England wing Jonny May says head coach Eddie Jones has set them the "exciting" challenge of becoming the best team to have ever played before Saturday's meeting with Georgia at Twickenham.

The match against the Eastern Europeans is England's first of four in the Autumn Nations Cup.

"Since the World Cup Eddie has set us a couple of targets," May told the BBC.

"He spoke about us being the best team that has ever played the game.

"That is one of our targets and the other is to go from an 80% winning team to a 90% winning team.

"They are big goals to go after so they are exciting challenges to be a part of."

Six Nations champions England are heavy favourites to win as the two sides face each other for the first time outside of a World Cup.

But May insists the hosts are prepared for a tough challenge, with their opponents looking to cause an upset.

"I think they'll be excited to play in this tournament," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"A big game at Twickenham - probably the biggest game of their lives for a lot of them."

Twickenham without fans

It may be a big game for the Georgians, but they will not be given the usual Twickenham welcome with the match being played behind closed doors.

Usually at this time of year southern hemisphere sides travel north for a series of fixtures but because of the pandemic rugby has had to innovate.

The result is the Autumn Nations cup - a one-off tournament where eight teams compete in two pools before final matches for placings on the first weekend of December.

With the match being played in an empty stadium, former international scrum-half Danny Care says there will be "pressure on players to entertain".

"I don't know what to expect because it's different and there's going to be no fans," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Rugby Union Weekly.

"International rugby is not brilliant without fans so I hope we see some great rugby to get us really excited again."

The Rugby Football Union has organised several activities as international rugby returns to Twickenham for the first time since March, including:

Forward or back?

New tournament, new England?

While head coach Jones has mostly been talking about the importance of tactical discipline, he also floated the idea of playing with nine forwards earlier this week.

Georgia's pack are an intimidating prospect and coaching staff had to intervene when they attended England training in 2019 and a brawl broke out.

There has been talk in camp this week of "hybrid players", with wing Ollie Thorley training with the forwards as they experiment with different styles of play.

Thorley was ultimately left out of the matchday 23, but that is not the only innovation that has been going on behind the scenes.

Footage emerged of England defence coach John Mitchell putting on an Italy shirt and scrum cap before the final game of the Six Nations and the New Zealander has been in Georgia gear ahead of this one.

"These days you are very conscious of presenting to this generation in many different mediums," he said on Tuesday. "That just happens to be one medium that you can use."

Players have been given licence to be a bit more adventurous too. Jonathan Joseph says Jones has given him "free rein" as he makes only his second start on the wing for England.

A Six Nations audition for Georgia?

Italy's place in the Six Nations has been called into question for several years now.

The Azzurri have not won a Six Nations match since 2015 and are ranked 14th in the world, two places below Georgia.

With England playing the Eastern Europeans two weeks after beating Italy, there is some opportunity for comparison between the two sides.

But given Georgia have lost all but one of their 31 games against current tier one opponents, it would take a very impressive showing at Twickenham to give them Six Nations backing.

Line-ups

England: Daly; Joseph, Lawrence, Slade, May; Farrell (capt), Youngs; Genge, George, Stuart, Launchbury, Ewels, Itoje, Willis, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Dunn, M Vunipola, Sinckler, Earl, Curry, Robson, Malins, Marchant.

Georgia: Khmaladze; Tabutsadze, Kveseladze, Sharikadze (capt), Svanidze; Abzhandadze, Aprasidze; Nariashvili, Mamukashvili, Gigashvili, Jaiani, Kerdikoshvili, Saginadze, Tkhilaishvili, Gorgadze.

Replacements: Bregvadze, Gogichashvili, Kaulashvili, Giorgadze, Jalaghonia, Lobzhanidze, Tapladze, Todua.

Ulster pair Iain Henderson and Jacob Stockdale have been ruled out of Ireland's Autumn Nations Cup game against Wales.

Quinn Roux replaces Henderson in the second row while Andrew Conway comes in to start on the right wing, with Hugo Keenan moving to full-back. Munster's Tadhg Beirne is on the bench.

Henderson was set for a return to the side having missed Ireland's final two Six Nations games through suspension.

Stockdale played at 15 against both Italy and France, and had retained his place despite a poor display in Paris.

Munster back Conway had been omitted from the matchday 23 but now comes directly into the starting team, with Keith Earls staying as the replacement for the back three.

