Breaking News – Manawau Chiefs are the winners of the inaugural Aupiki Super Rugby competition.

The Chiefs beat the Blues 35-0 in their last game in Hamilton to go through the competition unbeaten.

The Blues had two players stricken at the same time as they defended in the second half.

Luka Connor, Runy Tui, Hazel Tubic, Portia Woodman and Langi Veainu scored tries for the Chiefs.

Poua Hurricanes defeated Matatū 18-6 in Sunday’s other game.

As the teams worked their way through Covid, the competition was shortened to three rounds with the Chiefs-Blues game turning into a title decider.

Lawson on the podium again

New Zealand driver Liam Lawson took the podium again on the opening weekend of the F2 season in Bahrain.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Lawson followed his third place in the sprint race with a second in the distance race.

The Carlin driver started sixth but improved under a few safety car restarts to finish behind France’s Theo Pourchaire.

Lawson finished third in the sprint race yesterday

Fellow New Zealander Marcus Armstrong improved from his 13th starting position to finish fifth.

Lawson is second overall, one point behind Pourchaire, with the next round in Saudi Arabia next weekend.

The breakers beaten again

The New Zealand Breakers suffered their 15th loss of the Australian NBL season, losing 95-85 to the Perth Wildcats.

Yanni Wetzell
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The Breakers were at full strength for only the third time this season and got off to a great start to lead at halftime.

However, Perth fought back to take the lead in the third quarter and never relinquished that lead.

Yanni Wetzell produced 15 points and six rebounds for the Breakers, Finn Delany 14 points, Peyton Siva 13 points and nine assists, Tom Abercrombie 12 points and Will McDowell-White 11 points and five assists.

The Breakers liked it a lot, but as coach Dan Shamir was quick to point out, it wasn’t enough to win.

“We weren’t good enough and internally it feels like the start of the season,” Shamir said.

“In recent games we’ve had the players we’ve been missing and we feel like we’re playing better, and we have more options in all aspects.

“If someone is not playing well we can go to someone else, and I thought the last game was a very high level game and at times this one was also good, but unfortunately not good enough.”

The 5 and 15 Breakers face the Brisbane Bullets in Cairns on Thursday.

Oliveira wins in Indonesia

KTM rider Miguel Oliveira held a wet-weather masterclass and held off world champion Fabio Quartararo in an intense battle to win the Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika as MotoGP returned to the country after a 25-year absence.

Yamaha’s Quartararo qualified on pole position but dropped to fifth before producing a late charge as Oliveira kept his composure to claim his fourth career MotoGP victory in the second race of the delayed season and shortened by rain.

Oliveira got off to a strong start and moved from seventh to second, passing early leaders Quartararo and Jack Miller before building what turned out to be an unassailable lead.

Quartararo was joined by fellow Frenchman Johann Zarco on the podium after the race was cut to 20 laps from 27 due to safety concerns caused by extreme track temperatures and the start was further delayed one hour due to torrential rain.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez missed the race, Indonesia’s first grand prix since 1997, after suffering a concussion following a crash during the warm-up session.

-Reuters

LeBron becomes number two

LeBron James moved up to second on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on a bittersweet night after dropping 38 points to the Washington Wizards in a 127-119 loss to the Lakers. from Los Angeles.

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James, who started his NBA career in 2003, needed 21 points to pass Karl Malone (36,928 points). The 37-year-old now has 36,947 regular season points after playing 113 fewer games than Malone.

James broke through with a second-quarter layup and paid tribute to the crowd who gave him a standing ovation.

But his night was ruined by the Wizards rebounding from a 16-point deficit to beat the ninth-placed Lakers in the Western Conference.

Former Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a six-time NBA champion, leads the scoring with 38,387 points, a record that has stood for 33 years since his retirement in 1989.

James, a four-time NBA champion and 18-time All-Star, is under contract with the Lakers for next season, which will be his fifth with Los Angeles and 20th overall.

-Reuters

Proteas wins the second game

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada took 5-39 as South Africa cruised to a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second One Day International at The Wanderers to line up the three-game series.

Bangladesh opted to bat, but after a poor start they could only manage 194 for nine in their 50 overs. The home team had no trouble chasing the target, which they reached with 76 balls to spare.

They secured 10 points on the ICC World Cup Super League table, where South Africa are battling to finish in the top eight and automatically qualify for the tournament in India next year. .

Bangladesh slumped to 34-for-five as the homegrown tailors bounced exaggeratedly out of the box and grabbed the edge with regularity.

Bangladesh won the opener by 38 points on Friday. The series decider will be played at Centurion Park in Pretoria on Wednesday.

-Reuters

Browns pick up Watson

The Cleveland Browns have acquired quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans, saying they exercised due diligence in signing the 26-year-old on charges of sexual assault and improper conduct.

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More than 20 women came forward last year and filed lawsuits against Watson, who was also investigated by the NFL for allegations they called “deeply disturbing”.

A Texas grand jury declined to indict the quarterback this month.

Watson signed a four-year, $226 million contract extension with the Texans in 2020, but requested a trade last January and did not play last season.

Watson still faces civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct. He denied the allegations.

ESPN has announced that Watson will sign a five-year, $333 million contract. Watson posted an image of himself wearing the Browns uniform on Instagram, saying, “Let’s go, ready to work!”.

-Reuters