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Liverpool teenager Ngumoha signs professional deal

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Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha has signed his first professional contract with the Premier League champions.

Ngumoha, 17, scored a 100th-minute winner against Newcastle on his Premier League debut last month.

Liverpool have not confirmed the length of Ngumoha’s new deal.

The forward left Chelsea’s academy to join the Reds in September 2024 and has made five senior appearances for the club.

In January, Ngumoha became the youngest player to start a match for Liverpool – aged 16 years and 135 days old – in a 4-0 win over Accrington in the FA Cup.

He was also handed a Champions League debut this month when the Reds beat Atletico Madrid at Anfield.

Ngumoha has featured for England at various junior levels and made his debut for the under-19s on 3 September.

He was regarded as the best player in his age group at Chelsea but moved to Liverpool because he believed there was a better pathway to first-team football.

This was despite attempted assurances and several significant future contracts having been offered by the Blues.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot included Ngumoha in his first-team picture in pre-season this year, starting him against Athletic Club in August.

Playing from the left wing, Ngumoha scored just two minutes into the encounter and he left the field to a standing ovation midway through the second half.

That performance came on the back of an assist against AC Milan and goal against Yokohama F. Marinos in Asian friendlies.

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Harvey earns breaststroke gold as GB win six medals

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  • 12 minutes ago

Grace Harvey won gold in the women’s SB5 100m breaststroke as Great Britain added a further six medals to their tally at the World Para Swimming Championships in Singapore.

Harvey, 27, finished nearly four seconds ahead of Ukraine’s Anna Hontar to win in one minute 42.88 seconds and reclaim the title she last won in 2022.

It was Great Britain’s 11th gold of the Championships.

“It was such an exciting race with Anna going out fast and that’s great competition for the SB5 class, but to bring home the win, I’m beyond happy,” said Harvey.

“I’ve been training breaststroke all season and this was the one, my child, my baby, so I gave it everything today and couldn’t have put another stroke in. That was the perfect race for me.”

Alice Tai, who won four golds in the competition’s first four days, added a silver medal to her collection alongside Bruce Dee, Roan Brennan, and Faye Rogers in the mixed 4x100m medley.

They set a British record of 4:31.65 as they finished behind Spain.

Earlier on day five, Rogers collected an individual silver in the women’s S10 100m butterfly, finishing just three-hundredths of a second behind Turkey’s Defne Kurt.

Elsewhere, Rhys Darbey broke the former world record mark as he finished second behind Brazil’s Gabriel Bandeira in the men’s SM14 200m individual medley. His time of 2:05.84 is a European record.

“It’s nice to go under that old world record mark, and for two of us to go under it is unbelievable,” Darbey said.

In the women’s SM14 200m individual medley, Olivia Newman-Baronius took silver and Bethany Firth bronze, with team-mate Poppy Maskill in fourth place.

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‘Trust what we’ve built’ – England & Canada unchanged for final

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Updated 21 minutes ago

England and Canada have named unchanged teams for the Women’s Rugby World Cup final on Saturday at Twickenham.

Red Roses head coach John Mitchell has opted to stick with the same starting XV and replacements who overcame a slow start to defeat France 35-17 in the semi-finals.

Zoe Aldcroft captains England in their seventh straight World Cup final.

England have not won the tournament since 2014, losing the past two finals to New Zealand.

Star full-back Ellie Kildunne, Abby Dow, Zoe Harrison, Amy Cokayne, Aldcroft, Abbie Ward and Alex Matthews remain from the starting XV defeated by the Black Ferns three years ago.

Scrum-half Natasha Hunt and Matthews also played in the 2014 final.

Centre Meg Jones and wing Jess Breach, who has scored six tries in the World Cup, will be the only England players to have started all six games in the 2025 tournament.

The Red Roses, who are on a record 32-Test winning run, have not lost since their defeat at Eden Park in the 2022 final.

They went into that match having won their previous 30 games, and are up against an in-form Canada side on Saturday.

England have a record-setting side that Mitchell trusts. When on form, they can be clinical in attack and resilient in defence.

“We are never going to be perfect, but to win this tournament you don’t have to be perfect,” head coach Mitchell said, urging his players to “trust what we have built”.

Kevin Rouet’s Canada, ranked number two in the world, have looked a class above all their opponents this tournament and delivered a remarkable semi-final performance to sweep past New Zealand and reach their first World Cup final since they lost to England in 2014.

Canada are semi-professional, and have had to crowdfund nearly a third of the budget for their World Cup campaign – they are currently 95% of the way towards their million-dollar fundraising goal entitled Mission: Win Rugby World Cup.

His side, who lost the semi-final 26-19 to England at the last World Cup, is captained by centre Alex Tessier and contains star goal-kicking lock Sophie de Goede.