Lock Roux is promoted to the starting side as Beirne, who played against Italy and France, is brought onto the bench.

Ireland: Keenan; Conway, Farrell, Henshaw, Lowe; Sexton, Gibson-Park; Healy, Kelleher, Porter; Roux, Ryan; O'Mahony, van der Flier, Doris.

Replacements: Heffernan, E Byrne, Bealham, Beirne, Connors, Murray, Burns, Earls.

SEBRING, Fla. – Befitting of the season-long close competition, two Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America class championships will be decided in the final race of the year following the first of two races Friday at Sebring Int’l Raceway.

Steven Aghakhani and Jacob Eidson won from the pole position in Friday morning’s 50-minute sprint and now lurk just six points behind Pro class leader Madison Snow heading into the season-ending race at 3:40 p.m. ET.

Aghakhani and Eidson will start on pole again in the No. 6 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Beverly Hills Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO.

In the ProAm class, Leo Lamelas kept the door slightly ajar to overtake Corey Lewis and McKay Snow for the title.

In race one this morning, Madison Snow (No. 16 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán) started beside Aghakhani on the first row and attempted a pass for the lead at the drop of the green flag.

Snow’s car wiggled as they entered the first turn and he fell to fourth place before regaining momentum.

“The start of the race was quite something else,” Aghakhani said. “Madison tried to go outside, couldn’t hold it and lost control of the car. We just knew what we had to do, kept it clean and did what we had to do.”

Aghakhani handed the car off to Eidson on the mandatory mid-race pit stop with a six-second advantage.

Eidson cruised home 3.637 seconds ahead of Brandon Gdovic in the No. 46 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach Huracán.

Stuart Middleton muscled the No. 1 Prestige Performance with Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Paramus Huracán past Snow with four minutes remaining and held on for third place in a spirited battle over the closing laps.

“That window for the championship is still there and we’re giving it everything we have,” Eidson said. “Steven had an awesome start. It got a little dicey there in turn one, but he did an awesome job. He made it real easy for me. I just had to hop in the car and do my thing. … One done and one more to go.”

Madison Snow will clinch the Pro championship with a podium finish Friday afternoon. Eidson and Aghakhani must win and have Snow finish fourth or worse in class to land atop the standings.

In ProAm, Ashton Harrison and Andrea Amici collected their first win in the No. 25 Prestige Performance with Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Paramus Huracán.

With less than three minutes remaining, Amici made the decisive pass for the lead on McKay Snow in the No. 63 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán.

“It was a really fun race,” Amici said. “Ashton did an amazing start and she was with the other Pros in the first stint. Then when I took the car, there was some gap to P1. I tried to push, giving everything, and at the end with the two nice fights, we won the race. We are so happy; this is our first win together.”

“The end of it was definitely stressful,” Harrison said about watching from pit lane. “I’ve been struggling all year learning and driving with the Pros, so this is really good for us. I’m so thankful for Andrea and looking forward to the race this afternoon.”

Lamelas (No. 24 US RaceTronics, Lamborghini Westlake Huracán) passed McKay Snow for second place on the final lap, an important move since it left Lamelas a remote chance to still win the ProAm championship.

Lewis and McKay Snow will still win the ProAm crown if they finish fourth or better Friday afternoon.

The winners in the Am and LB Cup classes were familiar faces. Victor Gomez IV kept his record perfect in the Am class, winning for the ninth straight time in the No. 29 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán.

It came on a circuit the Puerto Rican considers his home track.

“It was a very enjoyable race. I love coming back to Sebring,” Gomez said. “I have a lot of track time here (in other series). Now, switching to Lambo mode, I had a great start. I made a couple passes but I had to choose my battles. I stayed with a good pace all race.”

Like Gomez in Am, Randy Sellari has already clinched the LB Cup championship and added to his standout season by collecting his fifth win of the season in the No. 03 Change Racing, Lamborghini Charlotte Huracán.

“I’ve never been on this track so during the practices I was making my mistakes and trying to correct them in a short period of time,” Sellari said. “So when I got out there today, I was so relaxed and just did my thing. … I love this series. Lambo’s done a fantastic job recovering this year so I’m really glad to be able to represent them.”

