The 10th men’s Rugby World Cup is set to kick off on September 8, with hosts France taking on New Zealand in front of what is sure to be a full house at the Stade de France. Over the space of seven weeks, 20 teams will contest 48 matches in a bid to lift the Webb Ellis trophy.
Rugby’s greatest stars will be on parade when the 10th World Cup unfolds during September and October. Here, we look at five Rugby World Cup 2023 players expected to light up the tournament hosted by France.
Max Verstappen drove his way into the Formula One history books by claiming his 10th-consecutive victory at the Italian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver eclipsed Sebastian Vettel’s previous mark and here we look at how he compares with the sport’s all-time greats.
Max Verstappen is as short as 2/9 to set a new record for consecutive Formula One race wins in the Italian Grand Prix odds. The Red Bull star overcame a chaotic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s tally of nine wins in a row on home turf.
Liam Smith gave us a nice pay-day when beating Chris Eubank Jr back in January and is backed to come out on top again in Saturday’s rematch. The Liverpudlian stopped his opponent early in the fourth round when an 11/5 underdog and we’re convinced that was no fluke result.
The US Open, the final grand slam of the year, begins in New York on Monday. Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, the current world number ones, will bid to defend the titles they won last year but a host of rivals will be out to dethrone them. Here, we pick 10 players to watch at Flushing Meadows.
The Athletics World Championships start in Budapest on Saturday – just a year after the rearranged 2022 edition in Eugene – and we’ve picked out five international stars to watch in Hungary.
Anthony Joshua remains on course for a future bout with Deontay Wilder after he produced a spectacular stoppage of Robert Helenius. Joshua claimed the 26th victory of his professional career with a first knock-out in three years, but all the talk was about what next for the British heavyweight.
Max Verstappen is almost impossible to oppose in our Dutch Grand Prix predictions as he seeks a historic victory on home turf. Verstappen’s triumph in Belgium before the summer break was his eighth in a row – one shy of Sebastian Vettel’s record hot streak.
With Max Verstappen so far in front at the top of the championship table, bwin have introduced 2023 F1 drivers title odds on who will fare best of the rest. Sergio Perez suffered a worrying slump after starting the season strongly, but his form has improved again of late and he is favourite here.
Anthony Joshua is expected to enjoy an easy night when taking on late stand-in Robert Helenius at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night. AJ was set to face fellow British heavyweight Dillian Whyte, but the latter had “adverse analytical findings” in a doping test.
Leigh and Hull KR are both surprising but fully deserved Challenge Cup finalists and a high-energy contest is on the cards at Wembley. The Leopards are bidding for their first cup triumph since 1971, while Rovers’ only final in this century ended in dismal fashion as they were routed 50-0 by Leeds in 2015.
We’re finishing off our 2023 Glorious Goodwood tips with selections for all seven races on Saturday’s closing card. The Coral Stewards’ Cup is the big betting event on day four, while there is also a classy Group Two contest and some other wide-open handicaps.
The 2023 Ashes series ended in a 2-2 draw after England won the deciding match at The Oval. Here we look at the key Ashes statistics from a thrilling five-match contest which saw Australia retain the urn.