there were also wins for ulster, harlequins and northampton.ean champions saracens are currently 15—12 against 0spreys. adam wild reports. sandy park is where you find the chiefs and this certainly an occasion for leaders. top of the english league exeter against montpellier, top of the french. the cross—channel challenge with plenty at stake. for exeter, defeat would end their european hopes. dave ewers‘s first half try kept them alive. tense, tight, not much space but then when you have 0lly woodburn on the wing, you don't always need it. that was brilliant, his second perhaps was even better. this secured the bonus point that may yet prove crucial in the fight for second in their group. the chiefs are back in charge. in ulster, a battle to lead league 1, that is where la rochelle have been for most of the competition. the french side once appearing unbeatable, now seemingly breachable. tries either side of half—time enough for ulster. they now go top, and with just one game to go. this fixture was once a derby while wasps have moved, plenty

with the final breath of the game, harlequins let out a roar.. it was an extraordinary win leaving the wasps needing something extraordinary if they are to progress. europe have beaten asia to retain the eurasia cup. they had been down by a point going into today's singles but won eight out of 12 matches in kuala lumpur. england's tommy fleetwood was one of the first to get on the scoreboard for the europeans. it finished 14—10 to europe. laura muir anchored great britain to victory in the great edinburgh cross country mixed team relay yesterday. the former european cross—country champion was in fine form yesterday. she took over from adam clarke for the final lap behind europe and belgium, but made up the ground to win by seven seconds. she won't be appearing on the track for this year's commonwealth games because she's finishing her veterinary exams. the vet school has been so supportive. my coach andy as well has been here every step of the way. we planned it years in advance. we knew i wasn't going to do the commonwealth quite a while ago. w

wasps were leading 21—0 after half an hour, but harlequins rallied in the second and got the winningrouthames chisholm in 18th minute of the game. northampton beat clermont. ulster have gone to the top after their victory over la rochelle. saracens will effectively see their hat—trick hopes if they fail to beat 0spreys in the game thatis fail to beat 0spreys in the game that is about to start. just 48 hours to go until the start of the australian open, and some positive news for british tennis... andy murray's already been ruled out, kyle edmund has been struggling with an ankle strain, butjohanna konta says she has recovered from the hip injury that has disrupted her preparations. the british number one, who is seeded ninth, plays american madison brengle in the first round and is aiming to reproduce the form that took her to the semi—finals two years ago. what happened in brisbane, that got better quite quickly, quicker than thought, and it felt fine in my match in sydney. since then, just looking after the body, as usual, and so far, so good. i'm trying not to think too much back

with the final breath of the game, harlequins let out a roar. it was an extraordinary win.een down by a point going into today's singles but won eight out of 12 matches in kuala lumpur. england's tommy fleetwood was one of the first to get on the scoreboard for the europeans. it finished 14—10 to europe. laura muir anchored great britain to victory in the great edinburgh cross country mixed team relay yesterday. the former european cross—country champion was in fine form yesterday. she took overfrom champion was in fine form yesterday. she took over from adam clarke for the final lap behind europe and belgium, but made up the ground to win by seven seconds. she won't be appearing on the track for this yea r‘s appearing on the track for this year's commonwealth appearing on the track for this yea r‘s commonwealth games appearing on the track for this year's commonwealth games because she's finishing her veterinary exams. the vet school has been so supportive. so has my boyfriend. we planned it is in advance. with everything planned for years, it is a matter of getting it all

playing for his club harlequins at the weekend marler was sent off for striking sale sharks‘ tj ioane to go until the first tennis major of 2018 — the australian open. many of the leading contenders are going through final preparatons in sydney, and austin halewood has been looking at some of those who‘ll be challenging for the women‘s title. with so many tennis‘s biggest names looking to hone their skills ahead of the australian open, competition is fierce at the sydney international, so much the so that angelique kerber and venus williams we re angelique kerber and venus williams were meeting in the second round and it was the power of williams from the baseline which ought to take the first set. 2017 was something of a nightmare per angelique kerber, having dropped out of the top 20 but with that behind her, she is finding herform again with that behind her, she is finding her form again and with that behind her, she is finding herform again and once with that behind her, she is finding her form again and once she with that behind her, she is finding herform again and once she did,

