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Romain Ntamack glides through to score a bonus point try for France against Italy in the Six Nations game at the Stade De France in Paris.

FOLLOW LIVE: France v Italy

WATCH MORE: 'Fantastic' Dupont pass sets up France's third try

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Six Nations 2020: all the best bits from the second week

Published in Rugby
Sunday, 09 February 2020 11:09

Watch all the best bits from the second week of the 2020 Six Nations including sausages, underpants and a few missed kicks.

Available to UK users only.

WATCH MORE: Les Bleus top Six Nations table after bonus-point win against Italy

WATCH MORE: 'A lot of sausages just say what comes into their head' - Genge on England's critics

France are top of the Six Nations table after a bonus-point win despite a lacklustre second half against Italy.

The hosts started strongly with tries from Teddy Thomas and Charles Ollivon before Italy's Matteo Minozzi scored.

A Tommaso Allan penalty cut France's lead to three, but Gregory Alldritt went over just before the break.

Romain Ntamack's try sealed the bonus point, before Italy's Federico Zani scored and France's Baptiste Serin finished off an individual effort.

Mattia Bellini added a consolation score for Italy, but France held on for a victory which sees them move to the top of the table on points difference from Ireland.

Fast start for France

France have not won the Six Nations since 2010, but their resurgence under new coach Fabien Galthie began with victory against England last weekend.

It looked as if it would be a more dominant win against Italy at the Stade de France as the hosts won a penalty in the third minute because of a high tackle and Ntamack claimed three points.

Shortly after, wing Thomas chased after Ntamack's grubber kick and managed to get there before any Italian defenders, tapping the ball down for Les Bleus' first try.

But French fly-half Ntamack missed the conversion and a subsequent penalty as Storm Ciara made her presence known with a swirling wind in Paris.

Scrum-half Antoine Dupont, so pivotal in the win against England, continued to stake an early claim on the Player of the Championship award as the 23-year-old broke through the Italian defence and captain Ollivon went over from close range.

The tide briefly turned as Thomas came too far out of the French defensive line, leaving plenty of space for Italy wing Minozzi to score in the left corner.

Allan landed the conversion from the touchline, then added a penalty to cut France's lead to three.

But Italy prop Giosue Zilocchi was caught off his feet, gifting Les Bleus a penalty in front of the posts, and Ntamack took the chance to extend his side's advantage.

After more Italian indiscipline, France opted to kick to the corner and it proved to be the correct decision, with Dupont sending a long pass left to Alldritt, who had plenty of room to score.

Inconsistencies begin to show after the break

After a slower start to the second half, it was Italy who had the first chance to get off the mark but Allan's penalty kick went wide.

Then Ntamack breathed new life into the game, taking Thomas' pass and scything through defenders to score the bonus-point try for France.

With victory seemingly sealed, the hosts appeared to lose concentration and Italy took advantage of their lack of focus as Zani went over from close range.

Replacement scrum-half Serin showed another glimpse of what France are capable of as he took a quick penalty, side-stepped a tackle and gathered his own kick to score.

Les Bleus' defence looked to have improved under new coach Shaun Edwards last weekend, but inconsistencies began to show against Italy, giving the Azzurri one last chance to score through Bellini before full-time.

France, who are equal with Ireland on points but top the table on points difference, play Wales in Cardiff on 22 February, while Italy host Scotland earlier the same day.

'It was frustrating' - what they said

France lock Paul Willemse on BBC One: "It was frustrating at the end. We got the bonus point so are happy with that but there were a lot of errors, especially discipline which we need to fix as quickly as possible.

"The atmosphere is great in the team. We have a lot of young guys and have a plan we want to follow. It's about building our own history and we're starting to do that now."

Italy captain Luca Bigi, also on BBC One: "We brought a performance and we showed how strong our attack can be. We scored a try with a driving maul and one in the last minute and we never give up.

"That is a positive we can bring to the next game and I'm so proud to be apart of this team. We conceded too many turnovers last week but we were better today. The effort we showed on the pitch was amazing."

LINE-UPS

France: Bouthier; Thomas, Vincent, Fickou, Rattez; Ntamack, Dupont; Baille, Marchand, Haouas, Le Roux, Willemse, Cros, Ollivon (c), Alldritt.

Replacements: Mauvaka, Poirot, Bamba, Taofifenua, Palu, Woki, Serin, Jalibert.

Italy: Hayward; Bellini, Morisi, Canna, Minozzi; Allan, Braley; Lovotti, Bigi (c), Zilocchi, Zanni, Cannone, Polledri, Negri, Steyn.

