JUNIOR Nsemba will have plenty of backing as he steps up to England level – not least from the children helped at his family’s orphanage.

Wigan’s back row sensation will make his Test debut against Samoa today, sparking scenes of celebration in the capital of Cameroon, Yaounde.

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And you could expect to see more kids on the streets wearing rugby league gear, almost 5,000 miles from where the 20-year-old will be doing his stuff in Leeds.

For Nsemba revealed his mother Giselle helps run an orphanage in her home city and donations mean plenty of those it aids can be found in the Warriors’ cherry and white.

“It’s a real tough thing to do,” said Nsemba, who will head to Cameroon in the off-season, after a holiday with pal and England team-mate Kai Pearce-Paul.

“It’s in Yaounde, where all my family is based, but I don’t actually know its name. I’d have to ask my mum as I don’t go into it too deeply with her. I just know she runs one.

“So we’ll sort the containers for there out and I’ll head to Cameroon with my mum. Kids there literally don’t have anything.

“But all the players at Wigan have helped massively. They give clothes they don’t want or need, or that don’t fit any longer, and we send them over in a container.

“It’s more than just once a year. One goes out whenever it’s full – now the kids are repping Wigan Warriors kit.

“There are dozens of kids running around Yaounde wearing Wigan’s kit. It’s good.”

Not everyone in Yaounde will be trying to watch Nsemba in action. He admits his fiercely protective grandmothers would be screaming at the TV if they saw him being tackled.

But Cameroon can claim credit for creating the breakout star of 2024, who Wigan were quick to get on a six-year contract as NRL talk swirled.

For its food helped turn an 18-year-old ‘tall, lanky thing’ into the powerhouse he is today after he announced his talents to some of his now team-mates in a 2022 pre-World Cup training session.

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“It’s purely down to the gym and my mum’s food,” added Nsemba, who actually started pre-season on crutches because of a knee problem.

“It’s Cameroonian food, let me tell you! The main thing is jollof rice but there’s plantain and your meats – the way they cook them is different.

“When I was on crutches, I was 97 or 98kg, now I’m 110kg.

“And at that training session, I was a tall, lanky thing, so I thought I was a target. Coming up training against England was a big thing.

“Being called up for that might not seem like it to some but it was for me. Just to see what the standards and training were like.

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“If anything, I was more nervous then than I am now. I’m a pretty nervous guy when it comes to things anyway but as you get older, you learn to control them.”

Nsemba is not the only Wigan player coming into England’s side today. Winger Liam Marshall will finally earn a cap while prop Luke Thompson is back from suspension.

And he is ready to put lessons from his enforced watching brief into action.

He said: “It was about seeing things I could exploit and having a look out for them – there were a few things we’ve spoken about that we could’ve done better.

“We started well but we’ve got to stick with that for longer. Hopefully, we’ll get better than last week and Test rugby definitely sees things go up a few notches.”

Max Verstappen leads the championship by 47 points heading to the Brazilian GP, which will be run to a sprint format.

Event	Date
	11:30
Brazilian GP FP1
Brazilian GP SPRINT QU
Brazilian GP SPRINT Advertisement
Brazilian GP QU
Brazilian GP Race

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix session timings in different timezones

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian GP session timings in local time

Friday 1st November 2024

• Free Practice 1: 11:30 – 12:30 local time
• Sprint Shootout: 15:30 – 16:14 local time 

Saturday 2nd November 2024

• Sprint: 11:00 -12:00 local time
• Qualifying: 15:00 – 16:00 local time

Sunday 3rd November 2024

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian GP session timings in the UK/Portugal 

Friday 1st November 2024

• Free Practice 1: 14:30 – 15:30 GMT
• Sprint Shootout: 18:30 – 19:14 GMT

Saturday 2nd November 2024

• Sprint: 14:00  GMT
• Qualifying: 18:00 – 19:00 GMT

Sunday 3rd November 2024

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian GP session timings in Europe