SEBRING, Fla. – Jan Heylen made the decision look brilliant for him to qualify the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R on Friday at Sebring Int’l Raceway.

The Belgian rewarded the choice by winning the Motul Pole Award for the the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Daytona class, but admitted afterward it wasn’t the result of any tense brainstorming sessions in the Wright Motorsports camp.

Regardless, Heylen will lead the 13-car GTD contingent to the green flag Saturday as he and teammates Patrick Long and Ryan Hardwick vie for the race win and season championship. Heylen put the No. 16 atop the GTD qualifying chart with a lap of 2 minutes, .844 seconds (111.416 mph) that was seven-tenths of a second clear of the field.

RELATED: Ricky Taylor Puts Acura On Sebring Pole

Hardwick is normally the qualifying driver for the No. 16, but he volunteered for Heylen – who joins the team for the endurance events – to handle the chore this week. Heylen rewarded the move by posting the pole-winning time on his lone flying lap.

“After Laguna (two weeks ago), Ryan was set on me qualifying the car, and we stuck to that,” Heylen said. “I wish there was more strategy behind it, but it was more about Ryan being excited about me qualifying the car, and that’s what we did.

“My tires were ready to go when we decided it was time to go, which was always going to be on our second time by after two warmup laps. The tires came in at the perfect time, so it all worked out.”

The No. 16 Porsche trails the No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 by seven points going into Saturday’s 12-hour season finale on the historic and demanding 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit. Long and Hardwick are also seven driver points behind Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry, who share the No. 86 this weekend with Shinya Michimi and will start eighth.

Heylen likes the way his car has handled this weekend, raising hopes of a come-from-behind effort for the GTD title from the single-car effort in its first full WeatherTech Championship season.

“It took a lot of hard work from the whole team to get here at the end of the year fighting for the championship,” Heylen said. “The car has felt good all weekend long. At least from the time I spent in the car, I believe it’s the best car we’ve gotten this season. That’s very encouraging for the race tomorrow. Obviously, pole position is the best way to get the weekend started, but all the big work is yet to do tomorrow.”

The magical season for the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R continued Friday, with Antonio Garcia breaking the GT Le Mans qualifying lap record at Sebring that co-driver Jordan Taylor set in July. Garcia circled the course in 1:55.456 (116.615 mph) to capture the GTLM pole for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, besting Taylor’s previous standard by .178 seconds.

It marked the fifth consecutive pole position this season for the No. 3, which has also won five races and already clinched the GTLM driver and team championships.

Garcia termed his first pole-winning effort at Sebring “like a perfect lap,” adding that the team used Taylor’s previous record in July as a standard for this weekend.

“Obviously, Jordan had a pretty similar qualifying lap here in July,” Garcia explained. “Yesterday, I could actually compare our laps (in practice) to that lap, even if it was almost three seconds faster than the best we did yesterday. It seemed impressive, but at least I had a target to know what the car was capable of.

“I think this is the fastest I’ve been around here at Sebring. It was a pretty cool lap and zero mistakes. I think I just nailed the peak of the grip, peak of the tires. Happy with that.”

Connor De Phillippi was second quick in the No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE at 1:56.116 (115.952 mph), with teammate Jesse Krohn third in the No. 24 BMW (1:56.316). With the championship decided, Garcia expects plenty of competition for the race win from all the manufacturers.

“I’m expecting a lot of close fights tomorrow with either BMW or Porsche, but for sure we are starting at the best place there,” he said. “Let’s see what tomorrow brings; it’s going to be a long one. … And a classic one, where we finish at night and we really need to adapt to that. Let’s see what the new Sebring date brings for us. It’s going to be challenging, for sure.”

SEBRING, Fla. – Ricky Taylor understood the pressure he faced, and used it to his advantage.

Taylor, trying to chase down the fastest qualifiers, turned in the fastest lap Friday to win the Motul Pole Award for Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts.

“I get nervous before every single race or qualifying – any time you have to do something where there are stakes on the line and you have to do your best,” Taylor said. “I think if you’re not nervous or don’t feel the importance of it, you’re not going to get the most out of yourself and your equipment. I think having the pressure on is going to bring us to the best of our game.”

