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  • McIlroy wins second Masters in a row for sixth major title

    McIlroy wins second Masters in a row for sixth major title

    In a dramatic day of golf at Augusta National Golf Club, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy etched his name into Masters tournament history on Sunday, clinching consecutive green jackets and capturing his sixth career major championship with a one-stroke win over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

    The 36-year-old world No. 2 overcame a rocky start to his final round, carding a double bogey on the fourth hole and another bogey on the sixth to fall off his early pace. But McIlroy dug in, sinking four birdies across the next seven holes to climb back into contention, and held off a late charge from the field despite a series of wobbly final-hole tee shots to claim the historic win and the tournament’s record $4.5 million top prize.

    With the victory, McIlroy becomes just the fourth player in Masters history to win back-to-back titles, joining golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo. He finished the final round with a one-under-par 71, ending the four-day tournament at 12-under-par 276—one stroke ahead of Scheffler, who carded a bogey-free 68 on Sunday to finish at 277.

    The win comes one year after McIlroy claimed his first ever Masters title in 2025, completing his career Grand Slam and snapping a 10-year drought without a major championship win. This year’s win marked the rare wire-to-wire triumph, after McIlroy set a 36-hole Masters record with a six-stroke lead heading into the weekend. “I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket and you know I get two in a row. It’s just sort of the way,” McIlroy told reporters after the round. “I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off.”

    Due to his defending champion status, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley stepped in to place the iconic green jacket on McIlroy, a ceremonial role normally reserved for the previous year’s winner. McIlroy acknowledged that the final two days of play were far from his best, noting he did the majority of his scoring work in the opening rounds Thursday and Friday, and had to fight to maintain his lead through the weekend. “It was a tough weekend. I did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday,” McIlroy said. “But just so, so happy to hang in there and get the job done.”

    McIlroy struggled with driving accuracy all tournament, ranking third-from-last in the field for the week. He pulled off a critical par save from the trees on the 15th hole, but faced a do-or-die moment on the 18th, when he sent his tee shot sailing over the right-side pines and landed near the fairway of the adjacent 10th hole, putting his victory in serious jeopardy. With the title on the line, McIlroy pulled off a spectacular approach shot that curled around the pine trees and landed in a greenside bunker. He blasted out to 12 feet from the pin and two-putted for bogey to lock in the win.

    “It’s nice to have that two-shot cushion instead of the one like I had last year,” McIlroy said, referencing his 2025 victory that required a playoff to secure. After sinking the final putt, McIlroy shouted in celebration and lifted his arms in triumph, before walking off the 18th green to hug his wife Erica, daughter Poppy and his parents.

    Scheffler, a four-time major champion who was seeking his third Masters title in five seasons, praised McIlroy after the round, acknowledging he had put up a strong fight but fell just short. “Over the weekend I put up a good fight, did a lot of good stuff in order to give myself a chance and ultimately came up a couple shots short,” Scheffler said.

    Four players tied for third place at 278: England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose, and Americans Russell Henley and Cameron Young. For Rose, the 2013 US Open champion who has now finished second at the Masters three times, the near-miss left him frustrated. Rose had climbed into a share of the lead at 12-under after birdieing four of the last five holes on the front nine, but bogeys on 11 and 12 opened the door for McIlroy to take the lead for good. “I felt like there was an opportunity to do better, so obviously that’s frustrating for sure,” Rose said.

    McIlroy capitalized on the opening, sinking a seven-foot birdie putt on the par-three 12th after a stellar tee shot, then followed it up with an 11-foot birdie putt on the par-five 13th to extend his lead to three strokes. McIlroy pointed to those two holes as the turning point of the final round. “I think the tee shot on 12 and then the tee shot on 13, just to give me the option to go for the green in two, were the day’s key shots,” he said. “I made a really good committed swing off the 13th tee, and that enabled me to go for the green in two and to make a birdie there, following the birdie on 12. That was massive.” Four consecutive pars and the closing bogey were enough to hold off the field and secure McIlroy’s place in Masters history.

  • McIlroy underlines greatness by defending Masters title

    McIlroy underlines greatness by defending Masters title

    Augusta National Golf Club played host to another iconic chapter of Masters history this Sunday, as Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy etched his name into golf lore by clinching consecutive green jackets, becoming only the fourth player in the tournament’s storied history to defend his title successfully.