Friday 1st November 2024

• Free Practice 1: 15:30 – 16:30 CET
• Sprint Shootout: 19:30 – 20:14 CET

Saturday 2nd November 2024

• Sprint: 15:00 CET
• Qualifying: 19:00 – 20:00 CET

Sunday 3rd November 2024

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian GP session timings in the US (Eastern Time) 

Friday 1st November 2024

• Free Practice 1: 10:30 – 11:30 ET 
• Sprint Shootout: 14:30 – 15:14 ET 

Saturday 2nd November 2024

• Sprint: 10:00 ET 
• Qualifying: 14:00 – 15:00 ET 

Sunday 3rd November 2024

Please note daylight saving ends in the US on Sunday, with clocks moving back one hour at 2:00

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian GP session timings in the US (Pacific Time)

Friday 1st November 2024

• Free Practice 1: 07:30 – 08:30 PT
• Sprint Shootout: 11:30 – 12:14 PT 

Saturday 2nd November 2024

• Sprint: 07:00 PT
• Qualifying: 11:00 – 12:00 PT 

Sunday 3rd November 2024

Please note daylight saving ends in the US on Sunday, with clocks moving back one hour at 2:00

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian GP session timings in Australia

Saturday 2nd November 2024

• Free Practice 1: 01:30 – 02:30 AEDT
• Sprint Shootout: 05:30 – 06:14 AEDT 

Sunday 3rd November 2024

• Sprint: 01:00 AEDT
• Qualifying: 05:00 – 06:00 AEDT

Monday 4th November 2024

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian GP session timings in Japan

Friday 1st November 2024

• Free Practice 1: 23:30 – 00:30 JST

Saturday 2nd November 2024

• Sprint Shootout: 03:30 – 04:14 JST 
• Sprint: 23:00 JST 

Sunday 3rd November 2024

• Qualifying: 03:00 – 04:00 JST

Monday 4th November 2024

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian GP session timings in Africa

Friday 1st November 2024

• Free Practice 1: 16:30 – 17:30 SAT / 17:30 – 18:30 EAT
• Sprint Shootout: 20:30 – 21:14 SAT / 21:30 – 22:14 EAT 

Saturday 2nd November 2024

• Sprint: 16:00 / 17:00 EAT
• Qualifying: 20:00 – 21:00 SAT / 21:00 – 22:00 EAT

Sunday 3rd November 2024

• Race: 19:00 SAT / 20:00 EAT

2024 Formula 1 Brazilian GP session timings in India

Friday 1st November 2024

• Free Practice 1: 20:00 – 21:00 IST

Saturday 2nd November 2024

• Sprint Shootout: 00:30 – 01:00 IST
• Sprint: 19:30 IST
• Qualifying: 23:30 – 00:30 IST

Sunday 3rd November 2024

Can’t find your country or region in the list? Check the Formula 1 schedule page for the broadcast times in your local timezone.

Championship leader Max Verstappen will have a five-place grid penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The Dutchman’s Red Bull team have fitted a new internal combustion engine, and Verstappen had already exceeded his allocation for the year.

The penalty means the highest position in which Verstappen can start the race on Sunday is sixth. He was 15th fastest in Friday’s practice session.

Verstappen is 47 points ahead of title rival Lando Norris of McLaren heading into the weekend, which also features a sprint race on Saturday.

Norris ended practice fastest, pipping Mercedes’ George Russell by 0.181 seconds with his final lap of the session.

Oliver Bearman, who is replacing Kevin Magnussen in the Haas for the sprint after the Dane became ill, made it a British top three in practice.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest, ahead of Williams driver Alex Albon and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.

Lewis Hamilton was 16th in the Mercedes, like Verstappen not completing a lap on the soft tyre.

Verstappen did start a soft-tyre run towards the end of the session but aborted it before the end. He had been 0.1secs or so off Russell’s pace until he backed off out of the final corner.

Hamilton did not use the soft tyres at all, preferring to save them for the remainder of the weekend.

Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze and midfielder Adam Wharton are both set to be out for a month with their injuries, says manager Oliver Glasner.

Both players went off during the Eagles’ midweek Carabao Cup last-16 win against Aston Villa.

