Rugby Union: The Welsh Rugby Union is increasing efforts to entice dual-qualified players back to Wales from England after taking over operational control of the Newport Gwent Dragons region, WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips has said. The Dragons are a regional team that represent a part of southeast Wales and have affiliations with the area’s multiple semi-professional and amateur clubs. Earlier this year, Phillips said the WRU was watching 94 Welsh-qualified players playing in England.
Horse Racing: British jockeys will face tougher entry criteria after the governing body announced a significant overhaul of its development and licensing programme to focus on quality rather than quantity. A three-year review by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and other key stakeholders has concluded that the sport is spending considerable resources training jockeys who may not become successful. The BHA added that from April 1 anyone applying to join a course for apprentice or conditional jockeys will have to undergo a pre-licence assessment.
Baseball: The United States broke through to win their first World Baseball Classic title with an emphatic 8-0 victory over Puerto Rico in Los Angeles behind the stellar pitching of Marcus Stroman and a 13-hit attack. Puerto Rico came in with a spotless 7-0 record in the 16-team tournament but the Americans (6-2) were not to be denied and the losers finished runners-up for the second straight WBC. Stroman was sensational, throwing six no-hit innings after yielding six hits in a row in a four-run first inning to Puerto Rico in a 6-5 second-round loss.
Basketball, NBA: The Boston Celtics moved to within a game of the Cleveland Cavaliers after a 109-100 win over the Indiana Pacers. It was the Celtics’ fifth win in six games and a 12th victory in their last 13 home matches. Isaiah Thomas scored 25 points for Boston with Avery Bradley weighing in with 18 and eight rebounds. The Cavaliers were thoroughly outplayed as they slipped to a comprehensive 126-113 defeat to the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets received offence from all over the court with Gary Harris top-scoring with 21 points and Will Barton adding 20, Wilson Chandler 18, Kenneth Faried 17 and Nikols Jokic 16.
Six Nations: Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg has won the RBS 6 Nations player of the championship award for the second year running. Glasgow star Hogg secured almost a quarter of the public voting for the award, becoming just the second player to land the gong twice. Former Ireland centre Brian O’Driscoll landed the accolade in both 2006 and 2007, and Hogg has now clinched back-to-back awards thanks to a string of eye-catching attacking performances.