    The 36-yearold entered Sunday’s final round with a narrowed lead after competitors clawed back their deficit on Saturday, but delivered a gritty one-under-par 71 to end the tournament at 12-under overall, holding off world No.1 Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. by a single stroke to claim his sixth career major championship, tying legendary English golfer Sir Nick Faldo’s tally. He is now just the 15th player in the sport’s history to secure at least six major wins.

    McIlroy’s back-to-back victory capped a remarkable personal journey. Twelve months prior, he ended an 11-year drought to complete his career Grand Slam at Augusta, a breakthrough he predicted would unlock his game and let him compete with greater freedom. He proved that prophecy correct at his first opportunity to defend the title.

    “I can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one Green Jacket and now I get two in a row,” McIlroy told reporters after clinching the win. “All my perseverance at this golf course over the years has started to pay off. It was a tough weekend but I’m so happy to hang in there and get the job done. I wanted to come back and prove last year wasn’t a fluke.”

    Sunday’s race for the title delivered all the drama the tournament is famous for. English veteran Justin Rose, who lost a playoff to McIlroy at Augusta last year, once again pushed the eventual champion to the wire. The 45-year-old, who was aiming to become the oldest first-time Masters champion, grabbed a one-shot lead midway through the final round, putting him in position to avenge his 2025 defeat as McIlroy’s putting cooled off.

    But the narrative reversed course from 2025’s thrilling playoff, when a charging Rose forced extra holes after McIlroy faltered down the stretch. This time, the pressure got to Rose: he dropped critical shots on Amen Corner’s 11th and 12th holes, losing momentum and never recovered. He finished tied third at 10-under, denied what would have been his fourth career second-place finish at the Masters. “It is another little stinger,” Rose said. “I was by no means free and clear, and nowhere close to having the job done, but I was right in position.”

    McIlroy faced his own hurdles throughout the four-day tournament. After grabbing a record six-shot lead at the halfway mark despite inconsistent performance off the tee, the same accuracy issues plagued him in Saturday’s third round, letting the packed field close the gap. True to his reputation as one of the game’s all-time greats, McIlroy adjusted his strategy: he traded driving distance for improved accuracy to smooth out swing kinks, a tweak that laid the groundwork for his steady final round performance.

    When asked whether he would have had the resilience to pull off the win before claiming his first green jacket last year, McIlroy said his breakthrough was truly transformative, changing both his approach to the game and his mindset.

    Scheffler, the 2022 and 2024 Masters champion, turned in a stunning performance to finish as McIlroy’s closest challenger, making history of his own as the first player since 1942 to card a bogey-free weekend on his way to a fourth consecutive top-10 finish at the tournament. The 29-year-old American ultimately fell short due to a slow opening round, a recurring issue for him in recent months. “I knew I was going to have to do something special if I wanted to catch [McIlroy] or [Young],” Scheffler said. “I was close but it was just a few shots here or there.”

    Rose tied for third with England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Americans Russell Henley and Cameron Young. For Hatton, the top-three finish marked a major turnaround at Augusta: the 34-year-old had a well-documented volatile relationship with the course, publicly criticizing its undulations and even calling it “unfair” in 2022. “This is my 10th Masters, so I’ve been fortunate to be here a lot and my results the last three years have definitely improved,” Hatton said.

    With his back-to-back win, McIlroy joins an exclusive club of defending Masters champions that includes only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods, cementing his status as one of golf’s modern greats.

  • ‘Massive dream of mine’: Jacob Preston firms for Origin debut as Blues sweat on Liam Martin’s fitness

    ‘Massive dream of mine’: Jacob Preston firms for Origin debut as Blues sweat on Liam Martin’s fitness

    A potential season-altering knee injury to NSW State of Origin veteran Liam Martin has opened up a rare opportunities for rising NRL star Jacob Preston, who is now among the top contenders to earn his long-awaited debut in rugby league’s most high-profile representative series.

