just five points off the bottom of the table going into this game, and if newcastle falcons beat them by the end of this weekend, leicester tigers could be in that single automatic relegation place with three rounds of matches to go. and that's a situation you'd never expect for a team who've won 10 premiership titles and two european cups. that makes them the most successful english club in terms of trophies one. and in fact, relegation or not, this'll be the first year they don't qualify for the top european competition in its 22 year history. the slump isn't down to a lack of talent either, with eight england internationals are in this season's squad — and by comparison, the other three teams around them at the bottom havejust two england players between them. but despite all that talent, tigers have lost 17 of their last 20 games in all competitions, and this defeat to exeter chiefs last weekend was their heaviest in premiership history. they conceded 52 points at home to the league leaders. in front of their home fans as well. and after that match, one of those england players ge

the boss for newcastle, one of the coaches and the fly—half for the newcastle falcons spent six veryful yea rs falcons spent six very successful years there as well. confidence play such a big factor in rugby union. having won everything, now they are losing everything. suddenly there is a couple of results and a turnaround. the players haven't changed. it's a bit like us. we had a tough start, our confidence suffered and the games we should have won we didn't. confidence plays a massive factor. trusting your own performance. one of our biggest stories has been the anti—lg bt social one of our biggest stories has been the anti—lgbt social media posts. this is a huge sporting story. one of the worlds best players on the verge of the sack for those instagram comments. and the england and saracens number eight has today put upa and saracens number eight has today put up a post of his own broadly in support of his position. he has been asked by other people too unlike the post that falao put out. he has not done that and gone a step further and put out some sentiments that are broadly in

newcastle falcons remain bottom of rugby union's premiership after losing 31 points to 17 to northamptono sixth in the league as they beat bath in a try—less game at the a] bell stadium. aj macginty kicking both sale's penalties to keep their faint hopes of a top four finish alive. now, since their purple patch culminating in olympic gold in rio, great britain's women's hockey team have been in a state of flux with a string of poor performances, including losing five of their last six games in the pro league. tomorrow, they play the first home game in the league, taking on the usa in london, with controversial new coach mark hayger at the helm. but, as david mcdaid reports, hayger and his team are keen to put any bad vibes behind them and work towards defending gb‘s title at next year's olympics in tokyo. this is the man who will try to coach great britain's women to a third successive olympic hockey metal. mark hayger has onlyjust moved here but the australian has already hit the headlines due to a review to end his previous regime with new zealand. nothing came out of it for me. like a

saracens kept up the pressure on leaders exeter with a bonus point comeback against bottom side newcastle falconsreys kept alive there pro 14 playoff hopes with a bonus point stop. fullback dan evans and 0lly cracknell opened the try—scoring for the visitors in the first half. dries swanepoel hit back for cheetahs but the 0sperys proved too strong. cory allen went over for the bonus point try to main their champions cup qualification hopes. 0spreys kept alive their pro14 play—off and european champions cup qualification hopes. asi as i said. zebre beating connacht. confirmation of that 0spreys score. still to come on sportsday: we'll tell you about the football pitch in scotland that fifa says is one of the most unusual in the world. —— remarkable in the world. you cannot slack the pitch off because it's a revelatory pitch from fifa. you can play football anywhere. rugby league super league now. saint helen's's100% certain disease and is on the verge of being ended by cata la ns is on the verge of being ended by catalans dragons. the dragons twice came from behind. they are winning 18-10 with cam

saracens kept up the pressure on leaders exeter with a bonus point comeback win against bottom side newcastle falconskept alive there pro 14 playoff hopes with a bonus point 31-14 playoff hopes with a bonus point 31—14 win over cheetahs in bloemfontein. centre cory allen scored their final try after full back dan evans found a gap in the cheetahs' defence. the victory also maintains their bid to make next season's european champions cup. let's have a look then at the other scores from today. connacht have narrowly beaten zebre. and scarlets currently beating at home to edinburgh, 12—0 in the first half. still to come on sportsday: (00v)we'll tell you about the football pitch in scotland that we'll tell you about the football pitch in scotland that fifa says is one of the most remarkable in the world. you cannot slack the pitch off because it is a regulated pitch from fifa. you can play football anywhere. if you can't play football on a wee pitch, you shouldn't be playing. rugby league, and st helens's100% record was ended by catalans dragons. saints were looking for a ninth straight win and got off t

