rugby union risk losing thejonah lomu's of the future. rugby union will spiral downwards. ern hemisphere rugby championship, lost two other countries, likely to be japan and fiji. it means potentially fewer high—profile matches for second—tier nations against the world's elite. rugby grows more and more as it is televised and the likes of tonga, if they not shown on the international stage, you could slowly fa d e the international stage, you could slowly fade in the distance. the international stage, you could slowly fade in the distancem the international stage, you could slowly fade in the distance. it is swaying towards the countries that have money. that's not fair. it is being a little bit too elitist about it all. world rugby are yet to clarify how those in the second—tier, like tonga, witty promotion. but insist the format would benefit all. we have allocated money for a second division. that needs to be at a higher level than it has ever been full up both in terms of if any team gets relegated at any point, they want to be relegated into a meaningful and strong com

here's our rugby union correspondent chris jones.ecially at this block, and five matches in a row that will take place convenient that the year. but this sleep to wake, it has to happen promotion and mitigation from both the rugby championship at that southern hemisphere. the six nations had been dead against promotion or mitigation. i had spoken to sources in the past 2a hours, they are staying tight—lipped, but they had promised to go to dublin with an open mind but the good of the game at large at that hat. i think next thursday meeting in dublin, we will find out if this is a dead duck or if this is going to be a start of the revolution and international by the revolution and international rugby union. the proposed merger between welsh rugby union clubs scarlets and ospreys is now "off the table". they met yesterday to discuss the plans. but in a statement, scarlets say that ospreys have changed their minds. the plans had been criticised, with players from both teams fearing for their futures. lets round up some of todays other s

rugby union risk losing the stars of the future. willjoin with a four from the southern hemisphere rugby championship plus two other countries, likely to be japan and fiji. it means potentially fewer high—profile matches for second tier nations against the rugby elites. rugby grows more and more as it is televised and if the likes of tonga are not shown on that stage, it could slowly fade. it is swaying towards the countries that have money. it's being too elitist. world run bya money. it's being too elitist. world run by a yet to clarify how those in the second tier, like tonga, would achieve promotion, but insists it will benefit everyone. it needs to be ata will benefit everyone. it needs to be at a higher level than ever. if any team gets relegated at some point, they will be relegated into a very meaningful and strong competition with high—performing teams, good stadium, it will provide a real opportunity for the pacific islands. there are real concerns in the pacific nations, but while one code feels threatened, another is fri

right, it's been a busy day in rugby union news. sh regions was "off the table". confusion notjust there but also in world rugby where it looks like proposals to the international schedule look buried as well. 0ur correspondent chris jones told me more... this is all going to be decided next week at this meeting in dublin. it was hastily called by the world by was hastily called by the world rugby chairman on sunday. it is an emergency meeting, where this is all going to be thrashed out. what a time it is for politics and might be at the moment. the stories come thick and fast. world rugby today confirmed the way they see what they call the nations championship happening, with two leaks of 12 and promotion and relegation. some issues that need to be resolved for this to go ahead, you mention player welfare, the players are concerned especially about this block potentially five matches in a row that would take place on the end of the year. for this league to work that has to have promotional relegation and it would need promotion and

here's our rugby union correspondent chris jones.ly five matches in a row that will take place come the end of the year, and for this lead to recommend it has to have promotion and it would need promotion and it would need promotion and it would need promotion and relegation from both the rugby championship or the southern hemisphere competition and the six nations. the six nations up to now have been that against the idea of promotion or i have spoken to sources in the past 24 hours and they are staying tight—lipped but they are staying tight—lipped but they have promised to promised to go to dublin with an open mind with the good of the game at large. so i think next thursday is the meeting and we will find out a lot more about whether this is a dead duck or whether it will be the start of a revolution in international rugby union. the proposed merger between welsh rugby union clubs scarlets and ospreys is now "off the table". they met yesterday to discuss the plans. but in a statement, scarlets say that ospreys have changed their

but it's been such a week of uncertainty, uproar, in a way, in welsh rugby union.st a relief to be playing away from home. chances are welsh fans will go home still imagining that fabled grand slam. but let's just still imagining that fabled grand slam. but let'sjust ponder for a moment on what a difference it would make to scottish rugby union right now and the complexion of the whole six nations if the home team were to prevail here, today. next, joe, great stuff. you can hear the atmosphere building. scotland v wales coverage on bbc one from 13:15pm, with kick—off at 14:15pm. live commentary on radio 5 live of england v italy from 16:45pm. england‘s women can all but clinch the six nations title with victory over italy at sandy park. england are playing in front of a record home crowd for a non—world cup game. it was jess breach who scored the first try, that makes it her 17th in try in just six appearances. marlie packer scored the second, which went to review. the red roses are leading 21—0. crystal palace are hosting big rivals brighton in the premier league‘

