Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has married his long-time partner Rebecca Boston in a star-studded ceremony on Friday.
After nearly nine years together and various COVID-19 disruptions, the couple tied the knot at the luxury accommodation Chateau Du Soleil on the coast of Byron Bay.
Cummins posted a photo of the newlyweds celebrating the occasion on Instagram on Monday evening, alongside the caption “just married”. The bride donned a white, sparkling gown and the groom sported a classic black suit and bow-tie.
Cummins and his partner – who goes by “Becky” – initially expected to be wed in 2020, but they, like many other couples living through the pandemic, were forced to reschedule the event for safer, less restriction-ridden times.
They were finally able to make it official on Friday in front of family and friends, including several teammates and coaches.
Cummins’ teammates Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Travis Head and Nathan Lyon were among the guests as their captain exchanged vows. Others in attendance were former skipper Tim Paine and head coach Andrew McDonald.
The pair met in Sydney’s nightlife district in 2013. He and Becky, who hails from Britain, have since had a son named Albie, who is now nine months old.
Cummins is Australia’s 47th men’s Test captain. At only 29, the local Westmead was the first fast bowler in more than half a century to be named captain.
With the wedding behind him, Cummins faces a busy period ahead with the Twenty20 World Cup and two summer Test series against South Africa and the West Indies.
A gay English rugby league player has come out of retirement as a personal protest against the Manly seven.
Former Wakefield, Dewsbury and Batley prop Keegan Hirst made headlines throughout the UK when he became the first player there to come out as gay in 2015.
He retired in 2020 but at 34, has now decided to return to the game, incensed by the seven Manly players who boycotted last week’s Everyone In League rainbow jersey game.
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He will play out the season with his former club Batley in the Championship, England’s second division.
“COVID added to my own personal circumstances which made me lose touch with some of the things that I hold dearest to me; friends and rugby league,” Hirst said in a statement.
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“After the recent thinly-veiled homophobia over a rainbow shirt, I thought how can I help with visibility and inclusion? By lacing up my boots, putting on a playing shirt and getting back out there. That’s how I help with visibility and inclusion.
“I still have plenty of games in me and I’m looking forward to helping Batley continue their incredible season.”
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Uniform controversies that have rocked sport around the world
“I assume if the state government is to backflip on its commitment to fund suburban stadiums, then the $300 million committed to the Penrith stadium can now be better utilized for schools and hospitals? It would be outrageous for Penrith to retain its stadium for the obvious political benefit of its local member. These are public funds and should be managed for the benefit of the public. This government has enough issues to deal with without creating more for itself.”
Cronulla had been told they would receive between $100m to $130m for the upgrade of their venue.
“All indications to date have been positive discussions around PointsBet Stadium and the confidence around getting the funding for the very reasons the Sharks managed to demonstrate,” Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta told the herald.
“We’re No.1 in many areas, particularly around participation. Having just taken a women’s license as well, we now can’t host double-headers.
“This money was critical for the sustainability of the club long term to be able to host not only double-headers but home semi-finals as well.”
Ayres, speaking at the announcement of a community open day for Sydney’s new Allianz Stadium, conceded the government’s spending priorities had changed and that the state may need to “wait a little bit longer” for further stadium upgrades.
“We’ve got a long track record of [stadia investment],” Ayres said.
Suncorp Stadium last year hosted the first NRL grand final ever held outside Sydney.Credit:Getty
“We also know we have limitations on what we can do. We have continued our engagement with the NRL, we want to be able to upgrade suburban infrastructure, but we want to be able to do that when the fiscal capacity for the state allows for it.
“Let’s recognize that we have just been through some of the most significant floods and consistent flooding over the last couple of years. So there are lots of costs that are associated with it. We will continue to talk with the NRL around the things we can afford to do. But we have got priorities and we’ve got to stick to those … It might just mean we have to wait a little bit longer before we can spend additional money on [stadium upgrades].”
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Asked about the prospect of the NRL taking the grand final interstate because the government didn’t deliver on its promises, Ayres said: “If the NRL took the grand final from Sydney, after the NSW government has spent in excess of $1.5 billion on sporting infrastructure that massively benefits the NRL … if the NRL walked away from the home of its sport here in NSW, the state where the grand final has always been played in with the exception of the COVID grand final from last year, that would be an extraordinary move.
“I’m very confident that the NRL will keep the grand finale here in NSW. They know it is the right thing to do. They know they have had an exceptional partner in the NSW government, but there are limitations to what governments can do.
