Sport
Ryan Elias: Wales hooker benefits from summer break before autumn
The break also allowed Elias to reflect on the pressures of international rugby.
“It definitely has its moments but they are also enjoyable, which is what I lost sight of for a while,” said Elias.
“As you get older you start to realise how important it is to enjoy the process at the same time, even though it may be difficult.”
Elias made his senior Wales debut as a replacement against Tonga aged 22 in 2017, having started his Scarlets career four years earlier.
“I’m 29 now, nearly 30 and it feels like in the blink of an eye I’ve gone from being that 21-year-old. It’s like, where have those years gone?
“Another click of the fingers and my career will be done and I don’t want to be looking back with regrets, or wondering whether I should have enjoyed things more.
“That’s something I’m concentrating on now also.”
The Carmarthen-born hooker has seen those external pressures grow over his decade in rugby.
“The social media side of things is a lot bigger now, everyone seems to be on there and got something to say,” said Elias.
“I’m not on any social media now, probably for the last couple of years and that is something I’ve done myself.
“I feel a lot more productive being off it and most of the stuff you read, good or bad, it makes no difference to me.
“I know if I’ve had a good or a bad game. The coaches and people, who are important, know, so I wouldn’t need to hear it from anywhere else.”
Sport
Nations League: Daniel James returns to Craig Bellamy’s Wales squad
James missed Wales’ opening Nations League games with Turkey and Montenegro in September and the trip to Iceland and home return against Montenegro last month with a hamstring injury.
He made his return for Leeds on 18 October and has started the Championship side’s past two fixtures, scoring in the 3-0 win over Plymouth last Saturday.
James’ Leeds team-mate Joe Rodon will earn his 50th cap for Wales if the defender plays in both games this month.
Colwill’s recall to the senior squad comes as he has been receiving rave reviews during Cardiff’s revival under interim boss Omer Riza this season.
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder – who featured in the 2022 World Cup – was not initially in Bellamy’s first Wales squad in September but was promoted from the under-21s as a late call-up.
However, he did not get any game time and reverted to Matty Jones’ under-21 squad for last month’s unsuccessful Euro 2025 qualifying climax.
Wales’ squad also includes Harry Wilson, who scored twice in stoppage time on Monday night as Fulham beat Brentford 2-1.
It was only a sixth appearance in the Premier League this season for 27-year-old Wilson – all as a substitute – as Bellamy has had to cope with a lack of domestic playing time for a number of his squad.
The former Wales captain has raised expectations with his unbeaten start as head coach following the sacking of Robert Page in the summer.
After a goalless draw at home to Turkey in the first game, he has enjoyed home and away wins against Montenegro and a 2-2 draw in Iceland.
While Bellamy’s side travel to Turkey with the prospect of winning the group still in their own hands, defeat would not end their hopes of a return to Nations League A division.
There is also a play-off route to promotion if they finish as runners-up, while finishing third would open up the prospect of a March play-off to avoid relegation.
Sport
Fulham stars repeatedly slap pitch-invading fan on head in wild celebrations as he is dragged off by stewards
FULHAM stars repeatedly slapped the head of a pitch-invading fan in wild celebrations after their incredible comeback win over Brentford.
The Cottagers were 1-0 down in their west London derby with just minutes remaining when Harry Wilson netted an extraordinary 92nd minute equaliser.
Brentford were left shellshocked by Fulham’s late effort.
But the Bees were stung again when Wilson pounced with a 97th minute header to seal a 2-1 victory.
The Welshman’s brilliant brace sparked jubilant celebrations among the Craven Cottage faithful.
And one supporter got carried away as he left the stands for the pitch.
The fan immediately ran to Wilson before hugging him in delight.
Rodrigo Muniz and Tom Cairney also joined in the celebrations.
And the group toasted Wilson’s winner by hilariously repeatedly slapped the fan on the head.
The supporter appeared to love it though as he continued roaring with joy.
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But his party with the players was short-lived as security intervened.
They surrounded the man as Fulham’s stars broke away.
And he was quickly escorted back off the pitch to continue the fun elsewhere.
The win saw Fulham move up to ninth in the table, putting them two points ahead of 12th-place Brentford.
Motorsports
Kubica set to return with customer Ferrari Hypercar in 2024 WEC
Formula 1 race winner Robert Kubica is looking increasingly certain to remain with the AF Corse customer Hypercar team in the World Endurance Championship next year.
Kubica told Motorsport.com that he “didn’t come here for just one year” when questioned after last weekend’s 2024 WEC finale in Bahrain about whether he would race the yellow-liveried Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar again.
But he stressed that “there is a lot of work to do” for next year at a team that claimed victory at Austin in September but failed to consistently match the factory arm of the AF team over the season.
“It is not an easy decision, so we will see,” he said.
Kubica, who partnered Ferrari factory drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman in AF’s satellite entry in 2024, had discussions with team boss Amato Ferrari over the course of the WEC finale in Bahrain last weekend.
Ferrari explained that he was hopeful that Kubica will remain with the team next year.
“Everything is positive and we all want Robert back, but no deal is done,” he said.
Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s head of sportscar racing, also expressed hopes that Kubica will stay, saying “Our dream is to maintain Robert with us”.
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson, Yifei Ye
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Kubica remained with AF at the Bahrain International Circuit on the day after the WEC race for Phil Hanson’s first test in the Ferrari he will race in the WEC next year.
The Briton, who is swapping over from the British Jota customer Porsche team when it becomes Cadillac’s factory WEC squad, is the first driver to be announced for the #83 AF entry for next year.
Shwartzman is leaving Ferrari at the end of this year, Coletta confirmed.
He explained that the 25-year-old will depart both the line-up at AF and Ferrari’s roster of factory drivers after he “decided to make another choice”.