    Martin was forced off the field during Penrith Panthers’ Thursday night match against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, where current reports point to a moderate MCL sprain that could keep him sidelined for six to eight weeks. The 15-time Origin representative will undergo formal scans this week to confirm the injury severity, with early analysis from sports medical experts noting Martin reported a “loose” feeling in the knee, a symptom commonly linked to grade 2 or higher MCL damage requiring extended recovery time.

    The 2026 State of Origin series opener is scheduled for May 27, exactly six weeks from Martin’s injury. Even if the star back-rower hits the earliest projected return mark, he would have no match fitness leading into the blockbuster clash, making his participation highly unlikely. For NSW Blues coach Laurie Daley, a potential absence would count as a major blow to his starting lineup — but the team is not short of in-form candidates to fill the vacant edge forward spot. Among the leading options are Hudson Young and Haumole Olakau’atu, both of whom have previous Origin experience and are in strong club form this season. Standing out among the contenders, however, is 24-year-old Bulldogs back-rower Jacob Preston, who has been building toward his first Origin call-up for more than a year.

    Preston came tantalizingly close to Origin selection last year, when he earned a spot in the Blues’ training squad in Leura, and has since turned in consistently elite performances for Canterbury that have caught the eye of representative selectors. He was also named to the Australian Men’s Test squad for last year’s Ashes series, giving him valuable experience training alongside some of the game’s top talent.

    “That’s a massive dream of mine. It’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a little kid,” Preston told NewsWire in a recent interview. “All I can do is take it week by week playing good football for the Bulldogs. As long as we’re winning games, we’ll be in contention for those spots, and a lot of other boys will be too. So if I play good footy, then whatever happens from there, happens from there.”

    Since making his NRL debut in 2023, Preston has been a standout core player for the resurgent Bulldogs, turning in a career-defining performance in the club’s stunning upset win over Penrith earlier this season. In that match, he scored one try and set up another with his signature hole-running ability to seal the upset victory, cementing his reputation as one of the league’s most promising young edge forwards.

    Reflecting on his experience with the Australian Test squad last year, Preston said the tour shaped his approach to the game far more than any individual coaching tip. “I learnt so much from that tour. It was a great experience, and I have heaps of lifelong memories I’ll cherish forever,” he said. “I want to put on those (rep) jerseys. I just took what I learnt from all the elite players I was around, implemented it into my training, and hopefully it keeps showing on the field. It wasn’t necessarily a single person (who really helped me). It was more so the level they train at and the accountability they hold themselves to. I think that’s the two main things I took from the tour, and I’m just trying to bring that back to the Bulldogs in my own training.”

    Preston also credited Bulldogs club legend Josh Jackson, a former Origin representative himself, for guiding his development through club training over the past two years. Additionally, his growing on-field combination with young halfback Lachlan Galvin has helped lift both his form and the team’s overall performance this season. Galvin turned in his best NRL performance just last week, and Preston said the pair have spent the pre-season building chemistry that now shows on game day.

    “He was outstanding,” Preston said of Galvin. “He’s been doing it at training, it’s coming out on the field, and as long as he keeps going after it, I’m sure there are going to be plenty more performances like that. We’ve had a pre-season to kind of work on our combinations and learn each other’s little intricacies. It’s only going to continue to build.”

    This season has also seen Preston step into a new level of on-field confidence, most recently marked by a spontaneous post-try celebration that has gone viral among fans: sticking his tongue out after scoring crucial tries against Canberra and Penrith. When asked about the celebration, Preston laughed and said the habit is entirely unplanned. “To be honest, I don’t even know (where it comes from) so it just kind of happens. I don’t even mean to do it, so I probably should stop doing it,” he joked.

  • Runners measure Xiong’an’s rapid growth at 2026 marathon

    Runners measure Xiong’an’s rapid growth at 2026 marathon

    On a sunny Sunday morning in April 2026, the starting gun for the 2026 Xiong’an Marathon fired precisely at 7:30 a.m., launching the event from the steps of the Xiong’an Urban Computing Center — one of the most iconic modern landmarks of this young urban development zone in northern China’s Hebei Province.