let's get more on this from our rugby union correspondent chris jones.rfu are having some financial issues and are tightening the belt, it is not particularly new, it has been going on for the last 18 months or south, a whole load of reasons for this, for example, the overspend on at twickenham. they have also started paying the england players much more under the current arrangement. so they are going under a period financial adjustment, and this is one way of saving a bit of money, not having england, wales and scotland, but having won the team at db. apart from the money element, it also makes a bit of sense. —— having one team, gb. team gb plays as a tea m one team, gb. team gb plays as a team gb in the olympics, and that is the centrepiece of the world sevens calendar, not the world series will stop it is a money thing on the one hand, but it also makes sense to focus in on the team at gb for the world series and building up to the 0lympics. a few point out that even without financial problems, they we re without financial problems, they were discus

in front ofa rugby union's premiership in front of a crowd of almost 43,000 at the london stadium.530. a teenager has been stabbed and killed in west london. scotland yard say the victim, believed to be a 17—year—old boy, was found seriously injured after reports of a fight outside a block of flats in union lane, isleworth. speaking at the brexit march, sadiq khan responded to the tragic stabbing of the teenager in islesworth yesterday. i've been in touch with the commissioner and it's heartbreaking. it's a 17—year—old boy who's lost his life because of a knifing. and my thoughts and prayers, as i'm sure those of londoners are, are with his family. the police are following a number of lines of enquiry. there is currently a section 60 in place. that means, in that area, the police are able to stop and search anybody without the need for reasonable suspicion to see if they could be carrying a knife or an offensive weapon. there are extra resources in isleworth, in that part of london, and i would say to the public, if anybody knows or has any information at all, there is no honour in

let's return to our top story — wales‘ rugby union side are celebrating there grand slam win in cardiffed: before they go, we would like before we go, we would like to thank them very much, thank you very much to the welsh team. cheering let's get more now on the rest of the man suspected of fatally shooting three people and wounding five others on a tram in the dutch city of utrecht. dutch police say the suspect was identified as gokmen tanis, a 37—year—old man of turkish origin. security services said the terror threat has been reduced from its highest level in light of the arrest. robert bass is a journalist with nos, and hejoins a spy camera from utrecht. what is the latest update that you can bring us? the latest update is that about two hours ago, they got him, there was a real manhunt going on in utrecht, police raided several houses, and in one of those houses they found him, which means that the threat is addressed. people are going back on the streets again. and now of course we have to find out what is behind this shooting, why did he do it, is ita this shooting, why did he d

and wales rugby union players are considering moving to non—welsh clubs amid regional uncertainty accordingcombe. moving away from wales, who've just secured the six nations grand slam, would see any player with less than 60 caps sacrifice their place in the international team. less than three years ago sian kelly stumbled on an advert that would change her life and take her to countries she'd never dreamed of visiting. sian, who's just 23, has now become the first female head coach of the argentina women's cricket side and has even revived chile's national team — all while introducing young girls to the game. james law went to buenos aires to find out how a spanish speaker from solihull is spreading the message of a sport she didn't previously know existed in the continent the language is spanish but the skills are pure solihull. she went to coach cricket in argentina almost three years ago as a part of the university language degree, but ended up in charge of the national women's team. i do have to pinch myself sometimes, i'm the head coach of the national team. when i just started at my

the weslh rugby union players's union says it is is "deeply concerned" about plans to merge two of wales's merge, with a new team created in the north of the country. the controversy‘s led to the resignation today of ospreys chairman mikejames, who blamed the welsh rugby union's "catastrophic mismanagement" of revamping regional rugby. i know things happen quickly, they are as straightforward as they are and will shrug the, but there is still that decision of some boys have got offers over the bridge. do they take that offer to secure their livelihoods or do they wait to see what is happening in wales? and i think there is a bit of anger at the uncertainty. meanwhile, the welsh national side are back in action in the six nations this weekend against scotland. just one change for that game at murrayfield. adam beard comes in for the injured cory hill in the second row. gareth anscombe continues at fly—half with dan biggar on the bench. scotland will be without backs sean maitland and chris harris for that clash. the pair suffered calf and foot injuries on duty with their respective clubs in

