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Sports

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Sports

Eddie Jones retains his passion and divisive power heading into England reunion

Japan head coach was criticised for discarding players harshly during his Red Rose tenure but that tough love has paid off for some To listen to Eddie Jones chewing the fat on assorted podcasts this week is to admire the enduring thickness of his coaching skin. The old crocodile smile is still intact too, along with his sense of humour after an interaction in a lift with a fan after his Japan side’s 28-21 weekend defeat in Cardiff. As Jones later confided: “This Welsh bloke came up to me and said: ‘You almost look human with your glasses on.’” Next up is a reunion with a few former friends – a

The Guardian
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International

Top four teams in Fifa rankings set to be kept apart until semi-finals at 2027 Women’s World Cup

Team must win World Cup group to trigger rule Spain, US, Germany and England currently in top four The top four ranked teams will be separated until the semi-finals at the 2027 Women’s World Cup, ­provided they each win their group, after a change to the tournament’s draw procedure was confirmed by Fifa. Spain, USA, Germany and England are ranked one to four in the world respectively, although USA and England still need to qualify for the tournament. The seedings will be based on the 7 December updated rankings, meaning the standings could change before the draw, which will take place on 11 De

The Guardian
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Entertainment

‘Young, Black and female in Brixton is hard’: ​from football to Top Boy and wordplay, the inspiring journey of UK rapper Cristale

Crystal Palace FC or Oxbridge beckoned, but the multitalented MC kept forging her way towards music. She explains how she poured every aspect of herself into her debut mixtape Two weeks before we meet, UK rapper Cristale was scrambling down a cliff face to a secluded black pebbled beach in Dover, racing an incoming tide with fewer than 90 minutes to shoot the video for her single I’m Okay With Being Lonely. She’d never hiked before in her life. “I was wearing head-to-toe Stone Island, no hiking gear, full face of makeup, edges laid and Mum was doing my touch-ups on a rusty ladder,” she laughs.

The Guardian
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Sports

Jockey Tom O’Brien, Cheltenham festival winner, dies aged 39

O’Brien rode more than 1,000 winners over jumps ‘Tom meant so much to so many people across our sport’ Tom O’Brien, who rode more than 1,000 winners over jumps including five Grade Ones and two at the Cheltenham festival, has died at the age of 39 after being diagnosed with cancer. O’Brien, who retired from race riding in April 2023, had a close association with Philip Hobbs’s stable near Minehead throughout his 20-year career in the saddle and enjoyed his most prestigious Grade One victories aboard Hobbs’s Thyme Hill in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Aintree in April 2021 and the Kauto Star Novice Ch

The Guardian
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