SPORTS
England Captain Hunter Announces Her Retirement
Captain Sarah Hunter will retire after England’s opening Women’s Six Nations match against Scotland in her home city of Newcastle on Saturday.
The back-row forward, 37, is the world’s most-capped women’s player with 140 caps, and is also England’s most-capped player, male or female.
Since her debut in 2007, Hunter has won one World Cup and 10 Six Nations titles, including nine Grand Slams.
“Everything has to come to an end at some point,” she told BBC Sport.
“The RFU kindly put a Red Roses game finally at Newcastle, which is my home city where I grew up. I just couldn’t not give it a go to play in the game.
“I started playing rugby in Newcastle, finishing there feels like I’ve come full circle.”
Kingston Park, where Hunter first played rugby union on the back fields and once sold matchday programmes so she could watch Newcastle Falcons play, is sold out for England’s match.
The Loughborough Lightning player will be featuring in her 16th Women’s Six Nations and her impressive career has included winning World Player of the Year in 2016 and being appointed an MBE in 2015.
Hunter also reached four World Cup finals with England, winning in 2014 and losing to New Zealand in 2010, 2017 and 2022 – captaining the Red Roses in the last two.
England will host the 2025 World Cup but Hunter had already confirmed she would not play in that tournament, and now admitted that “if things had been different” and her side had won the 2022 final, she might have retired straight away.
Marlie Packer – named as co-captain for the Women’s Six Nations earlier this month – is expected to lead the side now, and Hunter says she “can’t think of a better person” for the role.
“When the dust settles and you can reflect on everything, I don’t think I could have asked for more in the career that I’ve had,” added Hunter.
“For that I’ll be forever grateful.”
Nasarawa United Football Club of Lafia on Saturday defeated Lobi Stars of Makurdi 1-0 in a pulsating North Central derby.
The matchday 16 fixture of the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premiere Football League (NPFL) was played at the Lafia Township Stadium, Nasarawa State capital.
The Makurdi side had adopted the Lafia Township Stadium as their home ground for the 2024/2025 NPFL season.
The only goal of the match was scored by Qamar Adegoke in the 12th minute of the match to give all three points to the Lafia side.
Adegoke’s goal, who joined the Lafia team recently, was his second in four matches.
The Nasarawa attacker capitalised on a defensive error by the opponent’s backline and hit the back of the net to give Nasarawa United the advantage.
In a post-match interview, Kabir Dogo, Technical Adviser of Nasarawa United, hailed his players for taking all three points.
He explained that his team had improved by scoring five goals in their last three matches and expressed optimism that they would do better in subsequent games.
“We had a problem in the area of goal scoring in the past, but this has changed in our last three games,” he said.
With the win, Nasarawa United climbed to 14th on the NPFL table, while Lobi Stars remain on 17th position. (NAN)
The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) is organising a two-day National Coaching Seminar, with the theme: “Leadership and Management Skills”.
The event will take place from Dec. 17 to Dec. 18, at the Additional Sports and Entertainment (ASEP) Pro Limited, in Mowe, Ogun State.
The seminar will enhance the capabilities of Nigerian table tennis coaches, with a particular emphasis on female coaches, aligning with the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (GEDI) Initiative.
A statement issued by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, on Tuesday, said that the seminar was part of the one-week sports and leadership boot camp titled “Awaken the Giant, She Can 4.
0,” proudly supported by NTTF.“This seminar will also represent the third stage of the 2024 “My Gender, My Strength” programme, which has table tennis star Abosede Akinsete, as a beneficiary.
“NTTF President,Tikon Ishaku, Vice President, Adesoji Tayo, and other board members are dedicated to initiatives that support the development of coaches.
“Wahid Enitan-Oshodi, ITTF Executive Vice President, and President of ITTF-Africa, reaffirms his commitment to empowering women in sports, in line with the GEDI Initiative.
He explained that the seminar would feature people, who would speak on leadership and management skills, to enhance the abilities of coaches to identify and develop talents, as well as encourage the development of high-performance table tennis players capable of competing globally. (NAN)
Rivers United Football Club of Port Harcourt on Sunday returned to the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) summit as strong rivals Remo Stars FC faltered on Match Day 13.
Report says that Rivers United beat visiting Abia Warriors of Umuahia 1-0 after an Ndifreke Effiong 58th minute goal from the penalty kick spot.
Effiong’s goal in the match at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium helped them to move to 25 points from 13 matches, after seven wins, four draws and two losses.
Former leaders Remo Stars dropped to second with 23 points from 13 matches after seven wins, two draws and four losses, following a 0-2 loss to hosts Katsina United.
Plateau United of Jos beat visiting Nasarawa United of Lafia 2-0 to bolster their position.
Shooting Stars Sports Club also struggled to a 1-0 win over visiting Bayelsa United of Yenago.
A 15th minute goal by Anthony Okachi at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan gave them the win.
El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri had on Saturday beaten Akwa United of Uyo 1-0 to move into third place on the table with 22 points from 13 games.
Enyimba International of Aba remained in fourth place with 20 points from 12 matches, with their week 13 game against Sunshine Stars of Akure on hold.
Rangers International of Enugu are in fifth place with 20 points also, after a goalless draw with hosts Heartland FC ain Owerri on Saturday.
Bendel Insurance of Benin had also beaten Kwara United of Ilorin 3-1, while Lobi Stars of Makurdi drew 2-2 with visiting Kano Pillars in Lafia.
NAN reports that the league will enter Match Day 14 on Wednesday.(NAN)
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