Rallying: Kris Meeke led a Citroen one-two at the end of the Rally Australia shakedown yesterday. The Northern Irishman posted a time of two minutes 52.9 seconds around the Hydes Creek special stage on the outskirts of Coffs Harbour, situated halfway between Sydney and Brisbane on the New South Wales coast. Meeke finished 0.4secs ahead of fellow Citroen DS3 driver Mads Ostberg, with recent Rally Germany winner Thierry Neuville third in his Hyundai, a further 0.4secs adrift.
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Golf: Rory McIlroy (picture) has won the Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month award for the third time this year following his August triumph at the US PGA Championship. The 25-year-old Northern Irishman clinched the fourth major championship of his career at Valhalla, where he won by one shot from Phil Mickelson. It followed his Open Championship victory in July, and his BMW PGA Championship win in May, both of which were followed by McIlroy being handed the monthly European Tour award recognition.
Rugby League: Salford owner Marwan Koukash and Liverpool-born actor David Morrissey have teamed up to bring a Palestinian refugee to England to improve his rugby league skills. Khaled Issa, 20, will spend 10 days with the Red Devils, training with both the first team and the academy, and hopes to play a game before returning home. Issa, whose family fled to Beirut in Lebanon as refugees, was discovered by the founder of Palestinian Rugby League, Rabie Al Masri, who has been training Palestinian refugees since 2008 and so far has gathered 80 players to form three teams.
Tennis: Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has delayed his comeback from a long lay-off following wrist surgery in March and will miss tournaments in China, Japan and Malaysia over the next two months. “I would like to take this opportunity to tell you, my fans, that although the recovery of the wrist is progressing very well, I need a little more time to reach the competitive level necessary to compete week after week,” Del Potro said on his Facebook page.