
Sale prop Harrison to leave club after 14 years
Sale Sharks prop Ross Harrison will leave the Premiership club after fourteen years at the end of the season.The 32-year-old loosehead has played more than 300 games for his boyhood club since making his professional debut in 2011.Former England winger Mark Cueto is the only player to have made more appearances for Sharks.Harrison played for England in a non-cap game against the Barbarians in 2014, also touring South Africa with England Saxons, and attending an England training camp in 2017.
Harrison told the club website:, external "I've loved my time as a Shark and it's really hard to accept that it's coming to an end. I've played and worked with a brilliant group of players and coaches, who have become some of my best mates."I never imagined I would get to 300 games. I was actually rejected three times as a teenager and I was planning to go to uni, before it all changed."We had some seasoned props who all got injured at the same time and I got my chance and took it."I'll always be a Sharks fan and with young props like Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and Bevan [Rodd] coming through, I know I'm leaving the front row in good hands."The announcement follows the news that forward Josh Beaumont will retire at the end of the season, while former captain Will Addison will also depart, along with Jonny Hill and Jean-Luc du Preez.
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BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Boultucanu & home comforts - how historic Queen's unfolded
Packed crowds, British feel-good energy and the emergence of 'Boultucanu' - the historic women's tournament at Queen's has either Tatjana Maria or Amanda Anisimova lift the trophy on Sunday, they will end Olga Morozova's 52-year reign as women's champion at the iconic a women's event for the first time since 1953 is a moment many feel has been "a long time coming".There were concerns, however, over the impact on the grass courts, with the men's tournament beginning at the same venue on director Laura Robson said there had been no complaints over the courts after a week of absorbing action, while the success of the British contingent has contributed to the feel-good atmosphere in London. Quintessentially British experience embraced by fans When action got under way on day one the general feeling was 'it's about time'.Queen's has long been a staple of the men's schedule, and a huge draw for fans in the build-up to Wimbledon. The absence of a women's tournament had felt like a missed recalled watching the men compete, either on TV or as a spectator, and wishing they could take part. Britain's Katie Boulter later said she had been "dreaming" about playing on the main court."It has been a long time coming," former British number one Robson told BBC 5 Live."I didn't realise just how many players have watched this tournament on TV."To see it come together in the last few months has been stressful but in the best way, because you want it to be perfect."Walking around the grounds of Queen's does, in some ways, feel like a 'mini Wimbledon'.It is a quintessentially British tennis experience: punters dressed in their finery, Pimm's in full flow and a beautiful setting, with as much care taken of the flowers and greenery as the pristine has the same bustling feeling that envelops SW19, with fans queueing at the merchandise stalls or craning their necks at the practice courts for a glimpse of the it was fitting that British icon Sir Andy Murray, a long-time advocate and ally of the women's game, delivered the coin toss for the first women's match on the main court now bearing his name. "Hopefully in a few more years there'll be an arena named after a female player," said one fan. Britons relish in Queen's 'reward' The positive energy around the club was further fuelled by a successful week for the British contingent, who quickly made themselves at already live and train in London. Sleeping in their own beds and being around friends and family was a rare, welcome treat in a packed tennis Raducanu said the home comforts helped her rhythm and perhaps even contributed to what she called her "free and expressive" style at the tournament."I had a lot of joy playing here at Queen's," said Raducanu after her exit to top seed Zheng Qinwen."The crowd was amazing. The support the whole way through every match was really enjoyable for me."It was a welcome sight to see the 2021 US Open champion smiling and enjoying herself after a difficult few years. Her matches were always well attended, with cries of "we love you Emma!" heard number 37 Raducanu reached the quarter-finals while Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Heather Watson all lost in the who rode her bike to and from the site each day, said the tournament had "sort of Wimbledon vibes" because of the history."I played on Court One in qualifying and the stand was almost full," the 33-year-old said."Having a big tournament here in London, which is the home of British tennis, is huge and very special for us. It feels like a reward."Boulter's fiance, Alex de Minaur, reached the final at Queen's two years ago. This year, he was able to watch her play before beginning his campaign. "Queen's is everything I dreamed it would be," Boulter said."Every single day I have stepped on the court, it's been a great crowd."I have enjoyed it a lot. I wish it could have been longer." Perhaps the highlight of the tournament - particularly for those who queued for over an hour in the London sun - was Boulter and Raducanu's surprise doubles pairing. The duo, now fondly nicknamed 'Boultucanu', delighted the 1,000-capacity crowd with their first-round win. Held on the smaller, more intimate Court One, the pair laughed and joked together and chatted with fans at the changes of run was short and sweet, but the pair have teased a potential return at some point in the year. 