Rugby Union: South Africa coach Allister Coetzee has defied calls to quit after the worst year in Springbok history, saying yesterday he was determined to fix the problem and see out his contract. “I’ve been appointed to 2019 and I want to make sure that when I leave I do so with a firm, concrete, tangible blueprint in place for how the Springboks must be run,” he told reporters as the team returned home after defeats to England, Italy and Wales. “Sometimes things have got to go as low as they can before they can go upwards again.”

Olympics: German state broadcasters ARD and ZDF said they will not show the Olympic Games for the first time, having failed to clinch a deal to buy broadcast rights from Discovery Communications. Discovery last year won the European broadcast rights for the Olympics from 2018 to 2024 for €1.3 billion ($1.38 billion), beating out national public broadcasters like the BBC or France Television. But Discovery had been expected to pass on some lucrative rights.

Cricket: Ravindra Jadeja led India’s strong lower-order batting display with a career-best 90 before spin partner Ravichandran Ashwin wrecked England’s top order to put the hosts firmly in charge of the third test yesterday. Jadeja fell agonisingly short of his maiden test century but shared 75-plus partnerships with Ashwin and Jayant Yadav to give India, who were all out for 417, a handy first-innings lead of 134 runs. Ashwin struck three times in the final session as England, 1-0 down in the five-match series, slumped to 78-4 at the end of third day, still 56 runs behind.