Rugby

Rugby-Crowley to start as Ireland head to Twickenham in search of form

DUBLIN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Ireland's Jack ⁠Crowley will start his first game of this year's Six Nations against ⁠England at Twickenham on Saturday as coach Andy Farrell left flyhalf Sam ‌Prendergast out of the matchday squad with his side searching for an upturn in form.

Other Sports

Sailing-Caribbean speed demons prepare for 600-mile island-hopping duel

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Two ⁠mighty MOD70 trimarans capable of sustained speeds above 30 knots will headline ⁠a high-octane showdown when nearly 500 sailors from 40 countries tackle the ‌17th RORC Caribbean 600 next week.

Football

Soccer-Liverpool’s Slot says football must do more after Vinicius racism allegation

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Liverpool manager Arne Slot ⁠says more needs to be done to avoid racism in football following allegations by Real ⁠Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr that he was subjected to racist abuse from Benfica's Argentine ‌winger Gianluca Prestianni.

Other Sports

Paralympics-Italy opposes allowing Russia and Belarus to use flags, anthems

MILAN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Olympic ⁠hosts Italy called on Thursday for a reversal of the decision to let 10 Russian ⁠and Belarusian athletes compete with national flags and anthems at next month's Paralympic Games.

Other Sports

Olympics-Alpine skiing-Brignone, Shiffrin the golden greats after Vonn's comeback bid ended in agony

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Lindsey ⁠Vonn captured headlines before and during the Winter Games but fellow U.S. great Mikaela Shiffrin and home favourite Federica Brignone ⁠turned out to be the true comeback queens of the women's Alpine ski slopes.

Rugby

Rugby-Wales select uncapped wing Hamer-Webb for visit of Scotland

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Wales have handed a ⁠debut to Leicester Tigers wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb in one of four changes to their side for ⁠the visit of Scotland to the Principality Stadium in their Six Nations Championship clash ‌in Cardiff on Saturday.

Other Sports

Chess-Dutch chess grandmaster Timman, 'the best of the West', dies at age 74

AMSTERDAM, Feb ⁠19 (Reuters) - Dutch chess grandmaster Jan Timman, known as "the ⁠best of the West" in a time when chess ‌was dominated by players from the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 74, the Dutch Chess Federation said on Thursday.

Other Sports

Olympics-Biathlon-Relay pressure relieved as lead-off woes turn to gold for France

ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The relays ⁠at the Milano Cortina Games have once again proved some hardy old truths about team races in biathlon - ⁠you cannot win one on the first leg, but you can certainly lose it, and in the end ‌the medals go to whoever keeps their cool. 

Other Sports

Olympics-SkiMo-New sport begins in snowstorm

BORMIO, Italy, Feb 19 (Reuters) - ⁠SkiMo's eagerly-awaited debut at the Winter Olympics got underway at a snowy Bormio on Thursday with ⁠the heats of the women's and men's sprint competitions.

Rugby

Rugby-Furlong ridicule out of order, says Italy prop who gave him 'wings'

ROME, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Italy ⁠prop forward Mirco Spagnolo said he is disappointed that his ⁠Ireland counterpart Tadhg Furlong has been subjected to social media ‌ridicule after he drove the veteran front rower into the air at a scrum in last weekend's Six Nations match.

Cricket

Cricket-West Indies finish group stage unbeaten after easing past Italy

Feb 19 (Reuters) - West Indies ⁠beat Italy by 42 runs in their final ⁠Twenty20 World Cup Group C match on Thursday in ‌Kolkata, as the two-times champions maintained their perfect record heading into the Super Eight stage.

Other Sports

Olympics-Freestyle-Halfpipe, aerials events postponed due to heavy snow

LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb ⁠19 (Reuters) - The Winter Olympics freestyle skiing halfpipe and aerials events were postponed on ⁠Thursday for a day in Livigno, while the women and men ended up ‌training at the same time for the biathlon mass start as heavy snowfall caused schedule changes.

Football

Soccer-Australia coach says Fowler fit to start Women's Asian Cup

MELBOURNE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Australia attacker ⁠Mary Fowler will be fit to start at the Women's Asian Cup after ⁠a long recovery from an ACL injury, coach Joe Montemurro said on ‌Thursday.

Cycling

Motorcycling-Adelaide to host MotoGP's first street race from 2027

MELBOURNE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The ⁠Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix will move to a street circuit in Adelaide next ⁠year, ending Phillip Island's near-three-decade run hosting the MotoGP event, organisers said on Thursday.

Hockey

Olympics-Ice hockey-Canada play defending champions Finland, US meet Slovakia in men's semi-final showdowns after OT drama

(Removes repetition of 'men's' in headline of February 18 ⁠story)

Hockey

Olympics-Ice hockey-US squeeze by Sweden into men's semi-finals

MILAN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - ⁠Defenceman Quinn Hughes blasted in an overtime winner to send the ⁠United States past Sweden 2-1 in the men's Olympic ice hockey ‌quarter-final on Wednesday, setting up a meeting with the tournament darlings Slovakia in the final four.

Football

Soccer-Marseille appoint former captain Beye as new head coach

Feb 18 (Reuters) - ⁠Olympique de Marseille have appointed ⁠their former captain Habib Beye as ‌head coach a little over a week after he was sacked by Rennes following ​a string of poor ⁠results and a ⁠reported falling out with several players.

Football

Marcus makes his mark

PETALING JAYA: Barely two months after arriving in Johor, Marcus Guilherme is already making his presence felt at Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT).

Football

Red Giants’ Laine dares to take long shots now

PETALING JAYA: Nooa Laine (pic) may project a calm, almost cold persona off the field, but on the pitch the Selangor midfielder oozes class and confidence.

Football

Veteran striker Kipre proves age is just a number

PETALING JAYA: At 38, Tchetche Kipre may be regarded as a veteran nearing the twilight of his career, but the Penang striker insists age has never been an issue since he arrived in Malaysia as a 30-year-old to join Terengganu in 2017.