Scotland recovered from a slow start to beat Italy in their Autumn Nations Cup opener and earn a fifth win in a row.

The hosts performed ferociously, with Paolo Garbisi's boot and a fine Matteo Minozzi score looking like earning them a first win in nine against Scotland.

But those second-half tries - added to Duhan van der Merwe's opener - clinched a 28-17 victory in Florence.

Gregor Townsend's side host France in their second game of the competition next Sunday.

The French had their Pool B opener against Fiji postponed after a spate of coronavirus cases in the latter's camp. It has yet to be decided if they will be awarded victory.

Italy by far better side in first half

Italy's rage for victory was evident from the off - even before the off, if truth be told.

The thunderous way they belted out their anthem was a portent of trouble for the Scots, who won 17-0 in Rome in the Six Nations, then followed it up with three more wins against France, Georgia and Wales.

To say that Italy deserved their half-time lead would be to downplay what they delivered. For the most part, they were on top and excellent.

They were 3-0 ahead through a penalty from Garbisi, but that was that least of Scotland's problems. Jamie Ritchie went off early for a brain injury assessment and never returned. Then, Rory Sutherland went and was later seen on crutches.

Scotland's scrum, so strong against Wales, was in trouble. Their breakdown, utterly dominant in Llanelli, was bettered by the Italians, who were exceptional on the floor.

Garbisi made it 6-0 as Scotland's penalty count, so low in Wales, began to rise ominously.

The moment Scotland got some ball, they scored, Van der Merwe cutting a great line off Ali Price to cruise over. That's two tries in three Tests for the wing. The big man is proving to be everything that Scotland hoped he would be when he qualified on the residency rule.

The score was against the run of play and Italy resumed dominance within minutes. The try that put them back in front was a beauty, beginning with Marco Zanon's ferociousness in attack.

He started it by brushing off Duncan Weir's weak tackle and then handing-off Darcy Graham for good measure. He took Italy in behind and found support runners everywhere. Marcello Violi and Mattia Bellini evaded despairing last-ditch tackles and Bellini found Minozzi for a score of the highest class.

Garbisi missed the conversion but all the momentum was theirs. It had been a while since Scotland's defence had been shredded the way Italy had shredded it. It had been a while since their breakdown and their penalty count had looked so troubling.

The only downside for the Italians was that they held a mere four-point lead at the break. They deserved to be ahead by considerably more.

Scots have to battle... but earn win

Garbisi made it 14-7 early in the new half, but that was the galvanising moment for the visitors. At last they found something, some phases, some control, some Italian weakness.

Even then, Fagerson's try had good fortune attached. In trying to offload near the Italy line, Hamish Watson saw his pass hit an Italian hand and land flush in Fagerson's mitts.

The prop looked stunned momentarily, then jogged over the line. An easy five points, which became an easy seven when Weir banged over the conversion.

All square at 14-14, but not for long. Under major pressure, Stuart Hogg was adjudged to have carried the ball over his own line. When the siege ended, Italy had three more points from Garbisi. A quarter of the game remained.

The turning point came with 14 minutes left. Scotland had an eminently kickable penalty on offer - and a decision to make. A simple three or a bid for five or seven? They went for the latter - and it paid off.

Turner broke off the lineout maul and took Scotland close. Oli Kebble took them closer still. Price then found Cummings outside him and the lock crashed over. Weir added the extra two and Scotland led by four.

A fortnight ago in Llanelli, they went into the last 10 minutes with a narrow lead and managed the game wonderfully from there. They now had to do the same against a side that presented them with way more problems than Wales managed to muster.

They saw it out and in the process they added to their lead. Another lineout maul had an impact. It's proving to be quite a weapon for the Scots. Turner, as part of an excellent cameo, was on the end of the surge. Weir put over the conversion and Scotland had their win.

They had to battle for it, but this is five victories in a row now. The progress continues. For Italy, improvement, but that win remains elusive.

The Scots host France next. A sixth victory and things will get positively giddy.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Bryson DeChambeau said Saturday morning that he’s been experiencing dizziness and stomach pain the past few days at Augusta National.