“I think we will continue a very good working relationship with the NRL to have the best events in NSW.”
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Brisbane Lions boss Chris Fagan has downplayed rumors he could hand over the reins to free agent coaching great Alastair Clarkson at season’s end.
There was some talk last month about a possible handover from Fagan to Clarkson for 2023 as the latter weighs up a returns to the coaches box, having recently met with GWS and North Melbourne about their openings.
The pair have previously worked together closely when Fagan was Hawthorn’s footy boss during its golden era including winning four premierships from 2008-2015 while Clarkson was coach.
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Asked on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 if he’d made “private plans to hand the job over to an old colleague,” Fagan responded with a laugh:“It’s not my job to hand over in the first place … is not the firm answer to that question.”
Fagan said he was unconditionally committed to coaching Brisbane next year.
“I’ve got a contract for next year and hopefully the team can continue to do well and the club is keen to keep me for a while longer,” he said.
“I love coaching the Lions and that’s what I’ll be doing next year unless someone knows something I don’t know.”
It comes after some pundits have put a line through Brisbane’s premiership chances after its second-half fade out loss to Richmond on Sunday that saw the Lions fall down to fifth position on the ladder.
But Fagan insisted the club wasn’t listening to the outside noise as it stays focused on its final three home and away matches against Carlton, St Kilda and Melbourne.
“I understand people want to comment on the game and they’ve got to have strong opinions, because that’s why people want to watch and listen to media,” the Lions boss said.
Clarkson and Fagan at Hawthorn (Picture: Colleen Petch)Source: News Corp Australia
“But we can’t get caught up in that. This time last year we had to win our last three games to finish in the top four and even that wasn’t guaranteed… you just take each win as it comes.
“It’s a really tough and tight competition. If we can get back to our really best form, which we showed a strong glimpse of (against Richmond) in the first half, then there’s no reason why we can’t be really competitive come September.
“We’re not a perfect team, we’ve got strengths and weaknesses like every other team. But when we play at our best we’re pretty hard to beat.”
A key criticism towards Brisbane’s fading flag prospects has been its leaky defence.
Since Round 10 the Lions rank 16th in the competition in the most points conceded, 18th in most points conceded from their defensive half and have been the 15th easiest team to score against once the ball is inside 50.
Fagan said sharpening their defense has been the “main focus” at training over the last six weeks, but also highlighted the club’s inconsistent personnel down back due to injury.
“It’s a work in progress for us, we have had a fair turnover of players particularly in our backline since the Melbourne game (in Round 15),” he said.
“I think we’ve had 14 different players down there play for various reasons, not that defense is just about the backline, but we haven’t had a lot of continuity with our boys.
“Hopefully we can build that back up over the next few weeks and have the same seven or eight players playing there each week.”
Sydney FC’s thrilling Australia Cup victory over the Central Coast Mariners has been marred by disturbing post-match footage of crowd troubles outside of Leichhardt Oval on Sunday night.
The Sky Blues beat the Mariners on penalties after the two sides were locked at 3-3 at the end of extra-time.
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But in an unfortunate turn of events, the result has been overshadowed by violence in the car park after the full time whistle had been blown.
Video of the incident was first posted online by veteran sports reporter Ray Gatt.
Two sets of hooded individuals were seen hurling projectiles such as rocks, barriers and flares at one another as spectators, some with young families, were forced to return back into the stadium for their own safety.
In an official statement, the Mariners confirmed that none of their own fans were involved in the incident at any stage and condemned the behaviors and actions of those who were.
“We would like to applaud and thank all of our traveling supporters and how they conduct themselves,” the statement read.
“The club does not condone such behaviour. There is no place for it in football and this incident had nothing to do with the match.”
According to Sydney FC CEO Adam Santo, the participating parties did not even attend the match itself.
“I would rather celebrate the exciting finish to our match tonight however we are assisting police with the incident that occurred outside the ground,” Santo posted on Twitter.
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“Reports at the scene appear those responsible were not in attendance at our match.
“Fortunately it appears no-one was injured.”
An official Sydney FC statement corroborated Santo’s account in terms of no attending fans having any hand in the post-match scenes.
“Sydney FC were disappointed to see the incident that took place outside Leichhardt Oval at the conclusion of the Australia Cup match,” the statement read.
“As far as we are aware, the parties involved had not attended the match, and we are grateful to stadium security and NSW police who cleared the area within minutes.
“Football is the most inclusive, safe and welcoming sport and those involved do not represent our game.”
Sydney FC star striker Adam Le Fondre shared that his family was unfortunately caught up in the “disgraceful scenes.”