there's one rugby union match to tell you about tonight, and sale are through to the semifinals of thed out connaught with a convincing 20—10 win at the a] bell stadium. denny solomona scoring the second try for sale who will face either la rochelle or bristol in the next round. and still with rugby because the french federation is holding a referendum of all amateur clubs in the country to decide whether they'd accept a foreigner as the next national head coach. france need to appoint a new coach after this year's world cup, but they've never had an overseas manager in charge before. each club will have one vote in the referendum which takes place next month. the result will be announced on the 12th of april. two matches in rugby league's super league tonight. leaders st helens fought off hull kr to win 36—24 and maintain their 100% record this season. meanwhile, warrington kept apace of them in second by hammering hull fc. blake austin scored four tries in their huge 11—try win at the kcom. josh charnley got a hat—trick, and tom lineham also ran over twice to help seal the 63—12 vict

melville has given his opinion for the first time on the controversial nations championship in rugby unionood, but that he has "huge concerns" the world rugby proposal of an international league would dramatically change the structure of the game and introduce promotion and relegation to the six nations. i think it is something that is really interesting that you could marry up the global season and pull it all together north and south, and we have been trying for a number of years. we have got as close as we got for a long time, so it is quite exciting. we have to consider all of the options, and we say we are split as the six nations, we are not. we are united in our concerns and our concerns are fair play, number one, for the july window, the lions window in the regulation weekend. and how does that work with some of these games could be outside of that? a lot of concerns to bring into play. let's get the answers and move forward. one of mixed martial arts' biggest draws and most controversial figures, conor mcgregor, says he has retired from the sport. but only 2a hours ago, he was tel

morning after that last a few weeks ago in cardiff and our by a few weeks ago in cardiff and our rugby uniont since that defeat by wales, the georgia national side we re over wales, the georgia national side were over for some heated training sessions, punches were thrown during life scrimmaging and practise but the england coach and management and players adamant that it is preparing them perfectly for a witness to come and this six nations. for the game against italy, eddie jones and this six nations. for the game against italy, eddiejones had for the changes a little better. including the selection of an enormous back line with a band tio andjo enormous back line with a band tio and jo cox on the sega are starting. england have never lost to instantly come italy lost one of the six nations. by two years ago, at twickenham, the italians gave england a scare with their controversial tactics at the wreck in england los eddiejones as he is not quite sure what to expect from connor o'shea. we know they're unpredictable. they have a great break ground. they have one of the icons of the modern g

in rugby union, the six nations is considering an offer from private equity firm cvc to sell a stake could provide a windfall of more than $130 million to each union, but would mean partly surrendering control of the competition. the interest means the six nations face a dilemma between selling to private money or embracing the potential option of a world rugby—sanctioned nations championship. ireland's sam bennett sprinted to victory on stage three of the paris—nice, while dylan groenewegen's overall lead was halved to six seconds by michal kwiatkowski. racing 200 km, no riders fancied their chances of making a successful breakaway and the day finished in a bunch sprint, with bennett of bora—hansgrohe holding off caleb ewan and fabiojakobsen to claim his third stage win of the year. seven games taking place in the nba. the milwaukee bucks are up in new o rlea ns, the milwaukee bucks are up in new orleans, that one is into the final quarter. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the sport today team, goodbye. hello there.

this is what it takes to play international rugby union.l and physical extremes. the governing body wants to ta ke extremes. the governing body wants to take it on a world tour, 12 nations taking each other on during the year. but the rugby selling point is also breaking point. before the plans have been formally announced, the body has raised body about its safety. if it continues down this path, and that came out loud and clear from a0 players we spoke to, it is already at breaking point and we continue to fire there is dangerfor the point and we continue to fire there is danger for the players and fall quys is danger for the players and fall guys wanting to play the game. the rugby association also questions the exclusion of pacific island teams. there are fears are keeping them out of any competition could drive evermore islanders to represent nations on distant shores. players wa nt to nations on distant shores. players want to play against the best. if there is a ceiling, smaller nations should play in the first place. we are at cross

