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Ulster: Richie Murphy’s side want to ‘salvage’ season in Challenge Cup final – Nick Timoney

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Ulster looked to have clinched a top-eight place at the Affidea Stadium after they had come from behind in the second half to lead by a point with 12 minutes remaining.

The Warriors, however, were not to be denied a win that earned them top spot in the standings, as they won the game with a late try from Kyle Rowe.

It proved to be another frustrating outing in Belfast for Ulster following on from their dramatic 38-38 draw with Stormers the last time out, with Timoney disappointed that they couldn’t get over the line in both games on home soil.

“Two home games to finish the season against teams one and two in the table, but you’ve got to be backing yourself to win at home, so it’s disappointing we haven’t got it done,” he added.

“Similar to last week, probably some great stuff in attack but then they had some great stuff in attack and we couldn’t stop it.

“It’s probably another cracker of a game to watch if you’re a neutral. We want half of that, to be an exciting team to watch. It’s hard to put your finger on it, a lot of little moments, but not enough of them went our way.

“There’s no looking past next week, so while this is disappointing, there’s an opportunity to salvage something.”

Timoney, who will likely captain Ulster in the European final with Iain Henderson suspended and Stuart McCloskey out injured, believes that the “real fight and spirit” Ulster have shown this season will stand them in good stead to respond against Montpellier.

The 30-year-old conceded that while their defence was “better” against Glasgow it “still needs to go up a level or two” in the final if they are to get over the line.

“We’re going to struggle if we’re conceding as many points as we have. We spent a lot of time on it this week and saw a few areas of improvement, but need to go again and when we make it harder for teams to score against us, we’ve shown how dangerous we are.

“Going into a final sometimes the technicalities of the rugby are secondary to the spirit you take into it, so I guess there’s a big positive there for us.

“In the past or last season probably we would have laid down against Glasgow and taken a bit more of a beating whereas we fought back and stayed in the fight against a really good team.”

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Jhonatan Narvaez claims second stage win of 2026 Giro d’Italia

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Giro d’Italia stage 8 results

1. Jhonatan Narvaez (Ecu/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3hrs 27mins 26secs

2. Andreas Leknessund (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) +32secs

3. Martin Tjotta (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) +42secs

4. Thomas Silva (Uru/XDS Astana) +44secs

5. Lorenzo Milesi (Ita/Movistar) same time

6. Christian Scaroni (Ita/XDS Astana) +48secs

7. Corbin Strong (Nzl/NSN Cycling) +55secs

8. Juan Pedro Lopez (Spa/Movistar) same time

9. Wout Poels (Ned/Unibet Rose Rockets) +58secs

10. Markel Beloki (Spa/EF Education – EasyPost) +1min

Giro d’Italia general classification results after stage 8

1. Afonso Eulalio (Por/Bahrain-Victorious) 34hrs 28mins 42secs

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Team Visma-Lease a Bike) +3min 15secs

3. Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon) +3min 34secs

4. Christian Scaroni (Ita/XDS Astana) +4min 18secs

5. Jai Hindley (Aus/Red Bull – BORA) +4min 23secs

6. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita/Red Bull – BORA) +4min 28secs

7. Ben O’Connor (Aus/Team Jayco AlUla) +4min 32secs

8. Mathys Rondel (Fra/Tudor Pro Cycling Team) +4min 56secs

9. Thymen Arensman (Ned/Netcompany Ineos) +5mins 7secs

10. Michael Storer (Aus/Tudor Pro Cycling Team) +5min 11secs

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Mohamed Salah says Liverpool must return to “heavy metal” football

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Salah, who announced his decision to leave Anfield in March, told reporters in December that his relationship with head coach Slot had broken down.

The winger, winner of a record four Premier League Golden Boot awards, scored 29 times in the 2024-25 Premier League as the Reds won the title in Slot’s first season in charge.

But he has been unable to match the heights of last term, finding the net just 12 times in 40 games across all competitions this season before his final game against Brentford next Sunday.

It was under previous manager Klopp that Liverpool were associated with “heavy metal” football – a term the German used to describe his high-energy, counter-pressing style of play.

“Winning some games here and there is not what Liverpool should be about. All teams win games,” Salah said.

Liverpool will always be a club that means a great deal to me and to my family. I want to see it succeed for long after I have moved on.

“As I’ve always said, qualifying to next season’s Champions League is the bare minimum and I will do everything I can to make that happen.”

Below Salah’s post, Liverpool team-mates Curtis Jones and Hugo Ekitike commented with applauding and handshake emojis respectively.

Reds defender Andrew Robertson, who will also leave the club this summer, wrote similarly on Instagram: “A performance which sums up our season. A long way short of the levels of this club and what you rightly expect of us.”

On a personal note, he added: “But I can only thank you for the last nine years of travelling up and down the country and all over the world packing out away ends wherever we go! Will see you next week for one last time.”

Former Feyenoord boss Slot has suggested the summer transfer window will be critical for him.

Speaking about supporter frustration after Friday’s defeat, he said: “I think then they are underestimating what a window can do, what a new start can do, and I think we know quite well what to improve.

“I think one of the things we have to improve is also very, very, very obvious, and I would have preferred not to talk about it here, but you’re actually almost forcing me to.

“If you miss nine players that can start a game of football, and almost all of them are starters for us or have been for large part of the season, then if you add that to what you can improve in a window and add that to players that are playing for the second season in the Premier League, that will automatically lead to much more.”

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Women’s Super League: Why summers of change beckon for Arsenal and Chelsea

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Chelsea entered Saturday sitting two points behind Arsenal and ended it in the same place.

By half-time of the fixtures on the final day it became apparent they had little to play for given Arsenal were already three up at Liverpool, eventually winning 3-1, with Alessia Russo scoring twice.

At Stamford Bridge meanwhile, Kerr marked her final appearance with a fine finish for the game’s only goal against Manchester United.

That goal was her 116th for the club, equaling Fran Kirby’s record for the most goals for Chelsea in all competitions.

Kerr, who has been linked with a move to the United States, said it has been the “biggest honour” to play for Chelsea.

“I have so many amazing memories and I will carry them with me forever,” she told Sky Sports. “Chelsea and London will always be home to me now.

“My little boy was born here and I have so many great friends at this amazing club. It’s going to be hard to leave but I only have good things to say about this amazing club.”

Arsenal have now got the better of Chelsea on two fronts this season, both knocking them out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals and preventing them reaching it automatically next year.

While being unable to catch City may leave a sour note for the Gunners, their league performance this season was better than last year as they picked up three more points across the campaign.

McCabe managed an assist in her last game for the club and expressed her joy at captaining the side for one last time before she departs.

“I was just enjoying every second of it,” she said. “My team talk was to go out and enjoy it and play the Arsenal way, play our football, and we certainly did it. We were playing with smiles on our faces. I’m just delighted I could end with a win.”

Both sides will rebuild in the summer, with Chelsea needing a striker to replace Kerr. They are favourites to sign Manchester City’s out-of-contract Khadija Shaw.

Arsenal, meanwhile, will likely seek squad depth to help them cope more easily with a cramped fixture schedule next season.

They too have been heavily linked with some big signings, including Bayern Munich and England midfielder Georgia Stanway and Barcelona full-back Ona Batlle.

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