    More than 12,000 long-distance running enthusiasts from every corner of the country converged on Xiong’an, a national-level new area established by Chinese authorities in 2017, for a rare opportunity to experience the region’s staggering nine years of progress with their own steps. Unlike traditional marathon courses that wind through long-established cityscapes, this route was intentionally designed to connect Xiong’an’s most defining development milestones, linking the cutting-edge Urban Computing Center, the ecologically restored Baiyangdian wetland zone, and the newly completed headquarters of central state-owned enterprises relocated from the national capital Beijing.

    Along every stretch of the course, runners were greeted by tangible evidence of Xiong’an’s evolution: fully functional residential amenities that now serve a growing permanent population, state-of-the-art technology hubs driving the area’s innovation-focused economy, and expansive green spaces that underscore the new area’s commitment to sustainable, low-carbon urban development. For many returning participants, the contrasts between visits were striking. A male runner from Hebei’s provincial capital Shijiazhuang, who first ran the Xiong’an Marathon in 2023, shared that the changes he observed over just three years left him stunned. “This year, I’m literally using my feet to measure how much Xiong’an has transformed in that short time,” he said, noting that entirely new landmarks and infrastructure that did not exist three years ago now line the route.

    Beyond the competitive running itself, organizers upgraded the race’s beloved community-focused “Xiong’an Stars” initiative for the 2026 event. Originally launched with a small team of 30 young cheerleaders, the program was expanded this year to 100 children who share the same age as Xiong’an New Area itself. These young supporters lined the course to cheer on exhausted runners, and later took up the honored role of placing finisher medals around the necks of athletes who crossed the finish line, adding a heartfelt, intergenerational touch to the event.

    To further enrich the participant and spectator experience, organizers worked with nearly 50 local businesses to set up public booths along the course perimeter, offering regional specialty foods, traditional and modern cultural products, and interactive activities that brought extra energy to the race day. Local residents turned out in droves, lining the sidewalks outside the course barriers to cheer on every runner, creating a warm, lively atmosphere that surprised many first-time visitors to the new area.

    From the sweeping transformation of once undeveloped land into a modern, sustainable smart city to the childlike enthusiasm of the young volunteers and the warm welcome from local residents, the 2026 Xiong’an Marathon did more than host a competitive race: it offered a living snapshot of Xiong’an’s vibrant, dynamic growth, and highlighted the new area’s ongoing journey toward its ambitious vision for a brighter, more innovative urban future.

  • De Zerbi suffers debut defeat as Spurs crisis deepens, City rampant

    De Zerbi suffers debut defeat as Spurs crisis deepens, City rampant

    The 2024-25 English Premier League season delivered another dramatic weekend of results that reshaped both the title race and the relegation battle, with two high-stakes stories dominating the headlines. For Tottenham Hotspur, what was meant to be a fresh start under new manager Roberto De Zerbi instead turned into another gut-wrenching setback that leaves their 48-year-long stretch in the top flight hanging by a thread.

    De Zerbi, the highly regarded former Brighton & Hove Albion and Olympique de Marseille boss, was appointed at the end of last month as Tottenham’s third manager of the campaign. The Italian was brought in as a last-ditch hire to pull the club out of a freefall that has them staring down the barrel of relegation – a scenario that would go down as one of the biggest shocks in English football history, given Tottenham’s status as the ninth-wealthiest club in the world per Deloitte’s latest football finance rankings. His first test came on the road against a stubborn Sunderland side, but the new manager could not spark an immediate turnaround.

    The only goal of the game came in the 60th minute, when Nordi Mukiele’s shot took a massive deflection off Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven, looping the ball over goalkeeper and into the net. Tottenham threw bodies forward in the final half-hour in search of an equalizer, but their attacks repeatedly broke down, and the scoreline held. The result leaves Tottenham stuck in the relegation zone, still winless in Premier League play since December. They now sit two points behind 17th-place West Ham United, with just six matches remaining to claw their way out of the drop.

    After the final whistle, De Zerbi pinpointed the root of his side’s struggles as a deep crisis of confidence, not a lack of technical quality. “I can be a big brother, father, they don’t need a coach,” he told the BBC. “They don’t need to improve football. They can play better and they will play better once we reach a different level of confidence.”