DeChambeau said he first noticed the dizziness on Thursday night, after his opening round of the Masters. Since then, he said, he’s been feeling “dull” and “odd” and “numb.”

DeChambeau said he and members of his inner circle were tested for COVID-19 on Friday night, out of precaution, and received negative results.

“I’m not good, unfortunately,” he said. “I don’t know what it is. There’s something in my stomach that’s just not doing well.”

DeChambeau was sweating the cut line after bogeying his last two holes on Saturday morning to sign for a second-round 74. At even-par 144, he was nine shots off the lead.

It’s been a struggle the first two rounds for the reigning U.S. Open champion, who entered the week as the oddsmakers’ favorite. He had an adventurous 70 in the opening round, when he made a double-bogey 7 on the par-5 13^th hole, but he still was within five of the early lead.

Teeing off late Friday, DeChambeau got a bad break on the third hole when his tee shot plugged in the second cut and couldn’t be found during a 3-minute search. He walked off with a triple bogey, then dropped shots on the next two holes.

When he resumed his second round at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, he was 1 over par, one shot off the cut line with six holes to play. He birdied three of his first four holes, then drove into the trees on No. 17 and couldn’t get up-and-down behind the 18^th green.

“I don’t know what it is or what happened, but these past couple days I’ve felt really, really odd and just not 100%,” he said. “Some of that’s played into it. I just feel kind of dull and numb out there, just not fully aware of everything, and making some silly, silly mistakes for sure.”

With his Masters bid likely over, DeChambeau said he’ll soon undergo bloodwork to determine the issue.

“I’ll go figure it out, just like anything,” he said. “Golf is golf. You’re going to have stuff go on, but I want to fix my body. You know me. Last time I had back issues, I went and fixed that, and I haven’t really had any body issues since, until now it’s internal. So I’ve got to go fix that.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Bryson DeChambeau was already running hot after his drive on the third hole wasn’t found in the second cut after a 3-minute search.

Then the spotter apparently rubbed it in.

“Definitely throws you for a loop when the guy goes and gives you the ball on the fourth tee box: ‘Oh, I found it!’” DeChambeau said Saturday.

He promptly bogeyed the next two holes, a disastrous stretch that saw him drop from 3 under par to 2 over – for the moment, outside the cut line.

Reflecting on his bad break a day later, DeChambeau said: “I struggle whenever we know it’s in that area and it’s all wet and it’s a plugged lie, guaranteed. They have to say it’s within a couple foot area. I’m like, Well, I know it’s in this area, that’s plugged, so I would think I would get some relief, but clearly not. The three minutes was up, so I took a penalty and went back to the tee box and proceed to hit in the same spot and had a really bad lie after that.”

Resuming his second round on Saturday morning, DeChambeau birdied three of his first four holes but bogeyed the last two to make the cut on the number, at even-par 144. He signed for a second-round 74.

“It just seems like there’s a lot of things going not in the right way,” he said. “I’ve certainly played worse golf than this and won golf tournaments. It’s one of those things where it’s golf. You can’t control everything, as much as you try.”

USWNT's Tobin Heath inspired a sensational Manchester United comeback as they turned around a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 against Manchester City on Saturday.

Heath's stunning strike got her side back into the game before substitute Kirsty Hanson equalised 20 minutes from time at the Leigh Sports Village.

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City dominated the first half and deservedly scored two goals through Chloe Kelly and Laura Coombs.

However, the FA Cup winners struggled after the break and United produced an impressive second half display to earn a point.

Fellow USWNT internationals Christen Press and Samantha Mewis also featured in the derby.

United remain at the top of the Women's Super League while City remain in fifth place.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Before this week's Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Bryson DeChambeau boasted that he planned to play the famed course in 5-under par because he was hitting the ball so far.

It turned out that he couldn't even play the first 36 holes under par.

After a disappointing 2-under 70 in the first round, DeChambeau played the next 18 holes at 2-over 74.

DeChambeau was fortunate to finish among the top 50 (and ties) at even or better after 36 holes. Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau and PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa also finished even after two rounds and snuck in above the cut line.

