Marauding Blues hold off luckless Maroons to take Women’s Origin series lead

In the end, it had to be Jesse Southwell. The Blues halfback may have chosen to leave her home town club Newcastle for Brisbane this year, but in familiar surrounds at McDonald Jones Stadium in front of 20,000 fans on Thursday it was her who proved coolest as New South Wales won the opening Women’s State of Origin game, 11-6.Her field goal with seven minutes to go stole the glory from a valiant Queensland, who went close to the winning try before Blues centre Jess Sergis scored a sealer on the whistle.Southwell described it as “probably the fastest” and “definitely the toughest” game she had ever played.“It was end-to-end and Queensland never let up,” she said

Adam Coleman escapes from rugby purgatory to the peaks with Bordeaux

Bordeaux Bègles lock says Champions Cup holders are primed for Sunday’s clash of cultures against BathThere are in truth few Union Bordeaux Bègles players better qualified to explain just how it feels to be in the eye of the storm with European rugby’s newest force than Adam Coleman. Three years ago their paths collided with almost perfect timing, with Bordeaux mid-table and Coleman unceremoniously dropped into rugby purgatory.Coleman’s career looked to be over when London Irish went out of business in the summer of 2023 before a move to France with Bordeaux. It has proved to be an inspired decision for both parties, with Coleman playing a pivotal role in UBB’s rise to the top of the club game, culminating in their Champions Cup final triumph over Northampton last year.As a dual-international with the Wallabies and Tonga, as well as experiencing rugby in almost all corners of the sport’s geographical footprint, Coleman is used to the unconventional

‘I really was one of those bandwagon fans’: meet Katharina Nowak, F1’s youngest race president

Before her first Miami Grand Prix in charge, Nowak opens up on F1’s boom time in the US and flying the flag for women in the sportThere is an air of buoyant confidence about Katharina Nowak that is striking but also understandable given the robust state of Formula One in the United States and at the Miami Grand Prix, where the 29-year-old who is at the helm of the race believes the sport only has more to come.“F1 is at its strongest right now that we’ve seen, the interest in F1 is still going up and will go further,” she says in the buildup to this weekend’s meeting in Florida. “From my seat at the table, we are seeing the interest continue to grow.“Obviously 2022, when we launched the Miami GP, was a perfect storm but last year ESPN reported record-breaking viewership numbers in the United States for 22 out of the 24 races. We’ve seen it in our success in our ticket sales this year that, there is strong demand for the Miami GP and for F1

Trial or error? Lancashire bear brunt as county game adjusts to new substitute rules | Ali Martin

Lancashire are not the most popular county at the moment. From next week the live-streamed coverage of their matches at Old Trafford will go behind a paywall – free to members, £20 a season if not. And so the thrill of Jimmy Anderson bowling from the end that bears his name will play out to a smaller audience.Although beyond this, or the broader sadness at Old Trafford becoming a dystopian hotel-cum-events space where the first team feels secondary, there seems to be widespread agreement that the Red Rose have been hard done by of late: namely, in the ongoing trial of injury replacements in English cricket.To recap, this year teams in the County Championship can replace a player if they are afflicted by injury, illness or a significant life event – a broadening of existing allowances for concussion or England call-ups

Cricket Australia’s BBL sell-off on hold after Queensland joins NSW in rejecting plans

Cricket Australia’s plan to sell off stakes in the eight Big Bash League franchises has been placed on hold after Queensland joined New South Wales in rejecting the original privatisation proposal.Queensland Cricket, which controls BBL side Brisbane Heat, has backed Cricket NSW’s opposition to CA’s plan to sell up to 49% of each franchise to private owners, with valuations of up to $200m per team.The Victorian, Western Australian and Tasmanian cricket associations have shown support for the BBL privatisation plans, while South Australia is open to the idea for other states but wants to maintain control of the Adelaide Strikers for the time being.The revolt from two state associations leaves the future of the T20 league up in the air from the 2027-28 season, as CA begins to consider alternative options.CA chief executive Todd Greenberg said he would have gone ahead with testing the market if five of the six states had supported the privatisation proposal

AFL player Nathan O’Driscoll opens up on depression and mental health struggles

The family and teammates of Nathan O’Driscoll have expressed love and support for the Fremantle midfielder after he posted an unfiltered account on social media of his mental health challenges.The 23-year-old, who has played just twice this year for his home town club the Dockers, shared on Instagram that he has come close to taking his life three times, and that recent weeks have been especially challenging after the death of someone close to him.“I’m sharing this because speaking up matters. No one is there to judge you, every person I’ve opened up to has supported me in ways I never expected,” he said.“From the outside, it might look like I have everything, but what’s going on internally can be a very different story