Rita Ora’s fiance Taika Waititi has sparked rumors they couple have married after the filmmaker was seen wearing what appeared to be a wedding band.
Taika, 46, was seen wearing a piece of jewelery on his left finger while lapping up the rays and having a drink, in a picture snapped by Rita’s sister Elena, The Sun reports.
Ora started dating the Thor: Ragnarök Director Taika 18 months ago.
She opted to share the photo too, but decided to cover Waititi’s ring finger with a caption that read: “Perfect day for a bev @avaline Thank you @camerondiaz.”
Taika could be seen sporting a white patterned shirt and white sunglasses as he lapped up the sun and poured a glass of wine.
The ring snap follows reports that Ora and Waititi are preparing a low-key ceremony before a glitzy celebration later in the summer.
a pal awning The Sun that: “This isn’t about them doing a big showy thing and crowding about it beforehand. It’s just about them being in love and deciding the time is right to formalize their relationship.
“They couldn’t be happier.”
The pair moved back to the UK and into a very impressive London mansion.
Ora has spent much of the past two years in Los Angeles and Australia and wore a black sports top and overcoat in snaps as she lugged bottles of water, while New Zealander Waititi was in a denim jacket, baseball cap and shades.
They later held hands while strolling to a pub near the North London property Ora bought for £8 million (A$11.5 million) last year.
An onlooker said: “It’s unusual to see Rita in the neighborhood these days – she bought the house but left the country almost immediately afterwards and has barely spent any time there.
“But they were shopping for things and loading bits in and it’s obvious this is going to be where they call home, at least for a while.
“They’re a very jetsetting couple, and have homes all over the place, but it felt as though this was quite a permanent move watching their behaviour.”
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was republished with permission
Australia took home a stunning nine gold medals on Saturday and there are plenty more chances to add to the tally on Day 10 of the Commonwealth Games.
Foxsports.com.au has you covered with live updates from all the key events, which you can follow below!
DAY 9 WRAP: Aussies claim nine gold in staggering Commonwealth Games blitz
MEDAL TALLY: Aussies’ gold rush after Poms turn up heat in Comm Games race
Hoare bags SENSATIONAL 1500m Gold! | 00:32
AUSSIE WINS SILVER IN FIRST-EVER GAMES
In his first Commonwealth Games, Lin Ma has secured a silver medal for Australia in the men’s table tennis singles Classes 8-10.
Ma sadly lost to Wales’ Joshua Stacey, who won by three sets to two.
BAKER WINS GOLD!
Georgia Baker has won Australia’s first gold medal of the day after taking out the women’s road race in cycling.
It was a grueling race that pushed the six-strong Australian contingent to the brink, but Baker finished first over the line in what was her third gold medal in Birmingham.
Baker is joined on the podium by fellow Aussie Sarah Roy, who came third.
JUMPING JENNEKE JUST SHY OF PB IN HURDLES FINAL
Michelle Jenneke was unfortunately outclassed in the women’s 100m hurdles final, as Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan took home the gold medal.
Jenneke was right in the mix at the very start, but the heavy hitters eventually pulled away.
However, the Aussie was still all smiles after the race after finishing fifth with a time of 12.68.
Gold medal winner Amusan crossed the line at 12.30, setting a new Commonwealth Games record.
Celeste Mucci, the other Australian competing in the race, came second-last but gave everything she had in the final.
HEARTBREAK AS AUSSIE STAR HOSPITALISED
Australian cycling star Rohan Dennis has unfortunately been forced to withdraw from the men’s road race, joining Caleb Ewan on the sidelines.
An Aus Cycling statement read: “Rohan Dennis will take no further part in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games following medical advice.
Dennis, who took gold in the Men’s Individual Time Trial on Thursday, woke up on Saturday morning in discomfort and was taken to a local hospital to undergo tests and observations.
As a precaution, Dennis was advised to withdraw from today’s road race, but remains comfortable and under observation.”
Australia’s six-man team for the event is now down to four, with Luke Durbridge, Luke Plapp, Miles Scotson and Sam Fox set to compete.
Australian Michelle Jenneke came fifth in the 100m hurdles final. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia
ATHLETICS
It all kicks off on the track with the men’s triple jump final, with Julian Konle competing at around 7.15pm.
Elsewhere, after Jemima Montag’s heroics in the women’s 10km race walk, fellow Australians Rhydian Cowley, Kyle Swan and Declan Tingay will also be going for gold in the men’s event at 8.20pm.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Kelsey-Lee Barber will then be competing in the women’s javelin final at around 8.35pm (AEST).
Barber won bronze in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and silver in 2018, aiming to go one better this time around and claim gold.
She is in fine form, coming off a historic defense of her javelin world championships title in Eugene, Oregon.