Replacements: Zani, Fischetti, Riccioni, Budd, Ruzza, Licata, Palazzani, Bisegni.

PHOTOS: New Year Begins For USAC Midgets

Published in Racing
Sunday, 09 February 2020 09:00

Stenhouse & JTG Rocket To Daytona 500 Pole

Published in Racing
Sunday, 09 February 2020 11:15

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made JTG-Daugherty Racing “the little team that could” on Sunday afternoon during Busch Pole Qualifying for the 62nd annual Daytona 500.

Stenhouse motored to his first career pole position for The Great American Race with a scintillating lap around Daytona Int’l Speedway’s 2.5-mile high banks.

The Olive Branch, Miss., native turned a lap of 46.253 seconds (194.582 mph) with his No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, outpacing Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman for top qualifying honors.

It marked Stenhouse’s third NASCAR Cup Series pole, but his first for the Daytona 500. Sunday was also the first time JTG-Daugherty Racing has put a car on the pole for The Great American Race as well.

As he soaked in the moment, Stenhouse marveled at the effort by his team, appreciative of their support through his transition to a new team and new situation.

“Man, this is a cool moment,” Stenhouse said. “Tad and Jody (Geschickter, co-owners) are back at the shop. I’m just thankful for the opportunity to be here and to bring guys with me like Brian (Pattie) along with me. Everyone has been working really hard. They’re all in my corner, they’ve all been behind me … and Ernie (Cope) runs a great organization. The Hendrick horsepower was amazing. We had quite a few Hendrick cars right there behind us, all lined up, so it’s cool to come out on top there.

“Our Camaro ZL1 1LE was really strong. The wind started picking up there down the back straightaway and gave a little headwind for the other guys, so that helped us, I think,” Stenhouse added. “But I’m really proud to put our Kroger Chevy on the pole on Kroger Pole Day for the Daytona 500. That was our goal coming down here. Pattie’s been working really hard all offseason for that goal, and everybody chipped in. The whole shop helped cut bodies off, put them back on, and all that, so this goes out to the whole shop and all our other partners – NOS Energy Drink as well.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully continuing this momentum on Thursday.”

Bowman, who won the Daytona 500 pole in 2018, earned his third straight front-row start for NASCAR’s biggest event with a time of 46.305 seconds (194.363 mph) in the No. 88 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

While he was one of the few who had the speed to challenge Stenhouse’s blistering pole effort, Bowman found it hard to be too disappointed after placing his team in the top two at Daytona again.

“Maybe if I grew a mullet, like Ricky; I feel like maybe that was the speed secret there,” Bowman joked. “Hats off to the JTG guys, though. Hendrick engines went one, two, three, four … so that’s pretty cool. We have a great Valvoline Camaro. I’m really happy with how the new Camaro has been so far. It’s not a pole, but (starting on the) front row is still really good. Obviously we wanted the pole, and just barely missed it there.

“The Hendrick engine shop, the fab shop and all the guys that work on these things all winter … this is really all about them. As a driver, you can really only screw it up here. You can’t make it go any faster.”

Just missing the front row were another pair of Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets, with two-time Daytona 500 pole winner Chase Elliott (46.319/194.305) and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson (46.419/193.886) timing in third- and fourth-fastest, respectively.

That pair will join Stenhouse and Bowman on the front rows of the two Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona, which roll off Thursday night at 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., respectively, on FOX Sports 1.

Defending race winner Denny Hamlin was the fastest Toyota qualifier in fifth, followed by teammate Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola, who led the Ford contingent with the seventh-quickest lap of the day.

William Byron, rookie Christopher Bell and Erik Jones – the final car to take a lap – completed the top 10.

Stenhouse and Hamlin weren’t the only two drivers rejoicing on Sunday, however. The qualifying session also locked in the top two non-chartered teams into next weekend’s Daytona 500 as well.

Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley (47.364/190.018) and Beard Motorsports’ Brendan Gaughan (47.633/188.945), who were 31st and 33rd on speed overall, led the way among the seven teams needing to time their ways into The Great American Race.

As such, regardless of how Thursday’s Duels play out, both Haley and Gaughan are guaranteed to race in the Daytona 500. They represent the youngest (Haley) and oldest (Gaughan) drivers in this year’s field.

To view the complete qualifying rundown, advance to the next page.

Bruins' Lauzon suspended 2 games for illegal hit

Published in Hockey
Sunday, 09 February 2020 09:14

Boston Bruins defenseman Jeremy Lauzon has been given a two-game suspension for an illegal hit during Saturday's game against the Arizona Coyotes, the NHL department of player safety announced Sunday.