    At the opposite end of the table, Manchester City sent a clear warning to league leaders Arsenal, putting on a dominant second-half display to secure a 3-0 away win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The result comes 24 hours after Arsenal suffered a surprise 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth, opening the door for Pep Guardiola’s side to cut the Gunners’ lead at the top of the table to just six points – with City holding one game in hand, and a decisive head-to-head clash against Arsenal scheduled for next weekend at the Etihad Stadium.

    City, who saw their streak of five consecutive Premier League titles ended by Liverpool last season, made full use of Arsenal’s slip-up, turning a slow, cagey first half into a rout after the break. Young midfielder Nico O’Reilly opened the scoring with a header from a precise Rayan Cherki cross, before defender Marc Guehi doubled City’s advantage in the 57th minute, finishing off a perfectly weighted through ball from Cherki. Jeremy Doku put the result beyond doubt late on, drilling a shot past Chelsea’s goalkeeper after the Blues turned the ball over in their own defensive third.

    The result keeps City on track for a domestic treble this season: they have already lifted the League Cup, and are set to face Championship side Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals. Speaking ahead of next week’s title decider against Arsenal, Guardiola stressed his full respect for the league leaders, who have led the table for most of the campaign. “They have been the best team in this country, in Europe, so far,” he told Sky Sports. “Beating Arsenal once (in the League Cup final) is so difficult, imagine beating them twice in a few weeks. We have to rest. I would like to say to my fans — respect Arsenal a lot, they are an extraordinary team. Come to join us from minute one because the players will do the maximum.”

    For Chelsea, the defeat marks their third consecutive Premier League loss, leaving them stuck in sixth place in the table. They now sit four points behind fifth-place Liverpool in the tight race for Champions League qualification next season.

    Other key results in the relegation and European races saw Nottingham Forest, one of Tottenham’s fellow relegation rivals, hold fourth-place Aston Villa to a 1-1 draw at the City Ground. Villa, who are also chasing a Champions League spot, took an early lead through an own goal from Forest defender Murillo, but Neco Williams equalized for the home side. The result leaves Forest one point above West Ham, outside the relegation zone by the thinnest of margins. At Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace scored two late goals, including a stoppage-time penalty from Jean-Philippe Mateta, to come from behind and beat Newcastle United 2-1.

  • Argentina international Cristian Romero injured in Tottenham’s loss to Sunderland

    Argentina international Cristian Romero injured in Tottenham’s loss to Sunderland

    In a tense Premier League clash at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on Sunday, Tottenham Hotspur suffered a double blow: a 1-0 defeat to the Black Cats and a worrying injury to star defender Cristian Romero that left the Argentine international visibly emotional as he exited the pitch.

    The incident unfolded in the second half, when Romero collided with Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky during a sequence of play in the box. Immediately after the impact, the 27-year-old defender was seen limping heavily, and it quickly became clear he could not continue the match. Though Romero did not need a stretcher and walked off the pitch under his own power, he was openly distressed and in tears, with teammates stepping in to console him as he made his way to the sideline for medical assessment.

    As of Sunday evening, the full extent of Romero’s injury remains undisclosed, with club medical staff yet to release a formal diagnosis. The timing of the setback has already sparked widespread concern, however, coming just months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where Romero is expected to be a core contributor to the defending champion Argentina national team.

    For Tottenham, the injury is a major potential setback to the club’s remaining domestic season goals. Newly appointed Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi described the incident as “very bad” in his post-match comments, acknowledging the uncertainty around how severe the damage is.

    “We have to wait for assessments over the coming days to know more,” De Zerbi told reporters. “I hope for all of us that this is not a serious issue, because Cristian is a crucial player for this squad. We need him back to finish this season strong and hit the targets we’ve set for ourselves.”

    Kinsky, by contrast, escaped the collision relatively unscathed. The goalkeeper was able to remain on the pitch after receiving treatment, with medics only needing to wrap a bandage around a head wound he sustained in the impact.

  • Australian teenager Gout faster than Bolt at 18

    Australian teenager Gout faster than Bolt at 18

    Sprinting has a new rising star to watch, after 18-year-old Australian talent Gout Gout delivered a historic performance at the Australian national athletics championships on Sunday, clocking a time that would have earned him a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

    Competing on home soil in Sydney, the Queensland-based teenager crossed the 200m finish line in an extraordinary 19.67 seconds, a result that not only secured him the national title but also rewrote the official world under-20 record books. This marked the first time Gout has broken the 20-second barrier with a wind-legal result, after recording a wind-assisted 19.84 seconds during the 2025 season. His new personal best is also the fastest 200m time posted by any sprinter globally in 2026 so far.

