Latest news with #TomWillis
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
England bolters, Steward's potential switch & a 'Carewell'
England will announce a training squad for their tour of Argentina and the United States later this those picked for the British and Irish Lions and players from Bath and Northampton, who are preparing for European finals, to be left out, there are some intriguing options pushing full-back Joe Carpenter put in another classy display at the back in the win over Bristol and has been integral to Sale's late-season Raffi Quirke came off the bench to score a sharp try, after Harry Randall had done similar for Bristol in the first half. Fellow nine Jack van Poortvliet impressed again for Leicester, delivering zippy service and setting up Joe Woodward's try with a well-weighted cross-field Adam Radwan now has nine tries in nine games since joining Tigers mid-season from Newcastle and will be difficult to Atkinson purred in Gloucester's midfield, deftly setting up Chris Harris and teenage wing Jack Cotgreave for tries and racing away for one of his own, as they beat number eight Tom Willis took out some of his frustration at being overlooked for the Lions with a big hit on Henry Pollock in Saracens' loss to back row Ethan Roots, whose last appearance for England was back in March 2024, also put in a timely performance, menacing the breakdown and rattling ribs in the loose against Harlequins. Will Evans, who leads the league's turnover charts with team-mate Jack Kenningham, was also in typically light-fingered form, pilfering ball on the last time England toured Argentina in a Lions year, a teenage Tom Curry made his debut. Only injury has shifted him from England's back row ever since. Opportunity knocks. Dunn's dummy raises more questions Tom Dunn had a landmark to celebrate on Saturday. On the occasion of becoming Bath's all-time leading appearance-maker in Premiership history, he plucked a party piece out of his pocket - selling Leicester full-back Freddie Steward an outrageous dummy before sauntering in for the league leaders' fourth has been stepped by far more agile attackers. Jamison Gibson-Park, Grant Williams and Cheslin Kolbe all evaded him with unsettling ease on Test duty this season. Steward revealed on Stick to Rugby earlier this month, external that one-on-one defence was an area England coach Steve Borthwick had told him to improve also suggested that he would be open to trying a switch to inside centre, where England have relatively fewer options, he is less exposed to pace and his powerful, rangy running and brave front-on tackling could add Roberts and Jordie Barrett both made similar moves out of the back three into midfield in their England's sometime centre option, back rower Ben Earl, on tour with the British and Irish Lions this summer, could Steward's move to 12 be an experiment for England's tour of Argentina? Speedy Gonzalez set to test England Perhaps the most in-form man of all will turn out for the Pumas flanker Juan Martin Gonzalez has scored eight tries in his last six games as the ground has firmed up and his fast, lung-burning game has come into its 24-year-old had to come off just before half-time at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday with a knock, but his team's loss means he is likely to have more time to slipping to sixth place with their last-gasp, possibly-forward-pass defeat by Northampton means they need to beat a Bath team, who may well rest their front-line stars, and hope for slip-ups from two of the teams above them in the final round if they are to extend their campaign into the Sarries fail to make it, this will be the first time in 16 years that they have failed to make the play-offs in a Premiership campaign unaffected by their salary-cap scandal. Seismic semi-finals shape up The play-off permutations are Bristol can do a number on a Harlequins team with nothing to play for on a Super Saturday round of simultaneous kick-offs in a fortnight's time, they will likeliest end up in fourth tableThat outcome would set up a West Country ding-dong with leaders Bath at the Rec in the take on bottom side Newcastle on the final day so should secure the other home semi-final, with third-placed Sale, who have won five of their past six in the Premiership and travel to Exeter, their most probable like Saracens, lurk, hoping to capitalise on any deviation from the form book. Care departs on his own terms A scrum, centre field, five metres out from the Exeter line, the Stoop singing his name, a minute left on the clock - it seemed set up for a final Danny Care snipe to send off his rugby career with a it doesn't work that that. Not usually. And not this still, the former England scrum-half ended the match and his career on his own term, kicking into touch to secure the team win, rather than search for a touch of personal scenes at the end were sweet. Harlequins players queued up to embrace their departing team-mate, before bearing him from the pitch on their de-mob rest for the 38-year-old morning meant he was back on the Rugby Union Weekly sofa for his first appearance as a full-time civilian.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Late try sees Saints hit Saracens' play-off hopes