RELATED: Porsche & Corvette Claim GT Poles For Sebring

In Taylor’s case, the best was a nearly perfect lap around Sebring International Raceway’s 17-turn, 3.74-mile circuit. Taylor was clocked at 1 minute, 46.874 seconds (125.979 mph) in the No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05 DPi. That topped Renger van der Zande’s best lap of 1:47.125 in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R. It is the sixth consecutive pole position for Acura Team Penske in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition this season.

Taylor, who will share the No. 7 Acura with Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi, is co-leading the Daytona Prototype international driver standings with Castroneves, while also helping the No. 7 lead the team championship.

They are just two points ahead of the No. 10 Cadillac and Van der Zande and his full-season co-driver, Ryan Briscoe. The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing entry will be joined Saturday by six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon.

“It’s such an amazing way to end a championship,” Taylor said of the duel with his dad’s team. “As a fan, you want it to come down to the last race. Basically, whoever wins the race wins the championship. I don’t think you could have scripted it any better. To be racing against the (No.) 10 car, of all teams, is really weird, but it’s fun. I wouldn’t want to be racing against anybody else.”

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac and driver Pipo Derani have remote hopes of pulling out the team and driver titles, sitting nine points behind the No. 7. Derani, who’ll share the No. 31 with Felipe Nasr and Gabby Chaves, qualified sixth on Friday. Derani, Nasr and Eric Curran won last year’s Twelve Hours of Sebring in the No. 31.

Patrick Kelly expected the unexpected on his way to winning the pole in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class with a lap of 1:51.373 (120.890 mph) in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07.

“It was ‘Be ready to adapt,’” Kelly said. “I went into it and was like, ‘OK, send it, but be ready to adapt. Don’t plan on it being the same car again.’ It hasn’t been the same car in any two practice sessions yet.”

Kelly, who shares the No. 52 with Simon Trummer and Scott Huffaker, topped the best lap by the No. 51 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 driven by Naveen Rao, who is fresh from winning the IMSA Prototype Challenge championship last month with Matthew Bell. Rao, Bell and Jakub Smiechowski will share the No. 51.

STATESVILLE, N.C. – GMS Racing announced Friday that Chase Purdy will join the organization full-time next year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

“I am very excited to be back full-time racing again, especially with a strong organization like GMS Racing,” said Purdy. “I am ready to get to work with this team and start preparing for 2021. I am already counting down the days until we leave for Daytona.”

Purdy piloted a Silverado in seven events for the Statesville, N.C.-based organization in 2020. Purdy’s best finish was 10th at the second Kansas event.

Purdy ran full-time in 2018 in the ARCA Menards Series for MDM Motorsports alongside GMS Racing drivers Sheldon Creed and Zane Smith. Purdy amassed 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes en route to a fourth-place finish in the championship standings. He also made his Truck Series debut in 2018, competing at Martinsville and Phoenix with current GMS Racing crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz atop the pit box.

“We are happy to have Chase (Purdy) back and this time for a full-season,” said Mike Beam, President of GMS Racing. “He will be a great addition to our powerhouse team for 2021. Sheldon, Zane and Tyler will be great mentors for him to learn off of. I can’t wait to see how he learns and grows as a driver this coming season.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Time is running out for race fans to tell Congress to pass the RPM Act this year.

According to the EPA, current law does not explicitly allow street vehicles — cars, trucks, and motorcycles — to be converted into race cars. The RPM Act is designed to remove any doubt that it is legal to modify a motor vehicle for exclusive use on the race track.

The EPA has announced that enforcement against high performance parts — including superchargers, tuners, and exhaust systems — is a top priority for 2020 and beyond.

With that in mind, it is imperative that the RPM Act passes this year to prevent any issues for racers ahead of the 2021 racing season.

Click here to send a letter to your lawmakers in support of the RPM Act.

The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will host a meeting with English football's leading administrators and key figures on Tuesday in an attempt to define the future of the game post-COVID-19, sources have told ESPN.

Secretary of State Oliver Dowden has identified the power vacuum left by Greg Clarke's departure as Football Association chairman as an opportune moment to bring together the game's stakeholders to help thrash out a more sustainable path after months of slow-paced negotiations between the Premier League, the English Football Association (FA) and the English Football League (EFL).

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The meeting, labelled "The Future of Football Round Table," is designed to be an open forum for football's governing bodies to air their grievances and identify how they can work together to safeguard the game following billions in lost revenue resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Attendees are set to include Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham, EFL chairman Rick Parry, FA director of women's football Baroness Sue Campbell, FA Inclusion and Advisory Board chairman Paul Eliott, anti-discrimination campaigners Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari.

