Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has dropped Sam Prendergast for this weekend’s Six Nations clash against England at Twickenham. Jack Crowley starts at 10 for Ireland with Ciaran Frawley providing cover on the bench as Prendergast, who had started Ireland’s last four games and featured in all five Six Nations clashes last year, has been left out of the matchday squad altogether.
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Anthony Gordon scored four goals as rampant Newcastle United blew Qarabag away to take control of their last 16 Champions League play-off tie. It took Gordon just two minutes to open the scoring after the latched on to a through ball from marauding centre-back Dan Burn and finished coolly past goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski into the bottom corner. Newcastle did not let up from that moment and lead by five at the interval.
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France cemented their status as the Northern Hemisphere’s most clinical force on Sunday, dismantling a struggling Wales 54-12 at the Principality Stadium. On a grim afternoon for Welsh rugby, Fabien Galthié’s new-look side delivered an eight-try blitz, securing their largest-ever victory in Cardiff and leaving Steve Tandy’s rebuilding project with plenty of work to do.
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Nottingham Forest have confirmed the appointment of Vítor Pereira as their fourth head coach of the season. The former Wolves manager takes over from Sean Dyche, who was sacked on Thursday, on a contract until June 2027. Pereira inherits a team one place and three points above the relegation zone. Dyche lasted 25 matches after replacing Ange Postecoglou, who was given eight games as the successor to Nuno Espírito Santo.
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England’s 12-game winning streak came shuddering to a halt as they crashed to their heaviest Calcutta Cup defeat in eight years at the hands of fired-up Scotland. The Scots’ four-try triumph at Murrayfield – in which England wing Henry Arundell was shown two yellow cards in the first half – was their biggest victory in the fixture since 2018. It was particularly timely for embattled head coach Gregor Townsend, who had come under intense pressure after a grim 18-15 defeat by Italy.
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