that is because they were relying on fellow premiership side harlequins to do them a favour at la rochellemselves and could not hold back the home side either. la rochelle running out 16—7 winners. the french side into the last eight, then, but no place for wasps in this yea r‘s european equation. so this is the full list of ties. saracens, who played yesterday, made to wait to qualify as one of the three best second—placed sides, will face a dominant leinster side. scarlets with that home tie. europe's no 1 golfer tommy fleetwood stormed to victory in the abu dhabi championship to retain the title he won last year. fleetwood started the day two shots behind the overnight leaders but shot eight birdies in a 7—under 65, six of them on the back nine, to win the tournament. the 27—year—old finished two shots ahead of fellow englishman ross fisher, while northern ireland's rory mcilroy was a further two shots back. it was just important that we carried on going forward. it's all well and good having a great year and it was the best year of my life but we wanted to keep pushing. like i say, i a

off for a dangerous tackle on jamie roberts during saturday's european champions cup defeat to harlequinstareud will also miss the start of the six nations after being banned for making homophobic remarks during toulon's match in the champions cup last weekend. the nfl season has reached its championship final stage — the super bowl semi—finals in other words — with the reigning champions new england patriots favourites to win another title. they play the jacksonville jaguars in the afc final, while it's philadelphia and minnesota in the nfc final. nick marshall—mccormack looked ahead to the matches earlier with two players who know exactly what it's like to play in the sport's showcase event. with the nfl season now at the business head ahead of the championship matches, we're joined by two players, who know what it's like to get to the super bowl. thanks forjoining us. the nfl championship playoffs, but first i wa nt to championship playoffs, but first i want to ask you about a london—based nfl team, you have played in the uk, what about the jet lag? how does it affect your game? obviou

leicester, harlequins and saracens all beat welsh opposition.ics next week and among them will be the snowboard cross athlete zoe gillings—brier. it'll be her fourth games, but first as a mother. nick hope has been to meet her and daughter lea at their base in austria... boardercross is amongst the most dramatic and unpredictable winter olympic events. and zoe gillings—brier has had herfair share of ups and downs. but life away from the slopes now has its own little challenge as well. lea arrived in 2016. and it's clearly a case of like mother, like daughter! lea's awesome. i love her, of course. i'm her mum, so i would think she was the best kid in entire world. she had herfirst go when she was one year and three days old, i think it was. had a little go on the snow in argentina. she's 15 months old now. she can't turn, obviously but... give her time! yeah, give her time. who does the early mornings and late nights? an athlete needs her sleep! funnily enough, i've heard that a few times! i would be lying if i said i got up with her early the mo

elsewhere there was a very narrow win for sale sharks who beat harlequins by a single point to see themro1a beating cardiff blues by a single point. this piece of quick thinking from wales' fly half dan biggar set up what proved to be the winning score for 0spreys, it was finished off byjustin tipuric. the blues mounted a late comeback but the home side held on to win 29—28 in swansea. cardiff are still without a win there in 12 years. glasgow warriors remain top of the table — they won away at zebre a0 points to 20. the visitors had secured a bonus point by half—time, before second—half tries from leejones and nick grigg took their tally to six. warriors have now won 12 of their 13 league matches this season, picking up ten bonus points along the way. five games today in all — lei nster/ulster got under way at 5:35pm. it is currently 19—0 to the home side there. 16—year—old james bowen has won the welsh grand national on raz de maree at chepstow. the 16—1 shot took the lead two fences from home and powered to victory. the welshman becomes the youngest jockey to win the race, riding on

elsewhere, there was a very narrow win for sale sharks, who beat harlequins by a single point to seeg cardiff blues by a single point. this piece of quick thinking from wales' fly half dan biggar set up what proved to be the winning score for 0spreys and it was finished off byjustin tipuric. the blues mounted a late comeback, but the home side held on to win 29—28 in swansea. cardiff are still without a win there in 12 years. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. plans to improve the reading standards of children from disadvantaged backgrounds have been announced by the department for education. there'll be a network of 35 literacy centres across england, to work with primary schools in challenging areas. here's our education correspondent, elaine dunkley. church, cheese, can you hear that? closing the inequality gap in classrooms is key to giving every child the best start. research has shown that five—year—olds who struggle with language are six times less likely to reach the expected standard in english at the age of 11 than those with good languag

