his pace propelled him into the british and irish lion squad. he had a starring role in the most successful tour ever. they are the fastest men on the team. and obviously, my speed out there came in great handy. to williamsjoins to williams joins me... after the play, the commentary box, where he often managed a memorable line. he put it straight back on his jaw. well done. the penny should've gone to wales. his punditry — sometimes critical, always concise. put plenty of effort into the game, but unfortunately they had no answers for the french? they should, they're getting paid enough to do it. if it wasn't effot it was lacking, it was skill, strength. later in life, he was later recognised for his achievements on the pitch. and for his work at a charity representing former national players. he rose to the top in a golden era. a respected figure in rugby — one of the greats. wales captain alun wynjones will break the world record for most test match appearances when he leads his country against scotland in the six nations on saturday. the seco

the legendary wales, british and irish lions and llanelli wingerjj williams has died at the age of 72 of 72. welsh rugby union described him as the welsh rugby union described him as one of the greatest wings to play for the country. he scored 12 tries in 30 tests as wales won four five nations titles during the 19705, including two grand slams. williams also scored five tries in seven tests for the lions across two tours. wales captain alun wynjones will break the world record for most test match appearances when he leads his country against scotland in the six nations on saturday. the second—rower will make his 1a9th appearance for wales and the british and irish lions, overtaking new zealand's world cup—winning skipper richie mccaw. in the last three or four years he started to get the recognition for what he has achieved in the game and for wales and it took a while so hopefully he has a great outing against scotland. it would be nice for the team to perform well so it's a game to remember. when you break a record like that, someone like ritchie, is some achievement and he will go

ever seen, jj williams won four five nations titles and scored countless tries for the british and irish lions. the welsh rugby union calling him "one of the greatest wings to ever play for his country" following his death at the age of 72. tomos dafydd reflects on his career. what a lovely round this is... searing pace, formidable finishing. he was the rugby star instantly recognisable by his initials alone. no chance of catching up. with two players called john williams on the side, he becamejj — the other, jp r. he scored 12 tribes in 30 tests. but in the early days, it wasn't all about rugby. in college, the olympic champion was a persuasive presence. the new member of the team... champion was a persuasive presence. the new member of the team. .. he tried to convince jj williams his future lay with athletics. in a 1970, he competed at the commonwealth games. but jj sensed he wouldn't be world—class on the track. but rugby was different. he started at bridge end and, after less tha n started at bridge end and, after less than a year, he won his first international cap. his pace propelled hi

and the british and irish lions will play japan for the first time next summer.—up for their three—test tour of south africa, which starts a week later. the champions league is back with a bang. last night saw manchester united beating paris saint germian 2—1, while chelsea ended in a goaless draw against sevilla. tonight, it's the turn of manchester city who host porto and liverpool who've travelled to the netherlands to play ajax. joining us to discuss this is former liverpool defender stephen warnock. they've travelled without virgil van dijk, his injury is a huge blow for them. put a dent in their champions league campaign? i think it probably does. i think when you think of the quality that he brings to liverpool as a team as ask what he has improved since he joined the club and you are going to get effective when you lose a pair of his quality and use a world—class defender. even before van dijk was injured, liverpool were conceeding goals, alisson is out injured too. major problem defensively? they do a little bit because people are learning now to run fro

wait let's get all gotten to right into the right shape and let's get ready for the british and irish lions tour coming up next year the atlanta braves are now just one win away from their 1st world series since 1999 atlanta handed the los angeles dodgers a team to sing on the same game for the national league championship series is a good way to bounce back after the dodgers hemet the braves 153 the night before 2 home runs from also helping atlanta to a 31 seemingly yeah. i was really proud of the guys how they bounce back after yesterday i was at that well with their demeanor me and if you heard that clubhouse in there they're getting ready to play this game and the approach and these guys are resilient man and they did a great job of turning the page from last night. in the american league the houston astros are still alive in their championship series against the tampa bay rays yesterday's 143 in game 5 to reduce tampa bay series advantage to 32 carlos cordero with a 9th inning homer to help his team to victory. over in japan baseball will be used to test out coronavirus countermeasure

decision in their own best interests especially with a lucrative series against the british and irish lionsoming up in 2021. the only option but i think i had was to say that i know cook. i know ready and springbok team to australia have a choir and teen for 'd 2 weeks and then played test rugby it just didn't seem plausible but as it stands and it's not the fault of the all of south africans they had it there were all of in terms of covert implication of all the 4 countries. but african you live in australia and whilst you only get back now and be expected to go over there i think that the team or a team that will be risking injury is just not fathomable so south africa is a totally different country and i think for that reason that has fed into a lot of the decision making that happen are off for which is reported to cook to say guys no we're not going to do this we're not going to go over there and risk our players just with the sake of make making extra dollars let's wait let's get our bags into right into the right shape and let's get ready for the british and irish lions tour coming u

