The first phase of the inaugural Nations Championship is almost at an end as the world’s leading 12 sides reach the close of a busy July.

The new cross-hemisphere competition has delivered plenty of captivating contests, though concerns remain over the demand placed on players both in terms of time on the field and travel involved.

The results from this summer will be carried over to November when the nations from each hemisphere will meet those from the other they did not play in this first window – with South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland best placed so far after two wins from two.


One of those winning records will go in Auckland as Andy Farrell’s side bid to become the first team to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1994 in the pick of the round three fixtures.

What should you be looking out for this weekend? Here are five things to watch:

Will Sam Prendergast stake a fly half claim?

The assumption is that Jack Crowley will be back to re-take the No 10 shirt in November once the Munster playmaker is fit again regardless of how Sam Prendergast goes against New Zealand – but overseeing a historic win at the All Blacks’ fortress would represent a coming-of-age performance for the Leinster-man. It is clear that Farrell still loves the options that Prendergast offers, and has confidence that the pivot can reach his heigh ceiling, though the hosts have the ability to make it a tough day for a 23-year-old who it still feels is figuring out his game at the top level.

Dave Rennie has successfully blooded his own new fly half in the last two weeks, and sticking with Ruben Love is a big show of faith in the Hurricane. He fits the expressive and expansive style that suits this All Blacks pool of players well, though Farrell was right to point out the steel that he had seen in Rennie’s side since the head coach’s installation – it feels significant that both bosses have gone with a long-limbed lock on the blindside with the battle at the lineout and maul surely set to be key.

What are Japan?

Credit must be extended to France for travelling to Tokyo to take on Japan, with Fabien Galthie’s side at the end of a particularly long season but still fulfilling their competition commitments properly. This will serve as useful preparation for the pair as they look ahead to a Pool E meeting in Brisbane at the World Cup next year. An enigmatic Japan are a little tough to figure out – they feel upwardly mobile after beating Italy and pushing Ireland, particularly with young fly half Ryunosuke Ito seeming to have Eddie Jones’ backing to fill a problem position.

France, though rotated in places, will be a good gauge of where they are actually at when it comes to matching top packs. A second row of Warner Dearns and Harry Hockings has the muscle to mix it with the French big boys, though the fact that Jones has rotated his forwards in other places could be cause for concern.

Can Fiji find something?

The great disappointments of this July so far have been Fiji, bad against Wales, worse against England and now hosting Scotland at…Murrayfield. Sure. The circumstances surrounding Mick Byrne’s departure remains slightly unclear and the upheaval appears to have unsettled a group that had built structure steadily on to the more extravagant touches that will always remain a trademark of their game. So far in this Nations Championship there has been too much of the latter – and nowhere near enough of the former.

One feels some sympathy for a side that would be a different team entirely were they playing in Suva – where, of course, Scotland were well beaten on their summer tour last year. What was striking about that performance was how Fiji built pressure and turned it into penalties, leaving Scotland down to 14 on three occasions and then striking from their lineout a couple of times. Can they do the same again?

A Springboks fly half for the future…or now?

In another world, Vusi Moyo would be in Tbilisi this weekend looking to steer South Africa’s Under 20s to another Junior World Championship crown in the final of the age-grade competition against France. Instead, Moyo will make his Test debut at 10 inside a month of turning 20 as Rassie Erasmus looks to a fly half of the future against Wales.

It could be that Moyo has a bigger role over the next 18 months than it might first appear. One dares not write Handre Pollard off but the veteran hasn’t necessarily convinced in recent outings, while Manie Libbok has a few flaws in his game and has never quite seemed trusted in the very biggest games by the Springboks. It is tough to see Moyo, highly rated by good judges, usurping Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu but with the Stormer currently injured, and five more Tests to come in short order, the youngster could yet be busy.

Argentina vs England…again

It may not be the most consequential or politically-charged sporting encounter between Argentina and England this week but there could be a bit of bad blood in Santiago del Estero on Saturday evening. Argentina were incensed by the way the game between these two ended at Twickenham in November, with Tom Curry branded a bully by head coach Felipe Contepomi after a bust-up in the tunnel.

