George Ford in line to beat Fin Smith for England fly-half berth against Australia
George Ford is likely to start at fly-half when England begin their autumn internationals campaign against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.The Sale Sharks No 10 enjoyed an outstanding summer tour with Steve Borthwick’s side, helping to orchestrate two victories against Argentina and one against the USA, and appears to have stated a strong case for selection.Fin Smith, whose Northampton side top the Prem table after five rounds, became established as the first-choice fly-half during the Six Nations this year before embarking on the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia.However, along with his playing ability, the 32-year-old Ford’s tactical expertise is highly valued in the England camp, and if he starts on Saturday it could indicate Borthwick regards him as first-choice for the Rugby World Cup in 2027.The 23-year-old Smith and the first-choice scrum-half Alex Mitchell play together for Northampton but Ford, who has 102 England caps, brings a different set of skills with his perceptive tactical kicking and threat of drop-goals.
Sale, in contrast to the in-form Saints, are seventh in the Prem with two wins from five matches.Borthwick has a wealth of options in the back-line and the Northampton wing Tommy Freeman is being strongly considered to start at outside-centre.Mitchell backed his clubmate, who scored four tries against Saracens last Friday, to thrive if he switches from the wing to No 13.“I think it will be good.He’s a quality player who has a lot of facets to his game with his power and how he works in the air,” Mitchell said.
“His confidence is through the roof and his form is amazing.We knew when he came through the academy that he’s got everything: speed, power, height.He understands the game.We know if he puts that all together he’s one hell of a player.”The hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie has welcomed the “Test-match animal” Tom Curry, his Sale teammate, back into the England fold.
Curry has recovered from having surgery on a wrist problem after the Lions tour and is in contention to start in the back row against the Wallabies.“He’s built differently,” said Cowan-Dickie, who will reach 50 England caps if he plays at Twickenham.“I think he showed that in the Lions.It’s a cliche: ‘He’s a Test-match animal,’ – but he is.For his game and mental approach, he could have not played for a year, and I’d still put him in my team.
”Curry appeared six times for the British & Irish Lions in Australia but has missed the start of Sale’s domestic campaign due to the surgery.“He’s a workhorse,” Cowan-Dickie said.Sign up to The BreakdownThe latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewedafter newsletter promotion“When you see it out on the field, half the time he’s limping because he’s put his body on the line.But he’s still going and you always feed off that sort of stuff.He was playing with that wrist injury for ages.
He’s another guy who’s mentally tough.It’s always a bonus for me personally.He’s one of these best back-rowers, if not the best back-rower in the world so I’m buzzing that he’s on my team.”Cowan-Dickie has also endured serious injuries himself since his England debut in 2015.“I’ve stuck around – they don’t call me the cockroach for no reason,” Cowan-Dickie joked.
“I’ve had a lot of injuries.Would I be here today if I didn’t play through them? Maybe not.I think it’s made me robust.”Cowan-Dickie also said he is continuing to the feel benefits of giving up alcohol.“Loving it – I’ve not thought about once,” he said.
“I don’t know how long it has been: 17 or 18 months, and I feel way better for it,My body is better for it,Touch wood I have not been injured, I have lost a bit of weight, and I’m feeling physically better,”
Stock markets rise to record highs and Apple touches $4tn market value for first time – as it happened
The UK’s FTSE 100 has hit a new intra-day record and Wall Street shares are also at all-time highs – with Apple hit a $4 trillion market value for the first time.The FTSE 100 has hit a record peak of 9,715.22, and is currently trading 0.5% higher at 9,698.4
‘A stomach of steel’: amateur investors ride out dips amid talk of an AI bubble
It was more than just a hunch, says Jacob Foot of his first foray into US tech stock investments back in 2020.The 23-year-old says he played around with artificial intelligence tools in his first job and thought to himself: this technology is going to be a big deal.Foot put his savings each month into US shares and in particular the biggest investors in AI, the Magnificent Seven (M7). For several years the list has included the chipmaker Nvidia, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Alphabet (the owner of Google) and Meta (the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp).Five years on, Foot expects to complete the purchase of a “bigger house in London than I expected”, a dream he could not have realised without his stock market bets paying off
Apple hits $4tn market value as new iPhone models revitalize sales
Apple topped $4tn (£3tn) in market value for the first time on Tuesday, joining Microsoft and Nvidia as the third company in history to hit the milestone, thanks to strong demand for its latest iPhones.Apple’s share price has increased by more than 50% since a low point in April, thanks to the debut of its latest products.“The iPhone accounts for over half of Apple’s profit and revenue, and the more phones they can get into the hands of people, the more they can drive people into their ecosystem,” said Chris Zaccarelli, the chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, before the milestone was reached.Apple’s shares had struggled earlier this year on concerns over tough competition in China and how it would cope with high US tariffs on Asian economies such as China and India, its main manufacturing hubs.However, the latest smartphones, the iPhone 17 lineup, have won back customers from Beijing to Moscow, while the company has swallowed tariff costs instead of passing them on to consumers
OpenAI completes conversion to for-profit business after lengthy legal saga
OpenAI said on Tuesday it had converted its main business into a for-profit corporation, the conclusion of a lengthy and fraught legal saga.A crucial regulator, Kathy Jennings, the Delaware attorney general, said she approved the plan for the startup, which began as a non-profit in 2015, to change to a public benefit corporation, a type of for-profit entity that expresses commitment to bettering society.The company also said it had reorganized its ownership structure and signed a new agreement with its longtime backer Microsoft that gives the software giant a roughly 27% stake in OpenAI’s new for-profit corporation, but changes some of the details of their close partnership. OpenAI was valued at $500bn under the terms of the deal, making Microsoft’s stake worth more than $100bn.The restructuring paves the way for the ChatGPT maker to more easily raise capital and profit off its artificial intelligence technology, even as it remains technically under the control of its own original non-profit entity
Cameron Norrie hails ‘biggest win’ after roaring back to beat Carlos Alcaraz in Paris
Cameron Norrie produced the greatest win of his career as he recovered from a set down to topple the world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.Although he has defeated Alcaraz on two previous occasions, Norrie’s triumph marks his first ever victory over a reigning No 1.“Massive. So big for me,” said Norrie, who becomes the fifth British man in history to defeat a world No 1. “Coming back from injury last year, I lost in the first round of qualies here
Borthwick rips up script with move to hybrids that could lead to Pollock on wing
Steve Borthwick is considering playing his fast-rising back-row Henry Pollock on the wing at some stage this autumn as he seeks fresh impetus in all areas before the looming November Tests.The England head coach says he wants his side to hit the ground running against Australia on Saturday and may also start Ben Earl at centre this season.England’s team to face the Wallabies has already had a significant makeover with Tommy Freeman starting in midfield and no place for either Marcus Smith or Ollie Lawrence in the matchday 23.Six British & Irish Lions players, including Pollock, have been named on the bench with Bath’s 22-year-old flanker Guy Pepper, the Leicester prop Joe Heyes and the Sale wing Tom Roebuck all starting.Part of Borthwick’s rationale is his desire to stick with combinations which went well on tour in Argentina but he is also looking for different ways to maximise the skill sets of dynamic, hybrid players such as Pollock, Pepper and Earl
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