Cooper's side earn shot at Japan rugby promotion series
Quade Cooper's final season in Japan Rugby League One goes on after his Hanazono Liners crushed Shuttles Aichi 38-7 to earn a shot at next week's two-legged promotion/relegation series.
Needing to win to keep their hopes alive, Hanazono conceded the opening try to former Western Force and Brumbies centre Chance Peni, but held the Division Two champions scoreless for the remaining 68 minutes, with Cooper's long-time halves partner Will Genia one of the game's stars.
The veteran Wallaby scrum-half scored his 10th try of the season, one behind ex-England flyhalf Freddie Burns.
The former Queensland Reds Super Rugby winners will face their ex-Test teammate Tom Banks in the home-and-away series after the Wallaby fullback's Mie Heat ended the regular season with a hefty 67-22 loss to seventh-placed Black Rams Tokyo on Sunday.
Israel Folau and Samu Kerevi enjoyed a better return in the final match before their two-game relegation series against the Shuttles, as Urayasu D-Rocks won their third match of the season, beating Sagamihara Dynaboars 34-21.
Kobe Steelers are going to have to reverse back-to-back defeats against Shizuoka BlueRevs if they are to make it beyond the first weekend of the Division One playoffs.
Former Wallaby coach Dave Rennie's charges head into their third fixture of the season against the BlueRevs coming off a 29-23 defeat on Saturday, which added to a 15-13 loss at Shizuoka on the competition's opening day.
Kobe led 20-19 shortly after halftime, but were outscored four tries to two.
The winner of Saturday's opening quarter-final will play the defending champions Brave Lupus Tokyo, who will skip the first week after overpowering Yokohama Eagles 49-28 to finish on top of the table
The Robbie Deans-coached Saitama Wild Knights also gained direct entry to the final four after recording their biggest win of the season, flattening Tokyo Sungoliath 60-17.
They will play the winners of Sunday's match between Bernard Foley's Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay and Sungoliath.
Spears ended the regular season third after Saturday's 37-14 win over Verblitz.
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The next T20 game in the three-match series is in Bristol on Sunday. Former captain Joss Buttler and Liam Dawson have helped England make a winning start to their T20 series against the West Indies with a 21-run win at Durham's Riverside Stadium ground. Buttler scored a superb 96 off 59 balls and Dawson took four wickets on his international return, as the hosts drew first blood on Friday. After making a 3-0 winning start to Harry Brook's captaincy in the one-dayers, England kept the momentum in the shorter format after posting 6-188. West Indies finished on 9-167, with Romario Shepherd caught on the final ball of the match. Buttler, in at No.3 with England 1-16 after Ben Duckett was caught by Windies captain Shai Hope off Shepherd, brought up his half century from 25 balls in the eighth over. He had earlier smashed three sixes and scooped a four from the first four balls of a devastating sixth over with Alzarri Joseph bowling. 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Another former England forward, Chris Sutton, said: "To get someone in who wins them silverware, then straightaway get rid of him, that sums up modern football, doesn't it? It's absolute bonkers." Tottenham fan Alfie Watts, who won BBC's Race Across the World in 2024, said he was "fuming" over the sacking "I'm fuming. I can't really get my head around it. I think it's a baffling decision," Watts told BBC Radio. Also on BBC Radio, Spurs fan Jack Teasdale from Macclesfield, said: " It just doesn't make sense to me. We wait 17 years for a trophy, we finally win a trophy in Bilbao and then we sack him and we're back to square one again. It's a shambles to be honest." And from across the North London divide, an Arsenal supporter told the BBC: "Spurs have achieved a trophy win and Champions League qualification. One more than us! Yet they lose their manager. Deserved longer in the role." Ange Postecoglou's sacking by Tottenham has sparked shock and outrage as the soccer world digested the news that a man who had ended his club's long search for silverware had been shown the door a fortnight later. England manager Thomas Tuchel, himself sacked by Chelsea a year after winning the Champions League in 2021, said: "It just shows you that it is not only about titles, you can survive seasons without titles if your connection, the support and the belief and the trust between the coach and the club is strong then you can overcome seasons without titles. "If there is slight disbelief, if there are concerns, if the trust is not there anymore, obviously then it is sometimes