wait let's get our bags into right into the right shape and let's get ready for the british and irish lionsour coming up in july of next year. the atlanta braves are now just one win away from their 1st world series since 1999 atlanta handed the los angeles dodgers attentive beating on thursday in game 4 of the national league championship series was a good way to bounce back after the dodgers handed the braves 153 of the night before 2 home runs from marcel osuna helping atlanta to a 31 series lead here. in the american league the houston astros are still alive in late championship series against the tampa bay rays the astros won 43 in game 5 to reduce tampa bay series advantage to 3 to tell us how they are with a mind inning homer to help houston to victory. over in japan baseball will be used to test our coronavirus counter-measures said big events ahead of next year's delayed tokyo olympics yokohama stadium will hold 3 games at 80 percent capacity later this month so far venues have been limited to 50 percent of fans this game of the tokyo dome on thursday had 19000 in attendance as wel

the second—rower will make his 1a9th appearance for wales and the british and irish lions — overtakings year after falling out with head coach gregor townsend in january. captain stuart hogg and jonny grey return to the side following their european and premiership cup wins with exeter. scrum—half ben youngs will become just the second englishman to win 100 test caps against italy. world cup winnerjason leonard is the only other player to reach the milestone. exeter lockjonny hill will make his international debut in rome. we needed to find a big, tall, strong lock to replace george cruz. he has been an outstanding member of our team. jonny has been doing thatjob for exeter, good in the line—out, good in defence and around the ruck area, carrying and stopping the opposition, so he has been consistent in that. he's got a great attitude, great work ethic and he's a really fine example of what exeter produced. this weekend's women's six nations game between ireland and france has been called off due to an outbreak of coronavirus within the french squad. it's not clear whether france will

jj williams has been hailed as "one of the greatest "wings to play for wales, the british & irish lionstions on saturday. the second—rower will make his 1a9th appearance for wales and the british and irish lions, overtaking new zealand's world cup—winning skipper richie mccaw. probably the last three or four yea rs, probably the last three or four years, he has started to get that recognition for what he has achieved in the game and for wales, and that took a while, so hopefully the great outing against scotland, break the record for someone like richie mccaw is some achievement and he will go down in one of the great players in wales history and he fully deserves all the accolades this week and what he has achieved in the game. finn russell will start for scotland in that game, making his first six nations appearance of this year, after falling out with head coach gregor townsend in january. captain stuart hogg and second—row forward jonny gray return to the side, following their european and premiership cup wins with exeter. scrum—half ben youngs will become just the second englishman

his pace propelled him into the british and irish lions squad and in 1974, he headed to south africars, the fast men at the team and obviously my speed out there came in very handy. after playing, the commentary box, where he often managed a memorable line. no messing, he put it straight back on his jaw. he punched him first. the penalty should have gone to wales. his punditry sometimes critical, always concise. unfortunately they had no arches for the french. or so they should. they get paid enough. it was skill and pace and strength. in later life, he was recognised for his achievements on the pitch, and for his work at a charity representing former international players. he rose to the top in a golden eire, a respected figure in by. golden eire, a respected figure in rugby. 0ne golden eire, a respected figure in rugby. one of the greats. the wales captain will break the record for most test match appearances in the six nations on saturday. a certain way will make his 149 40 —— appearance. finn russell, meanwhile, will start for scotland and his first six nations appearance of the

jones will move to 148 caps, 139 for wales and 9 for the british and irish lions.enced side as they use this first test in seven months as preparation for next week's delayed six nations match against scotland. the wasps head coach lee blackett says that eleven players from his squad are unavailable for saturday's premiership final against exeter. wasps were only given the green light to play yesterday after revealing that the club had been hit by coronavirus, with players either testing positive or having to self—isolate. of the eleven blackett says four would have probably been in the matchday 23. he says "it's gut wrenching for those who will miss out but the health and safety of players and families is more important." arsenal are one of the five british clubs playing in the europa league tonight, they are in austria to face rapid vienna. no mezut ozil who appears to be completely frozen out of the club now, exluded from their european and premier league squads. he was the gunners‘ record signing 7 years ago but his contract runs out next summer. he's accused t

british and irish lions coach warren gatland says some england players could potentially miss out on feature in the lions warm up game againstjapan injune, because their clubs won't release them outside the engish premiership's official international window. i promise you that we'll be taking the best players available, the best possible squad, but the only downside of that is that if you end up downside of that is that if you end up with a situation where you don't have english players available to you for a couple of weeks and you end up with a 50—50 call, and one player is available to you for two weeks of preparation and another one isn't, that may be the difference between someone getting selected and someone not being selected. that's all the sport for now. more from us throughout the day but that's all from me for now. a major study says nearly 100,000 people in england are catching coronavirus every day. experts at the imperial college london, behind the imperial college london, behind the analysis, says the second wave of the pandemic has reached a critical stage with infect

