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England’s Steve Borthwick is ballsy but uninspiring after World Cup agony | Rugby | Sport

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Steve Borthwick has been compared to a World War Two code cracker and a Vulcan starship officer by Jonny May as he was backed to solve the puzzle of how to make England great again. The detail-obsessed England head coach was booed at some World Cup matches by fans unconvinced he had the big-picture vision for the job after a sketchy start to his tenure.

But after England ran world champions South Africa so close in their semi-final, Borthwick has begun to win over the popular vote. And while he does not have the magnetism of his predecessor Eddie Jones, wing Jonny May believes Borthwick’s rugby nerdiness can pay long-term dividends for England.

“We’re starting to see what a genius Steve is, in terms of how he’s starting to get this team going,” said May. “You won’t find a harder working man than Steve and his approach to the game is a little bit like Alan Turing.

“If anybody is going to crack the code to rugby it will be Steve – and good luck to him. He’s getting ever closer each week. He’s got an analytical brain and evidence-based, scientific, Spock-like approach to the game.

“Within his ways, he’s onto something. He’s a young coach, and he’s unique – it’s different the way he goes about the game. He’s obsessed with it.” But 10 months into the role, how is Borthwick doing?

S‌teve Borthwick’s England tenure so far rated

Results – On the up. Reaching a World Cup semifinal, however favourable the draw, still has to be done and England did it despite all the headwinds. They were one scrum penalty away from the final.

Overall though, Borthwick’s 53.3 per cent win ratio from his first 15 Tests remains modest. It places him second bottom on the list of England permanent head coaches in the professional era with only Andy Robinson beneath him.‌

Selection – Ballsy. Big call on Owen Farrell ahead of George Ford and Marcus Smith at stand-off for the knockout stages proved justified. Likewise his faith in Dan Cole and the promotions for George Martin and Joe Marler for the semi-final.

However it should also be remembered that Borthwick left two of his other standouts – May and Alex Mitchell – out of his initial World Cup squad. Lack of faith in the back-up hookers he picked for France 2023 left Jamie George overworked.

Communication – Weak. As a front man he remains uninspiring. His primary job is to coach a rugby team not to win an Oscar but the pre-prepared sentences he trots out robotically give little or no insight to the English rugby public.

The players say he is better at delivering a message behind the scenes than on camera, thankfully.

Style – Effective but uninspiring. No side has kicked the ball more than England at this World Cup. In the wet conditions, against South Africa, those tactics were spot on but you have to wonder if Twickenham supporters will lap up Bor-ball going forwards.

Ex-France flanker Olivier Magne – labelled England’s rugby “repulsive” during the group stages and even their own fans whistled the conservatism. Having bought himself time, he should try to evolve England’s method – but will the spreadsheets tell him to do that?



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Team GB star hit with unusual punishment five times at Winter Olympics | Other | Sport

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Weston’s exploits have made him a household name, as well as helping to put skeleton as a sport on the map. But his achievements have also ended up costing him quite a bit, as the 28-year-old has been punished five times for… being too fast.

That’s because of an unwritten rule in skeleton that means whenever a track record is broken by an athlete, they have to buy the track workers a crate of beer. The kicker for Weston (specifically his wallet), is that he’s broken the record five times since arriving at the 2026 Olympics!

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I need to supply a lot of beer for the track records. Those who don’t know, the tradition is whenever you break a track record you have to buy a crate of beer for the track workers and I’ve broken five of them so it’s a lot.”

Tabitha Stoecker, who was the other half of the mixed team that won gold, chipped in with: “I’ll lend you the money Matt.” To which Weston, with a big grin on his face, replied: “Thank you. Team event, so that’s one split. So yeah, pretty insane.”

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Weston’s golds have been the story of the Games so far for Team GB, with the Brit saying: “The individual event is amazing but doing it as a team when we’re normally an individual sport is amazing. To have my team-mate by my side as Olympic champions, two-time for me which is crazy. I’m looking forward to the celebrations!”

Before adding: “Luckily, I felt like I kind of knew what I needed to do. Yesterday – not yesterday, the day before, it’s all a bit of a whirlwind – when I had the individual event, I kind of took a load of confidence from that, and I just had to almost in my head be boring and get the job done. We’ve done it again!”



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Winter Olympics LIVE: Team GB face own curling drama as BBC apologise | Other | Sport

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Here’s a look at just some of the things happening today:

8:05am: Women’s curling round robin – Denmark vs Great Britain

9am: Bobsleigh – two man, heat 1, 10:57am: heat 2

11:47am: Women’s 1000m short track speed skating final

12:30pm: Men’s Alpine Slalom final run 2

1:05pm: Men’s curling round robin – Great Britain vs Norway

6:05pm: Women’s curling round robin – Switzerland vs Great Britain

6:30pm: Women’s Free ski Big Air Final – Featuring GB’s Kirsty Muir

7pm: Figure skating – Pairs Free skate

7:31pm – Men’s Super Team Ski jumping final round

8:06pm – Bobsleigh – Women’s monobob heat 4



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Winter Olympics LIVE: Cheating storm erupts as Team GB star punished | Other | Sport

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Lindsey Vonn has still been tipped to compete at the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps by snowboard icon Shaun White – despite claims she could be months away from walking again.

The 41-year-old clipped a gate and fell just seconds into the race at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina last Sunday, with Vonn airlifted off the mountain and eventually transferred to a hospital in Treviso, where she has already undergone three bouts of surgery.

According to orthopaedic expert knee specialist, Dr Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet, the impact of the injury could remain for the rest of her life. “The timeline is quite unpredictable,” he told RMC Sport. “It will be months before she can walk normally again.

“Her goal now is first and foremost to keep her leg and be able to walk. I think we’re not yet at the stage of returning to high-level skiing. We’re not there yet, but some injuries like hers can end in amputation…”

Despite all the steps Vonn will need to take in the coming months and possibly years, former five‑time Olympian White believes she could still make a return at the 2030 Winter Olympics.

When asked whether that was realistic, he said: “Oh, for sure. She’s impressive Lindsey, you’re a legend. You inspire us all.

“You’re going to go down in history as the greatest and there’s no disputing that. The fact that she came back from previous injuries and got back out on the mountain and then started to win, that’s just got to be the most incredible feeling.

“But I’ve always told athletes, it’s never a straight path to the Olympics. There’s twists and turns and she hit a big hurdle, which was injuring the knees again.”



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