Gallagher PremiershipNorthampton (7) 28Tries: Kemeny, Haffar 2, Cons: Smith, Hutchinson 2Saracens (19) 24Tries: Willis, Gonzalez, Daly, Segun Cons: Burke 2 Tarek Haffar's last-second try saw Northampton beat Saracens 28-24 and strike a huge blow to Sarries' play-off Kemeny's early try for Saints was cancelled out by a close-range Tom Willis score and a well-worked Juan Martin Gonzalez try before Elliot Daly added a Segun got the bonus-point try early in the second period before Saints replacement Haffar got one back as the hosts spurned a number of good chances to add to their ensured a barnstorming finish as they earned a penalty-try after Andy Onyeama-Christie pulled down a maul - and Haffar went over as the clock ticked over the 80-minute mark to secure a great comeback. The loss means Saracens remain sixth in the Premiership and must beat Bath - who are already assured of first place - next Saturday and hope other results go their way if they are to make the to follow. Northampton: Ramm; Freeman, Dingwall (capt), Hutchinson, Litchfield; Smith, Mitchell; Iyogun, Langdon, Davison, Mayanavanua, Lockett, Coles, Kemeny, Wright, Haffar, Millar Mills, Prowse, Scott-Young, Weimann, Garside, SeabrookSaracens: Goode; Elliott, Daly, Tompkins, Segun; Burke, van Zyl; Mawi, George, Riccioni, Itoje (capt), Isiekwe, Gonzalez, Earl, Dan, Brantingham, Clarey, Tizard, McFarland, Onyeama-Christie, Bracken, card: Onyeama-Christie (72)Referee: Luke Pearce
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Work begins on £1m Sussex Bay improvement scheme
Work has begun to restore 100 miles (160km) of coastline after the Sussex Bay project received funding worth more than £ scheme will see the marine environment and rivers from Chichester to Camber Sands undergo a programme to accelerate their recovery from pollution and is currently being carried out to create an artificial 'reef wall' and 'wildlife corridors'.Dr Lewis White, research lead for Sussex Bay, said: "We are collaborating with authorities and researchers across our coastline to work out what needs to change and where to cherish and recover our ecosystem." A 'reef wall' is currently being constructed at Shoreham Port, where officials are working with fishing communities to become more Willis, chief executive of the port, said: "I believe Sussex Bay can restore fish stocks in the area and we've just opened our brand new in-shore marina to ensure that in-shore fishing, the most sustainable kind of fishing, is protected for many many years to come."Sources of the £1m funding include the Marine Management Organisation, Natural England, Innovate UK and Championing Coastal Communities. The project is working with local councils, ports and universities, who are conducting research on the marine a reduction in pollution and an increase in fish was noted, it is hoped the area will also see more larger marine animals returning to the area. Thea Taylor, managing director of the Sussex Dolphin Project, said: "If you look back at records from the 1800s there are documents of large pods of cetaceans off the Sussex coast but that really dipped when industrial and commercial efforts picked up."We're hopeful that with a well managed fishery, balanced with conservation efforts, we can once again have a really healthy cetacean population off the Sussex coastline."
The Guardian
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Funny, sexy and a bit weird': inside the new wave of literary parties
On a Saturday evening in London's Notting Hill, a large crowd of moderately tipsy young people are spilling into a tailor's shop on Portobello Road. A passerby could easily assume they were walking past a fashion pop-up attracting a stylish herd of fanatics. But they'd be wrong. The buzzing crowd is here for a live reading event, and they're eager with energy and anticipation. Soho Reading Series began in the summer of 2023 and was founded by Tom Willis, a writer and PhD student. He wanted to make a 'scene where anyone could turn up, party, and have a killer time with literature as the centre,' he tells me over an extra-dry martini a couple of hours before one of the events. Live literature readings are, of course, nothing new. Salons, bookshop readings, poetry slams and open mics have been fixtures of literary cultures for decades. However, lately this tradition has been revitalised, with events like the Soho Reading Series cropping up all over the country. Willis was inspired by the cultural heyday of Soho in the 80s and 90s, an era when writers and literary types coalesced in the boozy backrooms of private members' clubs. Unlike its name, the Soho Reading Series migrates with each event to different venues across the city – from a Grade II-listed pub in Harringay to a Victorian Anglican church on Ladbroke Grove. 'If you're a published writer, you might go to your publishing house's Christmas party, and everyone just knows each other there. That's the professional literary scene, and then we're the unprofessional literary scene.' Willis says with a smile. 'Scene' is a word used by many of the event's attendees – but only ever while miming air quotes. I guess this is because the word implies an air of pretentiousness and exclusivity. In reality, these events are unassuming and attract a diverse and expanding crowd. There's no immovable barrier, secret password or even a ticket to enter – anyone can walk in. 'It's a party of like-minded people who care about literature. So that's why it's such a good party, because everyone cares about the same thing, and everyone's not there for their career. They hang out with people who like books and have something nice to share,' says Willis. Soho Reading Series is just one vein in a growing web of live reading events. The audience is young compared with the average literature festival crowd and it attracts a devout congregation of both literary and party-curious individuals. 