England upsets All Blacks to reach final
England upset world power New Zealand 19-7 in a dominant performance in the Rugby World Cup semifinals in Yokohama, Japan, ending the All Blacks’ hopes of an unprecedented third straight title. The English reached a first final since 2007.
It was New Zealand’s first loss at the World Cup since the quarterfinals in 2007.
“New Zealand is a god of rugby,” England coach Eddie Jones said in a comment translated from Japanese. He added, in English: “So we wanted to take it to them, show we could take the game to them. So we wanted to put them on the back foot as much as we could.”
England will next play the winner of today’s semifinal between two-time champion South Africa and Wales.
“There’s no shame in getting beaten by them,” New Zealand coach Steve Hansen said. “There’s a lot of hurt.” What hurt Hansen more was the suggestion that the All Blacks didn’t turn up hungry to win. He invited a reporter to step outside the news conference room for questioning his team’s commitment.
Four years after being unceremoniously dumped out in the group stage of the World Cup it was hosting, England reached its first final in 12 years.
Soccer
AMERICAN PULISIC SCORES HAT TRICK FOR CHELSEA >> Christian Pulisic scored a hat trick as the American announced his arrival in the English Premier League by powering Chelsea to a 4-2 win over host Burnley. The win extended a seven-game winning run for Chelsea’s young squad and strengthened its hold on a Champions League spot in fourth.
The American attacking midfielder, who arrived in the summer for $71 million from Borussia
American Christian Pulisic, right, scores the first of three goals Saturday in Chelsea’s Premier League win.
Dortmund, made the second hat trick by a U.S. player in league history after Clint Dempsey scored three in Fulham’s 5-2 defeat of Newcastle in 2012.
Tennis
FEDERER GOES FOR 10TH TITLE IN HOME EVENT >> Roger Federer delighted his hometown fans by cruising past Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in the Swiss Indoors semifinals Basel, Switzerland.
Seeking a 10th career title in Basel, the 38-year-old Federer will play 20-year-old Alex de Minaur in today’s final. De Minaur, a wild card, advanced by beating bigserving American Reilly Opelka 7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3).
Motorsports
HAMLIN STAYS HOT WITH FOURTH POLE AT MARTINSVILLE QUALIFYING >> Fresh from his win last weekend, Denny Hamlin reasserted his mastery of Martinsville (Virginia) Speedway, edging Chase Elliott for the pole position for today’s First Data 500. Covering the .526-mile distance in 19.354 seconds (97.840 mph), Hamlin beat Elliott (97.694 mph) by .029 seconds to secure his third
pole of the season, his fourth at Martinsville and the 33rd of his career.
Despite his strong performance, Elliott won’t start on the front row. He blew an engine early in opening practice on Saturday, and because of the necessary change in power plants, Elliott will drop to the rear for the start of the opening race in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. VERSTAPPEN STRIPPED OF POLE AT MEXICAN GRAND PRIX >> Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been knocked from the pole position to fourth for the start of today’s Mexican Grand Prix after race stewards determined he drove at unsafe speeds after Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas crashed late in qualifying in Mexico City.
The change will put Ferrari 1-2 with Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start third as he chases the season championship.
Winter sports
TEENAGER ROBINSON EDGES SHIFFRIN TO WIN WORLD CUP OPENER >> New Zealand teenager Alice Robinson, 17, edged Olympic champion
Mikaela Shiffrin to win the World Cup season-opening giant slalom in Soelden, Austria. Robinson, who trailed Shiffrin by 0.14 seconds after the opening run, was one-fifth of a second faster than the American in the final run. She won her first World Cup race in only her 11th start.
It was the first women’s World Cup giant slalom win by a skier from New Zealand.
Women’s college basketball
CAL MOVES EXHIBITION TO STANFORD >> Because of an anticipated power shutoff impacting campus and the city of Berkeley, today’s women’s basketball exhibition game between Cal and Beijing Normal University has been relocated to Maples Pavilion at Stanford. The game will now tip off at 11 a.m.
AURIEMMA WANTS TO DE-EMPHASIZE 3-POINTERS >> Uconn coach Geno Auriemma doesn’t want women’s college basketball to be dominated by the 3-point shot, like the men’s game is at virtually every level now. Speaking to reporters before a coaches clinic, the 11-time NCAA champion said he is still hoping the NCAA will move the women’s 3-point line back, as the men did this year. In a straw poll at the Final Four this spring, the women’s coaches overwhelmingly voted against joining them.
“That was stupid, that the women didn’t move the line back,” Auriemma said. “Now you’ve got two lines on the court, which is stupid. And the other part is everybody thinks they’re a 3-point shooter.”
The NCAA women’s 3-point line is 20 feet, 9 inches from the basket at the top of the key, 16¾ inches closer than the line for college men, who this year moved back to the same distance as the WNBA and the international game (both men and women). The one in the NBA is 23 feet, 9 inches.
Figure skating
RUSSIA’S TRUSOVA DOMINATES IN SKATE CANADA WIN >> An inspired Alexandra Trusova of Russia landed three quadruple jumps as the Russian teenager won Skate Canada’ ladies program in British Columbia. The 15-year-old, despite falling on her first of four quadruple attempts, scored a world-leading 241.02 points in her senior International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix debut. A massive 166.62 points in Saturday’s free skate, another best, vaulted the two-time world junior champion to the championship.
Japan’s Rika Kihira, the short program leader, finished second with 230.33 points, and South Korean You Young joined them on the podium with 217.49 points.
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier gave Canadians their own reason to cheer when they overcame two-time world medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States to win the ice dance competition.
Gilles and Poirier, second after Friday’s rhythm dance, surged to the top in the free dance to claim their first ISU Grand Prix gold medal with 209.01 points.