Wharton is to undergo surgery for a groin issue while forward Eberechi Eze is out with a hamstring injury.

“It will be very ambitious to have [Eze] back after the [mid-November] international break, but I know we have a great medical department and he will work quite hard, so let’s see,” said Glasner.

“We took the final decision [on Wharton], he will have surgery. He tried [training] but the pain is too much and then it makes no sense. He has really struggled in the last weeks and months.

“So now we took the decision to have the surgery, and we hope to have him back after maybe four weeks.”

Palace, who secured their first Premier League win of the season by beating Tottenham 1-0 last weekend, are away at fellow strugglers Wolves on Saturday.

They will also be without Colombian midfielder Jefferson Lerma until at least the international break, which starts on 11 November, because of a hamstring issue.

Glasner added: “Many managers are talking about the same issues, and especially when we look at our injured players – all who played a long tournament in the summer, having no holidays, having no pre-season and then many, many games.

“There is a moment when you have to pay the bill, and we had to pay it the last one, two, three weeks, but it is how it is and we are still a strong squad.”

ENGLAND are kicking off their Autumn Internationals campaign with a mouthwatering clash against New Zealand.

And the match kicks off amid huge controversy after Red Rose ace Joe Marler said the All Blacks’ traditional Haka “needs binning”.

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Marler, claimed the pre-game ceremonial dance is “ridiculous” and should be axed.

He wrote on X last Tuesday: “The haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous.

“It’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the league boys did last week.”

Following responses, Marler temporarily deactivated his X account.

The Harlequins star went on to return on Wednesday morning, posting: “Context is everything. Just having a bit of fun trying to spark interest in a mega rugby fixture. Some wild responses.”

Marler has been recovering from a broken foot sustained in the summer and will not feature in Saturday’s first Autumn International.

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When is England vs New Zealand?

England vs New Zealand takes place on Saturday, November 2.

The match kicks off at 3.10pm.

Twickenham plays host to the crunch tie.

How can I watch England vs New Zealand?

England vs New Zealand will be broadcast on the Autumn Internationals’ new home of TNT Sports.

TNT Sports 2 will have build up from 2pm before the action moves to TNT Sports 1 for the match from 3pm.

The game will be live streamed on Discovery+ for subscribers.

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What is the team news?

Henry Slade starts at centre for England against New Zealand despite playing only 54 minutes of club rugby this season.

Slade only returned for Harlequins last weekend after undergoing shoulder surgery in the summer.

England coach Steve Borthwick said: “Sladey is a really important player for us. He’s an experienced Test match player and he’s in fantastic condition.

“With the shoulder surgery he’s had, he’s been able to be run. He’s as fit as I’ve ever seen him.

“He feels in great shape. He’s a player who is energised and he’ll go really well on Saturday.”

England XV: Furbank; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Lawrence, Freeman; M Smith, Spencer; Genge, George (capt), Stuart; Itoje, Martin; Cunningham-South, T Curry, Earl.

Replacements: Dan, Baxter, Cole, Isiekwe, B Curry, Dombrandt, Randall, Ford.

New Zealand XV: Jordan; Tele’a, Ioane, J Barrett, Clarke; B Barrett, Ratima; Williams, Taylor, Lomax; S Barrett (capt), Vaa’i; Sititi, Cane, Savea

Replacements: Aumua, Tu’ungafasi, Tosi, Tuipulotu, Finau, Roigard, Lienert-Brown, McKenzie

Rugby Autumn Internationals: Kick-off times, TV channels and fixtures

Saturday, November 2

• 3.10pm: England vs New Zealand, Twickenham Stadium (KO on TNT Sports 1, build-up on TNT Sports 2 and discovery+)
• 5.40pm: Scotland vs Fiji, Murrayfield (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)

Friday, November 8

• 8.10pm: Ireland vs New Zealand, Aviva Stadium (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)

Saturday, November 9

• 3.10pm: England vs Australia, Twickenham (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)
• 5.40pm: Italy vs Argentina, Stadio Friuli (TNT Sports 2 and discovery+)
• 8.10pm: France vs Japan, Stade de France (TNT Sports 2 and discovery+)