'Some people come for a party. Some people come for readings. People often end up staying for the thing that they hadn't planned to come for,' says Sophie Barshall, editor of London-based quarterly DIY arts and culture newspaper The Toe Rag, which also hosts popular live readings. Inside the tailor's shop on Portobello Road, the readings begin an hour late. There is no microphone; each reader flicks through printed sheets of paper or scrolls through the notes app on their phone, attempting to project their voice over shuffling, mumbles, momentary laughter and heckling. The shop – usually populated by people shopping for cashmere socks – is full to capacity. The audience has leaked out on to the pavement, and a young woman next to me is FaceTiming a friend outside so they can hear what's going on. What is being read aloud is unrestricted by theme or genre. The readings jump from excerpts of short stories published in Granta magazine to a five-star Google review of the 2007 Pixar film Ratatouille. Most of the people I speak to have'never been to something like this before but came across the event through social media or a writer's Substack and decided to give it a try. Avid readers and amateur writers make up around half of those in attendance, but a significant portion of people tell me they are there purely because they like the idea of being considered literary. As the reading ends and we move from one local pub to the next, a young man drunkenly confesses that 'he doesn't even enjoy the readings that much' – he just comes to 'meet the types of people who would enjoy it'. 'It's probably not for everyone,' Willis says. 'It's boring unless you're really engaged in it. It's free and open to everyone, but it does self-select. But that's the scene – that's why literature is so good for scene making.' In Glasgow, a number of reading series such as thi wurd and Shrill have emerged in recent years. Waterwings Press, which has been hosting live reading events in the city's south side since 2020, was set up by Leo Bussi, who moved to Glasgow wanting to discover its art scene and meet different people. 'I thought the best way to do that is to message someone on Instagram and say, 'Hey, do you want to read for my reading?'' he says. Each Waterwings event is made up of readings by five writers: some are seasoned performers, others are first-time readers. Contemporary poetry is the most represented genre alongside what Bussi loosely defines as 'art writing' – a mixture of autofiction, art and literary criticism. 'It's like taking a piece of spaghetti and throwing it against the wall to see if it'll stick,' he says. 'There's an improvisation to the evening, which can be incredibly stressful but also gratifying because when it works, it really works.' Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion Though there are plenty of people with formal writing qualifications at these events, and I spot a number of attendees sporting the go-to literary status symbol, a Daunt Books tote bag, this new approach to live readings feels separate from the world of mainstream publishing. If anything, these are spaces specifically curated to rail against it. In trade magazine the Bookseller's 2025 survey of publishing salaries, 73% of respondents said they were middle class and 86% that they were white. Because so many publishing staff members 'come from the same background', they 'picture the reader as someone like them and people they know,' says Rachel Connolly, a writer and regular on the London live reading circuit. Connolly co-hosts a series called New Work alongside her friend and writer, Isis O'Regan, a dedicated space for fiction writers to litmus-test new, unpublished work with an audience. The series debuted last July; previous readers include authors Eliza Clark, Gabriel Smith and Nicole Flattery. 'Our ideal reader is really good at writing, funny, sexy and a bit weird, a bit out there. In the digital age, writers probably know each other online from Twitter and Instagram, but it's way nicer to come and meet people and listen to their work, hear their voice and actually put a body to the impression that you have of someone,' Connolly says. 'But maybe people are also trying to get laid,' she adds, half jokingly. This seems to be a common theme – Willis often begins a Soho Reading Series event by jokily suggesting that audience members get with someone they find attractive – and is another reason that attending them feels more like going to a music gig than a literature fixture. 'It's meant to be enjoyable,' says poet and musician James Massiah, whose east London reading series Adult Entertainment is all about 'party poetry'. His nights typically begin with audiences sitting on the floor listening to performances by poets and rappers, before a DJ takes to the decks and the dancing begins. 'What do people like at parties? They like dancing, they like meeting someone they fancy, they like hearing some tunes and they like getting it on,' he says. 'I want the writing to reflect that, and I want the mood to reflect that as well.' 'Any live literature event is about bringing work into the world and sharing it with others,' agrees Joey Frances, a poet and organiser of the long-running reading series Peter Barlow's Cig based in Manchester, named after the chainsmoking character from Coronation Street. 'You're hearing one another, you're feeding back from one another, you're hanging out, you're having fun.' Fun is the key to the success of these events, Massiah thinks. 'It's not a lecture. It's like the spirit of dance or dub sound systems where people congregate for the music. It's like that, but people are congregating for the words.'
