Australia’s netballers underlined their dominance of the sport by winning their third World Cup in a row, although they were pushed all the way by arch-rivals New Zealand in the final in Sydney that crowned a highly successful tournament. More than 16,000 fans saw the hosts prevail 58-55 and take revenge for an earlier defeat by the Silver Ferns in the pool stages. “Our attackers were sensational,” said Australia captain Laura Geitz. “They capitalised on every little tip and touch that we got.” England took third place, defeating Jamaica 66-44 for the bronze.
Oz women on brink of Ashes
If you want a job done properly, leave it to the women, as they ought to say in Australia these days. While the men’s cricket side mooched introspectively into this week’s dead-rubber final Ashes Test against England at the Oval, their female counterparts thrashed England by 161 runs in their Test match, for an 8-2 series lead and putting them on the brink of regaining the Ashes. England’s women must now win all three remaining T20s if they are to retain the urn. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, proved that a massive first-innings Test deficit does not always end in disaster, overturning a 192-run disadvantage to stun India in Galle thanks to seven second-innings wickets from Rangana Herath.
Redemption for Murray
Montreal offered redemption for Andy Murray as tennis’s world No 2 beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the Rogers Cup final, ending an eight-match losing streak against the Serb and laying down a marker for the forthcoming US Open, though the Scot was coy about his chances. “Things can get better very quickly and they can get worse very quickly in sport, so it’s important for me to analyse what went well this week and things I can still improve on,” he said. The 18-year-old Swiss Belinda Bencic won the women’s final 7-6, 3-0 after her opponent Simona Halep retired hurt.
Rugby gears up for World Cup
Europe’s rugby union giants packed away the reinforced sun loungers and got down to the business of pre-World Cup friendlies. Tournament hosts England hit the ground running with a 19-14 win over France in a match also notable for the successful midfield debut of former rugby league star Sam Burgess. “There’s a lot of rules, man. I sometimes think that players who have played [union] all their lives don’t know all the rules,” said Burgess, who was sin-binned but otherwise made an impressive start. The Six Nations champions Ireland looked a little rusty in defeating Scotland 28-22, while in Auckland, the All Blacks nailed rumours of their decline with a 41-13 thrashing of Australia in the Bledisloe Cup decider.
Top league player comes out
The Batley Bulldogs rugby league captain Keegan Hirst struck what is hoped will be a major blow for equality in the traditionally macho sport by being the first English professional to come out as gay. “I had a wife and kids. I’ve been a builder, doorman, worked in factories, I play rugby. I tick every macho box. How could I be gay? I’m from Batley for goodness sake. No one is gay in Batley,” said Hirst, who received messages of support from people throughout the game. Hirst follows the Australian Ian Roberts, who became rugby league’s first openly gay player in 1995.