Shwartzman, who has been a Ferrari Formula 1 reserve since 2023 after graduating from the Italian manufacturer’s academy programme, will be announced as the team-mate of the already confirmed Callum Ilott at Prema’s new IndyCar team imminently.
Ye, who became a factory Ferrari driver for this season, is expected to remain in the line-up of the #83 car.
Football
Neymar injured in second game back for Al-Hilal
Neymar has played down concerns after picking up a fresh injury in his second appearance for Al-Hilal following a year out.
The 32-year-old Brazil striker was substituted 86 minutes into the Saudi Arabian club’s 3-0 win against Iranian side Esteghlal in the Asian Champions League Elite on Monday.
“It felt like a cramp, only very strong. I’m going to have some tests and I hope it’s nothing too serious,” the Brazilian said on Instagram.
“It’s normal for this to happen after a year. The doctors had already warned me, so I have to be careful and play more minutes.”
Neymar had a prolonged spell on the sidelines after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during Brazil’s World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in October 2023.
He has played only seven matches for Al-Hilal since his move from Paris St-Germain in August 2023.
Sport
Champions League: Can Celtic quell ‘desperate’ RB Leipzig?
Celtic showed a refreshingly different side to their personality away to Atalanta last time out. Before that game, fans might have been minded to offer up prayers in the hope that the damage inflicted on them would be modest.
What they got was a disciplined performance, a terrific defensive effort which had its foundations in excellent goalkeeping from Kasper Schmeichel. They rode their luck at times and were thankful for some errant finishing from the Italians, but what they delivered was pragmatic and mature.
Rodgers said he would never move away from his coaching beliefs, but he shifted slightly in Italy and the team was much better for it. The naivety and vulnerability of the 7-1 in Dortmund had gone. Instead, there was realism, concentration and a hunger to stay in the fight.
More of the same, then. Another draw would be a good outcome. That would take Celtic to five points with very winnable home games against Bruges – 26th in the table – and Young Boys – 35th of 36 – to come.
A point against Leipzig and six against the other two, and Celtic are home-free and in the play-offs.
From Leipzig’s perspective, however, this is surely a must-win. They have zero points after a brutal run of games and after Celtic they have Inter, who are sitting seventh, Aston Villa, who are top, and Sporting, who are eighth. After that they have a gimme against Sturm Graz, but three points might be useless at that stage.
They won’t lack class and they won’t lack desperation, either. As a club, they are an extraordinary outfit. In the last six years they have bought in more than a half a billion in revenues from player trading alone. Celtic have a fine track record on that front, but Leipzig are in a league of their own.
Naby Keita to Liverpool, Timo Werner to Chelsea, Dayot Upamecano to Bayern Munich, Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea, Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool, Josko Gvardiol to Man City, Dani Olmo to Barcelona. They’ve done 15 different deals ranging from £10m to nearly £80m. The Leipzig tills have been ringing relentlessly.
They might currently be sitting pointless and 11 places below Celtic in the Champions League table, but the nuance comes with the knowledge that it was Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Liverpool they lost to, all by a single goal.
They’re second in the Bundesliga and, until the weekend when they lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund, they were on an all-time club record run of 19 games unbeaten in the league. Nobody at Celtic will need any telling about Leipzig’s clear and present danger.
What Celtic do in the face of that danger is the compelling bit.
Motorsports
McLaren insists Norris title was never main goal, after Brazil setback
McLaren says that guiding Lando Norris to the drivers’ championship was never ultimately its main target – as it has always been more focused on the constructors’ crown.
Norris had a golden opportunity to close down Max Verstappen’s points advantage in the Brazilian Grand Prix, starting on pole position with his rival down in 17th on the grid.
Yet, a combination of a lack of pace in the wet, driving errors, brake lock-up problems and a badly timed red flag meant the Briton finished sixth – with Verstappen producing a sensational performance to win.
That result has left him 62 points adrift of Verstappen with only three rounds remaining.
While the Brazil outcome is a disappointment for Norris in personal terms, McLaren says it changes nothing in its approach, because the team was only ever really thinking about the constructors’ battle anyway.
Asked by Motorsport.com about how the Brazil result would impact the approach to the final races, and whether it would actually take some pressure off Norris, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “In terms of the constructors’ championship, I don’t think it changes anything.
“It was always our priority. Even when there was a call to be made to support one driver or the other, it was always secondary to maximising the constructors’ championship.”
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images
Stella did not feel that the potential of being in a title battle had much of an impact on Norris’s performance at Interlagos, as he felt both team and driver knew it was a bonus to be in the fight in the first place.
“When it comes to the drivers’ championship, I don’t think for Lando there was any particular pressure,” he said.
“We were enjoying this quest, even though sometimes from the outside it may come across like there is an error here or there maybe.
“It is like when we locked the tyres with the car like we had [in Brazil] I am not looking at the driver, I am looking at why the car keeps locking the front tyres in conditions like this. I don’t think pressure was a significant factor at all.
“Mathematically we are still in the [drivers’] championship, but I think for Lando and for Oscar, we will go to the next races trying to win the races.
“The last two venues should be quite good. Vegas will be potentially more of a Ferrari track, and then we will see. It is all to play for, and the constructors’ championship remains and has always been our priority.”
Norris himself has always played down thoughts of the title, thinking it was ultimately a long shot to come from so far back.
Asked how hard the Brazil result was to digest now that the title dream was all but over, he said: “Quite easy. I did all I could today. That’s all. Max won the race. Good on him. Well done, but it doesn’t change anything for me.”
While Norris lost ground in the drivers’ championship in Brazil, McLaren managed to extend its constructors’ advantage over Ferrari by seven points to 36 points – which makes it increasingly likely that the battle will go all the way to the final round in Abu Dhabi.
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