Fellow Australian Mackenzie Little will also be competing for a medal in the final.
The men’s 4×100 relay final may have ended in heartbreak for Australia but the women will have a shot at a medal when they take to the track at 9.54pm.
Browning FALLS, relay goes begging! | 00:28
Of course, there will be plenty of support for peter bol too, who is competing in the men’s 800m final at around 4.35am.
Jessica Hull is also a strong chance at a medal when she competes in the women’s 1500m final alongside fellow Australians Abbey Caldwell and Linden Hall.
Caldwell and Hall progressed to the final after finishing inside the top four of their race with times of 4:13.59 and 4:14.08 respectively while Hull had a time of 4:16.13.
CRICKET
Australia won a thriller in the opening pool game against India but will they be able to get past their fierce rivals when it matters most?
The two will face off for the gold medal in the T20 final, with that game scheduled around 2 am.
Hot favorites Australia toppled New Zealand by five wickets in their semi-final while India edged England by four runs in a thrilling contest.
Ash Gardner was the hero when these two sides met in the pool stages, striking an unbeaten 52 from 35 balls to help the gold medal favorites chase down a 155-run target.
Australia struggled early in that game, with Indian seamer Renuka Singh recording 4-18 in just four overs as the top-order fell apart before Gardner’s heroics saved the day.
Hoare bags SENSATIONAL 1500m Gold! | 00:32
netball
It all comes down to this for our Aussie Diamonds, who will take on Jamaica in the gold medal match at 5.30am.
Australia gave up a six-goal lead in a stunning 57-55 loss to Jamaica in the pool stages, with international superstar Jhaniele Fowler starring in the upset win.
The West Coast Fever sensation scored 47 goals and backed it up with a perfect 54 from just as many attempts as a perfect shooting night saw Jamaica take down the Silver Ferns in the semis.
Australia booked its spot in the final with a 60-51 win over England in a spiteful game in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Gretel Bueta was the standout in that victory, with 43 goals at 98 per cent accuracy.
Gretel Bueta in action. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
HOCKEYROOS
And as if the cricket and netball finals were not enough, the Hockeyroos will also be in action against England in the women’s gold medal match.
That final is scheduled for midnight, with Australia booking its spot in the decider after defeating New Zealand and India.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
There are two chances for Australia to claim gold in beach volleyball, with the first final at 1 am ace Paul Burnett and Chris McHugh take on Canada.
Later in the early hours of the morning, attention will turn towards the women’s doubles final. Mariafe Artacho of the Solar and Taliqua Clancy took home silver for Australia at Tokyo and will be looking to make it gold at Birmingham when they face defending champions Canada at 6 am.
CYCLING
Four men will be representing Australia in the men’s road race at 9:30pm.
BADMINTON & TABLE TENNIS
Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen and Gronya Somerville will be looking to progress through to the gold medal match when they play England in the women’s doubles semi-final.
In the table tennis, Lin Ma will have a shot at gold when he competes in the men’s singles class 8-10 final at 7.10pm.
Meanwhile, Yangzi Liu will be going for bronze in the women’s singles table tennis at 8.05pm before Finn Luu and Nicholas Lum do the same in the men’s doubles event at 10.05pm.
Gronya Somerville of Team Australia celebrates winning a point. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
BOXING
There are plenty of chances for gold in the ring too, with kaye scott and Callum Peters both in action in finals at 8.15pm and 8.45pm respectively.
Edgardo Coumi, Caitlin Anne Parker and Tina Rahimi all lost their semi-finals on Saturday.
DIVING
14-year-old starlet Charlie Petrov and veteran Melissa Wu took gold in the women’s 10m synchronized dive and there are more opportunities for medals on Sunday.
All eyes will be on Brittany O’Brien, Madison Keeney and Georgia Shehan as they compete for a medal in the women’s 3m springboard prelims at 8.44pm.
Follow all the action live below! Can’t see the updates? Click here!
South Africa has defeated New Zealand 26-10 on Sunday morning AEST in the Rugby Championship opener in Mbombela, adding to the woes of the embattled All Blacks.
New Zealand flew to South Africa having lost four of their previous five matches amid calls for coach Ian Foster and captain Sam Cane to be sacked.
Foster and Cane will now know that another defeat to the arch foes when the teams clash again next Saturday in Johannesburg will almost certainly spell the end for both of them.
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The ferocity of the Springboks constantly unsettled the All Blacks, who were lucky to trail only 10-3 at halftime having been outplayed in the opening 40 minutes.
New Zealand did win more possession in the second half but basic errors cost them and their only try, from replacement loose forward Shannon Frizell, arrived when South Africa were reduced to 14 men.
Winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, scorer of the first South African try, was red-carded on 75 minutes after fouling airborne fly-half Beauden Barrett.
“It was exactly what we wanted. We wanted to be upfront,” said South Africa captain and flanker Siya Kolisi.
“Our high balls were good. We did all the things we wanted to do. We made the tackles, we know how dangerous they can be. They have a couple of players who can break the game open at any time.”
Under-fire Cane said: “A lot of credit has to go to the Springboks, especially the way they played in the first half. They threw a heck of a lot at us. We did well to absorb that but it took a lot out of us.
“They are extremely good at applying pressure. Their kicking game was good, they probably won that as well.”
South African hooker Malcolm Marx was warmly greeted by the sellout 42,367 crowd in recognition of him winning his 50th cap when he ran on to the field ahead of his teammates in the northeastern city.
There was a dramatic start to the southern hemisphere championship opener with Springboks scrum-half Faf de Klerk knocked out after his head struck the knee of All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke.
De Klerk had to be stretched off, but received lengthy applause when he appeared on the sideline midway through the opening half having failed a head injury assessment test.
Inexperienced Jaden Hendrikse, who debuted in a home series against Wales last month, replaced de Klerk just 43 seconds into the match.
Fired-up South Africa dominated early possession and territory and went ahead on eight minutes when Arendse scored his first try for the reigning world champions in only his second appearance.
The New Zealand defense failed to grasp a lofted kick from fly-half Handre Pollard and center Lukhanyo Am fed Arendse, who raced over the tryline.
Unpredictable goal-kicker Pollard did well to convert from the touchline and increased the lead to 10 points on 22 minutes by slotting a close-range penalty.
There was a sudden change of momentum as halftime approached with New Zealand, helped by a steadier scrum, awarded four penalties in quick succession.
Fullback Jordie Barrett, one of three brothers in the All Blacks starting line-up, converted one of the penalties on 36 minutes to narrow the gap to seven points and it remained 10-3 until halftime.
In the build-up to the match, Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber had emphasized the need to translate dominance into points and will have been disappointed that his team were only seven points in front.
He would have been thrilled with the performance of Marx, though, as the Japan-based front-rower won several turnovers and figured constantly in assaults on the All Blacks.
In the second half, Pollard kicked two penalties and a drop goal to give the home team a 19-3 lead before both teams scored late tries.
Frizell dived over in the corner and fellow substitute Richie Mo’unga converted, then replacement back Willie le Roux scored beside the post and Pollard converted for a personal tally of 16 points.
Under-fire New Zealand rugby coach Ian Foster said he believed his All Blacks team took “a step up” despite losing 26-10 to South Africa in the Rugby Championship opener in Mbombela on Saturday.
Foster, under pressure after the All Blacks lost a home series against Ireland last month, said there had been encouraging aspects in the latest performance.
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The New Zealand team performs the Haka as South African players look on at the Mbombela Stadium in Mbombela on August 6, 2022. Photo: AFPSource: AFP
The loss to the Springboks was the fifth in six matches after three defeats by Ireland and another by France.
Foster has lost nine of 25 matches in charge of the three-time world champions while predecessor Steve Hansen suffered 10 defeats in 107 Tests.
An All Blacks assistant coach during the eight-year reign of Hansen, Foster was a controversial appointment ahead of Canterbury Crusaders coach Scott Robertson.
“It was a step up from our last series,” said Foster.
“The lineout worked well, our maul defense was good and our overall defense was pretty solid but the timing in terms of attack was a bit off.”
Kurt-Lee Arendse of South Africa scores against the All Blacks at Mbombela Stadium on August 06, 2022 in Nelspruit, South Africa. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
He said a string of penalties conceded by the All Blacks in the first 20 minutes had hurt his team.
“I felt we were not getting the rub of the green in the first 20 minutes, so that put us behind a little.”
He said the third quarter of the match, after the All Blacks were fortunate to trail only 10-3 at half-time, it was critical.
“We had to get back into the game but all the Springboks did carry hard and clean hard and earn a couple of penalties. Good on them, that is their game. It is a pressure game.” Foster acknowledged that the intensity of the match played in front of a passionate sell-out home crowd of 42,367 had affected some of the new players in the touring squad.
“Some of our guys who are here for the first time — that is what you have to go through and experience.”
Ian Foster (C) is under huge pressure after the All Blacks lost three straight matches. Photo: AFPSource: AFP
Foster said that although there was not much time before a second-round match against the Springboks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg next Saturday, he was confident of an improved performance.
“As the game unfolded, a few opportunities opened up. There were some handling errors but we made a few good strides. But we have to provide it next week.”
SuperSport TV analyst and former Springbok captain and hooker John Smit said it had been a “commanding performance” by the home team.