England went very well in South America last year even short of their British and Irish Lions, and have seemed to enjoy playing the Pumas under Steve Borthwick. It feels like they have learned relatively little from their two games this far this summer, well beaten by a superior South Africa and then comprehensively putting a pretty poor Fiji away. Can their backline click again against a better standard of opposition? Will their edge defence and aerial work be as good as it was in Argentina last year? Another win would give Borthwick and his squad a degree of optimism with which to move forward.

England star Jude Bellingham thanked supporters for their unwavering backing following the team’s FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign, urging fans to carry forward the unity shown throughout the tournament. Taking to Instagram, Bellingham reflected on England’s exit from the competition, admitting he had struggled to process the disappointment before sharing an emotional message of gratitude. England’s World Cup campaign came to an end after a 2-1 semi-final defeat to defending champions Argentina. Despite taking an early lead, England conceded an equaliser through Enzo Fernandez before Lautaro Martinez struck a stoppage-time winner to send Argentina into the final.

Bellingham’s message resonated with supporters as the Real Madrid star called for continued unity, expressing optimism that England could achieve greater success in the future with the backing of its fans.

“Was really struggling to find the right words for yesterday and the last few weeks but this pretty much hits the nail on the head from our driver in Kansas. Thank you for the unbelievable support from back home and to those who spent their hard earned money to travel to America and get behind us. Don’t let the unity and love we’ve seen in our country end with this campaign. When we’re together we can achieve big things… And we will! Love yous!” Bellingham wrote.

Bellingham enjoyed an outstanding FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign for England, finishing as the team’s top scorer with six goals and one assist in seven matches. The star footballer played a pivotal role in guiding the Three Lions to the semi-finals, delivering match-winning performances in the knockout stages, including braces against Mexico and Norway.

In the match’s semi-final match, Argentina produced a stunning late comeback against England. The first half was a tightly contested battle, with both teams fighting for midfield control and creating limited clear chances.

England eventually broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when Anthony Gordon finished Morgan Rogers’ cross to put the Three Lions ahead.

After taking the lead, England dropped deeper defensively, allowing Argentina to build pressure. The defending champions responded strongly, with Jordan Pickford making key saves and Alexis Mac Allister hitting the post before Argentina found the equaliser.

In the 85th minute, Enzo Fernandez struck after receiving a pass from Lionel Messi to level the match. Argentina completed their comeback in stoppage time when Messi delivered a cross for Lautaro Martinez, who headed home the winner.

The result sent Argentina into the final, where they will face Spain on Sunday, July 19 (local time), while England’s hopes of reaching their first World Cup final since 1966 came to a heartbreaking end.

The Three Lions will now face France in the third-place match, while Argentina will meet Spain for the title.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Floyd Mayweather dominated the sport for a number of years, named as the BWAA’s Fighter of the Decade for the 2010’s and breaking a number of pay-per-view records. Now, ‘The Best Ever’ has named the active fighter who should be receiving more pound-for-pound recognition. 

Following Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to vacate his three heavyweight world titles, after a below par showing against Rico Verhoeven, the Ukrainian has dropped down many fight fans’ pound-for-pound rankings.

Instead, Japanese phenomenon Naoya Inoue now seems to be the standout candidate as pound-for-pound king, with a trifecta of American stars; Shakur Stevenson, David Benavidez and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, hot on his tail and hoping to claim top spot in the near future.

Yet, in the eyes of Mayweather, considered to be the pound-for-pound king of the 21st century, there is another American who should be under consideration. On a FaceTime call, on The Pivot Podcast, Mayweather told Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis that he ‘deserves to be at the top’, but that his time will come.

FM: “I am proud of you.”

JE: “Thank you, I appreciate it. Thank you, you are one of my favourite fighters, man.”

FM: “I am proud of him, he can fight his a** off. I am going to continue to see you do good, man. You deserve to be at the top, but everything takes time, you’ll be OK.”