hundreds of rugby union fans have turned out in cardiff to celebrate wales winning the six nations grando show off their trophy on monday following victory over ireland at the weekend, their 14th win in a row, which helped them claim the title. it's a third grand slam for head coach warren gatland who told the crowd he's enjoyed every minute of his time in wales. the new zealander will stand down from the post after this year's rugby world cup injapan. this isn't about me. this is about the players. we've got a brilliant background team of coaches and management and strengthening conditioners and medical staff, and having good people around you makes a difference. and we've got very good players, i have seen them run through a brick wall for you. and these guys did that in this campaign. they trained their butts off and really worked hard and they thoroughly deserve what happened on saturday. england's women have won their one day series with sri lanka after victory in the second match to take an unassailable 2—0 lead. sri lanka made 187—9 in their 50 overs, alex hartley took 3—36. amyjo

proposals to merge two of welsh rugby union's most successful teams have been described as "deeply concerningelsh rugby players union. 0spreys and scarlets could join up as soon as next season if the plans get the go—ahead at a meeting held by wales‘ professional game board this afternoon. the name of the team, where it would play and who would coach the regional side have still to be finalised. the wru also wants to introduce a side in north wales. but representatioves from wales‘ professional players union say they've been left in limbo, with no security over their futures. tottenham can lose to borussia dortmund in germany this evening and still qualify for the quarterfinals of the champions league — but spurs boss mauricio pochettino isn't thinking about that. they go to germany carrying a 3—0 lead from the first leg at wembley. no side have ever won a champions league home knockout game by that much and then been eliminated. but pochettino says they'll play to win this evening. we need to forget the third leg, to be focused on trying to beat borussia dortmund here again. it must be our a

the welsh rugby union has remained silent on the project reset since the start of january, but warnedable. it is understood if the meeting agrees to the proposals today, a merger could be approved and announced as early as sunday. with a new region potentially on the pitch, ready for the start of the next season. kate morgan, bbc news. a £70 million centre of excellence that could radically improve the standard of women's football in england has been announced at winsford in cheshire. a women's superleague team is already lined up to take up residence there. mark edwardson reports. today, just a few youngsters enjoying a game of basketball here, but within two years it could look like this, a state—of—the—art sports training and leisure centre of excellence. the quality and the standard of pictures will not be like anything else in this country. £70 million project will rival anything in europe, women's football equivalent of saint georges park and that was widely credited with england's progression to the world cup semifinals last summer. who knows, we get a really young, aspiring, p

we'll be live in cardiff ahead of the final round of rugby union's six nations championship — with walesthe cusp of a third grand slam under head coach warren gatland, if they can beat ireland here at the principality stadium tomorrow. we will have the rest of the day's support as well. some huge ties in the quarterfinals at the champions league — the draw of which was played today. four english sides in that draw. and news as well on a big win for willie mullins. his first win at cheltenham and the gold cup today. al boum photo. lizzie will have all the details on what has been a fascinating day in racing. now on bbc news, it is time for the film review. hello and welcome to the film review on bbc news. to take us through this week's cinema releases is mark kermode. so mark, what do we have this week? interesting. we have ben is back, which is the story of addiction and recovery. we have the prodigy which isa recovery. we have the prodigy which is a very nuts and bolts horror movie. and fisherman's friends, the kind of a true story of the cornish singing sensations. kind of true story.

so one of the biggest problems with rugby union is the second impact syndrome. reduce is the incidence of second impact syndrome. so a medic on the sideline can have a look at that and go 0k, maybe it's time we brought them off. it gives them an extra object, a source of information to base their decisions on. the result can be fed in real time to medics on the sidelines to decide on the best course of action if there's an incident. whilst it can't detect whether this has resulted in a concussion, the medics can keep an eye on the data to judge players who may be at risk. and in the long—term, this information also provides an opportunity to learn the correlation between an impact and its effect. we can go into the individual player's impacts and start to look at the shape of the impacts themselves, both in terms of linear and rotational acceleration. so that becomes quite important because of the cumulative impact of concussion, so we're really trying to understand here what might have happened in the past that will influence the future. if you think about toda

