Meg Jones to captain England at Women’s Six Nations with Zoe Stratford pregnant

Meg Jones has been chosen to lead England’s world champions in 2026 after the regular Red Roses captain, Zoe Stratford, announced her pregnancy on Wednesday.Jones, who was vice-captain when England beat Canada to lift the World Cup last September, will take over from Stratford for the upcoming Women’s Six Nations. England kick off their campaign against Ireland on 11 April at Twickenham when a tournament-record crowd of more than 60,000 will be in the stands.The 29-year-old centre said: “Firstly, I’m really excited for Zoe and wish her and Strats [Luke, Zoe’s husband] every happiness on their news. It’s a huge honour to have been named captain of the Red Roses

‘The one medal I don’t have’: confident Keely Hodgkinson targets a first world title

Keely Hodgkinson believes she could not be in better shape to win a first world title this weekend having kicked on again after breaking the indoor 800m world record last month.The Olympic champion is the overwhelming favourite for gold at the world indoor championships in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland, and sounded bullish when asked if she had pushed on in training after obliterating Jolanda Ceplak’s record by running 1min 54.87sec in Liévin in February.“Yeah, training’s gone really well,” said Hodgkinson, who starts her competition with heats on Friday morning. “I’m very happy with where I am

Striking gambit: Erling Haaland invests in new world chess championship

Erling Haaland has become a significant investor in a new world chess championship tour that is expected to star his fellow Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, the Guardian can reveal.The deal was agreed shortly before Manchester City played at West Ham last Saturday, with Haaland shown on Sky Sports wearing a Norway Chess cap as he entered the London Stadium – without anyone noticing.Haaland said that his investment in the Total Chess World Championship Tour, which will have an annual prize pool of $2.7m (£2m), was part of his ambition to help chess become a bigger and more spectator-friendly sport.“Chess is an incredible game,” Haaland said

Prem ‘train’ returns with Saracens looking for instant lift at Bath

Remember the Prem? It’s been in hibernation almost as long as your tortoise. The last sighting of England’s elite men’s domestic league was on 24 January but now, finally, it is re-emerging from the shadows of the Six Nations, starting under the Friday night lights at the Rec where second-placed Bath are hosting sixth-placed Saracens.It has certainly felt like a protracted hiatus, even if the lower-profile Prem Cup has taken up some slack. And with only eight regular season rounds remaining every would-be playoff contender has no choice but to hit the ground running. As Bath’s head coach, Johann van Graan, says: “It doesn’t really matter what you’ve done before

March Madness 2026 women’s predictions: can anyone thwart a UConn repeat?

Can anyone derail the Connecticut juggernaut? Our contributors pick the winners, sleepers and upsets for this year’s women’s NCAA TournamentThere have been just four women’s Final Fours featuring all No 1 seeds. This year feels like it could give us the fifth. UConn v South Carolina would be a tantalizing rematch of last year’s national championship game – made even more interesting by the fact they didn’t meet in the regular season for the first time since 2013-14. Texas held off a late UCLA comeback when they played in November, but the Bruins have rolled off 25 straight wins since. EBCircle the date for UConn v South Carolina in the national semi-finals on Friday 3 April

‘The only thing left for me was death’: meet the meth-addict long jumper who has been to hell and back

Three years ago Luvo Manyonga knew he must change his life or die. In Poland this week, the former world champion makes an extraordinary return to athletics’ top tableSprawled prone in the dirt, the cold metal of a baseball bat cracking against his skull, spine and down to the legs that had once propelled him to glory, Luvo Manyonga experienced an epiphany. This existence could not continue; he must change his life or die.Manyonga had been a drug addict for as long as he could remember, seeking recreational highs that provided the opposite of the performance-enhancing shortcuts that some of his deceitful athletics rivals might have pursued.At times, he just about kept his habit in check