Sanitary products will be provided at more than 500 rugby clubs across England in an effort to boost female participation in the sport.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced the initiative on Thursday as part of its legacy programme for the women’s World Cup in England next year.

A women’s health toolkit has also been introduced under the ‘Every Rose’ strategy, which aims to have more than 100,000 women and girls playing the sport by 2027.

After research by the charity Women in Sport found that seven in 10 teenage girls avoid activity when they’re on their period, the RFU says it wants to raise sanitary care levels at clubs as well as break the taboo around periods in women’s sport.

“As part of the initiative, more than 300 packages have already been delivered to clubs nationwide, with circa 1,000 sanitary products being installed at clubs up and down the country,” the RFU said in a statement.

“All thanks to funding from Impact ’25’s £7 million facility investment fund that aims to enhance the rugby club experience for females by improving toilets, upgrading changing rooms, and developing social spaces.”

England captain Marlie Packer said: “I think clubs offering these facilities makes rugby more inclusive. Just the simple things of sanitary bins, I know that sounds a bit stupid, but we never used to see them in the clubs’ toilets and changing rooms.

“And now to see sanitary bins and products, whether that’s a sanitary towel or tampon that you can grab and use when you need, when you’ve been caught off guard, it’s a really fantastic scheme.”

The Women’s Rugby World Cup begins on 22 August 2025, with the final to take place at Twickenham Stadium on 27 September.

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GARY ANDERSON reckoned he made a “mess” of his return to the European Championship but still won in style.

The two-time World Champion delivered a very slick win over Stephen Bunting in his opener in Dortmund last night.

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Ando, 53, delivered a 100.82 average but his shaky doubles meant Bunting was also in with a chance.

However he finished in style with his favourite tops twice to wrap it up.

He said: “It felt like I was scoring well. The doubles were, especially the first leg, double two wasn’t even close.

“The second leg was the same. Scoring was fine, doubles were a complete mess. We got there at the end.”

It’s the first European Championship finals since 2016 for the Flying Scotsman and now he faces old foe Michael van Gerwen tomorrow.

He added: “We won’t start on the travelling. British Airways done me like a kipper. I’ve got to win this tournament just to break put it that way.

“The two Europeans that I’ve done and I’ve done ProTours in Hildesheim. It’s been good.

“I’ve enjoyed it, I wouldn’t like to be away all the time like every week. I just can’t do it. What I have done, I’ve enjoyed it.

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“I never ever said I wouldn’t do one. I always kept the door open. I’ve got a young family. I’ve spent years living out of suitcases.

“Since Covid and spending all that time at home, I’ve just enjoyed being at home.

“If I’d have been beaten tonight, I would have been on the first flight home.”

No belts are on the line here, and Catterall has not fought for a title since a controversial loss to Taylor in their first bout.

He expects to put that right next year if he beats Prograis, telling BBC Sport: “The winner will get a world title shot in 2025. This puts me one step closer.

“This is a great division with a lot of champions, and a win over Regis puts me in a great position.”

Catterall is eyeing a fight with IBF champion Liam Paro in 2025, and Hearn says that is on the cards.

“It’s really important we give him a shot,” the Matchroom chairman told BBC Sport.

“Paro fights Richardson Hitchins in December – it makes sense for the winner of this fight to face whoever wins that. Jack deserves it, if it’s him.”

Hearn also praised Catterall for taking on his third big-ticket opponent in the space of a year, as the Lancastrian aims to build his name in British and world boxing.

“Inactivity is a killer for peoples’ careers,” he said. “You have to be fighting minimum three times a year at championship level, otherwise you’ll go stale, your profile will suffer and you won’t get any momentum.

“I’ve seen it time and time again; when top fighters are active they are much better, they are happier, their camps are shorter. It’s a short career, you want to fit in as many opportunities as possible.”

Larne boss Tiernan Lynch was left “disappointed and frustrated” after watching his team slip to a 4-1 defeat by Shamrock Rovers in their Uefa Conference League game at Windsor Park.

Josh Honohan put the League of Ireland champions in front after just three minutes and Johnny Kenny doubled the lead before a Tomas Cosgrove own goal made it 3-0.

Chris Gallagher netted early in the second half to give Larne hope, before the impressive Graham Burke sealed a comfortable win for the Dubliners.

“I’m disappointed and frustrated – we conceded really stupid goals at really bad times,” said Lynch.

“We got hit by a sucker-punch very early. The one thing you can’t do is let Rovers get into a rhythm and we got punished for that.”

It was a harsh lesson for Larne, who are the first team from Northern Ireland to qualify for the league stage of a European competition.

“We knew how good a team Rovers are and how many good individuals they have,” Lynch said.

“We just didn’t do the things that we worked so hard to make sure we carried out and got punished badly.”

ARSENAL could put their ‘musical chairs’ tactic to good use when they face Liverpool in a huge Premier League clash this weekend.

The Gunners will be determined to bounce back from last weekend’s shock defeat to Bournemouth.

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However, it will not be an easy task – especially given Mikel Arteta‘s growing injury list.

Despite being at risk of missing some key players – including Martin Odegaard and potentially Bukayo Saka – Arsenal can go into the match with some confidence thanks to the Spaniard’s tactical prowess.

Arteta insisted his team will be “flying” at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

And he could utilise an effective ‘musical chairs’ trick to get the better of Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right side of Liverpool’s defence.

Arteta’s ‘musical chairs’ tactic

The Gunners have been using a new system which uses an inverted left-back.

New boy Riccardo Calafiori has taken up that role in recent weeks, but he could be replaced with Jurrien Timber or Oleksandr Zinchenko at the weekend due to injury.

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Declan Rice plays inside the left channel as a central midfielder, with left winger Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz completing a diamond.

Those four players then rotate throughout the match and change positions, moving into the areas where space has been left.

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If Calafiori moves inside, Rice will shift out to the left and make the side of the diamond.

The Italian then moves to the base, leaving plenty of space for Martinelli in attack.

That would then give Alexander-Arnold a headache in terms of who he should mark.

Liverpool will have to find a solution to keep tabs on the four moving players.

And the Reds have got to be aware of who’s running and  who’s  staying in their position – which could also confuse midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.

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Who marks Salah?

From a defensive point of view, Arsenal have to figure out who will be responsible for covering Liverpool’s star man, Mohamed Salah.

With Calafiori likely to miss Sunday’s match due to a knee injury, Zinchenko may be in line to start.

The Ukrainian has struggled up against Salah in the past which could be a cause for concern.

It will be a game of stick or twist for Arsenal, with Gabriel Magalhaes potentially forced to step out onto the left – adding to the diamond.

But £105million man Rice will likely cover the position.

The midfielder is pivotal when it comes to Arsenal’s in-game formation switch from attack to defence.

Arteta usually encourages his team to be brave by attacking with five.

But with Salah and Luis Diaz going the other way, they can’t afford to be naive.

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Direct David Raya

One of David Raya‘s key strengths is his ability to play direct and diagonal passes from the back.

Some opposition teams have attempted to catch him out in the pass by pressing high.

But the Gunners have been able to play over that press thanks to Raya’s distribution.

That gives the wingers plenty of space to make a run in behind the opposition defence.

It also gives Havertz, who is 6ft 4in tall, the chance to act as a target man, causing problems for the centre-backs.

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