After making a birdie on the par-3 16th hole to move to 2 under, which would have put him in a comfortable position to make the cut and stick around for the final 36 holes, DeChambeau bogeyed Nos. 17 and 18 to fall back to even.

After completing his second round, which was interrupted by darkness on Friday, DeChambeau said he wasn't feeling well.

"Not good, to say the least," DeChambeau said. "I was feeling something a little weird last two nights ago, and I came out yesterday and was fine for the most part. As I kept going through the round, I started getting a little dizzy. I don't know what was going on, a little something weird."

DeChambeau, the reigning U.S. Open champion, said he had a COVID-19 test on Friday night, which came back negative.

"I was fine, nothing," DeChambeau said. "But I had to do the right thing and make sure there was nothing more serious than that. I don't know what it is or what happened, but these past couple days, I've felt really, really odd and just not at 100 percent. Some of that's played into it. I just feel kind of dull and numb out there, just not fully aware of everything, and making some silly, silly mistakes for sure."

DeChambeau's second-round scorecard looked like the sandwich offerings at Augusta National -- a little bit of everything. He had seven birdies, six bogeys, four pars and one triple bogey on the par-4 third hole on Friday, when his tee shot plugged in the rain-soaked rough.

After failing to find the ball in the allowed three minutes, DeChambeau returned to the tee and hit another drive.

"The three minutes [were] up, so I took a penalty and went back to the tee box and proceeded to hit in the same spot and had a really bad lie after that," he said. "So it just seems like there's a lot of things going not in the right way. I've certainly played worse golf than this and won golf tournaments. So, you know, it's one of those things where it's golf. You can't control everything as much as you try."

DeChambeau said a marshal handed him the lost ball on the tee box of the fourth hole.

"I mean, [it] definitely throws you for a loop when the guy goes and gives you the ball on the fourth tee box," DeChambeau said. "'Oh, I found it.' You know, I struggle whenever we know it's in that area and it's all wet and it's a plugged lie, guaranteed. And they don't give you they have to say it's within a couple foot area. I'm like, 'Well, I know it's in this area that's plugged,' so I would think I would get some relief, but clearly not."

He accomplished what he set out to do in terms of hitting the ball far. He led the field in driving distance through the first 36 holes at 328.3 yards, which was 10 yards farther than any other player.

Unfortunately for him, he hit only 17 of 28 fairways and only 61.1% of the greens in regulation.

"I've got to figure out some golf ball stuff," DeChambeau said. "I felt like I was swinging my irons pretty well. Driver was not well. I just, again, felt dull and numb out there. I don't know what else to say."

He'll have 36 more holes at Augusta National to try to figure it out.

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been activated off the Reserve/COVID-19 list and is expected to start against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Roethlisberger was removed from the list Saturday morning along with three others who were also deemed "high-risk" close contacts with TE Vance McDonald, who went on the list Monday with a positive test. LB Vince Williams, RB Jaylen Samuels and OL Jerald Hawkins were all taken off the list, though it's likely only Roethlisberger and Williams, both long-time veterans, will play against the Bengals because of coach Mike Tomlin's practice-to-play rule. All four were isolated for five days and could not practice with the team during the week.

The Steelers are holding an extended walk-through today to give Roethlisberger some in-helmet work before Sunday's game.

"If he comes off the protocol," coach Mike Tomlin said Friday, "we're going to have an extended walk-through tomorrow just to give him an in-helmet perspective on some of the situational things to put the finishing touches on our work, to allow him to work with the eligibles he worked with in game, to have any necessary, in-formal conversations that allow us to have a level of comfort as we push into play."

The Steelers expected Roethlisberger to clear protocol and prepared as if he was starting against the Bengals all week. Even without Roethlisberger practicing, the Steelers are confident in their 17-year veteran.

"I'm not overly concerned about it," Tomlin said Tuesday. "This guy has been doing his job for 17 years. He's got snap experience that he can call upon. We are still going to work extremely hard virtually to prepare. A lot of his work is above the neck anyway in terms of preparation. I have very little concern about it, to be quite honest with you."