english sides had a good day in the anglo welsh cup saracens, harlequins and leicester all beat welshline—up 66—7. bath made it three wins from three against newcastle. worcester beat exeter whilst george north missed northampton's victory against sale. the professional darts corporation are to stop using so—called "walk on girls" after talks with broadcasters. this weekend's masters will be the first where no women will accompany players to the stage. world number one michael van gerwen says the tradition should end whilst his compatriot raymond van barneveld is supporting a petition to reinstate it. that is all the sport for now. one of the world's richest men, prince alwaleed bin talal, has become the latest high—profile figure to be released in saudi arabia — after a major anti—corru ption drive was launched in november. a saudi official has said the prince was released after a settlement was approved by the state prosecutor. but the prince said no charges were brought against him, and no deals had been done. 0ur arab affairs editor sebastian usher reports. just hours before his r

elsewhere, there was a very narrow win for sale sharks, who beat harlequins by a single point to seeardiff blues by a single point. this piece of quick thinking from wales' fly half dan biggar set up what proved to be the winning score for ospreys and it was finished off byjustin tipuric. the blues mounted a late comeback, but the home side held on to win 29—28 in swansea. cardiff are still without a win there in 12 years. great britain's mica moore and misha mcneill crashed in the latest round of the bobsleigh world cup this afternoon. the pair had been in seventh place after their first run but caught the wall halfway through their second attempt and turned the sled over. they both got out safely, but seemed shaken. moore and mcneill have been competing this season with the help of crowdfunding, after their support was withdrawn by british bobsleigh. that's all the sport for now. we'll have more for you on bbc news throughout the evening. including reaction to mark hughes' sacking from stoke city. the department store house of fraser has confirmed it's asking landlords to reduce th

has been thrown into doubt after he was sent off in the final minutes of wasps‘ 33—28 defeat at harlequinsear before a european rugby disciplinary panel this week, with just three weeks to go until the six nations gets under way. lisa ashton has won her fourth bdo world title after beating anastasia dobromyslova 3—1 at lakeside. ashton was considered the underdog before the final, but the defending champion won eight straight legs in a row, finishing with a 62 checkout to seal victory. ashton is now second on the list of titles won behind the 10—time champion trina gulliver. 0n the men‘s side of things, the final will be played between defending champion glen durrant and mark mcgeeney. mcgeeney came through tonight‘s semifinal against germany‘s michael unterbuchner, six sets to four. the englishman, who is the bdo world number one, came back from 3—2 down to set up a chance to win his first world title. that‘s all the sport for now. enjoy the rest of your evening. consumers can no longer be charged extra simply because they‘re paying for something using a credit or debit card. but the ban,

la rochelle need to beat harlequins, wasps, need a bonus point against ulster to keep their very slimare all playing at the moment. europe's number one golfer — tommy fleetwood stormed to victory in the abu dhabi championship to retain the title he won last year. fleetwood started the day two shots behind the overnight leaders but shot eight birdies in a seven—under 65 — six of them on the back nine — to win tournament. the 27—year—old finished two shots ahead of fellow englishman ross fisher, while northern ireland's rory mcilroy was a further two shots back. it's fleetwood's fourth career victory on the tour. the final of the masters snooker is under way at alexander palace... these are live pictures from bbc two. mark allen is playing kyren wilson — its three frames all. first to 10 wins it. as you can see, wilson is about to make it 4—3. neither player has reached the final of a masters before. you can watch that on bbc two, if you wish. that is the sport for me, we will have more in an hour's time. let's return to events in kabul, and afghan officials say at least 18 people are n

elsewhere, there was a very narrow win for sale sharks, who beat harlequins by a single point to seent. this piece of quick thinking from wales' fly half dan biggar set up what proved to be the winning score for ospreys and it was finished off byjustin tipuric. the blues mounted a late comeback, but the home side held on to win 29—28 in swansea. cardiff are still without a win there in 12 years. that's all the sport for now. nic, thank you very much. part of bristol university has been badly damaged in a fire. it started in the roof space of a building that was being renovated, close to the university's historic wills memorial building, in the centre of bristol. the building was unoccupied and nobody was hurt. weather forecasters in the united states have warned that this weekend could bring record—breaking low temperatures in some parts of the north—east. the national weather service predicts wind chills as low as —40 celsius. tom donkin reports. it's been called a ‘bomb cyclone', and it's a weather system which has lived up to its name. on thursday, warm air carried an area of low