“Awful stuff to see,” Le Fondre wrote on Twitter.
“My mrs was caught with our 3 girls in the car park trying to leave whilst this was happening!! Disgraceful scenes.”
An eyewitness account from an individual named Stefan detailed the frightening situation that was unfolding in front of him, his wife and his two-year-old daughter.
“It was probably about 15 minutes after the game finished when we heard all this ruckus while walking to the car park,” Stefan told The Daily Telegraph.
“We saw a barrier being thrown and while I was holding my two-year-old daughter, a flare flew overhead and landed only a couple meters away from us.
“There was a lot of screaming and shouting, objects were flying around overhead and rocks were going past us.”
NSW Police confirmed the incident is under investigation.
The field for the men’s 100m in Birmingham includes 11 athletes who made the semi-finals in Eugene and yet none of them stands out as the clear favourite. The reigning Commonwealth champion Akani Simbine from South Africa will be strong again.
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The Jamaican trio appears likely to be 20-year-old rising stars Ackeem Blake, Conroy Jones and Kemar Bailey-Cole who are all potential finalists along with Kenyan star Ferdinand Omanyala and England’s Reece Prescod.
Ghana has Benjamin Azamati who has run 9.90 this season and Joseph Amoah, who has run 9.94 this year. Neither did well in Eugene but their times show the depth of the field.
Kenya’s Omanyala is one to keep an eye on. Hailing from the home of some of the greatest ever distance runners, Omanyala is a sprinter. He is the fastest-ever African and has run the eighth-quickest time in the world.
field of dreams
The field is where the Australians are expected to excel. On Tuesday, big Matt Denny will be throwing the plate having finished five centimeters from a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. He is getting better each competition and should be in the medals.
Pole vaulter Nina Kennedy is coming off a bronze medal at the world championships and should win gold here on Wednesday morning, AEST.
In the high jump Australia doesn’t need other countries to create a world class competition. It is the one sport where our national titles are now the equal of any world championships. Eleanor Patterson just won world gold and Nicola Olyslagers (formerly McDermott) is the Olympic silver medalist from last year and only just missed out joining Patterson on the dais in Eugene. The women’s high jump final is on Saturday night, AEST.
How high Australia’s high jumpers can jump
How high would you have to jump to win gold? Credit:The Age
Ditto the javelin. Australia’s world superstar Kelsey-Lee Barber won a second successive world gold to go with her bronze from the Olympics, but her preparation was disrupted when she was diagnosed with COVID-19 just before the Games. During the end of the worlds it looked like Australia could have the quinella until Mackenzie Little was eventually edged out of the medals.
In Birmingham the competition will be hot between the two Australian women for the gold. The javelin is on the last day at the track, on Sunday night AEST.
Australian Kelsey-Lee Barber became the first woman ever to defend the world javelin title.Credit:Getty Images
Brooke Buschkuehl is Australia’s new national record holder in the long jump and in Eugene it was just two centimeters away from the medals. She manages two auto-immune diseases, has had serious foot and injury problems, contracted COVID in the past year and recently still managed to jump her first PB from her in six years and a new national record only weeks ago. She is a huge talent and will be jumping on Friday morning.
The middle distance kings
Peter Bol, who captured Australian imaginations with the race of his life in Tokyo and just missed an Olympic medal, was disappointed with his seventh place finish in Eugene, and it will be intriguing to see how he responds. Kenyan world champion Emmanuel Korir has not entered the Commonwealth Games 800m field and not has Canada’s Marco Arop, but world 1500m champ Jake Wightman, representing Scotland, is expected to compete in the 800. The heats will be on Wednesday night (AEST) and the end on Sunday.
Peter Bol (centre) came seventh in the 800m final at the world championships.Credit:Getty Images
The 1500m will be one of the races of the meet with Australia’s dogged Stewart McSweyn chasing a medal against an elite field. McSweyn has fought back from a difficult start to the year. He was diagnosed with pericarditis – inflammation around the heart – after getting a vaccine booster too soon after having COVID, but performed strongly to finish ninth at the worlds.
The new world champion, Wightman, and the Kenyan pair of former world champion and Olympic silver medalist Timothy Cheruiyot and Abel Kipsang, who have run the best times in the world this year, are expected to be at the head of the field. The final is Saturday night, AEST time.
Fresh from her second gold medal in as many days, Georgia Godwin hopes her achievements at the Commonwealth Games can show the public gymnastics is a safe sport for young people.
