England Hit Seven, Hamilton's Hammer Time And Cool Hand Luke Melts The Iceman

05 October 2026

Rugby Union: Bristol Bears’ Revenge
Pat Lam admitted this week that he watched Bristol’s record 94-33 defeat at Northampton more times over the summer than any other match. His side were determined to avenge it, and they did, beating the champions 41-26 at Ashton Gate. Louis Rees-Zammit scored twice and mimicked Henry Pollock’s celebration, and Saints finished with 13 men.

Pollock took one in the nether regions, which must have hurt, as there was blood on his shorts. Expect plenty of clips of that on social media this week. It was also good to see Benhard Janse van Rensburg back on his feet after the concussion he suffered in the first half when he tackled Pollock, and he had plenty to enjoy from the touchline as his team ran out convincing winners.

Elsewhere, Gloucester are the early leaders of the Gallagher Prem. They dismantled Harlequins 48-0 at Kingsholm, scoring eight tries to none. A miserable debut for George Furbank, the full-back Northampton were happy to let go, as his new side prop up the table with no points. Bath have had a good start too; they held off Exeter 40-34 in a thriller at the Rec. Meanwhile, Sale might be worth watching this season. As Bristol did against the Saints, they avenged their heavy defeat to Saracens last season by winning this rematch 21-17, and their powerful forwards are getting the attention of England coach Steve Borthwick.

Football: England’s Magnificent Seven In Croatia
So much for Thomas Tuchel feeling the heat. Croatia’s manager, Slaven Bilic, will not be in a hurry to watch this one back. It was a hammering. Croatia’s heaviest ever defeat and the biggest win of the Tuchel era. All four of England’s front line scored, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka twice, Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon once, before Morgan Rogers came off the bench to score the seventh. Bellingham had three assists, and Alex Scott shone on his debut. Why, oh why, can’t England reproduce this form in the big games at major championships?

Harry Kane felt the extended international window had helped, and the evidence suggests he was right. He’s scored 89 goals for England and is just one cap short of Peter Shilton’s record. The old comparison of a sports star to a fine wine fits Kane perfectly.

F1: Hammer Time For Hamilton
A different kind of hammering at Sepang.

It was an unusually early start on Sunday because the Grand Prix in Malaysia began at 8am, which meant chores had to be done before then. So it was slightly annoying when the start was delayed.

The uniquely titled Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, the first Grand Prix at Sepang for nine years, descended into chaos before lights out. A tropical downpour delayed the start, then an FIA software glitch left cars stranded all over the track, and it was the best part of an hour before they got going. It was odd to hear “Ctrl, Alt, Delete” offered as the solution to restarting a car in the commentary.

When it got going, the race was a good one to watch. Max Verstappen won his first race in 15, his 72nd win for Red Bull, matching Michael Schumacher’s record for Ferrari. But the best part was watching Lewis Hamilton’s ‘Hammer Time’.

He had gambled on slicks at the start, which dropped him from second on the grid to 17th, behind all the cars who had chosen the intermediate tyre. But once the track dried and a safety car brought him back into the pack, he charged through to fifth, eventually finishing on the podium. He got there after an impressive overtake on Isack Hadjar that had the crowd roaring, and because George Russell, running third, suffered a power unit failure with five laps to go. That was gut-wrenching for Russell and for his team, Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli finished second and leads the Drivers’ Championship by 84 points with seven races remaining (Qatar and Abu Dhabi have been confirmed as the last two). It’s nearly game, set, and match for the Italian.

NFL: A Rookie’s Baptism In Tottenham
Even though Tottenham have hosted NFL games since 2019, it still catches the eye to see the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium transformed into an NFL stadium.

The Washington Commanders, the home team, have never won an international game, and the odds were stacked against them again. Their first-choice quarterback, Jayden Daniels, was ruled out with an elbow injury, and his replacement, Marcus Mariota, hurt his knee in the first quarter. That meant an NFL debut for Athan Kaliakmanis, a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft. To help him settle in, the Commanders’ offence became predictable, and the Colts’ defence broke up plays with ease, including a couple of monster hits on the quarterback.

No surprise, then, that the Colts overcame a 0-6 deficit to win 30-13. The Commanders will be hoping Daniels, who returned to practice this week, is fit to start their next game against the Giants.

WSL: Arsenal Out Of The Title Race
Last week we suggested Arsenal Women’s manager Renée Slegers was under pressure. A 2-2 draw against Paris FC in the Champions League, where Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead, was followed by Slegers skipping her post-match media duties to “be with the team”. It suggested there were issues to resolve and was not the best preparation for a trip to the Etihad to play the WSL champions. They started brightly, scored first and led 2-1, before Manchester City came back to win 4-2.

Arsenal are now tenth, 10 points behind City, and Slegers admitted to Sky Sports that they are no longer in the title race. She promised a thorough review during the international break. From the outside, that sounds like the dressing room may not be fully behind their manager.

Darts: Luke Melts The Iceman
If you’ve never watched darts, do. From an initiation with Bristow, Wilson and Lowe in the 80s to watching Taylor, Barneveld, Wolfie and Van Gerwen over the years, this observer has seen the sport grow into an amazing spectacle and cracking entertainment. Luke Littler has helped expand its audience further, and this weekend, at the World Grand Prix in Leicester, his main rival took advantage of a rare first-round defeat.

And what a final. Luke “Cool Hand” Humphries against Gerwyn “The Iceman” Price. Both had come through their semi-finals on Saturday, and this was a repeat of their 2023 final.

It looked as if the Iceman would freeze out Humphries (see what we did there?) as he raced to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-11 final, averaging over 132 in the opening set. But Humphries has reached four World Grand Prix finals in a row, and it showed. He won the next four sets for a 4-3 lead, lost the eighth, then took the last two to win 6-4. A remarkable comeback, and a terrific way to finish a weekend of sport.

What We Missed: Wakefield Trinity’s Fairy Tale
You can’t watch it all, and sometimes you miss a great event and a great story. A Fan’s View would like to pay tribute to Wakefield Trinity, the new Super League champions. Relegated three years ago, they rebuilt the club and squad, then crowned champions with a 23-10 win over Warrington in front of a sold-out Old Trafford. At the start of the season, they were 40-1 outsiders. It is the sort of story that films are made of.

The pre-match build-up included Sir Kevin Sinfield bringing the trophy onto the pitch after completing seven ultra-marathons in seven days for the MND community. His son Jack then kicked a drop goal for Wakefield just before half-time. The men who play this sport are definitely made of steel.

A Fan’s View: A Diary of a Sporting Weekend runs every Monday on This Sporting Planet, the world’s view of sport.