Lauzon had been ejected from the Bruins' 4-2 victory for his check to Derek Stepan's head late in the first period.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy had debated the severity of the hit, saying after the game that he didn't think it deserved a match penalty.

Lauzon had played in the Bruins' past five games since being called up from AHL Providence Bruins on Jan. 30. He has one goal in seven games for Boston this season.

Min Woo Lee wins Vic Open for first European Tour title

Published in Golf
Sunday, 09 February 2020 00:32

Make that three Vic Open wins for the Lee family.

Former U.S. Junior Amateur champion Min Woo Lee converted the 54-hole lead Sunday to win the ISPS Handa Vic Open by two for his first professional victory.

The 21-year-old Australian is playing his second season on the European Tour after narrowly missing out on securing full status last year. He now owns a full two-year exemption.

Up three to start the final round, Lee opened in style with this pitch-in from off the green at the first:

Lee faced pressure down the stretch from fellow Aussie Ryan Fox, who closed out a final-round 64 with an eagle at the par-5 finishing hole. Up one with one to play following a dropped shot at 17, Lee birdied the last to sign for a Sunday 68 and win by two.

Looking on was Lee's older sister, Minjee, the women's world No. 9 who won the event in 2014 and 2018 before it was co-sanctioned by the LPGA and European Tour. Minjee finished tied for sixth Sunday, two back of women's winner Hee Young Park, with men and women playing the same course at the same time for equal prize money.

South Korea's Hee Young Park won the women's division of the Vic Open for her first LPGA win since 2013.

"My sister and I winning the same tournament, it's pretty special," Min Woo told EuropeanTour.com. "I've got bragging rights now so it's even better."

"I was super, super proud of him," Minjee added. "It was really cool to just even be here with him and even watch him the last two holes. Just to see him play, I haven't really seen him play that much, so to be able to have a win here is really cool."

Phil Mickelson worked his way into contention for his 45th PGA Tour victory with some serious short-game magic on Saturday.

Phil Mickelson put on short-game show for the fans with several holeouts and near-holeouts Saturday at Pebble Beach.

And Nick Taylor is trying to deny Mickelson that victory with a little wedge wizardry of his own on Sunday.

Still one clear of Mickelson, as he started the day, through five holes, Taylor pushed two ahead with this holeout from the sand at the par-5 6th:

The eagle-3 advanced Taylor to 21 under par, as the 31-year-old Canadian looks to win for the second time on the PGA Tour and closeout his first 54-hole lead. The pitch-in was part of a three-hole stretch Taylor played in 4 under, following back-to-back birdies at Nos. 4 and 5.

NYCFC cite 'progress' on Bronx soccer stadium

Published in Soccer
Sunday, 09 February 2020 12:03

New York City FC is making "significant progress" toward a possible soccer-specific stadium in the Bronx that would be part of a $1 billion development project, the club announced in a statement to fans.

The 25,000-seat stadium would be built close to Yankee Stadium near East 153rd Street between River Street and the Major Deegan Expressway. The project also would include affordable housing, a school, a hotel and retail outlets.

NYCFC currently plays home games at Yankee Stadium, but the dimensions of the playing surface have the team playing on the smallest field in MLS. In addition, scheduling conflicts have NYCFC playing some games at the New York Mets' Citi Field in 2020.

An upcoming CONCACAF Champions League game was moved to Harrison, New Jersey, the home of the rival New York Red Bulls.

NYCFC is heading into its sixth MLS season after making its debut in 2015. The team registered a franchise-best 64 points last season, going 18-6-10.

If the new stadium plan comes to fruition, construction wouldn't begin until 2022, according to the New York Times, with the first game in the new venue possibly in 2024.

Man City-West Ham off due to extreme weather

Published in Soccer
Sunday, 09 February 2020 05:58

Manchester City's Premier League clash against West Ham at the Etihad on Sunday has been postponed because of Storm Ciara.

Severe winds and heavy rain have caused disruption across the country, with more than 200 flood warnings issued and winds expected to hit up to 90 mph.

City, who are 22 points behind leaders Liverpool, would have had the opportunity to open a five-point gap on third-place Leicester with a win, while victory have seen 18th-place West Ham move out of the relegation zone.

"Due to extreme and escalating weather conditions and in the interests of supporter and staff safety, today's match has been postponed," Manchester City said in a statement.

"This decision has been made by Manchester City's Safety Officer following consultation with Club stakeholders and officials at West Ham United.

"Further information regarding the rescheduling of today's match will be published in due course."

The decision follows the postponement of several Women's Super League games.

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