    Sunday’s result pushes Gout ahead of one of the sport’s most iconic legends: Usain Bolt, the Jamaican eight-time Olympic gold medalist who held the previous best 200m time by a teenage athlete. Back in 2004, a 17-year-old Bolt ran 19.93 seconds to set a world junior record, and he never improved on that teenage mark before going on to dominate senior sprinting and set multiple senior world records that still stand today.

    Prior to Sunday’s race, the official world under-20 record belonged to American sprinter Erriyon Knighton, who ran 19.69 seconds in June 2022. While Knighton notched an even faster 19.49 seconds that same year, that result was never ratified as an official under-20 world record by global athletics governing bodies, leaving Gout’s 19.67 second run as the new officially recognized top mark for athletes under 20 years old.

    Gout’s rise through the sprinting ranks has been rapid: he first turned heads in 2024 as a 16-year-old, when he set a new Australian national senior record of 20.06 seconds, the fastest 200m ever run by a 16-year-old globally. Even more impressive than Gout’s historic win on Sunday was the depth of Australian sprinting on display: second-place finisher Aidan Murphy also broke the 20-second barrier, clocking 19.88 seconds to finish well clear of the old record mark.

    Born in Queensland to parents who migrated from South Sudan, Gout spoke to reporters after the race about the milestone, expressing both relief and excitement for what comes next. “This is what I’ve been waiting for,” he said. “We have such incredible athletes in Australia and me being able to race these athletes, we push each other to the limits. Two Australians sub-20. I mean, this is amazing. There’s a big weight off my shoulders knowing I ran it legally, and I have the speed and my body to run times like that. So, it definitely feels great, and ready for more.”

    Looking ahead, Gout has already confirmed his competitive plans for the coming months: he will skip the 2026 Commonwealth Games, which open in Glasgow on July 23, to prioritize preparation for the World Under-20 Athletics Championships, scheduled to take place in Oregon in early August.

  • Union Berlin appoint first female head coach

    Union Berlin appoint first female head coach

    History has been made in European men’s football, as 34-year-old Marie-Louise Eta has broken through a new glass ceiling to become the first woman appointed to lead a men’s senior team in one of European football’s prestigious top five leagues. Named interim head coach of Germany’s Bundesliga outfit 1. FC Union Berlin until the end of the 2025-2026 season, Eta steps into the role following the club’s dismissal of former manager Steffen Baumgart last weekend.

    The coaching change comes amid a sharp slump in form for Union Berlin, which has left the club facing an unexpected battle to avoid relegation. Baumgart was relieved of his duties after the side suffered a 1-3 defeat to league bottom club FC Heidenheim on Saturday. Currently sitting 11th in the 18-team Bundesliga table, Union Berlin hold an 11-point advantage over the automatic relegation zone with five remaining matches, but have only secured two league wins from their 14 outings so far in 2026. Their position remains precarious: they hold just a seven-point lead over St. Pauli, which occupies the relegation play-off spot.

    For Eta, this milestone appointment is just the latest in a string of barrier-breaking achievements in her coaching career with Union Berlin. She first joined the club’s senior coaching staff in July 2023, and by November that year she had become the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history. In January 2024, she stepped into a temporary caretaker role when then-manager Nenad Bjelica served a three-match suspension, leading the side from the touchline to a 1-0 victory over Darmstadt and becoming the first woman to lead a Bundesliga match from the dugout.

    A former German youth international who won the Women’s Champions League during her playing career with Turbine Potsdam, Eta has served as Union Berlin’s under-19 men’s team manager since July 2025, and is already set to take over as the club’s senior women’s head coach this coming summer. Speaking after her appointment, Eta acknowledged the magnitude of the challenge ahead, while expressing confidence in the squad and the club’s culture.

    “Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” she said. “I am delighted the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations. I am convinced that we will secure the crucial points.”

