Rugby Union: Ireland added fit-again Jared Payne to their squad for the final two Six Nations games against Wales and England, giving coach Joe Schmidt an extra backline option as he bids for a third Six Nations title in four years. Payne, a regular feature at centre for Ireland before suffering a kidney injury last November that kept him out of the opening three championship games, returned off the bench for his province Ulster last weekend. The New Zealand-born back would also give Schmidt an option at fullback if Rob Kearney fails to recover from the foot injury that forced him off during Saturday’s 19-9 victory over France.
Golf: Simon Hobday, one of golf’s most colourful characters, has died aged 76, South Africa’s Sunshine Tour announced yesterday. Hobday won 17 professional events in his career, which started in 1969, including two on the European Tour and the US Senior Open in 1994. South African-born Hobday had a reputation as a carouser, practical joker and raconteur but also as one of the best ball-strikers on the circuit.
Cricket: New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite fell 15 runs short of taking the outright record for successive one-day international centuries when she was dismissed for 85 against Australia yesterday. Satterthwaite had scored centuries in her previous four ODI innings to join former Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara, who achieved the feat at the 2015 men’s World Cup, as the only players to attain the milestone. The 30-year-old lefthander had scored 137 not out, 115 not out and 123 against Pakistan last November and made 102 not out in a five-wicket win against Australia in Auckland on Sunday.
Horse Racing: Frankie Dettori is no longer the world’s number one Italian-born jockey, with that honour now belonging to Mirco Demuro, according to the latest Thoroughbred Racing Commentary global rankings. After years as the unchallenged king, Dettori has been caught and overtaken by Japan-based Demuro, 38, who climbs from number five to three after last week’s action worldwide, overtaking not only Dettori, who drops one place to fourth, but also Christophe Soumillon, who is also down one, to five.