Switzerland's Loic Meillard wins World Cup finals giant slalom race
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Liverpool defender Frimpong out for a few weeks with hamstring injury
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool right back Jeremie Frimpong will be out with a hamstring injury until after the upcoming international break, manager Arne Slot said Thursday. Frimpong was hurt in the 4-2 win over Bournemouth in the opening Premier League game on Friday, coming off in the 60th minute. He will now miss the Premier League games against Newcastle on Monday and then Arsenal. The Netherlands play Poland and Lithuania in World Cup qualifiers in early September. Slot might be without a designated right back against Newcastle, with another option — Conor Bradley — having recently been injured. Long-time right back Trent Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid during the offseason. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canadian women show off their depth in lineup for Rugby World Cup opener against Fiji
The second-ranked Canadian women open their Rugby World Cup campaign Saturday in England with a display of their depth. Coach Kevin Rouet's starting 15 enter their game against No. 14 Fiji in York with a combined 486 caps, while the eight-woman bench has a combined 293 caps. Canada will be able to send on the likes of lock Tyson Beukeboom (77 caps), prop DaLeaka Menin (63 caps), flanker Karen Paquin (45 caps) and hooker Emily Tuttosi (35 caps) off the bench at York Community Stadium. Beukeboom, the most-capped Canadian women's player, Paquin and starting prop Olivia DeMerchant are all participating in their fourth World Cup. Canada and Fiji have met just once before, with the Canadians winning 24-7 in September 2022 in Suva, in their final tune-up for the last World Cup where they finished fourth. After Fiji, Canada continues Group B play against No. 9 Wales on Aug. 30 in Manchester and No. 8 Scotland on Sept. 6 in Exeter. If the competition unfolds per the rankings, the Canadians will face No. 6 Australia in the quarterfinals, No. 3 New Zealand in the semifinals and No. 1 England in the final before a sellout crowd at Twickenham's 82,000-capacity Allianz Stadium. Organizers reported this week that 375,000 of the 470,000 tickets for the expanded 32-match, 16-team tournament have already been sold, three times the number sold at the last World Cup in New Zealand. Winners of five straight, the Canadians enter the tournament on a seven-game unbeaten run (6-0-1) since losing 21-12 to England at the WXV tournament in Vancouver in October. 'The team has put in a lot of work to get to this point,' said Rouet. 'We have been building really since the last World Cup, so we are very excited to get going here in England. Fiji will be a fun team to play against. They are unpredictable, so they will test us on the pitch, but it's on us to showcase our style of play and display when we are one of the best teams in the world.' Rouet has made six changes from the starting 15 that beat No. 5 Ireland 47-26 on Aug. 9 in Belfast in its final warm-up game ahead of the tournament. Four of those are in the pack with two changes in the backs. Taylor Perry starts at fly half, some three years after sitting out the last World Cup. Perry had been selected to start Canada's opening game in New Zealand in 2022 but was ruled out of the entire tournament after suffering a knee injury in Canada's final training session that required surgery. Forward Rachel Smith, who earned the first of her three caps in May against the U.S., is in line to make her World Cup debut off the bench. Canada's best showing at the World Cup came in 2014 when it finished runner-up to England. The Canadians finished fourth last time out, losing 36-0 to France in the third-place game after falling 26-19 to England in the semifinal. Canada also finished fourth in 1998, 2002 and 2006. Fiji went 1-2-0 at the last World Cup, its first trip to the tournament. Fiji failed to advance after lopsided losses to England (84-19) and France (44-0), and a 21-17 win over South Africa. Canada, whose tournament record is 25-18-2, has posted a 16-5-1 record since the last World Cup. Four of those losses were to England, with the other to the defending champion New Zealand Black Ferns. Canada drew New Zealand 27-27 in Pacific Four Series play in May in Christchurch. England, which last lifted the trophy in 1994, kicks off the tournament Friday against the 10th-ranked U.S. in Sunderland's Stadium of Light. The Red Roses have won 27 straight and 57 of their last 58 tests, with the lone blemish a 34-31 loss to New Zealand in the final of the 2021 World Cup. That loss was one of six for the Red Roses in the World Cup final, with five of those defeats coming at the hands of New Zealand. England also lost to the U.S. in the final of the inaugural 1991 tournament. The Red Roses have won the other 20 meetings with the U.S. World Rugby says, 'as a rule,' it does not provide prize money for its tournaments. 'We partner instead with unions to make significant investments in high-performance systems pathways, processes, people and competitions to help teams arrive at the tournament ready to perform to their potential,' the world governing body said in a statement. 'However, to support the journey to Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, a comprehensive package of funding and development has been made available to all participating unions.' According to its financial report, Rugby Canada received $7.6 million of its $20.1-million budget from World Rugby for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024. Canada Roster Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Gillian Boag, Calgary, Alta., Capilano RFC; Olivia DeMerchant, Mapledale, N.B., Halifax Tars RFC; Sophie de Goede, Victoria, Saracens (England); Courtney O'Donnell, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que., Stade Bordelais (France); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Alexandra Tessier (capt.), Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Florence Symonds, Vancouver, UBC; Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England). Replacements Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Rachel Smith, South Surrey, B.C., UBC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand). — This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2025
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ilona Maher wants America to fall in love with rugby during Women's World Cup
SUNDERLAND, England (AP) — Ilona Maher's mission at the Women's Rugby World Cup is about more than just winning games. Heading into the United States' tournament opener on Friday, the world's most followed rugby player on social media wants to get more eyeballs on the sport as it ramps up attempts to crack the market in America. 'Not many people know that there's a Women's Rugby World Cup going on, so we try to get as many people as we can to spread that knowledge,' Maher said ahead of the match against host England in the World Cup curtain-raiser in Sunderland. 'We want the fans in America to see us play here because we've got a World Cup there in eight years and we need to start building for that.' Rugby authorities see America as a vital new market for the sport. The United States will stage the men's Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the women's tournament in 2033. The presence of Maher is key to attracting attention on rugby in the U.S., given she has 5.2 million followers on Instagram and 3.6 million on TikTok — platforms on which she promotes body positivity. The 29-year-old Vermont native believes she and her teammates are 'changing the game on and off the field a lot.' 'This is a time where women's rugby is in a state where it could grow massively,' she said, 'and I do believe this team is at the forefront with how we present ourselves and people's perception of us.' Maher certainly stands out, having been named as the best breakthrough athlete at the ESPYs last month. In an interview with the BBC ahead of the World Cup, she said she has been approached by the WWE — joking that her ring name would be 'Maher-vellous' if she ever became a wrestler — and that she'd love to get into acting. First, though, she wants to deliver at the World Cup, starting with the match in front of 40,000 spectators against England, the tournament favorite, in the north of the country. A star in rugby sevens, in which she won a bronze medal with the U.S. team at the Paris Olympics last year, Maher also had a three-month stint at English club Bristol in the 15 players-a-team format at the start of 2025. 'I think it's so cool,' Maher said, 'that we're up here, so far away from maybe where rugby union is big, and yet we're getting 40,000 people out to a game.' The Americans also will play Australia and Samoa in Pool A at the World Cup. ___ AP rugby:
