Hull KR tame Dragons and book Wembley date in push to end 40-year drought

Perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay Hull KR these days is that Willie Peters’ side are not only a regular presence in these kind of games, but they are now learning how to handle them like the very best.There was no escaping the fact that with half-time approaching here in York, Rovers were locked in a fascinating battle with Catalans. The Dragons had battled superbly to go 12-10 ahead and it was not unreasonable at that stage to ask whether the Robins could have been in danger of an upset.However, if there is one thing we have learned about this side in recent years on their journey to becoming one of Super League’s major players, it is that they can often find an answer to a question posed. This was perhaps the most emphatic display of them all yet as, from that stage, they ran in 26 unanswered points

Horse racing: Hollie Doyle takes Turner’s British women’s record for winners

Hollie Doyle’s riding career passed another significant milestone when victory aboard Brindavan in the Carey Group Handicap at Ascot gave her sole ownership of the record for winners in Britain by a female jockey with 1,023, one more than the career total of Hayley Turner, who announced her retirement in April.Doyle, who got Sean Woods’s gelding home by a length at 8-1, rode her first winner in 2013 and reached 100 winners in a calendar year for the first time in 2019. Her first Group One success was aboard Glen Shiel in the Champion Sprint at Ascot in October 2020 and she finished third in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year awards later the same year.“It’s good and like I’ve said in the past, I’ve got to kind of pinch myself to believe that I’ve done this well, so long may it continue,” Doyle, who is 28, told Sky Sports Racing after Saturday’s success. “We [Doyle and her husband, her fellow leading jockey Tom Marquand] have both come a long way and some days we do sit back and really appreciate what’s happened, but we’re also always looking forward to what we can do next or what’s around the corner

India great Virat Kohli set to call time on Test cricket career before England tour

Virat Kohli is set to deliver another blow to India’s plans for their imminent tour of England by indicating he wants to retire from Test cricket just days after Rohit Sharma’s decision to stand down, according to reports.Indian media is reporting that the 36-year-old has told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he no longer wishes to play the longest format of the game. The news comes amid rising tensions border with Pakistan. The Indian Premier League is on a one-week pause, while the Pakistan Super League has also been suspended.India’s selectors now face potentially having to pick a competitive touring party after losing two of their leading players – both former Test captains – when they meet in the coming days before next month’s five-Test series

Brave Australia dealt reality check in defeat to ruthless New Zealand

With a dismal record against New Zealand – the most recent result a 62-0 blackout in Brisbane last year – breaking the Black Ferns’ 27-match hoodoo was always going to be a tough ask for the Wallaroos. And so it proved, as Australia’s women’s side were dealt a reality check ahead of the Rugby World Cup in August, crashing to a 38-12 defeat in their Pacific Four Series opener.Even against the champions in six of the past seven World Cups, the Wallaroos went into this Test at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle with their tails up. Last week, they put Fijiana to the sword 43-7 in Suva for a fourth straight victory. It lifted their world ranking to No 6 and got them dreaming of a semi-final at the World Cup in England

Believe the hype: make Pollock the Lions midweek captain and watch him flourish | Ugo Monye

A couple of months ago, after Henry Pollock scored his first Premiership try against Sale in what is sure to be a contender for try of the season, I got a little excited. I called Phil Dowson – someone I have known since he was 19 – to speak to him about this star in the making. I asked if I was getting carried away with myself. Phil said he is a good kid who works hard on his game, and the next day I’m thinking about Pollock as a midweek captain for the British & Irish Lions.Fast forward two months and I’m of the same opinion

Cricket paying the price for being ruled by the big stick, and the big cheque | Barney Ronay

The thing about always saying yes to the person with the biggest stick is that, in the end, you don’t get to say yes any more. Or no. Or anything else for that matter. The thing about always taking the money is that in the end the money has to be repaid. The thing about aligning all your interests with a single furiously nationalistic political party is … Well, it’s the thing we have now