Ennis is undefeated after 36 professional contests and became a two-division unified world champion when he halted Xander Zayas to claim the WBA and WBO super-welterweight straps last month.

Later this year, it is expected that the Philadelphian will attempt to add another belt to his collection, with a fight against IBF super-welterweight ruler, Josh Kelly, now in his sights.

Argentina will play Spain in the World Cup final on July 19 after Lionel Messi orchestrated a spectacular comeback against England in a semi-final with a dramatic ending. The defeat was another bitter blow for the Three Lions, who have reached at least the semi-final stage in four of their past five major tournaments without getting over the line. FRANCE 24’s James Vasina tells us more about what to know.

Rory McIlroy remained confident of getting back into contention at The Open after beginning his challenge at Royal Birkdale with a frustrating two-over-par 72.

A stone-cold putter cost the Masters champion as he missed numerous opportunities on the Southport links and ran up six bogeys.

He repaired some of the damage with four birdies, including on the 18th, and having faced the most difficult conditions of the first day before finishing at 8.43pm, believes he can bounce back.

The world number two, who trails surprise leader Jackson Suber by seven shots, said: “There were just too many stupid mistakes – but every time I made a stupid mistake, thankfully I made a birdie to sort of keep myself in it.

“I’m not too far away. If you look at the discrepancy between the scoring this morning and the scoring this afternoon, it looks like that’s going to be flipped tomorrow with the conditions again.

“Hopefully I can take advantage of the more benign conditions in the morning and shoot one under par and get back in it.”

McIlroy missed three putts from inside four feet and was 104th in the putting statistics.

And he was literally brought to his knees at the par-five 17th where, after hooking his approach into the gallery and then flying the green into a bunker, he contorted his stance to splash out to eight feet – only to miss for a bogey.

He at least finished on a positive with a brilliant approach from 198 yards to five feet and finally sank a short birdie putt.

He said: “I left one from pretty much tap-in range on nine to make a birdie. I missed three four-footers in the space of four holes and that’s tough.

“But I’m not going to go back to the house and analyse it too much. I’ll focus on the positives, which were I took it on off the tee and drove the ball very, very well, hit some really good shots, played the hard holes well.”

McIlroy will have to defy recent history to recover and claim a second Open title and seventh major overall, which would officially make him the most successful European golfer of all time.

Although he did win last year’s Masters from seven shots back, each of the last 26 Open champions have been within five of the lead after round one. The last player to come from further back was Mark O’Meara in 1998 although, interestingly, that was at Birkdale.

McIlroy found himself two over after seven having failed to get up and down at the par-three fourth and two-putted from inside four feet at the short but tricky seventh.

He missed a three-footer at the next – this time for birdie – but finally got one to drop after driving the green at the downwind, 415-yard ninth to turn in one over.

Back-to-back bogeys at the start of his back nine halted any momentum before a 24-footer dropped at the 13th for a second birdie of the day.

He made a complete mess of the two par-fives – having holed a 12ft birdie at the 206-yard 15th – but salvaged something late on.

Mature age apprentice Bailey Kinninmont is hoping to translate his recent metropolitan success into a victory at the iconic Flemington Racecourse, the venue for the Melbourne Cup.

The 28-year-old jockey will have his inaugural ride at Flemington this Saturday, partnering Lake Vostok in the RMBL Investments Rising Stars Final (1600m).

Kinninmont achieved his first city win on Wednesday at Sandown aboard the Gavin Bedggood-trained Silent Shares and is now looking forward to riding Luke Oliver’s Lake Vostok in Saturday’s race.

It’s worth noting that Lake Vostok won the corresponding race last year with Rose Hammond in the saddle. Hammond is down to ride Impending Shadow on Saturday.

Kinninmont, who comes from a racing family, grew up in Perth. His father, a former jockey, currently works as the ‘Racing Control Manager’ for the Hong Kong Jockey Club at Conghua Racecourse in China, while his mother, Kelly, is employed by Simon Miller in Perth.

