Rugby Union: Next year’s rugby World Cup being hosted by England will boost the UK economy by nearly one billion pounds, an economic impact study revealed. The study, undertaken on behalf of the Organising Committee for Rugby World Cup 2015, examined the different ways the tournament will benefit the host nation. According to the report the tournament will generate a total output of about 2.2 billion pounds, which is in line with a previous economic study undertaken by Deloitte in 2008. It predicts that this will result in a contribution of 982 million pounds to national GDP, while any economic benefit will be shared around the 11 host cities.
Formula One: McLaren will not announce their 2015 driver line-up until December, they said this week. The team had previously said they would make the announcement before the 19th and final race in Abu Dhabi this weekend. “In order to avoid distracting the race team from its primary objective... we have decided to defer our final deliberations relating to our 2015 driver line-up until a date no earlier than Monday, December 1,” McLaren said in a statement. The news is eagerly awaited, not least by fans of Britain’s 2009 champion Jenson Button who want to know whether Sunday’s race at Yas Marina is his last in Formula One.
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Golf: Tiger Woods (picture) has lashed out at veteran golf writer Dan Jenkins for penning a fake satirical interview with the 14-times major winner, describing the parody as “a grudge-fuelled piece of character assassination”. Jenkins, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011, wrote the piece for Golf Digest and among various topics he took aim at Woods’s reputation as a bad tipper, his failed marriage and his six-year title drought in the majors. Woods has rarely taken exception to negative articles previously but this time he responded in a column on Derek Jeter’s website, The Players Tribune. “Did you read Dan Jenkins’s interview with me in the latest Golf Digest? I hope not. Because it wasn’t me,” Woods wrote.
Fencing: Four-time Olympian and former International Olympic Committee member Dame Mary Alison Glen-Haig has died, the IOC has announced. Glen-Haig, who represented Great Britain as a fencer at the 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960 Games, was 96. She later went on to enjoy a distinguished career as an administrator, becoming one of the IOC’s first female members and serving on the committee for 12 years from 1982. London-born Glen-Haig also served several roles at the British Olympic Association and the Federation Internationale d’Escrime.
Davis Cup: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic will return to Davis Cup action after a season’s absence when he leads his country against Croatia in the first round in March. “Novak returns to the Serbia Davis Cup team for the first-round tie against Croatia from March 6-8,” said Djokovic’s official website. Djokovic skipped the tournament last season after Serbia fell short in the 2013 final against the Czech Republic, losing 3-2 in Belgrade despite Djokovic winning both his singles rubbers.
Cricket: Australia’s Aaron Finch hit his fifth one-day international century to drive the hosts to a 73-run victory over South Africa in Canberra yesterday and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Finch put on 118 for the first wicket with David Warner (53) and went on to score 109 on a good Manuka Oval wicket before being bowled by Proteas skipper AB de Villiers. Shane Watson hit a bright 40 but it fell to Steve Smith to haul Australia out of a mid-innings slump with a sparkling unbeaten 73 from 55 balls that gave Australia an imposing total of 329 for five.