'No complaints' over court quality Ticket prices were lower in the WTA week, which will not yet be able to raise anything like the revenue of the long-established men's over 80% of the tickets were purchased before the tournament began and Saturday's semi-finals were sold out."The two tournaments have different personalities and we want to make sure the women's event has its own identity," Robson told BBC 5 Live."From ticket sales we've noticed 55% of the tickets have been sold to women this week. That's not the case next week. "We've seen a younger, more diverse audience in the crowd, and that's something we hope to grow in many years to come. This feels like the start of something special."Attracting the biggest players is an ongoing challenging. With Queen's taking place straight after the French Open, only three top-10 players ultimately competed, with world number three Jessica Pegula a late total fund this week was £1.043m ($1.415m), compared with £2.122m (2.522m euros) for the men. The LTA has pledged to introduce equal prize money by no later than for the courts, they do show signs of wear and tear after a week of action, but that is to be expected. Tennis correspondent Russell Fuller compared them to "day three or four" at Wimbledon."I can't actually believe how well they've held up," said Robson. "It looks almost pristine still."The ground staff have done an incredible job and put in some serious hours."So far, no complaints from the ATP players on site, and long may that continue."Britain's Dan Evans, arriving on site while the tournament was ongoing, said the women's event being held before the men's had created a better buzz around the having a standalone women's event put the spotlight firmly on the female players as the British public begins to turn its attention towards Wimbledon."I think it's a really good opportunity for women's tennis," Boulter added."It was a massive schedule change and probably quite risky, because we are quite set in our ways."I think it's in a place that it should be - and it's pushing more and more towards where it could be."


BBC News
39 minutes ago
- BBC News
State schools to contest Knight-Stokes Cup in 2026
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The Guardian
43 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Amanda Anisimova v Tatjana Maria: Queen's Club women's singles final
Update: Date: 2025-06-15T12:00:17.000Z Title: Preamble Content: So we got there in the end. It's taken us 52 years, but finally, we're here: a women's final at Queen's Club, and what a joy that is. Though it barely needs saying, it's worth saying anyway: equality and visibility matter; we must never be blasé about either. Really, it feels banal to eulogise a brilliant tournament, because what else did we think would happen but this? What else could possibly happen but this? Yet conversely, it's also fair to say that none of us predicted a final between Amanda Anisimova and Tatjana Maria – itself part of the beauty we're extolling. Anisimova was outed herself as a potential champion in 2019, reaching the semis at Roland Garros aged just 17. But the slog of the tour ground her down and eventually she acted, taking off the second half of 2023 to protect her mental health and returning a more realised, fulfilled human being – with the same divine ball-striking. And what a week she's had here. The portents were there – earlier in the year she won her first WTA 1000 title, then made round four in Paris before losing in two tight sets to Aryna Sabalenka. But even so, there can't have been many who expected that, after seeing off Jodie Burrage and Sonay Kartal, she'd then despatch Emma Navarro and Qinwen Zheng, seeded 3 and 1 respectively. She is at it. So, though, is Maria – another who evidences the restorative powers of a career break, having twice taken time off to have and look after her children. Following the birth of her second, in 2021, she reached the last four of Wimbledon the next year and now, aged 38 having relied on athletic prowess, is using her command of spins and angles to discomfit younger, faster and more powerful rivals. Her run this week has been nothing short of sensational. First, she completed qualifying, then she ejected Laylah Fernandez, Karolína Muchová, Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys for the loss of only one set. Which is to say shes playing as well as she can – and so is Anisimova. One of them is about to enjoy the greatest day of their career, and it is our privilege to experience the battle as they work out which. Play: 1.30pm BST