BBC News
01-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Five things to look for in Champions Cup last 16
After an 11-week hiatus, the Investec Champions Cup returns on Friday with a thrilling last-16 knockout stages get under way with English champions Northampton Saints taking on Clermont Auvergne under the lights at Franklin's Sport highlights five things to look out for across the weekend. Champions Cup last 16 fixtures (All times BST)Friday, 4 AprilNorthampton Saints v Clermont (20:00)Saturday, 5 AprilToulon v Saracens (12:30)Castres v Benetton (15:00)Leinster v Harlequins (15:00)La Rochelle v Munster (17:30)Glasgow Warriors v Leicester Tigers (20:00)Sunday, 6 AprilBordeaux-Begles v Ulster (12:30)Toulouse v Sale Sharks (15:00) Saracens favour Premiership tilt Saracens have opted to pursue domestic success over their continental ambitions this three-time Champions Cup winners have decided to rest several of their England internationals, including Maro Itoje and Tom Willis, for their trip to of rugby Mark McCall says he is prioritising making the Premiership play-offs over the chance at a fourth European Saints, meanwhile, are the only English side with a home tie after finishing top of Pool are eighth in the Premiership table after enduring a dismal defence of their title, but Phil Dowson's side will host Clermont in a welcome reprieve from their domestic campaign. The visitors are sixth in France's Top 14 table after their recent victory over La Rochelle ended a run of five consecutive league booked their place in the knockout stages by snatching a dramatic 33-26 victory in the sixth minute of overtime to qualify at Bath and Bristol's Sale Sharks face a daunting trip to six-time winners and defending champions Toulouse, who will be without injured talisman Antoine Dupont after he ruptured cruciate ligaments in his knee during France's Six Nations win over Ireland last face an equally difficult task at four-time winners Leinster, while Leicester Tigers travel north to take on Glasgow Warriors. The full Irish contingent All three Irish provinces which started in this season's competition have reached the knockout lead the United Rugby Championship (URC) and will be targeting a fifth star on the jersey after finishing top of Pool 2 with a clean sweep of four comfortable Sam Prendergast has stepped into retired colossus Johnny Sexton's shoes for club and country seamlessly, while the bulk of Ireland's first-choice pack, including Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris, ply their trade in finished third in Pool 3 to qualify for the last 16 and they will reunited with their former fly-half Ronan O'Gara in the next will travel to the Stade Marcel-Deflandre to face the 2022 and 2023 champions La Rochelle, who are coached by O' legends Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray have retired from the international stage and will want to end their long-standing Munster careers this summer with meanwhile, won just one of their four Pool 1 games and scraped through to the knockout stages on points will face an away trip to title contenders Bordeaux-Begles, who finished top of Pool 1 after four bonus-point wins, including a 40-19 victory when the two sides last met in December. Scottish and Italian representation Defending URC champions Glasgow are flying the Scottish flag in the last 16 after finishing second in Pool who are also currently second in the URC, will welcome Tigers to Scotstoun in fine form after pummelling Johannesburg Lions 42-0 in their most recent Horne became the club's record try-scorer in their victory over the South African side, while Leicester were narrowly beaten by Saracens in their last Premiership are third in the English top-flight and outgoing head coach Michael Chieka says he will work harder to achieve success domestically and in Europe before leaving the club this summer. Benetton, meanwhile, will make their last-16 debut after a surprise 32-25 victory over two-time champions La Rochelle in their final Pool 2 Italian side boast a large contingent of the Italy national team, including their fearsome centre partnership of Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Italy, Benetton play a free-flowing brand of rugby and will pose a threat in their trip to French side Castres. French dominance Six of this season's last 16 hail from France. Bordeaux-Begles made light work of the pool stages and in France wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who last month broke the record for the most tries scored in a Six Nations campaign, boast one of the deadliest finishers in world the loss of Dupont, Top 14 leaders Toulouse are also among the favourites to secure a record seventh European winners Toulon finished top of Pool 4 despite a heavy defeat by Sale Sharks and will be favourites to overcome an under-strength Saracens Rochelle, meanwhile, are without a win in eight matches since they beat Toulouse in January.O'Gara has previously led his side to back-to-back Champions Cup titles but he will have to stop this year's rot if he wishes to overcome his former side 3 runners-up Castres and Clermont Auvergne make up the French sextet. What's up next? It could be another final between the tournament's two most successful sides on 24 May at Principality Stadium as Toulouse and Leinster both ended up on opposite sides of the will play a home quarter-final if they can navigate their way past Clermont, while a potential semi-final rematch from last year's competition could await against a victory for Quins over Leinster and a Leicester win in Glasgow would also set-up an all-Premiership tie in the next draw (ties to be played on the weekend 11/12/13 April):Bordeaux-Begles/Ulster v La Rochelle/MunsterToulon/Saracens v Toulouse/Sale SharksLeinster/Harlequins v Glasgow Warriors/Leicester TigersNorthampton Saints/Clermont Auvergne v Castres or BenettonSemi-final draw (ties to be played on the weekend 2/3/4 May):Bordeaux/Ulster/La Rochelle/Munster v Toulon/Saracens/Toulouse/SaleLeinster/Harlequins/Glasgow/Leicester Tigers v Northampton/Clermont/Castres/Benetton