Crisis, concern or confusion? Call it what you like but we have been here before. The feast or famine nature of Welsh rugby union has again been in evidence over the past 12 months.

Wales rugby finds itself gripped in a national crisis again. For those who thought these dark days might have been over, there is little to be hopeful about.

2020 can be described as an "annus horribilis" for many because of the coronavirus crisis. Welsh rugby is among them. So how did we get here?

Twelve months ago, Wales fans were expressing their disappointment and even exasperation at Gatland's side just missing out on a place at the 2019 World Cup final with a narrow 19-16 defeat by eventual champions South Africa.

That glorious failure in Japan seems a far cry one year on, with the Welsh game unravelling on and off the field, typified by a series of high-profile departures.

These include figures like Ryan Jones, Sam Warburton, Gareth Davies, Martyn Phillips and Byron Hayward within the space of a month.

Those exits have been for different reasons and in different circumstances. But added up, disarray again seems to dominate in the Welsh game.

Wales woes

Let us start with the failing men's team, who in August 2019 were top of the world rankings under the old coaching regime. They have now dropped to ninth. Talk of evolution or revolution under Pivac has been replaced by regression.

Gatland, Shaun Edwards, Robin McBryde and Rob Howley have moved on to pastures new in different circumstances after being together for 12 years.

The quartet were not every fan's favourite, with the much-maligned Howley and McBryde especially subjected to abuse, but Wales won three Grand Slams, four Six Nations titles and reached two World Cup semi-finals on their watch.

Gatland spoke of the "intellectual property" being lost. There was new information coming in with Pivac, who had a year to prepare for the job.

The honeymoon period started with victory in an uncapped win over Barbarians in November 2019 and a 42-0 win over Italy in the opening 2020 Six Nations game.

The positive vibes ended there as six successive defeats followed and Wales ended the Six Nations in fifth place, their worst performance in the tournament since 2007.

Friday's 32-9 drubbing in Dublin has heaped more pressure on Pivac after pre-match talk of "player unrest" and a "sinking ship".

Wales have come out of the first lockdown slower than any other major rugby nation. It is hard to blame preparation, especially after Argentina made history by beating New Zealand on Saturday, with the Pumas not having played for 13 months.

The Welsh camp has also lost coaching personnel with defence duo Hayward and Warburton departing in the past month.

Warburton cited wanting to spend time on other commitments away from coaching and is now commenting on Wales from a television studio.

He was replaced in October as breakdown technical advisor by Gethin Jenkins. Hayward's shock departure then came after a Six Nations review led by Pivac, ending a coaching partnership that had lasted six and a half years.

Jenkins has been given extra responsibility for the defence in the four Autumn Nations Cup games before a long-term successor is appointed.

For all the talk of a new style, that expansive attacking approach has not materialised under Stephen Jones, while the Welsh set-piece foundations have floundered under Jonathan Humphreys.

Pivac has stayed loyal to almost all of the same players that took Wales to the top of the world. That has not worked and he must now ponder what to do with some of the 30-somethings in his squad.

However, how much time and patience he will be afforded remains to be seen, with critics circling the wagons. Just one look at social media proves there are many baying for blood and calling for change already.

As captain Alun Wyn Jones commented in the Ireland post-match news conference, one defeat is often enough in Wales to raise concerns - let alone half a dozen.

With a reported two-year break clause into his four-deal through to the 2023 World Cup in France, Pivac has two campaigns in the Autumn Nations Cup and 2021 Six Nations to prove to the demanding public and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) hierarchy he is still the man.

He needs to start winning quickly.

Boardroom shake-up

Who is in those WRU roles now to make those decisions on Pivac's long-term future since performance director Ryan Jones, chief executive Martyn Phillips and chairman Gareth Davies have exited?

The governing body in Wales has also undergone some upheaval in recent times with an interim chief executive in Steve Phillips and new chairman, Rob Butcher, in the leading roles, while Jones has not been replaced.

