Friday, 21 August 2026

Springboks named Damian Willemse at fullback, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wings, with Damian de Allende earning his 100th Test alongside Jesse Kriel; the bench is a 6-2 split.

New Zealand also went close to full strength for the first Test, with Damian McKenzie at fullback, Cam Roigard back from injury, and Matt Carley appointed referee; South Africa have won all three previous Tests he has handled.

The Premier League opener was previewed game by game, with Arsenal tipped to beat Coventry 2-0, Manchester United to beat Hull, and Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool all backed in tight opening-weekend fixtures.

Arsenal were described as the title favourites after adding Bruno Guimarães, Eze and other reinforcements, with the view that Mikel Arteta’s squad continuity makes them hard to topple despite Liverpool, City and Spurs spending heavily.

Formula One returns at Zandvoort with George Russell on sprint pole, Isaac Hadjar ruled out by a wrist injury, and the calendar potentially expanding to 24 races if the cancelled Saudi event is reinstated.