saracens kept up the pressure on leaders exeter with a bonus point comeback win against bottom side newcastle falconsries on the bbc sport website. that‘s bbc.co.uk/sport i will see you a bit later on. thank you, james. you always leave us wanting more! hundreds of people have been protesting in central london against brunei‘s strict new laws on homosexuality. protestors gathered outside the dorchester hotel, which is owned by the brunei investment agency. brunei has increased the punishment for sex between gay men to stoning to death, while lesbian sex will be punished by a0 lashes or ten years in jail. jon ironmonger reports. many protests start at the dorchester, but this time it‘s the target. this time, there‘s a barrier. around 200 demonstrators surrounded the 5—star hotel this afternoon, calling for a global boycott of the business. one of a number of uk interests owned by the sultan of brunei. the laws that he‘s introduced are comparable to the extreme sharia laws that were imposed by isis, when it ruled in its so—called caliphate in the syria and iran. we are hoping to hit the sultan financia

and coming up on the bbc news, leicester tigers prepare for a crunch match against newcastle falcons fight to avoid relegation from rugby union's premiership. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. sweden is considering whether to reopen an investigation into allegations of rape made against wikileaks founderjulian assange. he was arrested yesterday after ecuador revoked the asylum which had allowed him to live in its embassy in london for nearly seven years. the united states is attempting to extradite him on charges of conspiring to hack into a government computer, but labour says he should not be sent to the us because he exposed evidence of atrocities in iraq and afghanistan. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. julian assange has gone from self—imposed captivity at the ecuadorian embassy, which ended a bru ptly yesterday ecuadorian embassy, which ended abruptly yesterday as his hosts withdrew their support, to an actual prison. not only is he likely to be jailed for breaching his bail, he is also awaiting what promises to be a better extradition battle

relegation threatened leicester tigers are taking on fellow strugglers newcastle falcons.13—0 up ree games in the pro 1a tonight as well. 0spreys in control of their match with southern kings. benetton lead munster by 28 to 20 and the game between edinburgh and ulster is 10—0 to ulster. the top two in superleague are currently going head to head. leaders warrington wolves are taking on st helens. the score there currently 8—6 to st helens. in the nights other game it is wakefield zero wigan four. both those games kicked off at 7:45. ellie downie has just missed out on another european all round gymnastics title in poland. she has though taken silver. downie led going into the floor routine, but was eventually pipped by france's melanie dejesus dos santos, who snatched gold. angelina melnikova of russia was third. i'm ecstatic. coming in yesterday honestly i didn't think i would get that, so i'm so to be honest it means the same to me so i'm very happy. coming in is not as easy but being second i'm still so close and i'm still over the moon. that's all the sport for now. i'

saracens kept up the pressure on leaders exeter with a bonus point comeback win against bottom side newcastle falconsace. meanwhile, number eight nathan hughes went over twice as wasps beat worcester 28—16. st. helens are hoping to stretch their winning streak with a win over cata la ns their winning streak with a win over catalans dragons. they're in action in the south of france. another win will take saints to the top of the table above warrington. they got off to a great start thanks to dominic peyroux. and it is currently 10—10. the third season of the women's rugby league super league starts on sunday. this year, wakefield have been added to the league — taking it from 7 to 8 teams. the wigan warriors start their title defence this sunday, as they host local rivals st helen's. miriam walker—khan reports. it could not have been a better start to life for wigan, the team that did not even exist until 2017. fast forward 11 months and they were super league grand final champions. from where we started, girls were paying for their own kids, girls training on the backs of fields at the end of a sessi

newcastle falcons remain bottom of rugby union's premiership after losing 31 points to 17 to northamptono the day, i reported on the emerging alternative gym sport known as crossfit, which requires speed, agility, strength and gymnastic skills. now, many of the top athletes have turned professional and i've been to meet some of the british team in manchester, who are preparing for the world crossfit games, to find out why they can now claim to be the fittest athletes on earth. elliott is the uk's fittest man while jamie is the fittest woman in new zealand. it comes to the sport of cross fit. when they get married next winter, it should be some bomb. jamie is on another level to me at the minute but i will get her. on some things but other things, it depends, i prefer gymnastics and elliott likes running and growing. all the talk stuff. cross fit started in the usa in in the early and aims to test an athlete's strength, speed, balance, agility and stamina across a of challenges. what makes the cross fit game so unique for the athletes is they don't know what competition they are going to

newcastle. defeat leaves the falcons bottom of the premiership with three games remaining.onny may's early try helped put the tigers 13—nil up. but quickfire scores from chris harris and tane takulua cut falcons‘ half—time deficit tojust one point. the winning try though coming from guy thompson. that win lifting them up to ninth, eight points above newcastle. there were three games this evening in the pro 1a. ulster secured a play—off spot and dealt edinburgh's end—of—season aspirations a huge blow with a bonus—point win at murrayfield. robert balacoon amongst the try scorers there. the defeat means edinburgh must beat rivals glasgow at scotstoun in a fortnights time — and hope benetton lose — to clinch the final play—off spot. elsewhere ospreys ran in seven tries as they beat southern kings by 43 points to seven in port elizabeth. dan evans‘ hat—trick keeping the welsh side's title play—off bid alive by climbing above cardiff blues in the conference a table. now... the rfu say they will meet england international billy vunipola, after he appeared to show support for austr