the welsh rugby union has remained silent on project research since the start of january but warned thenrees to the proposals today, a merger could be approved unannounced as early as sunday —— and announced, with the new region potentially on the pitch for the start of next season. daffyd james. the timing is not the best, going for the grand slam, going for the six nations, the timing is pretty bad and there will be a lot of heated emotions, in that debate going on. it is history repeating itself, 2003, warriors were dismantled, disbanded, regional by dismantled, disbanded, regional rugby was set up all of a sudden. detrimental not only to the players but the backroom staff, as well and the fans are. the key thing here is the fans are. the key thing here is the livelihoods of the players, the futures of the club to remain in doubt, there must be real concern as to what players will do. quite rightly, the psychological impact as well, players not really knowing where they will get their next paycheck from. putting all their eggsin paycheck from. putting all their eggs in one basket. tal

switch attention to domestic rugby union.aracens had to come from behind to beat harlequins 27 points to 20 in front of almost 43 thousand at the london stadium. ben croucher reports. in unfamiliar surroundings saracens have not looked like themselves of late, having missed much of there, they would have to eye on it, just turned 20 but soon shifted this game in their favour. danny can expect to join in the plans and after the a0 minutes is up, extending the lead at half—time. made sure the saracens squad catching his attention as well, and irishman stifle the try. wrong place, wrong time. so instead, a south african and an australian had to do the dirty work, got his way through and then will cemented saracens second superiority, not once but twice. and only just. from scrappy to supreme, saracens still riding high, second in the table and they know all too well what it is like to be at the top. elsewhere worcester warriors hung on to win 27—25 at premiership relegation rivals bristol. josh adams went over with the best of w

been selected in england's 30—man performance squad, for the first time since switching back from rugby unionhis 35 appearances for the wolves, since joining from sale sharks. teammate jack hughes is also in the squad along with four other warrington players. super league leders st helens also have six players in the squad. world rugby‘s plans to revamp the game by creating a world league have been met with opposition since they were announced last month. the new 12—team league, scheduled for next year, has drawn criticism from england captain owen farell — but it might also affect the smaller nations. it could omit the pacific island teams of samoa, fiji and tonga and a former tongan international has told bbc sport that world rugby are "out of touch" and the future of international rugby union in the country is at risk. it's a theft swipe, really, if they go it's a theft swipe, really, if they go into this new competition without promotion relegation, without merit, on who is involved, and lock in teams like america, and japan, who use a lot of our players, then basically you are cutting of

the wesh rugby union players union says it is is "deeply concerned" about plans to merge two of walesart of ‘project reset‘ the rival regions could to merge, with a new team created in the north of the country. the controversy‘s led to the resignation todsay of ospreys chairman mikejames, who blamed the welsh rugby union's "catastrophic mismanagement" of revamping regional rugby. if the merger does go ahead, then it could be officially announced as early as sunday with the two sides most likely to join forces next season. i know things happen quickly and are never a straight forward, in welsh rugby, but there is a little bit of anger because there is a decision that some boys have got offers over the bridge, do they take that offer to secure their livelihood? do they wait to see what is happening in wales? there is uncertainty. meanwhile the weslsh national side are just two games away from winning the six nations grand slam — many of that team made up of scarlets and ospreys players. they're back in action this weeknd against scotland. just one change for that game at murrayfield. ad

it is the return of rugby union's european cat champions cup this weekend.n to face saracens, while edinburgh host the two—time winners, munster. any challenge cup, sale sharks are through to the semifinal after they won a game with a convincing 20—10 win. sale sharks will face either live bristol in the next round. in by live bristol in the next round. in rugby league super league, there we re rugby league super league, there were wins for the tops two. no stopping st helens. second placed warrington thrashed hull fc. austin scored a couple of tries. after a disappointing race, ferrari are back on top ahead of the bahrain grand prix. they topped the sheets in both practice sessions. despite the odd hairy moment, a bit of dizziness for sebastian vettel, but he still clocked the fastest of the day. now, almost twice his age, but roger federer still handed out a tennis lesson to his teenage opponent to reach the final of the miami masters. it is the biggest age gap in any match that roger federer has been involved in. he is actually... he thrashed the canadian

and could we see a new international rugby union league, theres a shake up on the cards, we'll bringy in the french capital with the script written by the man who knows all about unforgettable moments for manchester united on the european stage. 0le gunnar solskjaer has led his injury stricken side into the champions league quarter—finals after the most dratic ——dramatic comeback at paris st germain. 3—3 it finished on aggregate with united goinf through on away goals with a 3—1win at the parc de princes. 0ur sports nws correspondent andy swissjoins me. with all the injuries, what a remarkable achievement in this man testate united team. pay by 2- nail, they seemed frankly like they had no chance, mission impossible, but they needed a good start and they got it. less tha n needed a good start and they got it. less than two minutes gone, a terrible back pass there. that gave them the site that they wanted, it was that they come back on. they responded fairly quickly, that seem fair, that might take that staying out of manchester united. putting it all day at that half an hour, so they

