London mauling: Kangaroos return to rule roost with harsh lesson for England | John Davidson

Barry Humphries came to London in 1959 to become a star. Germaine Greer came to the UK to study in the 1960s, while Clive James did the same, swapping Kogarah for Kensington to become a renowned writer.Fast forward 60-odd years and it was Reece Walsh arriving in the English capital, albeit for a briefer stay, and out to make a splash in the Old Dart. And on Saturday in the cauldron of Wembley Stadium, he did just that.The NRL is intent on making rugby league a global sport, with sojourns to Las Vegas, State of Origin matches staged in New Zealand, a new club in Papua New Guinea and games in Dubai and Hong Kong in the works

Cokanasiga on song to help Bath past Bristol in bruising West Country derby

Bath do not lose often these days, never mind on successive league weekends. And with an injury-hit Bristol supposedly cast in the role of punchbags this fixture was widely viewed as a home banker. Sure enough the defending champions eventually pulled away but only at the final whistle could this feisty, incident-packed West Country derby be classed as wholly comfortable.It was fractious and visceral enough at times to make next Saturday’s England game against Australia look like a quiet suburban church fete. The England management will be suitably relieved that Ellis Genge, Ollie Lawrence, Guy Pepper and others walked away largely intact but they will all report back to Bagshot feeling distinctly battered and bruised

Tyrone Green doubles up as rampant Harlequins soar above Newcastle

Beaten to nil last weekend in embarrassing fashion, Harlequins, it should come as no real surprise, ran in tries from all quarters on Saturday. They will be annoyed that they failed to do the nilling here, but two late scores by Newcastle spoiled their afternoon somewhat, even if the Red Bulls, as they now call themselves, were little more than party to an exhibition by that stage.Nothing if not inconsistent, Quins were as deadly this week as they were listless last. They scored eight tries in all, including a brace for Tyrone Green on his 100th appearance. The bonus point was secured within half an hour, the fifth try on the stroke of half-time, and just past the hour the score read 52-0

Ruthless Australia sweep England aside in one-sided Ashes Test at Wembley

The pre-match talk from an England perspective going into this first Ashes series for 22 years focused on how the hosts were not short on motivation. However, you can have all the motivation in the world but in the end, in the pressure cooker that is international rugby league, there is simply no substitute for class.How the hosts were taught that in a brutal lesson to leave Wembley feeling flat, and this series feeling as though it is heading only one way. The suggestion had been that England’s best chance was to catch the Australians cold in game one, with it almost certain they will improve over the next fortnight.England can take heart from the fact that for the opening half-hour, they went toe to toe with the Kangaroos and matched them in most areas, but not the one that really mattered

England 6-26 Australia: rugby league Ashes first Test – as it happened

That’s it from the Wembley. The team move north for the second test at Everton’s stadium next sunday. Thanks for your company.There is a lot of mealy-mouthed talk of small margins among pundits on the BBC, which is nonsense. England were very poor and a long way short of the Kangaroos from 20 minutes onwards, because at this level being ten percent worse is a million miles margin

Australia beat South Africa by seven wickets: Women’s Cricket World Cup – as it happened

Alana King has delivered the greatest spell in World Cup history, taking seven wickets to lead Australia to a big win over South Africa and top spot on the table. Led by King’s 7-18, Australia were able to bowl South Africa out for 97 in Indore, before chasing down the victory target with seven wickets in hand and with 33 overs to spare.The result means Australia will finish the round-robin stage of the ODI tournament undefeated and face hosts India in a semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday. South Africa will face England in the other semi-final, with Saturday’s clash always set to determine top spot on the ladder.In all, the whole affair lasted a little over three hours as King spun a web around South Africa and showed why she is the best wrist spinner in the world right now