. Madison Packer re-signed with the Riveters for a salary of $12,000 while Kaleigh Fratkin re-signed with the Boston Pride for a salary of $11,000.

The hope for the PWHPA is to make the women's hockey community less fragmented.

"We are prepared to stop playing for a year -- which is crushing to even think about -- because of how important a sustainable league will be to the future of women's sports," Szabados said in a statement. "We know we can make this work, and we want the chance to try."

Added Raty in a statement: "We might play for different teams, and come from different countries, but we're united in our goals."

Privately, the NHL is exploring its options on whether or not it should sponsor a women's hockey league. Thee NHL is considering an option that is similar to the NBA's involvement with the WNBA, according to sources.