find the build—up to today's rugby union and premier league games today on the bbc sport website. more than 150 people on board in fact. we've been hearing in the last few minutes that there we re in the last few minutes that there were no survivors according to ethiopian authorities. nobody has survived the crash. let's speak now to our correspondent larry madowo. what more are you hearing? we have just heard in the last few minutes that authorities have confirmed there were no survivors of that ethiopian airlines 302 flight from nairobi to addis ababa. it was involved in an accident six minutes after ta ke—off involved in an accident six minutes after take—off at bole international airport. we don't know who was on the aircraft except there were 157 people on board, 149 passengers. it's reported that this boeing 737 max was only four months old with the airline. devastating news for family members waiting for their loved ones here at nairobi airport. we gather from authorities that the people on board were from many different nationalities, some 33 nationalities. there were 33 n

northampton saints are up to fifth in rugby union's premiership.northampton's three tries. leicester stay 10th. cardiff blues are closing in on a play—off spot in the pro 1a — after an impressive win against scarlets. they won 41—17 against their welsh rivals. cardiff led 38—0 at half time with all five of their tries coming in the first half, including two for owen lane. but arguably, the try of the night though came from aled summerhill — completing a free—flowing team move. there were two other games in the pro 1a this evening. edinburgh beat defending champions leinster28—11atmurrayfield — that bonus point victory keeping their play off hopes alive. there was also victory for connacht over italian side benetton by 29 points to 1a. the irish side on course to reach the knockout stages. there were mixed fortunes for the british number ones in miami. johanna konta at the top of your picture is out. she lost in straight sets to china's wang qiang, who is twenty places higher in the world rankings. but kyle edmund is through to the third round after

it's the final round of matches in rugby union's six nations championship.f. they lead 10—0 after half an hour. hadleigh parkes with a tryjust over a minute into the match. it's fa cup quarterfinal weekend, watford are through to the semi—finals after beating crystal palace 2—1, andre grey with the winner at vicarage road. and lewis hamilton will start on pole in melbourne for tomorrow's season opening australian grand prix. i will be back with more on all those stories within the next hour. i will see you then. the conservative mp nick boles has resigned from his local party and we will speak to robert halfon now. can you hear me this time? ican. i you hear me this time? i can. i want to start by asking you what you make of nick boles's decision? i think it's a very sad, nick boles is a great intellect and given a lot of service to the conservative party, both politically and asa conservative party, both politically and as a minister in government. i've worked very closely with him on developing an alternative proposal to leave the eu byjoining the european

it is the return of rugby union's european champions cup this weekend.feature. glasgow travel to london to face english champions saracens, while edinburgh host two—time winners munster. in the challenge cup, sale sharks are through to the semi—finals after they knocked out, connaught, with a convincing 20—10 win at the aj bell stadium. denny solomona with the second try, and sale will face either la rochelle or bristol in the next round. in super league there were wins for the top two leaders st helens beat hull kr and second—placed warrington thrashed hull fc by 63 points to 12. blake austin scored four of their 11 tries, and there was also a hat—trick forjosh charnley after a disappointing opening race in australia, ferrari are back on top of formula one ahead of the bahrain grand prix. they topped the time sheets in both practice sessions. despite the odd hairy moment, sebastian vettel clocked the quickest time of the day, just ahead of his team mate, but more than half a second clear of lewis hamilton's mercedes. he's almost twice his age, but roger

and welsh fans leave murrayfield happy as they watch their team remain on course for rugby union's grandnds of people have taken to the streets of venezuela as part of two rival demonstrations.

