Rallying: France’s Sebastien Ogier clinched victory in the Rally of Mexico yesterday to extend his lead at the top of the World Championship standings. Volkswagen driver Ogier put an early-morning tech-nical issue behind him to complete a re-sounding win by more than three minutes from Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen. The Frenchman spent 20 minutes fixing a sensor after the morning’s opening Guanajuatito stage. Belgium’s Thierry Neuville finished third.
Winter Sport: Scotland have been crowned men’s World Junior Curling champions for the first time since 1996 after a 6-2 victory over hosts Russia in Sochi yesterday. The team skipped by Kyle Smith established an early lead and did not allow the Russians to score a point until the eighth end, by which time gold was effectively secured. The win meant more world joy for the Muirhead family, with Tom Muirhead taking a win to match sister Eve, who won four world junior titles between 2007 and 2011.
Basket, NBA: New York Knicks learned they would lose Amare Stoudemire for six weeks due to knee surgery but still had too much for the slumping Utah Jazz. The Knicks were already without Carmelo Anthony but still defeated the Jazz 113-84 as JR Smith scored 24 points and Steve Novak had a season-high 20. Alec Burks scored 14 points and Gordon Hayward had 13 for the Jazz. Utah played without starting forward Paul Millsap because of a knee inflammation.
Rugby Union: Australia suffered a hammer blow in their preparations for this year’s tour of the British and Irish Lions when flanker David Pocock was ruled out for the season with a knee injury. Openside Pocock’s ability to turn over ball at the breakdown would have made him one of the first names on the team sheet for three tests against the Lions in June and July and he was also a contender to captain the hosts. The 24-year-old ACT Brumbies forward injured his left knee in a Super Rugby match on Saturday, coming off the pitch early in the first half after being tackled by Adam Ashley-Cooper of New South Wales Waratahs.
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Golf: An on-fire Tiger Woods (picture) took a four-stroke lead over Graeme McDowell into the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami after shooting a five-under-par 67 at Doral on Saturday. Woods, searching for his 76th PGA Tour victory, finished his third round in fine style with a 16-foot birdie putt on the 18th, highlighting his outstanding work on the greens so far in the tournament. The 14-times major winner finished the day at 18-under for a 198 total, while McDowell’s three-under par 69 put him on 14-under at 202. Woods has never lost a final round where he has led by three or more strokes.
Cricket: England’s batsmen showed the resilience they had been lacking in their first innings to battle to a draw in the first of three tests against New Zealand at University Oval yesterday. The tourists, who had been bundled out for 167 in their first innings, were 421 for six with a lead of 128 runs when captains Alastair Cook and Brendon McCullum agreed a result was unlikely in the remaining 15 overs available on the final day. Ian Bell, on 26, and wicketkeeper Matt Prior on 23 were at the crease when the match ended, having snuffed out New Zealand’s slim hopes of victory in the final session. The series resumes in Wellington next week with the third test taking place in Auckland starting on March 22.
Boxing: Ageless American Bernard Hopkins bettered his own record as the oldest man to win a world boxing title last weekend, claiming the IBF light heavyweight crown with a convincing victory against an opponent 17 years his junior. The 48-year-old boxer claimed a unanimous decision against Tavoris Cloud, winning 116-112, 116-112 and 117-111 on the judges’ cards at Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre to eclipse his 2011 WBC light heavyweight title victory over Jean Pascal at the age of 46. Hopkins opened a cut on Cloud’s left eye in round six with a short left hook even though refe-ree Earl Brown ruled it to be from an accidental headbutt.