Eight of the starting XV play in the Premiership Women’s Rugby league for English sides.

“I think we were very close in the last World Cup,” said Rouet, who was appointed just over six months before that tournament.

“We lost in the semi-finals against England and I would say all of the metrics were in our favour but not the score, so it’s kind of hard sometimes.

“But we were not ready on those high pressure games to deliver and I think that’s a big difference.

“We changed the way we play, for sure, and I think I saw a year and a half ago that we were going in the right direction and we do a lot of good stuff.”

Canada’s team contains three survivors from 2014 World Cup final defeat – flanker Karen Pauqin starts, fellow forwards Olivia DeMerchant and Tyson Beukeboom are named on the bench.

England have been professional since 2019 and are favourites to win a home World Cup in front of an 82,000-capacity, sold-out Twickenham.

Saturday’s crowd will surpass the 58,498 who watched England beat France at the same stadium in the 2023 Six Nations – the previous record for a XV-a-side match – and the 66,000 who watched the women’s rugby sevens at Stade de France during the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

“Our staff and players have worked hard to reach this stage of the tournament,” Mitchell said.

“Playing a World Cup final at Allianz Stadium [Twickenham] in front of a record 82,000 is a significant milestone for the sport.

“We are well prepared for the challenge against Canada. It is number one versus number two in the world, and we know the contest will demand a full 80 minutes. Our focus remains on staying in our process and executing effectively.”

His side defeated Canada by nine points when they met in the WXV1 last year in Vancouver.

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Women’s Rugby World Cup final: England v Canada

Saturday, 27 September at 16:00 BST

Allianz Stadium, Twickenham

Live on BBC One, BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website and app

Line-ups

England: Kildunne; Dow, Jones, Heard, Breach; Harrison, Hunt; Botterman, Cokayne, Muir, Talling, Ward, Aldcroft (capt), Kabeya, Matthews.

Replacements: Atkin-Davies, Clifford, Bern, Galligan, Feaunati, L Packer, Aitchison, Rowland.

Canada: Schell; Corrigan, Symonds, Tessier (capt), Hogan-Rochester; Perry, Pelletier; Hunt, Tuttosi, Menin, De Goede, O’Donnell, Crossley, Paquin, Forteza.

Replacements: Boag, Kassil, Demerchant, Beukeboom, Royer, Senft, Apps, Seumenutafa.

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Why has Mitchell stuck with the same team?

Holly Aitchison impressed off the bench at inside centre in the semi-final win, while former England World Cup-winner Kat Merchant had called for Lucy Packer to start at scrum-half over Hunt.

Packer is quick to get the ball moving away from the breakdown, which could help get England’s backline firing better and mean they do not have to rely on individual moments of brilliance from Kildunne.

But Mitchell, as expected, has gone for consistency in selection instead of making a big call to unsettle his preferred matchday 23.

“It is about trusting what we have built already. Our players don’t always need to be perfect. We have been effective and that is all that matters,” Mitchell said.

“Canada have been outstanding and have played some really great rugby. We believe it is going to take an 80-minute performance.

“They have grown as well and are fitter. They deserve to be in the final.”

One selection which illustrates Mitchell’s point about selection being based on the trust they have built over the past two years – rather than being based on the semi-final – is the retention of Tatyana Heard.

The inside centre struggled against France but over time has formed a formidable partnership with Jones, who has been a standout performer and works best alongside her midfield partner.

Heard runs hard and straight, helping create space for Jones to use her lethal footwork, while replacement Aitchison is a different style of inside centre as a second playmaker.

Mitchell also values his bench combinations and the impact they can bring.

Both Aitchison and Packer performed well last Saturday and because of that will be expected to make an impact in the second half of the final.

England usually finish games strongly, with their bench adding impetus, and in a World Cup final that is likely to be vital.

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The battles England need to win in World Cup final

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Canada delivered a memorable performance as they outclassed holders New Zealand to reach Saturday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final.

Ranked number two in the world, Kevin Rouet’s side have been excellent throughout the tournament and are confident of overcoming World Cup hosts England at Twickenham.

What key battles do the Red Roses need to get on the right side of to lift a first World Cup since 2014?

DaLeaka Menin v Hannah Botterman

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England’s scrum has yet to be put under serious pressure but Canada’s forwards have the power to match the Red Roses.

Prop forward Menin, described as “a terrifying prospect” in the loose, is the cornerstone of their impressive pack.

Menin made 13 carries against the Black Ferns – the second most of any Canada player in the game – and has started all five games in the World Cup.

But her work at the set-piece is equally impressive.