“We won the kicking game and the error game. This is a Springbok team that knows what they do well and they stick to it.”
Australia will have plenty of chances to add to its gold medal tally early on Saturday night [AEST] as the action gets underground on Day 9 of the Commonwealth Games.
Australia was on top of the Commonwealth Games medal tally with 50 golds, with England closing in on 47 but that was before Saturday’s events got underway.
Now the Australians have hit 54, with four gold medals in the opening hours. Read on for a full wrap and live coverage of Day 9’s action!
MEDAL TALLY: Aussies JUST in front as Comm Games race comes down to the wire
DAY 8 WRAP: ‘National disgrace’ rocks Comm Games as Hockeyroos survive penalty shootout scare
Australia benefits from BIZZARE rule | 00:29
LAWN BOWLS
Australia could pocket up to 11 more gold medals on Saturday, with Kristina Krstic and Ellen Ryan taking home the first in stunning fashion in the final women’s pairs lawn bowls.
England’s Sophie Tolchard and Amy Pharaoh led at 11-2 at one point but the Aussies refused to go away and won on the final bowl in dramatic fashion.
England skipped out to an early 2-0 lead and threatened to make it 4-0 but a brilliant final bowl from Ellen Ryan knocked two of her rival’s balls out of the way to level it at 2-2.
England responded though with two solid ends to reassert its dominance and kept going from there to take an 11-2 lead but Australia roared back in epic fashion to get it back to 11-10.
Ellen Ryan and Kristina Krstic of Team Australia react during Women’s Pairs – Gold Medal Match. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The Aussie duo kept up the fight, picking up four points on the 13th end to lead 16-12 before England pegged it back and was up 18-17.
Krstic and Ryan though were on the brink of gold medal glory with two leading balls on the 18th end, only for Pharaoh to knock one out with a brilliant bowl on the final ball.
It meant the game finished a draw and would instead go into overtime to decide who would take home the gold.
England was in the commanding position with a few balls left but a pinpoint bowl from Ryan knocked the jack away and kept Australia in with a chance.
Once again it went down to the last ball, with Australia’s gold medal hopes resting on Ryan’s shoulders.
And she came up clutch with a stunning shot to knock England’s leading ball out of the way, sealing gold in a thrilling comeback.
ATHLETICS
‘That is breathtaking’: Comm Games record broken in 10,000m stunner
The gold rush has continued on the track, with Jemima Montag taking out the women’s 10,000m walk in a dominant display.
“That was absolutely breathtaking,” Channel 7’s Jason Richardson said.
Montag paced herself brilliantly throughout the walk and then picked up the pace in the latter stages of the race to get in a comfortable position.
So comfortable that Montag could start celebrating well before she crossed the finish line for gold with a time of 42:34:00 — a new personal best and Commonwealth Games record.
“That was surreal,” Montag told Channel 7 post race.
Jemima Montag of Team Australia celebrates after winning the gold medal. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“You just sort of pretend everyone’s clapping for you, even if they’re clapping for the high jump or the hammer throwers walking in and anytime there’s self-doubt, it really gives you a boost.
“I feel like I’m continuing the legacy of really strong Australian race walking and to go back-to-back, winning on the Gold Coast four years ago really changed my life. I didn’t think that at the time but I think with hindsight it did, it set in that self-belief. I have big dreams for two more Olympic games. So today was a special moment.”
Fellow Australian Rebecca Henderson finished fourth and Katie Hayward placed seventh.
Aussie world champ toppled in upset
There was a surprise result on track, with Eleanor Pattersonthe reigning world champion, missing out on gold in the women’s high jump final.
Patterson was coming off a brilliant win at the World Championships and became the first to clear 1.89m in a strong opening to the final.
In the end though she missed three attempts at 1.95m, the top result set by Jamaica’s Lamara Distin, who won gold with Patterson taking the silver medal.
Nicola Olyslagers was initially going to join her but with drawn from the final with a torn calf.
“It could be a few weeks and if I jumped today it was possible to be a nine-month injury,” the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist told Channel 7.
Australia’s Eleanor Patterson missed out on gold. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP)Source: AFP
Elsewhere, Julie Charlton will also be competing in the women’s F55-57 shot put final while there will be four Australians going for gold in the women’s 10km race walk final at 7.30pm.
Later at 8.50pm, ben buckingham and Edward Trippas will be going for gold in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final.
The final shot at gold comes in the men’s 1500m final, with Ollie Hoare in action and looking to secure ultimate redemption after a disappointing exit from the world championships.
Hoare was the fastest Australian qualifier after finishing first in heat one with a time of 3:37.57.
Other highlights include the women’s and men’s 4x100m relay heats.