leicester, harlequins and saracens all beat welsh opposition.the horse was pulled up in the grand national last year. spurs still being held by newport county. we will be back at half past six with sports day. lots of live sports on the website, including live coverage of the british diving championships in plymouth. that gets going in the next five minutes. now it's time for all your weather. hello. the skies overhead have not been particularly inspiring in many places. a favourite you got to see some brightness this afternoon. that was how it looked in county antrim. stuck under cloud from many others, outbreaks of rain. with the cloudy weather, some milder weather. south—westerly winds really mild air across the country, continuing through the rest of the weekend. into this evening, this allows up to the north is an area of low pressure, quite deep, passengers to the north of scotland. but the north of the mainland, the west of northern isles, does that 60 up to 80 mph through the evening. clear skies overnight allowing it to get chilly, but

elsewhere there was a very narrow win for sale sharks who beat harlequins by a single point to see them against cardiff blues. this piece of quick thinking from wales' fly half dan biggar set up what proved to be the winning score for ospreys, it was finished off byjustin tipuric. the blues mounted a late comeback but the home side held on to win 29—28 in swansea. cardiff are still without a win there in 12 years. 16—year—old james bowen has won the welsh grand national on raz de maree at chepstow. the 16—1 shot took the lead two fences from home and powered to victory. he becomes the youngest jockey to win the race, riding on the joint—oldest horse. the race was postponed from the 27th december due to a waterlogged course. that's all the sport for now. much more in sports day on the bbc news channel at good evening. an ambulance service has apologised to the family of a pensioner who died after waiting nearly four hours for help to arrive. the 81—year—old woman had rung 999 complaining of chest pain. the east of england service said it was stretched — and had warned of the pressures it

he's been banned forfour weeks after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle on harlequins jamie robertsxander palace. murphy was 4—0 up against his fellow englishman before carter fought back to 5—4 , but murphy recovered to seal a 6—4 win. he'll play world number three judd trump next but believes ronnie 0'sullivan is the man to beat. i think we have run out of superlatives for ronnie but it's what sets them apart, he gets to the line and rolls over it. everyone else struggles with that and i didn't feel like i was bottling up but i had my chances to wind at 5—2 andi but i had my chances to wind at 5—2 and i didn't take them so if i had lost, i would only have myself to blame. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. i'll see you in sportsday at 6.30. more now on our top story. the collapse of carillion. the insolvency service says former directors of the collapsed construction firm will not receive bonus or severance payments. it also says workers employed on private service contracts will continue to be paid. there are so many lay

has been thrown into doubt after he was sent off in the final minutes of wasps' 33—28 defeat at harlequinspart of the national team's recent training camp. haskell will appear before a european rugby disciplinary panel this week, with just three weeks to go until the six nations gets underway. europe have beaten asia to retain the eurasia cup. they had been down by a point going into today's singles but won eight out of 12 matches in kuala lumpur. england's tommy fleetwood was one of the first to get on the scoreboard for the europeans. it finished 1a—10 to europe. laura muir anchored great britain to victory in the great edinburgh cross country mixed team relay yesterday. the former european cross—country champion was in fine form yesterday. she took over from adam clarke for the final lap behind europe and belgium, but made up the ground to win by seven seconds. she won't be appearing on the track for this year's commonwealth games because she's finishing her veterinary exams. the vet school has been so supportive. my my coach andy as well has been here every step of the way. we planned

nations games, he's been banned for four weeks after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle on harlequinsn murphy had a scare but finally saw off ali carter to reach the masters snooker quarterfinals at alexandra palace. he was 4—0 up. carter fought back to 5-4 but he was 4—0 up. carter fought back to 5—4 but the former world champion recovered to seal a 6—4 win. he will playjudd trump next but has been singing the praises of ronnie o'sullivan. we've run out of superlatives for money. it's what sets him apart at the moment, he gets to the line and runs over it. everyone else struggles with that to a degree. i mean i didn't feel like i was battling him, but i had my chance to win. i didn't take them. if i'd lost i would only have myself to blame. an update on the fa cup. swa nsea lea d to blame. an update on the fa cup. swansea lead world, wigan leading bournemouth, still goalless between chelsea and norwich at stamford bridge. we'll be back with sportsday and show you all of those goals if there are any. mps have approved a key piece of brexit legislation paving the way forward the final

