Rugby League: Former international player Aurelien Cologni has been appointed as the successor to Englishman Richard Agar as coach of the France national team. The 38-year-old’s first match in charge will be against England, also under a new coach in Wayne Bennett, in Avignon on October 22, which will be the start of his preparations for the 2017 World Cup. The appointment follows the election of Marc Palanques as president of the French Federation in July, taking over from Carlos Zalduendo, the man who appointed Agar in February 2013.

Cricket: Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes will join England’s coaching staff for a three-week spell encompassing the Test series in Bangladesh. The 52-year-old worked with England Lions either side of Christmas during their tour of the United Arab Emirates, where they played against Pakistan A in limited-overs matches. Rhodes will work alongside the senior team next month and will depart on October 10, ten days before the first Test begins in Chittagong.

Weightlifting: Sergei Syrtsov resigned as president of the Russian Weightlifting Federation (RWF) after the country’s weightlifting team were barred from last month’s Rio Olympics because of doping offences. “I have decided to stand down and Maxim Agapitov will take temporary charge,” Syrtsov, who had been in charge of the RWF since 2010, said. “The reason? Someone needs to pay for what has happened, and I did this,” he added. In July, the International Weightlifting Federation banned Russian weightlifters from competing in the Rio Olympics because of numerous positive doping tests from the country’s competitors.