There are lots of high-stakes events too with alex hulley (hammer throw), Sarah Carly (400m hurdles), Catriona Bisset (800m) and Ella Connolly (200m) in their own ends.
GYMNASTICS
The golds kept coming in gymnastics, with Alexandra Kiroi Bogatyreva taking out the rhythmic gymnastics clubs final with a score of 29,400.
Kiroi-Bogatyreva was also in action earlier in the ball final, placing fifth with a score of 28,600 and will be in the final ribbon later in the night.
Eighteen-year-old Lydia Iakovleva will also be in the rhythmical gymnastics hoop final after finish seventh (107.150) in the all-around final on Friday.
netball
The ultimate grudge match sees Australia’s Diamonds face England in the netball semi-final. You can read Nat Medhurt’s full preview ahead of the fiery semi-final here, with the game set to begin at 11.30pm.
If Australia is successful, it is Jamaica they will face in the end.
Jamaica’s stunning run continued as they dominated the Silver Ferns to take a 67-51 win and book their spot in the gold medal match for the first time at the Commonwealth Games.
Jamaica were the surprise top qualifiers in their pool after shocking Australia and it looks like
the Diamonds will again need to try to find a way to shut down Jhaniele Fowler.
The world’s best shooter dominated in Jamaica’s 57-55 win over Australia in the pool stage, finishing that match with 47 goals from 50 attempts and was even better against New Zealand.
The West Coast Fever star shot a perfect 54 goals from 54 attempts in the win.
Jhaniele Fowler starred in the win. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
TABLE TENNIS
Two Australian pairs (chunyi feng & Yangzi Liu and Jian Fang Lay & minhyung jee) were both successful in their Round of 16 matches for the women’s doubles table tennis.
They will face Singapore and Nigeria respectively in the quarter-finals at 1am.
Later in the night, Liu will continue her bid to become the first Australian woman to win a Commonwealth Games singles medal when she competes in the semi-final.
There will be guaranteed gold in the morning too, with an All-Australian for table tennis final between Li Na Lei and qian yang.
BOXING
There are lots of medals up for grabs in the ring, withfive Australians into the semi-finals. first-up, kaye scott is through to the gold medal fight after winning her women’s light middleweight boxing semi-final against Alcinda Helena Panguane on points.
Callum Peters will also put on the gloves for the men’s middleweight semi-final later in the night at 9.15pm, taking on Simnikiwe Bongco.
Edgardo Coumi is in action at 2am against Lewis Williams of England in the men’s heavyweight division while Australian middleweight Caitlyn Anne Parker faces Tammara Thibeault.
History will be made on Sunday morning regardless of the result as tina rahimi becomes Australia’s first Muslim woman boxer to take home a medal at the Games.
She will fight Elizabeth Oshoba in her featherweight semi-final.
DIVING
The swimming may be over but there was more success in the pool for Australia as Annabelle Smith and Madison Smith claimed gold in the women’s 3m synchronized springboard diving final.
Later on, the women’s synchronized 10m platform final sees Emily Boyd, Nikita Hayes, Charlie Petrov and Melissa Wu all in action.
CRICKET
There is plenty to look forward to in the early hours of Saturday morning too, with Australia’s women’s T20 cricket side battling New Zealand in a semi-final at 3am.
VOLLEYBALL
A dominant quarter-final performance has Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy one step closer to gold.
Their next challenge will be Vanuatu in the women’s beach volleyball semi-final at 6am.
HOCKEY
There will be more semi-final action, with Australia up against longtime rival England in the men’s hockey, with the time for that game to be confirmed.
SQUASH
There is plenty of action on the squash court too, kicking off with cameron pilly & Rhys Dowling and Zack Alexander & ryan cuskelly in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.
The mixed doubles semi-finals later in the day will feature donna lobban and pilley while Jess Turnbull and Alex Haydon team up in the mixed doubles plate quarter-final.
wrestling
There is lots to look forward to in wrestling too, with Naomi DeBruine (women’s 50kg, women’s 53kg and women’s 76kg) in action along with justin holland (men’s 57kg) and Tom Barnes (men’s 74kg, men’s 97kg).
FULL SCHEDULE — DAY 9
Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls, 5.30pm
Hockey, 6:00 p.m.
Netball, 6.00pm
Table Tennis and Para Table Tennis, 6.30pm
Athletics and Para Athletics, 7.00pm
Diving, 7.00pm
Rhythmic Gymnastics, 7.00pm
Boxing, 7.30pm
Wrestling, 7:30 p.m.
Badminton, 8:00 p.m.
Cricket T20, 8.00pm
Squash, 9.00pm
Boxing, 11.30pm
Netball, 11.30pm
Follow all the action live below! Can’t see it? Click here!