not even enough to win a trophy after so many years." Tuchel also paid tribute to Postecoglou: "I have biggest respect for him. He's a huge character, he brought a trophy, he said he will deliver in the second year and he did," he said. "But this is part of the job, we are responsible for the results and we are responsible for the development of the team so, whether we like it or not, sometimes it is us who has to take the full responsibility." There was an emotional response from one of Postecoglou's players, full-back Pedro Porro taking to Instagram to say: "Thank you for everything, boss. For mentoring me early on, helping me settle into the club, and trusting me out on the pitch. "I'll always be grateful for the way you led us, defended us, and kept us going through all the highs and lows. Above everything, you gave us one of the greatest moments in the club's history and for that, you'll always be celebrated. Wishing you all the very best, boss." Soccer pundits came out backing the Australian coach, and laying into Tottenham's decision. Alan Shearer, the former England and Newcastle striker, posted on X: "What a stupid game football is!!!!" Another former England forward, Chris Sutton, said: "To get someone in who wins them silverware, then straightaway get rid of him, that sums up modern football, doesn't it? It's absolute bonkers." Tottenham fan Alfie Watts, who won BBC's Race Across the World in 2024, said he was "fuming" over the sacking "I'm fuming. I can't really get my head around it. I think it's a baffling decision," Watts told BBC Radio. Also on BBC Radio, Spurs fan Jack Teasdale from Macclesfield, said: " It just doesn't make sense to me. We wait 17 years for a trophy, we finally win a trophy in Bilbao and then we sack him and we're back to square one again. It's a shambles to be honest." And from across the North London divide, an Arsenal supporter told the BBC: "Spurs have achieved a trophy win and Champions League qualification. One more than us! Yet they lose their manager. Deserved longer in the role." Ange Postecoglou's sacking by Tottenham has sparked shock and outrage as the soccer world digested the news that a man who had ended his club's long search for silverware had been shown the door a fortnight later. England manager Thomas Tuchel, himself sacked by Chelsea a year after winning the Champions League in 2021, said: "It just shows you that it is not only about titles, you can survive seasons without titles if your connection, the support and the belief and the trust between the coach and the club is strong then you can overcome seasons without titles. "If there is slight disbelief, if there are concerns, if the trust is not there anymore, obviously then it is sometimes not even enough to win a trophy after so many years." Tuchel also paid tribute to Postecoglou: "I have biggest respect for him. He's a huge character, he brought a trophy, he said he will deliver in the second year and he did," he said. "But this is part of the job, we are responsible for the results and we are responsible for the development of the team so, whether we like it or not, sometimes it is us who has to take the full responsibility." There was an emotional response from one of Postecoglou's players, full-back Pedro Porro taking to Instagram to say: "Thank you for everything, boss. For mentoring me early on, helping me settle into the club, and trusting me out on the pitch. "I'll always be grateful for the way you led us, defended us, and kept us going through all the highs and lows. Above everything, you gave us one of the greatest moments in the club's history and for that, you'll always be celebrated. Wishing you all the very best, boss." Soccer pundits came out backing the Australian coach, and laying into Tottenham's decision. Alan Shearer, the former England and Newcastle striker, posted on X: "What a stupid game football is!!!!" Another former England forward, Chris Sutton, said: "To get someone in who wins them silverware, then straightaway get rid of him, that sums up modern football, doesn't it? It's absolute bonkers." Tottenham fan Alfie Watts, who won BBC's Race Across the World in 2024, said he was "fuming" over the sacking "I'm fuming. I can't really get my head around it. I think it's a baffling decision," Watts told BBC Radio. Also on BBC Radio, Spurs fan Jack Teasdale from Macclesfield, said: " It just doesn't make sense to me. We wait 17 years for a trophy, we finally win a trophy in Bilbao and then we sack him and we're back to square one again. It's a shambles to be honest." And from across the North London divide, an Arsenal supporter told the BBC: "Spurs have achieved a trophy win and Champions League qualification. One more than us! Yet they lose their manager. Deserved longer in the role."