Godwin won the individual vault on Tuesday morning (AEST) along with a second silver on the uneven bars, in a head-turning Birmingham campaign that has created positive headlines for the controversy-hit sport.
International gymnastics has spent the past year plagued by scandals, with athletes in multiple countries reporting shocking stories of alleged sexual, physical and mental abuse as well as fat shaming and cultures in which medals take precedence over athlete welfare.
In Australia, the findings of an independent cultural review, conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission and published in May last year, revealed “systemic risk factors” within the sport, including for child abuse and neglect, misconduct, bullying, abuse, sexual harassment and assault towards athletes.
Gymnastics Australia subsequently apologized to its athletes over the “confronting” report and said there was much work to be done.
Godwin said she had found the allegations unsettling, and had deliberately blocked out the conversation because it was detrimental to her mental health when she was attempting to focus on major competitions.
But she said she was hopeful for the sport’s future.
“I do my best to try and show that gymnastics is a safe sport and that everyone should feel safe doing gymnastics,” she said. “And we’re heading in the right direction, so that is really exciting to see.”
The 24-year-old, who is older than many of her female counterparts, felt a responsibility to “mother” the younger athletes.
“I really just tried to take them under my wing and show them and what sportsmanship looks like,” she said.
Georgia Godwin during the un-even bars final. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
Godwin was emotional after competition, having contemplated skipping the Birmingham Games altogether because of her longer-than-expected recovery from twin ankle surgeries last year.
Her decision to compete was further vindicated in the vault, beating Canada’s Laurie Denommee on a tiebreak.
She then came agonizingly close to a third gold on the uneven bars but settled for silver behind England’s defending champion, Georgia-Mae Fenton. The Queenslander can yet win a fifth medal in the beam on Wednesday morning (AEST).
“I just come to these competitions and I just have fun and I do my best and the medals are a huge bonus,” she said. “I’ve learned that putting that expectation on me doesn’t help.
“The medals are a huge bonus, but just being here experiencing this, being on the Australian team wearing the green and gold, is enough for me. I always go out and do my best.”
Rugby fans in the stands at November’s Hong Kong Sevens will be allowed to drink, but not eat, with masks having to be worn between sips, an official said on Monday.
The Chinese finance hub’s famously rowdy rugby extravaganza will return after a three-year coronavirus pandemic hiatus in November in a much-needed boost for sports-starved residents.
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But in contrast to most of the world’s major sporting events, strict coronavirus measures will be in place including a Beijing Olympics-style “closed-loop” system for players.
Hong Kong’s sports commissioner Yeung Tak-keung on Monday outlined what fans can expect in the 40,000-seat stadium, which will be capped at 85 per cent capacity.
While drinking will be allowed in the stands, eating will be limited to specific “eating outlets” instead.
“For eating, you need to take off the mask, and we want to reduce and minimize the mask-off activities at the spectator stands,” Yeung told the city’s public radio station RTHK.
He also said officials would be keeping an eye out to ensure fans kept their mouths covered.
“We want the spectators to observe the rules themselves and, also, the Rugby Union will send people around to remind people to put their masks back on after drinking,” he added.
That could prove to be an unenviable task for stadium stewards. The Hong Kong Sevens is known as much for its raucous crowds as it is for rugby, especially in the South Stand — famous for its fancy dress, party atmosphere and all-day drinking, singing and dancing.
The Hong Kong tournament — the highlight of World Rugby’s Sevens circuit and drawing thousands of overseas visitors to the city every year before the pandemic — is scheduled to return from November 4-6.
But it is unlikely Hong Kong will see a large influx of tourists any time soon. International flights remain well below pre-pandemic levels and all arrivals must currently undergo a week of mandatory hotel quarantine.
Hong Kong’s new administration, which took office this month, has been saying it plans to reduce the quarantine period soon, bringing in a health code traffic light system similar to China’s.
But there has been no firm commitment or time frame yet for ending quarantine.
Argentine football referee Dalma Cortadi appealed Monday for justice to be done after she was punched from behind by a male player who disagreed with her on-field ruling during a regional league match.
Cortadi, 30, laid criminal charges against her attacker, 34-year-old Cristian Tirone, who was arrested on the pitch after knocking down the referee after she yellow-carded him for a foul.
Cortadi was taken to hospital and spent several hours under observation after the attack, which was caught on video.
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The footage shows Tirone seemingly aiming his fist at the back of Cortadi’s head, missing, and connecting with her neck. She falls to the ground, but gets up immediately as Tirone is pulled away by others on the field.
“I fell and I don’t remember anything else. When I got up I was dizzy and nauseous. Nothing like this has ever happened to me,” she told the Ole sports daily.
Cortadi was refereeing a third-tier match of the Tres Arroyos regional league between Independencia and Garmense, which was suspended after the attack.
She told Ole her gender was irrelevant to the matter.
“We want justice to be done and that this man pay for what he did. That is what is important,” she said.
The league denounced the attack and Garmense suspended Tirone for life.
Donald was one of Thomas Bjorn’s vice-captains when Europe defeated the United States in Paris in 2018
Never before has a Ryder Cup captain been installed in such difficult circumstances.
Normally the appointment is a coronation, a moment of celebration and excitement and while Luke Donald is thrilled, at last, to be piloting Europe’s quest to regain the trophy he is also aware that the task is fraught with difficulty and uncertainty.
As golf’s civil war rages, the 44-year-old has 14 months to fashion a team capable of overturning last year’s record 19-9 defeat by a youthful United States line-up at Whistling Straits.
That is already a tough ask, but more pressingly he has barely a month to come up with a formula from which to select his team. This at a time when the men’s game is tearing itself apart.
The qualifying process for his side is due to start in September, well before an outcome is expected from legal action that should determine whether players who have defaulted to LIV Golf will remain eligible for DP World Tour events.
“We don’t have enough clarity on the situation right now,” Donald told BBC Sport. “Hopefully that will get resolved as time goes on and then I will have a better idea of how to deal with it.
“But my plan is to have 12 guys unified on the team and we will be ready to play against the Americans in Rome.”
Donald was second choice for the role after Henrik Stenson was stripped of the job a fortnight ago for signing a £40m contract with the Saudi Arabian-funded breakaway LIV setup.
The new captain has given the strongest possible assurances that he will not be jumping ship from Ryder Cup Europe in the same way as Stenson.
“I’ve signed a contract as Henrik did and I’m giving them my word,” said the Englishman.
“That’s all I can do and I promise you I will be seeing this through until the end. I’ve not been approached by LIV to play on their tour but I have this amazing opportunity to be this Ryder Cup captain.
“The Ryder Cup has meant so much to me over the years, some of my best moments on the golf course have been during Ryder Cups.
“The camaraderie, the team spirit, the history behind it. Everything that the Ryder Cup represents is very special to me and I think that’s important.”
Indeed Donald sees the biennial match between Europe and the US as an entity potentially capable of defusing the unprecedented power struggle prompted by LIV’s entry into the golf market.
“I think the Ryder Cup is the beacon of hope,” said Donald, who was on the winning side in all four of his playing appearances. “We have so much rich history in the Ryder Cup, almost 100 years.
“I remember so many more moments in Ryder Cups than I do probably from my individual career, just because it matters.
“We have amazing moments like Tony Jacklin and Jack Nicklaus and ‘the concession’ (at Royal Birkdale in 1969). We had the ‘War on the Shore,’ (1991) ‘The Battle of Brookline’ (1999) and the ‘Miracle at Madinah’ (2012).
“These things resonate with people and it has history and history is important because it encourages the next generation of players to get involved in the game.
“I think the Ryder Cup is a great platform to grow this game and I’m certainly privileged to be the captain and hopeful that history continues.”
Donald also plans to dip into more recent sporting history to try to inspire his team, who are likely to be underdogs at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, for the match which starts on 29 September 2023.
The new skipper says he will reach out to England coach Sarina Wiegman following her team’s victory in the Euros last Sunday.
“I’m obviously extremely proud of what the Lionesses did,” Donald said.
“Any time I can talk to someone who is able to have such a success around a team, and I think you can see such comparisons between something like the Lionesses and the Ryder Cup.”
Donald added: “I’m sure I will be reaching out to many people who have had a lot of success in that team environment, one being Sarina.”
It may provide an enlightened and enlightening conversation. Donald will need plenty of those over the next 14 months.
He will appoint further vice-captains to work alongside Thomas Bjorn and Edoardo Molinari who were put in place by Stenson during his ill-fated 127 day reign.
Between them they have much to ponder, starting with how they will assemble a team.
“Obviously this is day one for me but it will be a busy next few weeks trying to figure out all those details and making sure we have a great system in place to give us the best opportunity for victory in Rome,” said the former world number one.
“But all I can do is control what I can control and move forward from here. I can’t control what’s happened in the past.”
And given the current golfing landscape, there is no bigger challenge than trying to have some influence on what is a most uncertain future.