Former finance director Phillips has already effectively given Pivac a vote of confidence after the dismal Six Nations campaign.

The WRU board have its own problems in dealing with the severe financial pressures caused by Covid-19.

They are already facing up to the prospect of losing £35m of revenue if the 2021 Six Nations home matches against England and Ireland are played behind closed doors following on from no spectators during the Autumn Nations Cup.

The WRU has negotiated a £20m loan with NatWest Bank for the four Welsh regions, which Cardiff Blues, Ospreys, Scarlets and Dragons will be expected to pay back over five years.

This brings us to the struggling Welsh regions. None of the four sides qualified for the Pro14 play-off finals or Europe's Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals last season and their start to the 2020-21 season has also been inauspicious.

Top players are away on international duty, but that is the case for all the home nations. The regions are battling against what they see as being under-resourced and under-funded compared with other countries.

So plenty of food for thought for Welsh rugby. The senior side's success in the past 12 years has often hidden issues in the Welsh game. When those on-the-field victories dry up, the cracks widen.

Everybody desperately needs a lift. Who would have thought any sort of victory over Georgia would be so important?

That will not be lost on Pivac, his players or those in charge at the WRU.

SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. – Justin Grant and Tyler Courtney entered Friday night’s AMSOIL USAC-CRA/USAC Southwest Sprint Car opener as the victors of the last four 410 sprint races held during the Western World Championships at Arizona Speedway.

Then perhaps it was no surprise that the race for the win Friday would come down to them again. Grant slipped under Courtney, who jumped over the turn one cushion nine laps from the finish, and led the final nine laps to score the victory piloting the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical – Mesilla Valley Trans./Spike/Fisher Chevy.

Brody Roa led the first 12 laps with a flurry of activity from drivers Chris Windom, Courtney and Grant each taking their shots at Roa. The reigning USAC Southwest Sprint champ who held strong for much of the first half, interrupted only by a Logan Seavey turn two flip on the fourth lap.

On the 13th circuit, Windom utilized a run underneath Roa to snare the top spot. On the following lap, Roa clung to second as Courtney took a shot at him between turns one and two with a slide job. Courtney pulled ahead briefly, but Roa had the momentum riding with him at the top of turn two. At the exit, the two came together, Courtney’s right rear to Roa’s left rear, causing Roa to ramp over and slam into the turn two outside wall. Roa was uninjured.

Under the ensuing stoppage, race leader Windom had a flat right-rear tire which necessitated a stop in the work area. He’d return to finish fifth.

Courtney, who had won the past three Western World sprint car features dating to 2018, inherited the lead at that point and held the position until lap 21 when a turn one stumble opened the door for Grant to pounce, and though Courtney mounted a charge, he was unable to reel in Grant, who had previously won Western World sprint car prelims in 2015 and ’18.

Grant’s margin of victory was 1.524 seconds over Courtney, Charles Davis Jr., Austin Williams and Windom.

The finish:

1. Justin Grant (5), 2. Tyler Courtney (4), 3. Charles Davis Jr. (3), 4. Austin Williams (12), 5. Chris Windom (8), 6. Ryan Bernal (6), 7. Jake Swanson (16), 8. R.J. Johnson (14), 9. Tye Mihocko (9), 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (20), 11. Max Adams (11), 12. Noah Gass (7), 13. Tommy Malcolm (22), 14. Chris Bonneau (18), 15. Cody Williams (17), 16. Chris Gansen (19), 17. Matt McCarthy (15), 18. Stevie Sussex (21), 19. Matt Mitchell (2), 20. Damion Gardner (13), 21. Brody Roa (1), 22. Logan Seavey (10). 

SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. — For the final push to victory during the green-white-checkered finish of Friday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature at Arizona Speedway, most eyes were affixed on the front two of Logan Seavey and Buddy Kofoid as the pair streamed into turn one.

By the time those two reached the second turn, Tanner Thorson drove past Seavey and Kofoid to secure the lead en route to bringing home a 19th career series victory.