newcastle. defeat leaves the falcons bottom of the table.ores from chris harris and takalua assisted in their victory. edinburgh have been beaten by murrayfield. benetton will have to lose in orderfor edinburgh murrayfield. benetton will have to lose in order for edinburgh tattoo clinch the finals spot. southern kings were beaten in port elizabeth. the welsh side's title bid was kept alive by moving above cardiff blues. st helens have gone back to the top of super league tonight after a 38-12 of super league tonight after a 38—12 victory over warrington. the wolves had begun ahead of saints on points difference, but six drives from six different scorers did the damage. mark perceval and regan grace among the scorers. wakefield kept their good form up, beating wigan warriors. va ltteri bottas valtteri bottas edged out sebastian vettel and practice at the chinese grand prix. the mercedes driver managed to recover from an early spin to stay out in front. lewis hamilton also spun early and could only finish fourth, max verstappen‘s red bull was

newcastle. the defeat leaves the falcons bottom of the premiership with three games remaining. lead with the half—time deficit cut to just a point but the winning try came from guy thompson, a win that lifts them up guy thompson, a win that lifts them up to ninth, eight points above newcastle. in the pro14 ulster secured top spot, a huge blow over edinburgh at murrayfield, a 29—7 win while ospreys murrayfield, a 29—7 win while os preys ra n murrayfield, a 29—7 win while ospreys ran in seven tries as they beat southern kings 113—7, dan evans' patrick keeping them alive, they are above cardiff blues in that conference table. st helens have gone back to the top of super league, they began the evening ahead of science but six tries from six different scorers did damage for the home side. in the night's other match wakefield continued their good form as they beat wigan. an australian horse is said to have achieved racing mortality after extending her victory run to 33. she was described as the greatest of all time as she crossed the line this morning in sydney. the eight—year—old ma

newcastle. defeat leaves the falcons bottom of the premiership with three games remaining.ua cut falcons' half—time deficit tojust one point. the winning try though coming from the tigers‘ guy thompson. that win lifting them up to ninth, eight points above newcastle. in the pro 14 ulster secured a play—off spot and dealt edinburgh's end—of—season aspirations a huge blow with a bonus—point win at murrayfield. robert balacoon amongst the try scorers there in a 29 points to seven win. 0spreys ran in seven tries as they beat southern kings by 43 points to seven in port elizabeth. dan evans' hat—trick keeping the welsh side's title play—off bid alive by climbing above cardiff blues in the conference a table. st helens have gone back to the top of superleague after a 38—12 victory over warrington. the wolves had begun the evening ahead of saints on points difference. but six tries from six different scorers did the damage for the home side. mark percival and winger regan grace amongst the scorers. in the night's other match, wakefield continued their good form as they beat wigan

newcastle. defeat leaves the falcons bottom of the premiership with three games remaining.‘ guy thompson. that win lifting them up to ninth, eight points above newcastle. in the pro 1a, ulster secured a play—off spot and dealt edinburgh‘s end—of—season aspirations a huge blow with a bonus—point win at murrayfield. robert balacoon amongst the try scorers there in a 29 points to seven win. 0spreys ran in seven tries as they beat southern kings by 43 points to seven in port elizabeth. dan evans‘ hat—trick keeping the welsh side‘s title play—off bid alive by climbing above cardiff blues in the conference a table. billy vunipola could face disciplinary action after the england international showed his support for controversial social media posts by australia‘s israel folau, who‘s been sacked for saying that ‘hell awaits‘ gay people. vunipola, who‘s also a christian, refused to ‘unlike‘ the message and the rfu say they disagree with the number 8‘s views and will meet with him. vunipola‘s club saracens claim they‘ll deal with the matter internally. st helens have gone back to the

newcastle. defeat leaves the falcons bottom of the premiership with three games remaining.e winning try though coming from the tigers' guy thompson. that win lifting them up to ninth, eight points above newcastle. in the pro 1a ulster secured a play—off spot and dealt edinburgh's end—of—season aspirations a huge blow with a bonus—point win at murrayfield. robert balacoon amongst the try scorers there in a 29 points to seven win. 05preys ran in seven tries as they beat southern kings by 43 points to seven in port elizabeth. dan evans' hat—trick keeping the welsh side's title play—off bid alive by climbing above cardiff blues in the conference a table. st helens have gone back to the top of superleague after a 38—12 victory over warrington. the wolves had begun the evening ahead of saints on points difference but six tries from 6 different scorers did the damage for the home side. mark percival and winger regan grace amongst the scorers. in the night's other match, wakefield continued their good form as they beat wigan warriors 30 points to 20. ellie downie missed out on anot