Australia will have plenty of chases to add to its gold medal tally early on Saturday night [AEST] as the action gets underground on Day 9 of the Commonwealth Games.
Australia remains on top of the Commonwealth Games medal tally with 50 golds but England is closing in with 47 to set up a thrilling race in the final days.
Here is a full wrap of the key events to come on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday morning!
MEDAL TALLY: Aussies JUST in front as Comm Games race comes down to the wire
DAY 8 WRAP: ‘National disgrace’ rocks Comm Games as Hockeyroos survive penalty shootout scare
Australia benefits from BIZZARE rule | 00:29
LAWN BOWLS
Australia could pocket up to 11 more gold medals on Saturday, with the first shot coming at 5.30pm when Kristina Krstic and Ellen Ryan face England’s Sophie Tolchard and Amy Pharaoh in the women’s pairs lawn bowls final.
England skipped out to an early 2-0 lead and threatened to make it 4-0 but a brilliant final bowl from Ellen Ryan knocked two of her rival’s balls out of the way to level it at 2-2.
“What a good ball and what a good result, one of the commentators for Channel 7 said.
“What a shot. Perfect hit, rolling the blue balls out,” another added.
“My goodness, I don’t think Ellen would have even hoped she got that result.”
England responded though with two solid ends to reassert its dominance and kept going from there to take an 11-2 lead but Australia responded in epic fashion to get it back to 11-10.
TABLE TENNIS
Two Australian pairs (chunyi feng & Yangzi Liu and Jian Fang Lay & minhyung jee) will be in action in the Round of 16 for the women’s doubles table tennis.
Later in the night, Liu will continue her bid to become the first Australian woman to win a Commonwealth Games singles medal when she competes in the semi-final.
There will be guaranteed gold in the morning too, with an All-Australian for table tennis final between Li Na Lei and qian yang.
GYMNASTICS
Shortly after at 7pm, 18-year-old Lydia Iakovleva will be in the rhythmical gymnastics hoop final after finish seventh (107.150) in the all-around final on Friday.
Later there will be more gold medals up for grabs in rhythmical gymnastics too, with Alexandra Kiroi Bogatyreva scheduled to compete in both the ball and clubs final.
Those events are scheduled for 7.42pm and 8.22pm respectively but won’t be the end of Kiroi-Bogatyreva’s day as she has also qualified for the ribbon final at 9.02pm.
ATHLETICS
There will be plenty of action on the track, with three gold medals on offer in the space of 30 minutes.
First up will be Eleanor Pattersonwith the reigning world champion looking to defend her crown in the women’s high jump final, coming off a brilliant win at the World Championships.
Elsewhere, Julie Charlton will also be competing in the women’s F55-57 shot put final while there will be four Australians going for gold in the women’s 10km race walk final at 7.30pm.
Later at 8.50pm, ben buckingham and Edward Trippas will be going for gold in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final.
The final shot at gold comes in the men’s 1500m final, with Ollie Hoare in action and looking to secure ultimate redemption after a disappointing exit from the world championships.
Hoare was the fastest Australian qualifier after finishing first in heat one with a time of 3:37.57.
Other highlights include the women’s and men’s 4x100m relay heats.
There are lots of high-stakes events too with alex hulley (hammer throw), Sarah Carly (400m hurdles), Catriona Bisset (800m) and Ella Connolly (200m) in their own ends.
Australia’s Eleanor Patterson will go for gold. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP)Source: AFP
BOXING
There are lots of medals up for grabs in the ring, withfive Australians into the semi-finals. first-up, kaye scott is in action at 8.30pm in the women’s light middleweight boxing semi-final against Alcinda Helena Panguane.
Callum Peters will also put on the gloves for the men’s middleweight semi-final later in the night at 9.15pm, taking on Simnikiwe Bongco.
Edgardo Coumi is in action at 2am against Lewis Williams of England in the men’s heavyweight division while Australian middleweight Caitlyn Anne Parker faces Tammara Thibeault.
History will be made on Sunday morning regardless of the result as tina rahimi becomes Australia’s first Muslim woman boxer to take home a medal at the Games.
She will fight Elizabeth Oshoba in her featherweight semi-final.
netball
The ultimate grudge match sees Australia’s Diamonds face England in the netball semi-final. You can read Nat Medhurt’s full preview ahead of the fiery semi-final here, with the game set to begin at 11.30pm.
DIVING
Two Australian duos (Madison Keeney/Annabelle Smith and Brittany O’Brien/Esther Qing) will be competing in the women’s 3m synchronized springboard diving final.
Later on, the women’s synchronized 10m platform final sees Emily Boyd, Nikita Hayes, Charlie Petrov and Melissa Wu all in action.