Kinninmont shared that he had no interest in riding until he was 18. He was then sent to Melbourne, initially working with Julien Welsh and later Mick Kent, before obtaining his apprenticeship.

He has secured the majority of his 44 career wins, with 11 coming for trainer Luke Oliver.

“Mick Kent is my boss, but Luke is probably my biggest supporter,” Kinninmont said. “He throws me on everything, and I ride a lot of work for him, so he’s almost a second boss and hopefully we can repay the faith.”

Although Kinninmont has not yet ridden Lake Vostok in a competitive race, he was involved in all the mare’s jump-outs leading up to her first-up seventh at Flemington on June 20.

“She’s going great,” Kinninmont said. “I’ve had a lot to do with her the whole way through but couldn’t ride her first-up as I couldn’t ride in town, but she’s definitely improved on the first-up run and I think she goes in with a real winning chance.”

“I think she’s an open class mare, building through the grades, so she’s been unlucky not to have won a few more.”

Kinninmont’s birthday is on Sunday, and his family is travelling to Melbourne to celebrate with him.

“Dad is coming over from China, Mum from Perth, brother, cousins, uncles,” he revealed. “It’s my birthday on Sunday and that’s why they’re all coming over, but the race just so happens to be the day before, so that would be a nice present.”

Consider the available racing betting markets for Saturday’s Flemington card. Online bookmakers are ready.

Things are heating up on the Road to Saturday Night’s Main Event. WWE is set to deliver a major show from Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 18. Fans will witness a bitter grudge match when Bayley squares off against her former ally, Lyra Valkyria.

The tension between the two superstars has reached a boiling point following a brutal betrayal on the June 22 episode of Monday Night RAW. Valkyria shockingly turned her back on her mentor, laying out the multi-time champion in the middle of the ring after failing to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Title from Brie Bella and Paige. She even took things a step further this week on the red brand when the heel version of Lyra tried to diminish Bayley’s status. She called The Role Model a doormat for the locker room and labeled her the worst member of the legendary Four Horsewomen.

Instead of backing down, Bayley fired back, and she reminded Lyra of her Grand Slam status. She then announced that Adam Pearce had booked them in a match for Saturday Night’s Main Event. The heated exchange concluded with a physical brawl.

With their highly anticipated clash set for this weekend, the social media warfare has officially begun. The sports entertainment juggernaut recently posted a photo of Valkyria on X, noting a drastic change in her attitude. The official WWE account questioned what the rising star has in store for her upcoming opponent.

The Role Model quickly responded, and she boldly claimed that her rival almost looks like she lost the best thing to ever happen to her. This serves as a direct shot at their ruined partnership.

“almost looks like she lost the best thing to ever happen to her,” wrote Bayley.

Check out the post below:

The history between these two women runs deep. They once competed as a dominant force in the women’s tag team division. Their mentor-mentee dynamic made them a formidable duo capable of taking down any challengers. However, those days are gone, and both stars are now looking to make a massive statement at Madison Square Garden.

Bayley opens up on betrayal in emotional WWE RAW message to Lyra Valkyria

The Role Model has been left heartbroken by the betrayal on WWE RAW. On the July 6 episode of the red brand, she shared her thoughts in an emotional video package directed at Lyra Valkyria.

The former WWE Women’s Champion reflected on everything she had tried to do for Valkyria, admitting that she never expected their relationship to unravel in the way it has.

Bayley also revealed that she had shared her own experiences in the hope of helping Valkyria avoid the mistakes she made throughout her career. Instead, she believes those conversations were ultimately used against her.

“I’ve shared my experiences and my stories with you, thinking it would help guide you, but you just used it all against me. I just don’t understand why you couldn’t have an honest conversation with me about everything that was going on in your head. And instead, you took the easy way out. So, Lyra, I’m giving you one chance to prove to me that you’re not just like everybody else,” she said.

The New York crowd is ready to witness the fallout of this heated rivalry. It remains to be seen who will walk out as the victor this weekend.