Sunderland boss Steve Bruce backed Darren Bent’s claims on a place in England’s World Cup squad after seeing him fire Arsenal to their first defeat in 14 games.

New Zealand 32 Australia 19

Brive 13 Leinster 36

Burnley 3 Sunderland 1

Shay Given has hit out at the reaction of the Aston Villa fans towards Gareth Barry on his first return to the midlands club.

Leinster 30 Munster 0

Fulham 0 Arsenal 1

Kildare, Carlow, Kerry and Down were victorious in the opening round of the 2009 GAA Christy Ring Cup as the competition got underway this afternoon.

The Formula One Teams’ Association is ready to go public and lift the lid on their grievances against the FIA as the battle of wills and words between the two organisations intensifies.

Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty is facing a race to be fit for the key World Cup qualifier against Slovakia and will have a scan on his knee tomorrow.

Iranian authorities have slowed internet connections to a crawl or choked them off completely before expected student protests tomorrow to deny the opposition a vital means of communication.

Scotland 13 Argentina 19

British television presenters Ant and Dec are to donate profits from the next series of their show Saturday Night Takeaway as a “gesture of goodwill” after the ITV phone-in investigation, they announced today.

Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric has warned manager Gary Megson in no uncertain terms his future lies at the Walkers Stadium ahead of today’s Coca-Cola Championship clash at Scunthorpe.

Cambodian police blocked American actress Mia Farrow from holding a rally at a former Khmer Rouge prison today, pushing her group away from a barricade as they tried to lay flowers to commemorate victims of genocide.

John Wells insists England’s rookie pack “know what is coming” when they stand toe to toe with a juggernaut South Africa eight in Bloemfontein tomorrow.

Newport Gwent Dragons 22 Leinster 23

David Beckham’s ankle injury is threatening to cast a shadow over what should be a fairytale ending to the former England captain’s Real Madrid career.

Manchester City bounced back from their mauling against Chelsea to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.

Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has today insisted that England striker Michael Owen is happy on Tyneside.