Sports
George injury as Saracens fall to Castres defeat
England hooker Jamie George hurt his hamstring as three-time winners Saracens fell to a shock 32-24 home defeat by Castres in the Investec Champions Cup.
George, who was replaced by Maro Itoje as England captain on Tuesday, came on for Theo Dan in the second half but left the StoneX pitch in the closing minutes as Saracens missed out on a home tie in the last 16.
The 34-year-old’s failure to finish the match raises concerns about his fitness for England’s Six Nations opener in Ireland on 1 February.
“Jamie has hurt his hamstring,” said director of rugby Mark McCall. “We’re not quite sure how serious that hamstring is at the moment.”
Facing a Castres side who had not won away in Europe for 12 years and changed their entire starting XV after last week’s win over the Bulls, Saracens were favourites to secure second place in Pool 3 and with it home advantage in the knockout stage.
They led through two tries apiece from England forwards Dan and Ben Earl but could not hold on as Castres took the lead thanks to captain Adrien Seguret’s second try.
Saracens lacked the attacking power of their opponents’ backs and were unable to score the converted try that would have put them back in front.
The Top 14 side, who appointed Xavier Sadourny as head coach earlier in January, sealed a deserved win with a late penalty from Louis le Brun, sparking wild celebrations from their team.
Saracens had already qualified for the last 16 but will face a tricky away trip to Pool 4 winners Toulon in April after finishing fourth in their group.
Northampton Saints won the pool with Castres moving ahead of Munster to finish in second place, the first time the French side have reached the knockout stage since 2002.
‘A really poor performance
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy will compete in this year’s Irish Open at the K-Club in County Kildare.
The Holywood player’s only success in his home tournament came at the same venue in 2016.
McIlroy produced a superb birdie-par-eagle finish in the final round to secure victory by three shots.
In September last year, the world number three finished second in the Irish Open at Royal County Down, one shot behind winner Rasmus Hoejgaard.
McIlroy will aim to double his tally of wins at the tournament from 3-7 September.
Gregor Townsend says Scotland “have to be able to cope with injuries” after losing Sione Tuipulotu for the Six Nations.
Rory Darge and Finn Russell will step in as co-captains with Tuipulotu to have pectoral muscle surgery. The Glasgow Warriors centre is expected back by the end of the domestic season, keeping his British and Irish Lions hopes alive.
“It’s more the blow for him,” said Townsend. “We really feel for him.
“We had three players that got injured and, when it’s so close to the tournament, it’s obviously really disappointing.
“For the team, you have to be able to cope with injuries. They’re going to happen leading up to a tournament, but also they’re going to happen within the tournament.”
Former Scotland defender Jen Beattie has announced her retirement after a successful 16-year career.
The 33-year-old ends her time at United States club Bay FC having previously spent nine years at Arsenal across two spells, making 166 appearances.
Beattie, who retired from international football in 2022, scored 24 goals in 143 games for Scotland and played at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
She says the “timing felt right” to retire, and hopes to do more broadcasting, having worked with BBC Sport and Sky Sports.
“I’m nervous, I’m excited and all the things, but I’m ready for what’s next,” she added.
“To be honest, I think it’s probably been on my mind for a couple of years now. It’s probably been on my mind even before I retired from Scotland.
“Since I’ve been doing the broadcasting a little bit more I’ve just had so much enjoyment from it.
“Leaving Arsenal at any point was always going to be hard. So it’s been on my mind for a while. Not being at my best anymore, I just felt like it was the right time.”
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