“For me, she’s the best tight-head [prop] in the world,” said Canada head coach Rouet. “There is no question.”

Menin, who plays her club rugby for Exeter Chiefs alongside hooker Emily Tuttosi, is a powerful scrummager and will look to put pressure on England loose-head prop Botterman.

Botterman’s scrummaging has improved under Mitchell to earn a regular starting spot, but it is her ability to make turnovers and carry the ball into heavy traffic that are her foremost strengths.

Locking down the scrum against Menin will be central to England’s success and would further increase Botterman’s case for player of the tournament.

‘World-class’ De Goede v unsung Talling

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Second row De Goede was nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year having only played eight games in 2025.

The goal-kicking Canada forward has been in outstanding form since returning to action following an anterior cruciate ligament injury in June 2024.

The 26-year-old won player of the match in both the pool-stage win over Wales – a performance which included 20 carries for 108 metres gained – and the quarter-final against Australia.

She also scored a try in both knockout games and has recorded the most successful kicks for goal (21) in the tournament. England know that any ill-discipline could be costly.

“Her all-round game is through the roof. She has a phenomenal skill-set and is world class,” former Wales international Siwan Lillicrap told BBC Sport.

De Goede, who plays in back row for Saracens in the Premiership Women’s Rugby league, is not a traditional lock compared to England’s Morwenna Talling.

The 23-year-old, who is second in England’s tournament tackle stats with 67, has become a key cog in the England pack thanks to the physicality she brings to the game.

Talling’s unsung work was rewarded with a quarter-final try and a player-of-the-match performance against Scotland.

Her rise over Mitchell’s tenure has also helped free up captain Zoe Aldcroft to move from the second row to blind-side flanker.

You would expect Talling to be tasked with combating the brilliance of De Goede, with her work at mauls a potential way to expend some of the Canadian’s energy.

Justine Pelletier v Natasha Hunt

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Scrum-half Pelletier picked up the player-of-the-match award in the semi-final win over the Black Ferns, scoring a well-taken opening try.

The 29-year-old plays her club rugby in France for Stade Bordelais and is a livewire around the breakdown.

For De Goede’s try against New Zealand, Pelletier broke away and threw a ridiculous one-handed offload back inside to send the lock through a gap.

Her high energy and ability to find holes will mean England’s defence around the ruck will have to be very sharp and diligent.

England’s number nine Hunt, 36, plays a different style to Pelletier and is more focused on controlling the pace of the game and organising her team.

Sat behind the breakdown in defence, the 2014 World Cup winner will demand her forwards work hard around the fringes and endeavour to get the ball away as fast as possible to England’s devastating runners.

Hunt, who was not selected in England’s squad at the last World Cup, will back her superior kicking game in what will be a fascinating clash of styles.

Replacement Lucy Parker is used by Mitchell to bring similar high levels of energy off the bench and that decision might need to happen sooner than usual to counter Pelletier.

Alex Tessier v Tatyana Heard

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Centre Tessier, who can also play fly-half, is another Exeter Chief the England players will know well.

Rouet opted to hand Tessier the captaincy for the tournament while De Goede got back up to speed from injury.

The added pressure to live up to De Goede’s standards has not affected Tessier, who set up a try and also crossed herself against the Black Ferns.

A large reason why Canada’s attack has worked so well is because of Tessier’s ability to help link play with her fellow backs.

England centres Heard and Megan Jones will need to shut down Tessier’s space by defending hard and fast – a role Jones has had plenty of success with during the tournament.

Heard struggled to impose her direct and powerful carrying game against France in the semi-final.

The 30-year-old is one of Mitchell’s most reliable performers but is yet to hit her best form during the tournament.

Given the superiority in size and dynamism, Heard could make valuable metres down Tessier’s channel, who is unlikely to dominate the match-up physically.

Asia Hogan-Rochester v Abby Dow

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Expect fireworks out wide.

Wing Hogan-Rochester, who played with a broken leg against New Zealand in May, is not short on confidence.

The 26-year-old sevens flyer was central to helping Canada secure a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, knocking out hosts France on the way to the final.

Three tries at this World Cup, including a sharp finish from a strong hand-off against the Black Ferns, mean England wing Dow will have to be on high alert defensively.

Dow can match Hogan-Rochester for pace and scorching individual tries, making for an epic match-up.

When asked about coming up against England’s back three, Hogan-Rochester told BBC Sport: “I love it. We would have to have a race [to find out which back three is quickest].

“The goal this weekend is not to do anything different and be exactly who we are.”

Where Dow’s game has continued to grow is her defence, with the 27-year-old the best defender in England’s outstanding back three.

Hogan-Rochester is yet to be properly tested in defence and Dow will fancy her chances of adding to her 50 international tries.

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