Rallying: Finnish rally driver Mikko Hirvonen has announced he will retire from the world championship after next week’s Rally of Britain. The 34-year-old, who missed out on the 2009 title to Citroen’s Sebastien Loeb by one point with Ford and has 15 wins to his credit, said it was time to end his 13-year run in the championship. “I have enjoyed abso-lutely every minute of it and, although I still love driving now, I would also like to concentrate more on other important things which are part of my life, like my children and my family,” he said.

Rugby Union: Fijian-born winger Semesa Rokoduguni was named in the England team yesterday and will make his international debut in tomorrow’s test against New Zealand at Twickenham.“I am delighted for Roko,” England coach Stuart Lancaster said. “Wing is an extremely competitive position but he has pushed himself forward with his form this season and it’s great to be able to give him this opportunity.”

Tennis: Romanian world number four Simona Halep has split with her Belgian coach Wim Fissette, she announced yesterday. “My collaboration with Wim Fissette will come to an end, following a mutual agreement,” the 23-year-old wrote on her Facebook page. “It was a good and beautiful year. I want to thank him and wish him good luck in the future.” The announcement came a week after Halep was beaten by world number one Serena Williams in the WTA championship final in Singapore.

Swimming: Japanese swimmer Naoya Tomita, who initially admitted to stealing a camera at the recent Asian Games and was issued a summary indictment, yesterday said an unknown man had put the stolen device in his bag. The 25-year-old was suspended for 18 months by the country’s swimming federation and fired from his job after admitting to stealing a camera from a journalist working for a South Korean news agency.“I didn’t steal the camera,” Tomita told reporters. “I took it for a piece of rubbish and took it back to the athlete’s village.”