    Horst Heldt, Union Berlin’s director of men’s football, defended the coaching change, emphasizing that the club could not ignore its underperformance despite its mid-table position. “We have had a hugely disappointing second half of the season and will not allow ourselves to be blinded by our league position,” Heldt said. “Our situation remains precarious. The performances shown in recent weeks do not give us confidence that we can turn things around with the current set-up. We have therefore decided to make a fresh start.”

    The announcement has sparked an outpouring of support from the club’s fanbase and the wider football community, club spokesperson Jacob Sweetman revealed. “I have to say, in my best part of 20 years with this club, I am not sure I have ever seen such unanimous support for a new coach coming in,” Sweetman told reporters. “This is only on an interim basis of course but certainly from within the club itself and the fanbase, everybody is very happy with this decision. I would say it is 99% positive.”

    Eta’s appointment comes 27 years after the first major milestone for women managing men’s professional football in Europe, when Carolina Morace took charge of Italian third-division side Viterbese in 1999. Later, Corinne Diacre spent three seasons at the helm of French Ligue 2 club Clermont Foot between 2014 and 2017 before leaving to lead the French senior women’s national team. In 2023, Hannah Dingley became the first woman to take charge of a professional men’s team in English football as caretaker boss of Forest Green Rovers, though she never led the side in a competitive fixture. With her new role at Union Berlin, Eta has now pushed the boundary further, becoming the first woman to take the senior helm at a men’s club in one of the continent’s top five most competitive leagues.

  • ‘I’ve not seen at all from this group’: Jason Ryles says fans were entitled to boo his team after their defence fell apart at home

    ‘I’ve not seen at all from this group’: Jason Ryles says fans were entitled to boo his team after their defence fell apart at home

    The 2024 NRL season has quickly turned into a nightmare for the Parramatta Eels, who collapsed to a humiliating 52-10 defeat at the hands of the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday, leaving their home fans furious and their already crippled injury roster even further depleted. When the final siren blared at CommBank Stadium, thousands of blue-and-gold supporters voiced their anger by booing the team off the pitch – a reaction head coach Jason Ryles acknowledged was fully justified after one of the most underwhelming performances of his tenure.

    Gold Coast’s fast-paced backline tore through Parramatta’s defense with alarming ease all afternoon, pushing the Eels’ total points conceded through the first six rounds of the season to 226 – the worst defensive record of any side in the NRL this year. The lopsided result drops Parramatta to 16th place on the competition ladder, with little to show for their first six weeks of play beyond mounting frustration and a growing list of sidelined stars.

    Compounding the devastating loss were two new head knock injuries, to forwards Sam Tuivaiti and Kelma Tuilagi, that will force both players to miss the Eels’ upcoming clash against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs under the league’s concussion protocols. The club is already reeling from a rash of season-ending injuries to key rotation players J’maine Hopgood, Matt Doorey and Bailey Simonsson, while key playmaking duo Jonah Pezet and Isaiah Iongi remain sidelined for several more weeks with their own injuries. Veteran prop Junior Paulo is also currently managing a nagging knee injury that has limited his availability.

    Ryles, who has led the Eels for 18 months, refused to use the extensive injury list as an excuse for the lackluster performance, saying the most disappointing part of the defeat was the absence of competitive fight he had seen just a week prior. “Last week against the Tigers I saw some fight that I’d never seen before, and then this week I didn’t see it,” Ryles told reporters post-match. “It’s certainly a challenge whenever you lose a third of your roster, that always puts pressure on performances. But at the same time, it creates opportunity. I’m not going to blame the injuries – every team goes through these rough patches over a season, but when you get your opportunity, you need to take it.”

    The coach added that the team’s leadership would quickly investigate what led to the lack of intensity and poor decision-making that defined the loss, emphasizing that any new players called up to the first-grade side must understand the high standard required to compete at the NRL level. He also ruled out throwing unready young junior players into the line-up just to fill gaps, noting that doing so could risk long-term harm to their development. “I won’t throw youngsters in just for the sake of it to potentially jeopardise their future when they’re not ready for first grade,” he explained.