but la rochelle's victory over harlequins ended wasps‘ hopes, in the other match in pool one. to be decided, munster‘s match against castres was delayed by three hours because of a waterlogged pitch at thomond park. both teams still had hopes of progressing. munster are on top at the moment and have qualified as it stands. it is 20-3 at have qualified as it stands. it is 20—3 at the moment. leicester had already been eliminated before the final round of matches. they pushed racing 92 close, but went down 23—20 in the end. maxime machenaud scoring 18 points for racing, who do qualify for the last eight. europe's no 1 golfer tommy fleetwood stormed to victory in the abu dhabi championship to retain the title he won last year. fleetwood started the day two shots behind the overnight leaders but shot eight birdies in a 7—under 65, six of them on the back nine, to win the tournament. the 27—year—old finished two shots ahead of fellow englishman ross fisher, while northern ireland's rory mcilroy was a further two shots back. it was just important that we carried on going forward. it

elsewhere, leicester came from behind to beat london irish, and sale narrowly got past harlequins. 05preyso set up what proved to be the winning score for 05preys, finished off byjustin tipuric. the blues attempted to mount a late comeback, but but the home side held on to win 29—28 in swansea. cardiff are still without a win there in 12 years. ulster slumped to a 38—7 defeat against leinster in dublin, jordan larmour and fergus mcfadden scored two tries apiece. and jonny sexton also touched down with this try. the victory leaves leinster within two points of leaders scarlets in conference b of the pro 1a. elsewhere glasgow warriors maintained their spot at the top of conference a. they beat zebre. 16—year—old james bowen has become the youngest jockey to win the welsh grand national. fittingly he was on the 16—1 shot raz de maree. taking the lead two fences from home and powering to victory. the jockey might be young, but at 13, the horse is the oldest to win the race in modern times. just three years between the two, which is rather astounding. this is so stupid, but i was hope in it mig

the harlequins prop's been given a six—week ban for a dangerous tackle.fter his two—goal fa cup heroics for nottingham forest, erik leehigh‘s reward is a brand new dog. his wife kathryn had promised if he ever scored a hat—trick they'd get one. but after pressure from players and fans, she finally relented to let ‘gunner‘ the puppy, join the leehigh family. do know what they called it? it is a french bulldog. he is called gunner because they beat arsenal. it is a great name for a dog. i think he is either a boston terrier or a french bulldog. i can't really talk about this. i have a labrador called ruby. waffle is not keen. not terribly. they can be in the same room now, they have reached a truce. there is a bit of talk involved as well. anyway, it's good that they are making friends. this is lovely. is a dog walking weather? is it? anyway, carol has the weather now. you are quite right. it's also quite nice as well put humans. this morning, once again, rain moving across the country. brightest guys coming in. in scotland you can see this arc of rain. as

the wasps player was sent off for a dangerous tackle onjamie roberts during saturday's defeat to harlequinsgram account of his daughter singing her favourite cricket song — only it isn't one that he would have expected. that is david warner's daughter singing "jimmyjimmy anderson". that is the legacy for australian cricket. all kinds of positives coming out to the australians after the ashes but the one thing david warner's daughter remembers is a song aboutjimmy anderson. see you later on. hollywood actress angelina jolie had her breasts, ovaries and fallopian tubes removed when she found out she carried a gene that would make her more susceptible to developing cancer. now, new research says giving every woman over 30 genetic tests for cancer risk would save lives and be cost effective for the nhs. let's talk to the lead researcher, dr ra njit manchanda. he's a consultant gynaecological oncologist. thank you that talking to us this morning. so tell me, who would you like to see screen? the research shows that it compares to strategies. the current strategy which cancer testing like the gen

wasps player was sent off for a high tackle during saturday's european champions cup defeat to harlequinslthy again and working on a few things on my game. so it has been good. i feel like i needed the time off, but i'm ready to get back and get out there and play golf tournaments again. i'm back after 5. see you then. now on afternoon live let's go nationwide and see what's happening happening around the country in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. mary rhodesjoins us from birmingham, to tell us about a collection of documents relating to the life of william shakespeare — which has been recognised for its international cultural significance by unesco. and in tunbridge wells, rob smith has news of a piece of the union flag flown at trafalgar from lord nelson's ship victory — which has been auctioned by sotheby‘s. mary, these shakespeare papers, what is in them? a bit of everything. they're 90 is in them? a bit of everything. they‘ re 90 papers is in them? a bit of everything. they're 90 papers in all charting shakespeare's life they're 90 papers in all charting sha kespe