Sources have told ESPN that the agenda will be determined over the weekend but one option set to be discussed is the prospect of an independent regulator afforded the power to mediate between the Premier League, the EFL and the FA.

A survey commissioned by a group led by former FA chairman David Bernstein revealed last month that 79% of football supporters would back independent regulation and 86% are concerned about the long-term financial stability of the clubs and leagues.

Sources within government and among football administrators believe Dowden's intervention shows the requisite leadership many people have been calling for during months of negotiations in which the game failed to internally agree a rescue package for lower league clubs struggling to survive with fans still prohibited from attending matches.

The EFL on Thursday agreed in principle a £50 million package with the Premier League to help League One and League Two clubs survive. DCMS chair Julian Knight claimed at Tuesday's parliamentary select committee hearing -- which later led to Clarke's resignation after a series of unacceptable comments -- that around 10 EFL clubs will struggle to make payroll this month.

Talks between the Premier League over a separate financial agreement for the Championship, English football's second tier, remain ongoing. The EFL previously claimed that their 72 clubs would require £250m to ensure they all remained solvent in the 2020-21 season if fans are unable to return due to the pandemic.

Tuesday's meeting will determine whether a version of "Project Big Picture," a significant overhaul of the game voted down by Premier League clubs last month, can be revived or modified in some form.

The plan is a raft of changes including scrapping the EFL Cup and the Community Shield, reducing the Premier League from 20 to 18 teams and redistributing a greater share of television income to the EFL while aiming to adapt to European-wide proposals for changes to the current Champions League and Europa League formats.

However, the most controversial aspect was arguably removing the "one club, one vote" policy for Premier League clubs, affording the bigger teams more control over future decision-making.

The Professional Footballers Association will be represented as will fans in the form of the Football Supporters' Association.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Calais Campbell has been ruled out for the Baltimore Ravens' Sunday night game in New England, coach John Harbaugh said Friday. This ends the NFL's second-longest current streak for defensive ends.

Campbell, who injured his calf last Sunday, will miss his first game since 2014. His streak of 98 straight starts ranked only behind Cameron Jordan (137).

Acquired in a trade with Jacksonville this offseason, Campbell leads Baltimore with four sacks and is tied for the team lead with five tackles for loss.

"Losing a guy like Calais ... that sucks, because he's one of the all-time greats playing the defensive line, and his leadership is unmatched," Ravens defensive end Derek Wolfe said. "He's the ultimate professional. I think I do have to step up."

Running back Mark Ingram, who has missed the past two games with an ankle injury, returned to practice Friday. Ingram was limited in Wednesday's practice before sitting out Thursday.

Cornerback Jimmy Smith (ankle) has not practiced all week.

SEC presidents and chancellors this week approved Dec. 19, which is the day of the SEC championship game, as a makeup date for other games that have been postponed this season because of COVID-19, a source told ESPN on Friday.

As the SEC continues to navigate its way through a tumultuous week during which four games were postponed in a span of three days, the league's presidents and chancellors met on Thursday in a regularly-scheduled meeting to discuss the Dec. 19 option. On Tuesday, all 14 SEC athletic directors agreed that date should be used to provide the conference more flexibility as the virus continues to disrupt the season.

At this point, it appears adding Dec. 19 as an option is necessary if the league is going to play all 70 games this season. Forty have already been played, and it's too early to tell what matchups would be rescheduled for the final day before the College Football Playoff selection committee announces its final ranking of the season on Dec. 20.

The SEC doesn't currently have a window for the LSU-Alabama game, which was postponed this week. With Alabama currently in first place in the West and the leading candidate to play in the Dec. 19 championship game, it doesn't make sense to move the game to Dec. 19 right now.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was asked on Wednesday about the reshuffling of conference games to this point, and he noted the league had already moved five or six games.

"It affected the involved teams which were Florida and Vanderbilt," he said, "and it affected the uninvolved teams, like Georgia and Kentucky, come to top of mind. LSU was in that as well. And that's going to be the reality moving forward, and the ability to adjust games and modify the schedule. And we've said this to our membership repeatedly: It will affect more than just the involved teams."