“That’s what it’s all about right there, those last few laps and having a car to win,” Thorson exclaimed in victory lane after capturing the opener for the 53rd annual Western World Championships presented by San Tan Ford.  “We concentrated really hard to set up for the end of the race.  After I got screwed around for quite some time, we had a fast car, but we were too back.”

Outside front row starter Kofoid controlled the pace for the first four trips around the third-mile dirt oval until Thorson, of Minden, Nev., took to the top on the fifth circuit, drifting around the outside of Kofoid at the exit of turn four to lead a single lap by a wheel before Kofoid retook over amidst a flurry of sliders that also included Seavey.

The rapidly emerging Seavey, who had earlier set a new one-lap track record for the series at Arizona Speedway in qualifying, which broke his own record from the previous year, diamonded off the third turn to slip under Kofoid on the 10th lap.

While Seavey just missed out on winning the race to the start/finish line, he did win the race to turn one where he assumed the lead and established his dominance throughout the final two-thirds of the 30-lap contest.

Kofoid moved back past Thorson for the runner-up position on the 12th lap, then separated himself from Thorson by over a second while still remaining a second-and-a-half behind Seavey who was carving his path through traffic, a half-straightaway ahead of Kofoid.

Seavey appeared headed for surefire victory, taking the white flag with a 1.643-second interval over Kofoid when 13th running Brenham Crouch, who started on the pole, stopped in turn two, just ahead of Seavey of the oncoming Seavey, thus setting up a two-lap dash.

As the green flag dropped, Kofoid immediately moved down a lane on the front straightaway, setting up his slide job into turn one, which initially worked until Seavey crossed over and dove back underneath Kofoid for the position.

To Seavey’s chagrin, the cross over move only brought him back to the second spot as Thorson snuck under both with the lead now in his hands.

Moments later, Kofoid slid Seavey back in turn three with Seavey once again crossing over off the fourth corner and denying Kofoid the spot.  However, it was just a little too late with Thorson stretching his lead out to four car lengths by the time they’d hit the back straightaway.

Thorson won by 0.469 seconds aboard the Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring – Ed Pink Racing Engines – Rodela Fabrication/King/Ed Pink Toyota.  It was the 2016 USAC National Midget champion’s series-leading sixth feature triumph of the season.

Logan Seavey, Tyler Courtney, Buddy Kofoid and Daison Pursley rounded out the top five.

Seavey led a race-high 19 laps but saw victory slip away on the final restart in his Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports/AME Electrical Contracting – ZMax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.

“Overall, we had a good car, ran a good race and I felt like I did my job,” Seavey stated. “Under yellow, the thing just wouldn’t take off.  I knew it wasn’t going to take off. I took off in turn three and it never went until about the flag stand. I didn’t have the gear to run the bottom, so I knew I couldn’t go to the bottom and I knew I was going to get slid in one.  But I thought I had enough to turn down and cross (Kofoid) over, which I did, but it just gave Tanner (Thorson) too good of a run on the bottom.”

A third-place run after starting 13th on the grid was as good as gold for two-time Western World Sprint Car champion Tyler Courtney, who increased his  USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point lead to 32 over Chris Windom.

“It was a great night, going from fifth to third there (on the final restart) is good for the big picture things,” Courtney said. “Obviously, you want to win, but it’s tough when you start 13th. That just put us behind the eight ball.  We haven’t qualified bad all year until we got here, but I think we figured out a lot of things to help us out for tomorrow so that we can start our night out better and put ourselves in a spot to be able to contend for the win instead of having to salvage a third.”

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Veteran road racer Jim Pace has died from complications of COVID-19. He was 59.

Pace, who was a minority owner of Historic Sportscar Racing, was a successful sports car racer, who was still an active participant.

Pace won the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in 1996 while co-driving with Wayne Taylor, Scott Sharp and Eric van de Poele.

He later transitioned to the GT class and was a frequent competitor in various IMSA series.

Pace’s career got started in the Barber Saab Pro Series in 1988 and went on to be a regular in the IMSA GTU class with Leitzinger Racing.

He was also co-driver with Jim Downing in the GTP Lights class for a period of time.