    Titans’ 52-point haul marked the second-highest single-game score in the club’s NRL history, capping off a dominant day that left Parramatta’s captain Mitch Moses struggling to explain the collapse. “I don’t really have many answers for you, to be honest,” Moses told reporters. “We haven’t really started well pretty much the whole year, so our start is a big reason for it. We’ve been losing our start every single game probably this year, and then when you look up at the scoreboard you’re down by 18, 20 and chasing your tail. It doesn’t make it easy. I don’t think our attack was really good today either, so it didn’t really help.”

    As the Eels turn their attention to next week’s match against Canterbury, the club faces urgent questions about how to reverse their early-season form slump and rebuild intensity after a defeat that has left their fanbase and playing group deeply demoralized.

  • Remember the Titans: Gold Coast heap more misery on the battered Eels as star fullback puts on attacking show

    Remember the Titans: Gold Coast heap more misery on the battered Eels as star fullback puts on attacking show

    In a dominant NRL round six matchup at CommBank Stadium on Sunday, the Gold Coast Titans delivered one of the most impressive performances of the young season, crushing the Parramatta Eels 52-10 to extend the home side’s losing streak and secure a rare victory on Sydney turf. The lopsided win, which marked the Titans’ second-highest single-game score in NRL history, was anchored by a career-defining 80-minute display from young fullback Keano Kini, putting to rest any lingering debate over the club’s starting role at the position.

    When interim Titans coach Josh Hannay took charge of the side earlier this season, he openly anointed Kini as his first-choice fullback, turning down calls to shift incumbent Jayden Campbell into the starting 1 spot. On Sunday, the pint-sized speedster turned that vote of confidence into a stat line that would look more at home in a video game than a professional rugby league matchup. Kini played a pivotal role in the Titans’ opening four tries, setting up all three of the side’s first-half tries and breaking the game open within the opening quarter. His most memorable play came on a brilliant spin pass that sent AJ Brimson over the line for a try, before he broke away on a 70-metre run off an Eels kick to set up rookie winger Sialetili Faeamani, pushing the Titans’ lead to 18-0 after just 15 minutes of play. Early in the second half, he burst through Parramatta’s soft middle defence to set up Campbell for another try. By full time, Kini finished the match with 226 running metres, four try assists, three line breaks and nine tackle busts, a performance the official NRL social media team described as unstoppable.

    Kini was far from the only Titans playmaker to produce a standout attacking display. Winger Jojo Fifita pounced on a loose Eels pass to spark a blistering 85-metre counterattack, linking up with Phil Sami to finish the long-range try that left the crowd stunned. Campbell later put the final cherry on top of the result when he intercepted an errant Parramatta pass to score another late Titans try, capping off a day where everything went right for the Gold Coast side.

    For the Parramatta Eels, the result marks yet another devastating low point in a disastrous start to the 2026 season. The Eels slumped to second-last on the ladder after six rounds, after conceding nine tries and missing a staggering 43 tackles against a Titans side that had struggled for attacking momentum heading into the round. Parramatta’s defensive woes have become the worst in the entire competition this season, with the club already conceding 226 points across the opening six weeks. On Sunday, both the edge and middle defensive lines were repeatedly exposed by Gold Coast’s dynamic attack, leaving head coach Jason Ryles with major questions to answer. Ryles will particularly be frustrated by the ease with which Cooper Bai barged over from close range for a second-half try, one of many soft tries the Eels conceded on the day.

    Parramatta’s attack was little better on Sunday. The side’s only first points came from a try that appeared to come off a clear forward pass, and by the time the Titans hit the 50-point mark late in the match, the home fans at CommBank Stadium voiced their anger with a raucous chorus of boos that rang out across the ground.

    Making matters far worse for the Eels is a worsening injury crisis that has gutted the club’s playing squad ahead of their upcoming fixture. Powerhouse forwards Sam Tuivaiti and Kelma Tuilagi both suffered head knocks during Sunday’s match and will be forced to miss next week’s game, joining a growing list of sidelined stars. The club is already missing starting lock J’maine Hopgood, edge forward Matt Doorey and winger Bailey Simonsson for the entire 2026 season, while Isaiah Iongi and Jonah Pezet are among other key players currently sidelined with injury. Tuivaiti’s injury came just 10 minutes after he came onto the field as a reserve, when his head collided with Arama Hau’s hip while making a tackle, and he was ruled out of the rest of the match immediately after the incident.