one other line of rugby union news this morning and the british & irish lions have announced that they'll japan at murrayfield on 26th june next year. the match will act as a warm—up for their three test tour for their three—test tour of south africa, which is also due to be played next summer. history repeated itself for manchester united and marcus rashford as they beat paris saint germain in the champions league. the game looked to be moving towards a 1—1 draw in the french capital until the 87th minute. that's when rashford took it upon himself to settle the match with a well—placed strike. just as he'd done against the same opposition in the same stadium 18 months ago. elsewhere last night, chelsea drew 0—0 with sevilla. talks have been held about creating a big, new breakaway league that would involve the top sides from across europe. five premier league clubs have been approached about becoming founder members of the league that apparently has the backing of fifa. joe lynskey reports. english football is at a crossroads. the grounds are closed, the games are silent. now those at th

british and irish lions coach warren gatland says some england players could potentially miss out on a very different problem in rugby league, meanwhile, with selection for the super league season proving more and more difficult due to rising cases of coronavirus. castleford tigers say they've had 12 positive cases, so their match at huddersfield is off tomorrow. catalan dragons' match against warrington had already been called off this week. the group stages of the europa league continue tonight. at the emirates, an historic night for 14 time irish champions dundalk, as they take on arsenal in a tie that's been compared to a heavyweight boxer taking on a super lightweight. for some of the dundalk players it's a dream come true. especially, for boyhood arsenal fan michael duffy. such was his devotion to the gunners as a young child, he asked that his confirmation name be that of his hero, thierry henry. i asked for a thiery as my confirmation name. he said no and then he came back two weeks later and said, he was a saint, so you can have it. love that. you have to pick a saint to be

one other line of rugby union news this morning and the british and irish lions have announced that they'lled itself for manchester united and marcus rashford as they beat paris saint germain in the champions league last night. the game looked to be moving towards a 1—1 draw in the french capital until the 87th minute. that's when rashford settled it with a well placed strike. just as he'd done against psg in the same stadium 18 months ago. elsewhere last night chelsea drew 0—0 with sevilla. there's been strong criticism of the fledgeling plan to create a new breakaway league, involving the top sides from across europe. it apparently has the backing of fifa — and five premier league clubs have been approached to take part. joe lynskey reports. english football is at a crossroads. the grounds are closed, the games are silent. now those at the top could look elsewhere for more. reports say english clubs are in talks about a european premier league. 18 teams from five countries forming a super competition. any plans could replace the champions league, but even uefa, who run european football,

the british and irish lions association of zoos and aquarius.lection of animals, you want to find good homes and you say that is not easy. absolutely and animal ca re is not easy. absolutely and animal care isa is not easy. absolutely and animal care is a top priority for our zoos and aquariums. in normal times it takes years to make these decisions. it took two years to move an elephant herd and that was before the pandemic. it is going to be harder now. essentially, by the time you a ccess harder now. essentially, by the time you access the cash, you would be bankrupt. absolutely so government need to make changes to open up these rescue packages support the whole sector across england. what does it mean if zoos cannot get access to money? it is putting at risk all their essential conservation projects. we are in extinction crisis. their education, their research work. the very survival of some zoos rests on government support now. survival of some zoos rests on government support nowm survival of some zoos rests on government support now. it

that game will be at murrayfield — which will also be the venue when the british and irish lions play their three—test tour of south africa, which starts a week later. it's been confirmed that wasps will be allowed to play in this weekend's premiership rugby final, despite seven players and four members of staff testing positive for coronavirus in the past week. premiership rugby reported that there were no more positives in the latest round of testing. wasps said they were "delighted" they could take their rightful place in the match against exeter on saturday at twickenham. arsenal midfielder mesut 0zil has spoken out for the first time since being left out of their 25—man premier league squad — registered yesterday. he hasn't played for the club since 7th march and can now only play for arsenal under—23s until his deal expires next summer. he posted an emotional statement on social media, claiming he's been showing a lack of loyalty. after news of a financial care package for clubs in the national league, we now know how it will be divied up. seven former football league clubs will

part of the welsh team that had him on the wing for a long period of time, and the british and irish lionsshoot past hugo lloris. mourinho made four changes at half—time but he said he wanted to swap the entire 11. even the mask couldn't hide his fury. this is his instagram post. "bad performances deserve bad results. hope everyone in this bus is as upset as i am. tomorrow 11am training." rather you than me! it was a better evening for the red half of north london as arsenal ran out easy 3—0 winners against irish side dundalk. nicolas pepe here with the pick of the goals. leicester city, who won 2—1 at aek athens. hamza choudhury scoring what turned out to be the winner — that made it two wins out of two. celtic blew a two—goal lead away to lille, to draw 2—2. mohamed elyounoussi's double put them firmly in control before the french side rallied — but it was still celtic‘s first point in two games. but its two wins from two for rangers, who beat lech poznan — alfredo morelos with the only goal of the game, equalling ally mccoist‘s european goal scoring record for rangers. so, yes, a busy w