YOKOHAMA: New Zealand captain Kieran Read said Saturday’s highly anticipated clash with South Africa is one of the biggest matches of his career as the All Blacks launch their bid for a record third consecutive world crown. The Pool B match-up at Yokohama features two of the most successful sides
TOKYO: Record-breaking fly-half Kurt Morath will shoulder Tonga’s hopes against England after coach Toutai Kefu announced a team stacked with English-based players for their Rugby World Cup opener. Doncaster Knight’s Morath, Tonga’s all-time leading scorer with 340 Test points, is one of seven players attached to English sides, also including
TOKYO: United States hooker James Hilterbrand has stepped up the fighting talk ahead of the Eagles’ Rugby World Cup clash with England, stressing their highly rated opponents are far from unbeatable. Asked what mindset the underdogs needed to prevail in their Pool C clash on Thursday, Hilterbrand said: “Those guys
Broken, cream-coloured tiles form a mosaic of a woman’s face in the entrance hall of a South African shelter for abused women. Branches extending from her head are painted across the wall, decorated with colourful leaves. “The face represents the broken women who arrive here,” said the director of the
LONDON: Britain’s bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland yesterday appointed long-serving banker Alison Rose as chief executive, making her the first female boss of a major UK lender. Rose, currently deputy head of the group’s NatWest Holdings retail business and its commercial and private banking division, will replace Ross McEwan on
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s central bank slashed interest rates on Thursday for the third month in a row as Southeast Asia’s biggest economy feels the sting of the US-China trade war and tepid global growth. Bank Indonesia (BI) lowered its key lending rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 percent, prompting speculation
PARIS: Angel Di Maria was hailed as “exceptional” after scoring twice against his former club as Paris Saint-Germain shrugged off the absences of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe and thrashed Real Madrid 3-0 on Wednesday to get off to the perfect start in the Champions League. Di Maria beat Real goalkeeper
LOS ANGELES: Veteran boxing promoter Bob Arum believes Manny Pacquiao should retire from the sport soon unless he can land a lucrative rematch with Floyd Mayweather.Arum, who promoted Pacquiao during the Filipino icon’s golden years, told the World Boxing News website he wanted to see the 40-year-old hang up his
KHARKIV (Ukraine): Pep Guardiola insisted he never doubted Manchester City could cope with their defensive injury crisis as his side made a flying start to the Champions League campaign with a 3-0 win against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. City boss Guardiola was forced to deploy Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho at centre-back
PARIS: Iran has been suspended from international judo for ordering a judoka to lose at the world championships to avoid facing an Israeli, the International Judo Federation (IJF) said on Wednesday. Saeid Mollaei, who entered last month’s event in Tokyo as the reigning world champion in the -81kg class, said he
