
England wing Feyi-Waboso to make comeback against France XV
England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will make his return against a France XV on Saturday after six months out though injury.The 22-year-old Exeter flier dislocated his shoulder against Sale in December and suffered a setback during an international training camp before having an operation.Bath flankers Ted Hill and Guy Pepper also start after playing key roles in last weekend's Premiership final victory over Leicester, with Saracens' Tom Willis between them at number eight.Sale's Joe Carpenter is at full-back and Gloucester's Seb Atkinson at 12, but both will have to wait for his first cap with the match against a second-string French outfit not being classified as a Test.Fly-half George Ford and hooker Jamie George co-captain the side while Northampton's Alex Coles, who last appeared for England during the tour of New Zealand last summer, earns a shot in the second row.The Harlequins forward trio of Chandler Cunningham-South, Jack Kenningham and Alex Dombrandt are on the bench, alongside Sale scrum-half Raffi Quirke.England: Carpenter; Roebuck, Slade, Atkinson, Feyi-Waboso; Ford (co-c), Spencer; Baxter, George (co-c), Heyes, Coles, Isiekwe, Hill, Pepper, WillisReplacements: Dan, Rodd, Davison, Cunningham-South, Kenningham, Dombrandt, Quirke, Beard
More to follow.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South Wales Guardian
10 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Steve Borthwick wants as many England players as possible involved with Lions
There are five uncapped names in an experimental England squad that was announced on Thursday, three of whom are set to start the match, with 14 players currently in Dublin with Andy Farrell's side for Friday's game against Argentina following Jack van Poortvliet's call-up this week. Amongst those playing from the start in west London will be Gloucester centre Seb Atkinson, selected after an impressive year in what was only a second professional season at Kingsholm for the 23-year-old, during which he ranked top in carries, tackles, and passes amongst centres in the Premiership. Back in action this weekend 🙌 Head coach Steve Borthwick has named his match day squad to face a France XV this Saturday at @allianz_stad 🌹 Watch live and free on @RugbyPass TV 📺@O2 | #WearTheRose — England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 19, 2025 With this summer's tour of Argentina and the United States overlapping with the Lions' time in Australia, Borthwick is looking forward to experimenting with his side beyond Saturday's non-cap international. 'We've spoken very publicly, we want as many England players in that Lions squad as possible,' he said. 'JVP is over there at the minute with them. There might be situations where other England players join that squad and we'll be delighted for our players to do that. 'It creates opportunities for others in the England squad. What I'm seeing so far this week is players grabbing that opportunity. 'Seb Atkinson, starting at 12 this week, the way he has embraced training, the way he's jumped into it. He's smashed every record we have on GPS in terms of his running. 'We have a group of players – Sladey (Henry Slade), Tommy Freeman, Freddie Steward – Seb has come in and put himself right in that mix or even just above that. When that happens, you're raising the standard of everybody.' Also set to start on Saturday is Bath flanker Guy Pepper fresh from a starring role in Saturday's Premiership final win over Leicester. The 22-year-old, who was awarded man of the match as Bath ended a 29-year wait for the title, was called up to train with the team during the 2024 Six Nations having made an impression on Borthwick during his time at Newcastle. 'You've seen enormous growth in Guy,' he said. 'The first time I met Guy was about 18 months ago at a hotel in Newcastle airport. I had a coffee with Guy and watched his game the next day. 'He hurt his hip and had to leave the field after about 30 minutes but in that 30 minutes he played so well. I thought then this is a player that's got a future in the England team. 'Since then his game has grown and grown. You saw his performance Saturday in the Premiership final, he's been tremendous. I'm looking forward to seeing him at this level.' Borthwick pointed to the emergence of Tom Curry for England in 2017 when the Lions were touring as reason why Saturday's non-cap match should be respected. 'The way change happens is, when opportunity comes along, somebody grabs it,' said Borthwick. 'The players understand that. 'The number of players in 2017 who emerged on that tour that summer who played such significant roles in a team that went to the World Cup final a few years later in 2019, the likes of Sam Underhill, Tom Curry, Mark Wilson emerged on that tour. 'That's the opportunity that presents itself this summer.'