to the final match of this weekend's by to the final match of this weekend's rugby union.d off this weekend's six nations action. captain rory best went over for ireland's first try, whichjonny sexton duly converted. before the fly half crossed over with a well worked second, touching down under the posts, ireland, the reigning six nations champions, have added a third, they must win to keep their title hopes alive. 19-0 at 19—0 at the moment. britain's sam bird has been stripped of his victory at the hong kong formula e eprix. bird collided with the leader andre lotterer on the final lap, who then suffered a punctured tyre and crashed out. the fia issued bird a five second penalty for puncturing lotterer‘s tyre. the penalty drops the brit to sixth place, handing venturi's edoardo mortara and the team their maiden win. that's all the sport for now. plenty more to come throughout the evening. let's go back to our top story. an ethiopian airlines jet has crashed shortly after take—off from ethiopa's capital, addis ababa, killing all on board, including seven british national

charnley has been selected for the english so demand performance squad since switching back to rugby unionack hughes is also in the squad along with four other warrington players. st helens also have six players in the squad. that is all your from the sporting action to the weather action. not much whether action around. things are very quiet. not a action around. things are very quiet. nota bad action around. things are very quiet. not a bad thing if you like dry weather and there is plenty of that to come. sunshine is not guaranteed all the time. some large areas of cloud around as well. notice how the height does not move very much but frontal system scraping in across northern scotland from time to time so a bit of rain and freezing conditions there. temperatures dropping away, particularly towards the south. a touch of frost taking us tomorrow morning. the best of the sunshine as well but wherever you are across the country, tomorrow it turns into a day of patchy cloud and sunshine. it could squeeze the odd shower out. some outbreaks of rain in a northern scotland. generally cloudier

rugby union, greig laidlaw will start on saturday against wales on the bench, ali price has been preferredm—half, following defeat to france. callu m defeat to france. callum skinner has retired from cycling today, only 26, winning gold in the team sprint in 2016 alongside jason kenny, he wants to focus on reforming sports governance. the week after she won the double double, retaining her 3000 the week after she won the double double, retaining her3000 and the week after she won the double double, retaining her 3000 and 1500 metres tidal, laura muir says her next goal is to win her first outdoor medal. you are embracing the pressure whereas in the past it would get athletes at your age, it may be got to you. you go in, being highly ranked, one of the faces, it can be a high pressured environment. i told myself, why do you train so hard? because you want to race and enjoy competing. i found i because you want to race and enjoy competing. ifound i was more relaxed and i ran better. olympics, this year is crucial in building up, do you have ambitions 01’ building up, do you have ambitions or

northampton saints are up to fifth in rugby union ‘s premiership, beating leicester tigers 29—15.r play—off hopes beating defending champions leinster 28—11. cardiff also closed in on the play—offs on a big win over scarlett. it has been a good morning for britain ‘s 0liver roland in china. his best everfinish, but britain ‘s 0liver roland in china. his best ever finish, but still only good enough for second. the race was won by a frenchman in the race finished under a yellow flag because ofa finished under a yellow flag because of a crash on the final lap. sam bird, who led the overall standings before the race, went out early on. a little bit of history was made on theice a little bit of history was made on the ice at the world figure skating championships in japan. this the ice at the world figure skating championships injapan. this is kaza khsta n championships injapan. this is kazakhstan ‘s representative, landing what is called a quadruple south quay. it is the first time that particular move has ever been landed in the women's competition, and it helped her win a silver med

saracens are the only british side left in rugby union's european champions cup.asgow. edinburgh were also knocked out by munster. but the closest game was in ireland where defending champions leinster had to dig deep to see—off ulster. adam wild has the story of the day. this is european rugby's top prize. never before had the scottish game had such strength in numbers. for the first time, two clubs through to the first time, two clubs through to the quarterfinals. in edinburgh's way, munster, experienced and competition hardened and he are too quick thinking for the edinburgh defence will stop but by half—time their lead was gone. christine's try helping the home team in front. and there they stayed until the game's closing moments. keith earls with a second try, squeezing in at the corner. the frantic finished followed, but edinburgh's moment had gone. munster through to the semifinals. for scotland's other hope, glasgow arguably an even tougher task. a visit to the two—time champions saracens. the english side were flawless, seven tries. now munster await. eng

the wesh rugby union players union says it is is "deeply concerned" about plans to merge two of walesikejames, who blamed the welsh rugby union‘s "catastrophic mismanagement" of revamping regional rugby. if the merger does go ahead, then it could be officially announced as early as sunday with the two sides most likely to join forces as early as next season. i know things happen quickly and are never a straight forward, in welsh by, never a straight forward, in welsh rugby, but there is a little bit of anger because there is a decision that some boys have got offers over the bridge, do they take that offer to secure their livelihood? do they wait to see what is happening in wales ? wait to see what is happening in wales? there is uncertainty. wales meanwhile are just two games away from winning the six nations grand slam, many of that team made up of scarlets and 0spreys players. they‘re back in action this weeknd against scotland. —— weekend. just one change for that game at murrayfield, adam beard comes in for the injured cory hill in the second row. gareth anscombe continues at fly