CRICKET
There is plenty to look forward to in the early hours of Saturday morning too, with Australia’s women’s T20 cricket side battling New Zealand in a semi-final at 3am.
VOLLEYBALL
A dominant quarter-final performance has Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy one step closer to gold.
Their next challenge will be Vanuatu in the women’s beach volleyball semi-final at 6am.
HOCKEY
There will be more semi-final action, with Australia up against longtime rival England in the men’s hockey, with the time for that game to be confirmed.
SQUASH
There is plenty of action on the squash court too, kicking off with cameron pilly & Rhys Dowling and Zack Alexander & ryan cuskelly in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.
The mixed doubles semi-finals later in the day will feature donna lobban and pilley while Jess Turnbull and Alex Haydon team up in the mixed doubles plate quarter-final.
wrestling
There is lots to look forward to in wrestling too, with Naomi DeBruine (women’s 50kg, women’s 53kg and women’s 76kg) in action along with justin holland (men’s 57kg) and Tom Barnes (men’s 74kg, men’s 97kg).
FULL SCHEDULE — DAY 9
Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls, 5.30pm
Hockey, 6:00 p.m.
Netball, 6.00pm
Table Tennis and Para Table Tennis, 6.30pm
Athletics and Para Athletics, 7.00pm
Diving, 7.00pm
Rhythmic Gymnastics, 7.00pm
Boxing, 7.30pm
Wrestling, 7:30 p.m.
Badminton, 8:00 p.m.
Cricket T20, 8.00pm
Squash, 9.00pm
Boxing, 11.30pm
Netball, 11.30pm
Follow all the action live below! Can’t see it? Click here!
New Zealand’s latest pole-vaulting star Imogen Ayris has revealed she not only competed in the final of her event at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games with a broken hand, but also with a broken foot.
Ayris told the NZ Herald following her bronze medal vault of 4.45m that she discovered a broken bone in her hand earlier this year, caused by an old gymnastics injury. Now Ayris says she found out following the final that her foot was also in a sorry state.
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Arriving at a celebratory lunch for Kiwi athletes at New Zealand House in Edgbaston on Thursday wearing a moon boot, Ayris told 1News that she had to block out the pain as she fought for her medal.
“(The pain) was there but it wasn’t what I was thinking about, it wasn’t what I was worried about,” she said.
“I’m quite good at ignoring pain. I’ve jumped with some pretty wacky injuries in the past so it didn’t affect me at all. It was there but it wasn’t.”
Ayris said she wasn’t even sure how the break occurred and had purposely downplayed her pain leading up the event.
“It’s been a little niggly for a while – when I got off a plane in America (before last month’s world championships in Oregon) for a session I felt it a bit but I just thought that it was from the travel.
“I kept training on it, it kind of went away, and then it came back a bit. We were strapping it up for training sessions, didn’t modify any training, and then after competition we got it scanned to figure out what was really going on and it was fractured.
“I had probably downplayed it in the past two weeks building up to this but I didn’t want to make it a thing if it wasn’t a thing.”
The break has forced the rising star to cancel a planned athletics campaign in Europe and instead return to New Zealand to rehabilitate the injury.
“I’m going to go home, put my feet up and let this bone heal,” she said.
This article originally appeared on the NZ Herald and was reproduced with permission
Robust wing Caleb Clarke has been named in New Zealand’s starting line-up after returning from injury for their first Test in the Rugby Championship against South Africa in Nelspruit this weekend.
The prolific Will Jordan and versatile Jordie Barrett retain their places in the back three that can expect an aerial assault from the Springboks on Saturday.
David Havili and Rieko Ioane will continue with their partnership in midfield as they were in the final Test against Ireland.
No half-back changes
Beauden Barrett remains the starting fly-half in his half-back partnership with veteran scrum-half Aaron Smith and the pair will be key decision-makers in Saturday’s Test.
The loose trio is the same as the All Blacks’ previous Test, where Akira Ioane impressed after being thrust into the starting line-up late on that occasion. Sam Cane will lead the team from the side of the scrum, whilst Ardie Savea will be looking to continue his good form at number eight in the black jersey.
All eyes will be on second-row pairing Sam Whitelock and Scott Barrett, who will need to take charge of the lineout after a poor showing in the set-piece during their Test series against Ireland.
Meanwhile, George Bower, Samisoni Taukei’aho and Angus Ta’avao make up a new look front-row that will be up against a strong Springbok scrum.
On the bench, Dane Coles, Ethan de Groot and Tyrell Lomax are coach Ian Foster’s options as front-row substitutes, while Tupou Vaa’i and Shannon Frizell are the other forward replacements.
Blues livewire scrum-half Finlay Christie and playmaker Richie Mo’unga are half-back options on the bench, with center Quinn Tupaea the final substitute.
