Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 11 March 12:30 pm

Good day, let’s look at the latest sports news and scores:

# We start off with soccer: World governing body FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, says US president Donald Trump has assured him Iran’s team would be welcome in the country during the World Cup, co-hosted with Canada and Mexico. Iran wasn’t present during last week’s planning session for the tournament in Atlanta following the US and Israel’s attacks on the country. Infantino says everyone needs an event like the World Cup to bring people together, now more than ever. The tournament kicks off on the 11th of June.

# Rugby: England’s, coach Steve Borthwick, has made only one change to his starting line-up to face France in the final round of the Six Nations in Paris on Saturday. Ollie Chessum will start at blindside flanker as Sam Underhill, who is set to make his 50th England appearance, drops to the bench. Borthwick’s side will be looking to avoid a fourth successive Six Nations defeat against title-hopefuls France, following losses to Scotland, Ireland, and Italy.

Meanwhile, several experts are now very quiet after predicting a totally different outcome for England in the Six Nations. The team entered the competition on an 11-match winning streak and beat Wales in the first round, but then suffered three consecutive losses. Pundits such as former English players Mike Tindall and James Haskell even predicted a first Grand Slam in ten years for England during a podcast, which had since been deleted.

# Cricket: Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden will coach Gujarat Titans’ batters in this year’s Indian Premier League. He played for Australia in a total of 273 matches, scoring 15-thousand runs before retiring from the international game in 2009. Hayden also played 32 IPL games for Chennai Super Kings, helping them clinch the title in 2010. The 54-year-old says good batting applies pressure, while great batting owns games, which is the standard he wants to set at Titans. This year’s IPL starts on the 28th of this month.

# And road running: Kenyan marathon legend and world champion Eliud Kipchoge will begin a global seven-continent marathon tour at the Cape Town Marathon on May 24. The series of seven marathons across all seven continents aims to inspire healthier lifestyles and unite communities through running while raising funds for the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation. Organisers expect more than 27-thousand runners at the event, which is also bidding to become Africa’s first World Marathon Major.

Stay tuned for more news………….