The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trawlerman races away to take Gold Cup at Royal Ascot
It was simple but ruthlessly effective as Trawlerman and William Buick made all the running to win the Gold Cup on Thursday. The Gosden stable's seven-year-old faced two four-year-old rivals with a touch more class but no experience of racing at two and a half miles and when Buick challenged them to catch him with a quarter of a mile to run, neither Illinois nor Candelari could summon a response. Candelari was a spent force with half a mile left, while Illinois's brief effort in the home straight scarcely made an impression on Trawlerman's lead as he galloped on relentlessly for the line. He had a seven-length advantage at the post and it was seven more back to Dubai Future in third. 'It was the only way we were going to win,' said John Gosden, who has won the feature event on the first three days of the meeting. 'We had to say, if you're going to beat me, you're going to know you've been in a race, because you're going to have to go two and a half miles at a proper gallop. 'William said [before the race], 'from four out, I'm going to notch it up, notch it up, notch it up.' So if they stay, they're going to have to stay every inch. He rode him perfectly and judged it beautifully. It's not an easy thing to do over two and a half miles. 'I take nothing from the second. He's a fabulous horse, but two and a half miles truly run is not his game. Falsely run, he'd be fine.' Gosden summoned up the memory of a great stayer of the past – the three-time winner Sagaro, with Lester Piggott in the saddle – to explain the appeal of a hard-galloping stayer like Trawlerman and acknowledged that his horse had been beaten by an outstanding champion in the now retired Kyprios in this race last year. 'He ran Kyprios to a length and they were both all out,' Gosden said. 'So he deserves, with Kyprios not here, to come back and show he's a proper horse over this trip. 'I remember the great horses that Lester Piggott rode, like Sagaro, the way he could run the last six furlongs in one [minute] 12 [seconds] flat. That's what I like, a horse that can go the distance, and then go, and you can't catch them.' Illinois was seen as a possible successor to Kyprios and Aidan O'Brien's mighty stayer Yeats before the race, but the search for the next Gold Cup winner from Ballydoyle now seems likely to shift to the three-year-old crop. Trawlerman, meanwhile, is a gelding, and while he has left it quite late to attempt to join the list of multiple Gold Cup winners, Gosden will give him every chance. 'He should be aimed at coming back here next year,' the trainer said, 'and he shouldn't be over-raced in the meantime. Don't be surprised if you don't see him again until the Henry II [Stakes in May] next year. 'He doesn't need to be going to all those [summer Cup] races or he might come back here for that race in the autumn [the stayers' event on Champions Day in October], he's won that [before], and then we'll put him away.' This was a fifth win of the meeting for the John & Thady Gosden team, but not enough to keep them in the lead in the race to be the leading trainer as O'Brien, the winner in eight of the past 10 seasons, completed a 44-1 treble. Charles Darwin (8-13) was an impressive winner of the opening Norfolk Stakes, while Garden Of Eden (7-1) took the Group Two Ribblesdale Stakes and Trinity College, the 5-2 favourite, made all the running in the Group Three Hampton Court Stakes. The treble sent Ryan Moore well clear of his rivals for the top jockeys' prize with five winners. He is two clear of Oisin Murphy – who had a 42-1 double on Arabian Story in the Britannia Handicap and Never So Brave in the concluding Buckingham Palace Stakes – and three ahead of a trio of riders – including Buick and James Doyle – with two wins. Zarigana, who got the Poule D'Essai Des Pouliches (French 1,000 Guineas) in the stewards' room, is the only runner in Friday's Coronation Stakes with a previous Group One victory to her name but still faces significant opposition as she pursues a second after two unbeaten fillies – Falakeyah and Kon Tiki – were given £46k supplementary entries at the weekend. Falakeyah in particular has captured the punters' imagination, and Owen Burrows's filly has since replaced Zarigana at the top of the betting with most firms. She is back in trip after running away with the Pretty Polly at Newmarket – often seen as a trial for the 12-furlong Oaks – but showed plenty of speed in the early part of the race and should cope with the drop to a mile. Zarigana could easily be unbeaten in five as her sole defeat was in a head-bobber for the Group One Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp in October. This is far from a two-horse race, however, and the 7-1 shot Kon Tiki (4.20), who has very similar claims to Falakeyah on her form, accelerated impressively to win a Listed race at York's Dante meeting in May. On paper, this is a significant step up in class but that was a strong field for the level and she won in an excellent time, with more in hand than a half-length margin might suggest. Royal Ascot 2.30 Gold Digger showed an excellent turn of foot to justify market support on debut at Yarmouth in May and could be over-priced at around 8-1 to follow up in what looks an open renewal of the Albany Stakes. Royal Ascot 3.05 Two of 2024's Group One-winning juveniles are in the lineup for this year's Commonwealth Cup and Shadow Of Light, who was Europe's top-rated two-year-old thanks to a rare double in the Middle Park and Dewhurst Stakes, will be tough to beat dropping back to