• Updates from the rugby league clash at Allegiant Stadium
• Australia v England Women, Panthers v Sharks to come
• Kick off time is 4pm in Las Vegas/12pm GMT/11am AEDT
• Any thoughts? Get in touch with Angus on email

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has taken inspiration from the poker tables at his hotel and reshuffled his pack for today’s game against the Warriors. Josh Papalii will start, and Morgan Smithies revert to the bench. Smart move to unleash big Papa from the get-go. Vegas won’t know what hit it…

Ethan Strange and Jamal Fogarty will run the side from the halves. Corey Horsburgh and Joseph Tapine will bring muscle up the middle. There are a couple of fresh faces in the lime green line-up. Owen Pattie will debut from the bench and Savelio Tamale plays his second NRL game on the wing.

Warrington Wolves were handily beaten in Nevada but the magic of Matt Peet’s Warriors side lit up Sin City

Today, Las Vegas: tomorrow, the world? Only in the weeks, months and years to come will we know the lasting impact of Super League’s first foray into the United States but, while so many things felt new, one thing was eerily familiar: the brilliance of Wigan Warriors.

Matt Peet’s side have made it their habit to bring out their best on the biggest stages and in Nevada, with more eyes on them than ever, they certainly did not wilt as they beat Warrington 48-24, from 42-0 up.

The Arsenal forward, once England’s key player, is only 30 but his confidence is shot and his career on a downward curve

In Rafa Benítez’s first season in English football, he rested Steven Gerrard for an FA Cup tie at Burnley, who were in the Championship. When Liverpool lost, there was a predictable backlash and, from certain quarters, derision as Benítez explained his rotation policy and the need to manage the number of minutes each player played.

Social media being in its infancy, it wasn’t quite the culture war that it would have become today, but certain old-school football men clearly felt that players should just get on with it: hard work never hurt anyone. But at the same time a piece of ancient wisdom kept surfacing, usually from elderly coaches who had spent a lifetime in the game: as a rule of thumb, however much they play, whatever age they start, a player has 500 games in them.

McLaren the frontrunners in a tight title race, Hamilton reborn at Ferrari and Williams hoping for big things

Constructors’ champions last season, McLaren finished strongly and the winter has been productive. The MCL39 appears to have a genuine edge on a competitive field. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were circumspect about their car and it did demonstrate a spot of instability in the rear but their confidence on track has been palpable. They look to have taken the stable platform of last season and improved it with the long-run race simulations presenting a fearsome pace, even given all the usual caveats of fuel loads, temperatures and card-holding in testing. When off the leash for a burst of potentially qualifying pace it was impressive on the brief occasions McLaren opted to show their hand, Norris aborting one flying lap that would have set tongues wagging. That early show of pace has not gone unnoticed by the other teams, with Lewis Hamilton among others acknowledging that McLaren are set to be sharp from the off – the start Norris has long craved for a tilt at the title.

• Head coach ponders different Test, ODI and T20 captains
• McCullum may look to domestic game for new leader

Brendon McCullum is open to the concept of three England men’s captains – and possibly even appointing one from outside the current setup – as he attempts to revive the white-ball teams and ensure a winter of misery does not bleed into the Test side.

Signing off from the Champions Trophy with a seven-wicket shellacking at the hands of South Africa – a seventh successive one-day-international defeat – McCullum admitted England were poor in “all facets of the game” and lessons needed to be learned. His review will also mean identifying a successor to Jos Buttler as white-ball captain.

Eliezer Mayenda tormented Sheffield Wednesday once again as his controversial double helped Sunderland boost their Championship automatic promotion hopes with a 2-1 victory at Hillsborough.

The Spaniard scored two goals during the Black Cats’ 4-0 win over Wednesday in August and he grabbed both, including a highly contentious opener after what appeared to be a handball, on Friday night to help his side move within five points of second-placed Sheffield United with a return to winning ways after successive league defeats.

Aston Villa continue to blow hot and cold but, with Marco Asensio scoring another two goals, they progressed to the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time since they went on to reach the final in 2015, with some comfort.

Unai Emery’s team can go from beating Chelsea 3-1, when Asensio scored his other pair of Villa goals last Saturday, to losing 4-1 at ­Crystal ­Palace on Tuesday. But, four points off fifth place in the Premier League and with a last-16 tie with Club Brugge to relish on Tuesday, all ­feasible ­targets remain on the table.

• Professional clubs want to oust RFL chair Simon Johnson
• Governing body says any such move would breach rules

The Rugby Football League has warned clubs that an attempt to sideline the sport’s governing body and replace its chair could have “catastrophic financial consequences” after taking legal advice to stave off a planned revolt.

Rugby league’s professional clubs will assemble in March to consider a proposal put forward by the Super League club Leigh Leopards and Championship side Batley Bulldogs, which calls for the immediate removal of Simon Johnson, after a purported loss of confidence in the direction of the governing body.

A gap in the TV listings represents a large hole for those who loved its cycling, snooker and tennis output

After a scenic ride through the winding lanes between Marín and A Estrada, a 36-year journey reached its close. The last winner ever to grace British and Irish Eurosport was Magnus Cort, whose dominant second stage victory in O Gran Camiño was enough to leave fans wanting plenty more. “Another great moment,” acclaimed the commentary, but it would be the final one on a channel that had become cycling’s home.

Eurosport’s farewell at around 2am on Friday came with little fanfare. Cort’s victory blended into a recurring advert promoting the integration into TNT Sports and the Discovery+ streaming platform, where the pick of its offerings will now reside. “Eurosport channels in the UK and Ireland have now closed,” advised a voice above reels of skiers, cyclists, rugby players, footballers and motocross riders. “The sports you love have moved to TNT Sports”.

Jos Buttler’s decision to step down emphasises the task their coach faces to reinvigorate England’s white-ball teams

Once Jos Buttler walked into the press conference room at Karachi’s National Stadium on Friday night, flanked by Brendon McCullum, what followed was no surprise. This Champions Trophy was always make or break for England’s white-ball captain and, after two defeats extinguished any semi-final hopes, the latter won out.

The cat was pretty much out of the bag two nights earlier in Lahore when, slightly shell-shocked from England’s failed run chase against Afghanistan, Buttler said he would be considering his future. When a captain begins openly asking whether they are “part of the problem” – Buttler’s words that evening – the story rarely ends any other way.