in rugby union, the six nations is considering an offer from private equity firm cvc to sell a stakethan $130 million to each union, but would mean partly surrendering control of the competition. the interest means the six nations face a dilemma between selling to private money, or embracing the potential option of a world rugby—sanctioned nations championship. live sport and young children don't always mix. so, what do you do to keep them entertained while you watch the action? well, here's one approach to modern parenting. this fan embraced technology to keep his daughter happy, as he watched a live football match. talk about multi—tasking. he also managed to eat his hotdog. what a man. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team, that is your wednesday sport briefing. the business briefing is coming up very soon, the business briefing is coming up very soon, that is with me of course. we'll have more on what is going on with regards to brexit, more business stories too we've heard from you as ev

international has told bbc sport that world rugby are out of touch and the future of international rugby unioneath swipe, really, if they go into this new competition without promotion/relegation, without merit on who's involved, and look in teams like america and japan, use a lot of oui’ like america and japan, use a lot of our players, then basically you're cutting off the pipeline. our kids will have to go and play for other countries, periods. with the masters starting in less than three weeks, there's more british golfing success to report. paul casey became the first player to retain the valspar championship after an incredible final day in florida. he led by one overnight but dropped shots early on, before winning it at the last hole. he finished a shot clear ofjason kokrak and said it was mega for his confidence. britain's number one kyle edmund plays defending championjohn isner tomorrow for a place in the quarterfinals of the miami open. he reached the last 16 with one of the best victories of his career, knocking out milos raonic in straight sets. you may remember raonic as the man

and welsh fans leave murrayfield happy as they watch their team remain on course for rugby union's grand hello and welcome to world news today. thousands of people have taken to the streets of venezuela as part of two rival demonstrations. one rally — in support of president nicolas maduro — is being held in the capital. but police clashed with supporters of opposition leaderjuan guaido in the other rally in caracas. in electricity is gradually being restored across the country after the longest blackout in a decade. the power cuts started on thursday. will grant reports from caracas. it is venezuela's longest power cut in living memory. whole swathes of the country, including large parts of caracas, remain in darkness, more than 48 hours after the lights first went out. millions of families have been struggling without electricity, already coping with little to cook, now with nothing to cook it on. for those with serious health conditions like this woman, their lives are at risk. "without electricity i can't use my respirator," she explained. she is going desperate for the power to come

and in the other game, bottom side huddersfield lead 36—8 against hull kr in rugby union's premiershipfth. they're beating leicester tigers 29—3 — tom collins with two of northampton‘s three tries so far. three games in the pro 1a this evening. after winning the six nations grand slam — lots of the wales players are back in action — fly half gareth anscombe has started for cardiff blues — they lead the scarlets 38—12. edinburgh are hosting the defending champions leinster, and the scottish side lead 28—11, and connacht lead 22—14 against the italian side benneton. britain's number one kyle edmund is through to the third round of the miami 0pen. he won in straight sets over ilya ivashka of belarus. edmund will play former wimbledon finalist milos raonic next. history has been made at the world figure skating championships in japan. just 25 seconds into her four minute free skate routine, kazakhstan‘s elizabet tur—syn—bae—eva became the first woman to land a quadruple salchow. despite that she only moved up from bronze to claim silver. gold was won by russia's alina zagitova. that's all

in rugby union's european champions cup there was a thrilling all—irish game as ulster went to leinsterred another before luke marshall answered back for ulster. but then a limping ross byrne kicked leinster back into the lead, and the defending champions hung on to book their place in the semi—finals, winning 21 points to 18. saracens are the only british side left in the cup. they thrashed glasgow warriors, with a dominant seven—try victory. two tries apiece there for liam williams and david strettle. sarries will face munster next, who came from behind at murrayfield to edge past edinburgh. keith earls went over with 10 minutes remaining as the two—timewinners squeezed through. a british heavyweight boxing contest has ended in controversy this evening, after one of the fighters was disqualified for biting his opponent. this happened in the fifth round of the bout between david price and kash ali, in liverpool. you'll have to watch closely here. after price landed a big shot on the unbeaten ali, the pair fell over. ali landed on top and then appears to bite him. there's the close up.