the Middle Park's six-furlong trip. He showed excellent speed to quicken into the lead in the 2,000 Guineas in May before fading late on behind Ruling Court and Tuesday's St James's Park Stakes winner, Field Of Gold, and this return to a stiff sprint trip promises to play to his strengths. Royal Ascot 3.40 Roger Varian's French Duke has yet to run this season but is the type to make significant further progress as a four-year-old having been gelded over the winter. James Doyle's presence in the saddle is encouraging as the Wathnan operation has the fancied recent purchase Almosh'her in the field. Royal Ascot 5.00 Silver Ghost beat the re-opposing Miss Nightfall by two-and-a-half lengths in a strongly run handicap at Goodwood last month and while James Fanshawe's filly has a 6lb swing in her favour here, Silver Ghost has improved from race-to-race this year and looks the better bet at around 12-1. Market Rasen 2.05 Climbing 2.40 Shadows In The Sky 3.13 Greenrock Abbey 3.50 Game Beaaa 4.25 Whistleinthedark 5.05 Matoury 5.45 Shutfrontdoor Redcar 2.15 Oscar's Sister 2.50 Due Respect 3.23 Marhaba Ghaiyyath 4.00 Venezuelan 4.40 Hot Dancer 5.15 Keep The Gold Royal Ascot 2.30 Gold Digger 3.05 Shadow Of Light 3.40 French Duke 3.40 Kon Tiki (nap) 5.00 Silver Ghost (nb) 3.35 Zahrann 6.10 Adrestia Newmarket 4.47 Ibshara 5.25 Opening Bat 5.57 Tilted Kilt 6.37 I Am I Said 7.15 Royal Musketeer 7.50 Soldiers Star 8.25 Last Galileo Goodwood 5.20 Blue Orbit 5.52 Babylon 6.30 Miss Dolly Rocker 7.03 Way Of Stars 7.38 Herculeus 8.13 Dan Tucker Royal Ascot 5.35 The fast-improving Zahrann did not see a track until April but has taken a big step forward on his past two starts, including a comfortable success in a Listed race at Leopardstown two weeks ago. He was still showing signs of inexperience there and further improvement seems inevitable here if the race does not come too soon. Royal Ascot 6.10 The high-numbered stalls have held sway on the straight course this week and also in this race since it was added to the schedule in 2020. This is a negative for two of the market leaders, Realign and Redorange. Simon and Ed Crisford's Adrestia, though, has drawn well in stall 24, has Oisin Murphy booked to ride and has presumably been pleasing her trainers since a close third at Windsor on her seasonal debut 11 days ago.


Telegraph
17 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Katie Boulter wins Battle of the Brits but says Sonay Kartal is the future
Katie Boulter overcame Sonay Kartal in a close-fought Battle of the Brits at the Nottingham Open but believes her rival will soon surpass her in the rankings. In searing 28C heat, Boulter fought back to close out the 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 victory in a match spanning two hours and 26 minutes and kept alive her hopes of a third successive title in the East Midlands. 'I know she's going to surpass me at some point,' Boulter said of Kartal. 'I mean, she's got the game for it, she's got the head for it. So at some point it's going to come and I'm going to have to face that fact. 'I genuinely think she's got an incredible attitude, she works extremely hard and the way that she plays, she's so consistent and she can disrupt your rhythm.' It seems inconceivable that at the start of the 2024 grass-court season, before Boulter won her second successive title at Nottingham, Kartal was ranked 271 in the world, she is no in the top 50. 'It's something she has said to me for a while that she believes I'll go pretty far,' she said when asked about Boulter's comments on her potential. For Boulter, who lost her British No. 1 title to Emma Raducanu at Queen's first professional women's event for 52 years last week, Nottingham was always going to be important in the build-up to Wimbledon. The match itself mirrored Boulter's two at Queen's where she came out firing in the first set, faltered in the second and then had to come back in the decider – albeit she lost to Diana Shnaider in the second round in west London. In the opening set here, the pair held serve while not to break until Kartal was guilty of one too many unforced errors. As those mistakes built up, including two tame backhands straight into the net, Boulter was able to capitalise, winning the crucial break of serve to take the opener. But at 4-3 behind and 30-0 down in the decider, the home favourite had to find a new level to come back and get the set back on serve. Boulter holding her back at one point and taking painkillers at 2-1 up in the third, she later acknowledged at not being 100 percent during the encounter. The entire match hinged on two service games in the decider, with Kartal serving to stay in the match at 5-4 behind. Boulter squandered two match points before banging her racket on the ground as Kartal held. Two games later, the British No 2 took her chance to win the match. Born in Leicestershire, Boulter stays at her mother's house during the tournament and described the Nottingham centre court as feeling like 'home', although she admitted struggling in the heat. When the US Open doubles draw list came out, matching up Emma Raducanu with Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper teaming up with last year's Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, there was the notable absence of Boulter and fiance Alex de Minaur. 'I actually panicked when I came off court the other day and the list was out,' Boulter explains before adding that she entered herself and De Minaur in the new-look doubles competition as soon as she could, although the pair are still waiting for confirmation, with the final entry list closing on July 28.