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Sports

Rugby: Toulouse beats Montpellier to win fouth consecutiveTop 14 title

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Hooker Peato Mauvaka scored twice as Toulouse held on to beat Montpellier 28-20 for a record-equalling fourth-straight French Top 14 rugby title in a final interrupted by a thunderstorm.

France front-rower Mauvaka crossed in a dominant first half to set the 25-time champions on their way before the game was stopped for 12 minutes just before the hour mark.

Toulouse’s generation between 1994 and 1997 as well as Bordeaux 1904-1907 have also won the Bouclier de Brennus (Brennus Shield) in four consecutive seasons.

“Experience helps in those moments,” Toulouse’s Antoine Dupont told France Televisions about the break in the game.

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“You have to measure the luck you have to be here, to win four years in a row.

“It’s incredible, it will motivate us for the years to come,” the 2021 World Rugby player of the year added.

Montpellier, champions in 2022, were a different team after the break with Argentina centre Justo Piccardo and replacement fly-half Leo Coly crossing in their failed attempt at a comeback.

“We weren’t far off,” Montpellier captain Lenni Nouchi told France Televisions.

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“It’s hard, it’s going to be hard to accept, but it’s reality,” the flanker added.

The game started in sweltering conditions with France experiencing record heat with temperatures reaching 34C at kick-off in northern Paris.

Read moreEngland defeat France to secure eighth consecutive Women’s Six Nations title

 

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French president Emmanuel Macron was whistled by the crowd as he entered the pitch to meet the players as part of the pre-match protocol.

Toulouse head coach Ugo Mola named Thomas Ramos on the bench after the goal-kicking full-back missed last Friday’s 71-17 semi-final hammering of Racing 92 with a hamstring issue.

Superstar Dupont started after sitting out last season’s nerve-wracking decider, won in extra-time over Bordeaux-Begles, with a serious knee injury and will join France’s Nations Championship early next week.

Montpellier boss Joan Caudullo kept the same matchday squad from last Saturday’s 25-15 semi-final win over Stade Francais with in-form fly-half Domingo Miotti and No 8 Billy Vunipola starting.

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By the first drinks break after a quarter of the game, Toulouse led 7-0 as Mauvaka strolled over 50m out dummying Donovan Taofifenua on his way after a subtle lineout move including Dupont.

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Toulouse took control of the game and put one hand on the Bouclier de Brennus, first awarded in 1892, by half-time.

Mauvaka claimed his double from short range thanks to another Dupont pass before the half-back crossed himself to make it 25-6 after a break from full-back Blair Kinghorn, standing in for Ramos as Ntamack nailed a penalty.

Rain and a thunderstorm welcomed the teams back from the interval, which seemed to benefit Caudullo’s side, owned by Syria-born billionaire Mohed Altrad.

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They cut the score to 28-13 just before the hour as Justo Piccardo powered over before the 12-minute weather-enforced break.

Referee Luc Ramos ordered the players into the changing rooms for an extended drinks break, which also provided a spark for Montpellier.

With 16 minutes left Coly, a second-half replacement for Miotti, found space to score and his conversion made it 28-20 but they left themselves too much to do after a slow start to the game.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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Roy Jones Jr weighs in on Errol Spence vs Tim Tszyu: “He’s highly dangerous”

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Roy Jones Jr has urged Errol Spence Jr to adapt his approach, and rediscover elements of his amateur style, ahead of his comeback fight against Tim Tszyu.

‘The Truth’ has not fought since his undisputed encounter with Terence Crawford, back when he suffered a surprisingly one-sided ninth-round stoppage defeat in July 2023.

As a result, Spence was relieved of his WBC, IBF and WBA welterweight titles before stepping away from the sport and giving no indication as to whether he would return.

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Now, though, the 36-year-old is gearing up to face fellow former world champion Tszyu, who will boast a home advantage when they collide in Australia on July 25.

The pair have reportedly agreed to a limit of 158lbs, with Spence looking to reinvent himself at a new weight and with a new trainer.

Such changes can partly be explained by his defeat to Crawford, as Spence has since expressed his disappointment with the training camp that had been arranged by his then-head coach, Derrick James.

Now training with Ronnie Shields, this feels like an opportunity for the American to right the wrongs and perhaps even gain inspiration from his old amateur style.

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Speaking with ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT, Hall of Famer Jones said he would like to see Spence focus more on being an all-round boxer, rather than an all-out pressure fighter.

“Shout out to [Spence] for taking a fight of this magnitude right away, after being [out the ring] for three years.

“He’s taking on a guy who’s been active. [Tszyu’s] not been at the top – not had the best outcomes [in recent fights] – but he’s been highly active and he’s highly dangerous.

“When [Spence] was an amateur fighter, he was an all-round boxer. He just chose to use pressure in the pros but, to get where he wants to get, he’s got to go back to being that [fighter he was as an amateur].”

Spence was a vastly accomplished amateur who became a three-time national champion and entered the 2012 Olympics, only to lose his quarter-final bout against Russia’s Andrey Zamkovoy.

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[VIDEO] Former WWE Star Karrion Kross Reacts As Sami Zayn Does The Unthinkable At Night Of Champions

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WWE Night of Champions 2026 is in the books, and Sami Zayn managed to do the unthinkable and become the new Undisputed Champion. His former colleague Karrion Kross had a heartwarming reaction to Zayn’s feat.

The PLE took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 27, and Cody Rhodes was defending his gold against Gunther and Sami Zayn. In a hellacious 19-minute bout where any of the three stars could have picked up the win, it was finally The Underdog From The Underground who emerged victorious in his 11th attempt. Now, former WWE Superstar Karrion Kross‘ reaction to the outcome has gone viral.

Kross was captured during a live watch-along stream with fans when he was told that Zayn had won the Undisputed WWE Championship. Pleasantly surprised, he stood up. threw his arms in the air and had a smile on his face. The heartfelt video was shared by Instagram user @trainwrecksports.

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“Finally!” Kross said.

Watch his reaction in the video below:

Now going by the ring name Killer Kross in the independent circuit, the former Karrion Kross has been on a roll. He currently holds the MLW World Heavyweight, RPW Heavyweight, ACW Heavyweight, and WSW World Heavyweight Championships, and is looking to add to his tally.


Karrion Kross Feels Triple H Does Not Have A Free Hand In WWE

Killer Kross appeared recently on The Ariel Helwani Show and chatted about several topics.

When discussing the current Chief Content Officer’s role, Kross felt that Triple H does not entirely have a free hand in all matters. Despite the Hall of Famer getting a lot of heat from the fans for his recent decision-making, the former WWE star said that when he was still with the company, it felt as if the CCO couldn’t call all the shots the way he’d have liked to.

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“ I don’t think that’s him [Triple H]. He has his own patterns that I think were aligned with what the audience wanted to see, and that’s speaking as a person who used to work for him. And I knew when he could call all of his shots, and I had an idea of when he couldn’t. To me, this looks like a situation where he can’t call all of the shots. And I don’t mean that disrespectfully at all,” Kross said.

Karrion Kross’ final opponent in WWE was Sami Zayn at last year’s SummerSlam. He left the Stamford-based promotion after the defeat but still talks fondly about the company where he’s had two stints already.

Only time will tell if he ever returns to the promotion in the future.