Foster was excited to start the Rugby Championship against their rivals and is looking forward to getting started.
“What a great way to start this year’s Rugby Championship. It’s always an exciting tournament to be part of,” he said. “This year’s draw means we have a massive challenge of two games here in South Africa.
Expects intense encounter
“We have settled in well in Mbombela and are preparing for what is always an intense game against our old foe.
“Many of our squad are here in South Africa for the first time. This gives us another opportunity to add new experiences and grow our game.”
New Zealand: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 David Havili, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock , 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 George Bower Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Ethan de Groot, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Shannon Frizell, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 Quinn Tupaea
Roosters star Luke Keary has put his hand up to play for Ireland in this year’s World Cup — throwing his support behind a raft of NRL stars opting to represent their heritage.
Reports surfaced that Maroons gun Josh Papalii will ply his trade for Samoa, joining Jarome Luai and Brian To’o, while Felise Kaufusi, Siosifa Talakai, Daniel Tupou and Kotoni Staggs are set to represent Tonga.
While Keary may not have been in Meninga’s Kangaroos plans, the 30-year-old has expressed his desire to represent Ireland after being ruled out of the 2017 World Cup with a hip injury.
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“I stuck my hand up to play for Ireland in 2017,” Keary said to the SMH.
“It didn’t eventuate, I had a few [injuries] at the back end of the year. We’ll just see how the next few weeks go but I’ve told the [Irish officials] that I need to tell.
“I’ve always had a connection there since I was a kid. Dad’s family is still over there. I haven’t been over there but you just feel proud whenever I’ve talked about it. It makes me feel good thinking about it.”
Keary welcomed players who wanted to represent their heritage, explaining “it’s great for our game”.
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“It’s going to be a great World Cup with so many great players putting their hands up for their nations of birth or their heritage. I think it’s great for our game,” he said.
Ireland have been drawn in group C, alongside Jamaica, Lebanon and one of the competition’s heavyweights — New Zealand.
The Kiwis boast one of Keary’s Roosters teammates, who plays at fullback for his national team, Joseph Manu.
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Meanwhile, young gun Joseph Suaalii will be attending the World Cup — whether it be for the Kangaroos or Samoa.
The 19-year-old could be set for a potential starting berth with Samoa should he choose to go down that path, but the young gun outlined his preference.
“I honestly haven’t thought about it too much but I want to be there playing at the World Cup,” Suaalii said.
“I’m trying to make that Australian team and if I’m lucky enough I’ll make that Samoan team as well.
“If I get picked for either of them it would be an honour. If I’m playing at the World Cup I’ll be happy.”
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The Australian women’s cricket team will face New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games semi-finals this weekend, but most Aussie supporters won’t be awake for the must-win contest in Birmingham.
The semi-final fixtures were unveiled on Friday morning AEST, with hosts England scheduled to take on powerhouse nation India on Saturday at 11am local time.
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Meanwhile, world champions Australia will battle their trans-Tasman rivals in the evening timeslot, meaning fans back home hoping to cheer on Meg Lanning’s side will need to set an alarm for 3am AEST on Sunday morning.
Kiwi viewers have been treated to a slightly less painful 5am start time.
Swapping the fixtures would have given three of the competing nations a prime broadcast timeslot for their respective audiences, but accommodating India’s massive fanbase has seemingly been prioritized.
Australia was undefeated in the group stage, defeating India, Barbados and Pakistan to cruise through the knockouts.
New Zealand, meanwhile, suffered a horror collapse in their final group stage match against England on Thursday, managing just 9/71 from their 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first at Edgbaston.
Maddy Green top-scored for the Kiwis with 19 as veteran seamer Katherine Brunt rattled the New Zealanders with a classy spell of 2/4 from three overs in the Powerplay.
“We were well below par and it wasn’t through lack of effort or lack of planning or anything like that, I think you just get days like that,” New Zealand captain Sophie Devine said.
“It’s never nice to be a part of but we’ve got to flush it down the dunny pretty quickly and move on to something that’s actually really exciting for us, playing in a semi-final against Australia at a Commonwealth Games.”
England chased the 72-run target with more than eight overs to spare and seven wickets in hand.
Regardless, Australia remain firm favorites to return home with the coveted gold medal around their necks, having not lost a 20-over match since March 2021.
“I think a lot of the pressure is going to be on Australia,” Devine said.
“They’ve certainly come into this competition as favorites and hopeful of taking that gold medal whereas a lot of people didn’t think we’d maybe make the semi-finals.
“We can really take that on board and just play with a bit of freedom and take it to the Aussies. We obviously know them really well, so I think our plans are going to be pretty spot on and likewise they know us really well too. It’s always just a great battle against the Australians.”