Sunday, November 10

• 1.40pm: Wales vs Fiji, Principality Stadium (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)
• 4.10pm: Scotland vs South Africa, Murrayfield (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)

Friday, November 15

• 8.10pm: Ireland vs Argentina, Aviva Stadium (TNT Sports TBC and discovery+)

Saturday, November 16

• 3.10pm: Scotland vs Portugal, Murrayfield (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)
• 5.40pm: England vs South Africa, Twickenham (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)
• 8.10pm: France vs New Zealand, Stade de France (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)

Sunday, November 17

• 1.40pm: Italy vs Georgia, Stadio Luigi Ferraris (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)
• 4.10pm: Wales vs Australia, Principality Stadium (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)

Friday, November 22

• 8.10pm: France vs Argentina, Stade de France (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)

Saturday, November 23

• 3.10pm: Ireland vs Fiji, Aviva Stadium (TNT Sports 2 and discovery+)
• 5.40pm: Wales vs South Africa, Principality Stadium (TNT Sports 2 and discovery+)
• 8.10pm: Italy vs New Zealand, Allianz Stadium, Turin (TNT Sports 2 and discovery+)

Sunday, November 24

• 1.40pm: Scotland vs Australia, Murrayfield (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)
• 4.10pm: England vs Japan, Twickenham (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)

Saturday, November 30

• 3.10pm: Ireland vs Australia, Aviva Stadium (TNT Sports 1 and discovery+)

Peugeot returned to the top of the times in final practice for this weekend’s season finale of the World Endurance Championship in Bahrain. 

Jean-Eric Vergne set the pace in the Friday morning Free Practice 1 session aboard the #93 Peugeot 9X8 2024 Le Mans Hypercar, following up on Paul di Resta’s table-topping performance in FP1 on Thursday.

The Frenchman’s 1m49.443s set at the beginning of the 60-minute session gave him a margin of two tenths over second-placed Yifei Ye, who got down to a 1m40.662s aboard the customer AF Corse-run Ferrari 499P LMH. 

Lamborghini took third place courtesy of a 1m50.014s from Daniil Kvyat in the solo Iron Lynx SC63 LMDh. 

Peugeot, which has been given a Balance of Performance break for the Bahrain event, backed up its front-running FP3 pace with fourth position from di Resta in the second of the 9X8 LMHs. 

The ex-Formula 1 driver’s 1m50.028s put him just one hundredth of a second behind the Lamborghini. 

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, #93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Mikkel Jensen

Photo by: Andreas Beil

The two Alpine A424 LMDhs finished fifth and sixth: Mick Schumacher’s 1m50.612s giving him a half second margin over Ferdinand Habsburg in the sister car run by the Signatech squad.

Antonio Fuoco placed the best of the factory Ferrari 499Ps in seventh and the sister AF-run works car jumped to eighth late in the session in Antonio Giovinazzi’s hands.

Fuoco only completed seven laps before pitting because of a suspected issue with a cable in the front Motor Generator Unit (MGU) and the car did not return to the track.

The two customer Jota Porsche 963 LMDhs rounded out the top 10 with Norman Nato just shading Oliver Rasmussen. 

Toyota took 11th with the fastest of its pair of GR010 HYBRID LMHs with Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel, while the championship-leading factory Porsche 963 was 12th in the hands of Andre Lotterer.

BMW, which led the way in FP2 on Thursday, ended up 17th and 18th with its pair of WRT-run M Hybrid V8s.

The #92 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3-R took top spot in LMGT3 with Alex Malykhin at the wheel. 

The Belarusian, who claimed the LMGT3 class title last time out in the WEC at Fuji in September with team-mates Klaus Bachler and Joel Sturm, set a 2m03.987s lap to end up just five hundredths quicker than Arnold Robin in the fastest of the Auto Sport Promotion Lexus RC F GT3s. 

Qualifying for the Bahrain 8 Hours kicks off at 16:00 local time on Friday.

Photos from Bahrain Friday Practice

WEC Bahrain – Free Practice 3 results