ENGLAND have received a major boost ahead of their opening Six Nations clash against Ireland in Dublin.
Scrum-half Alex Mitchell is set to return for the Aviva Stadium opener in Dublin on Saturday.
The 27-year-old participated fully in training on Monday after recovering from a knee injury.
Steve Borthwick’s side are in Girona, Spain,ahead of their opening game in the Irish capital.
Mitchell missed the Autumn Nations Series due to a neck injury but now looks ready to face the defending champions.
The Northampton star’s availability will come as a major boost to under pressure Borthwick.
The travelling boss has faced multiple squad changes with Jamie George, Alex Coles, Alex Dombrandt, and Jack van Poortvliet all withdrawing last week.
England beat Ireland in Twickenham last year but haven’t won in Dublin since 2019.
Meanwhile, Ireland Prop Tadhg Furlong has been ruled out of the clash due to a reoccurrence of a calf injury.
The Wexford ace missed the entirety of Ireland’s November Nations Series test clashes before making his return for Leinster in January.
The 32-year-old forward has been blighted with calf issues for a number of seasons.
Leinster’s Furlong will be replaced by Connacht’s Jack Aungier, who is expected to join up with the squad as the prepare for the clash against their rivals in Portugal.
Finlay Bealham is likely to start after news of the injury was confirmed.
Ireland host their rivals on Saturday at 5:45pm.
A LUXURY car brand has discontinued its game-changing saloon from UK sales after 35 years on the market.
Lexus’ LS first arrived for British drivers in 1990 but had recently suffered a sustained period of poor sales.
Just 39 of the hybrid V6-powered saloons have been purchased since 2020, of which just three were sold last year.
This means drivers in the UK looking for a Lexus saloon have just one choice left, the ES.
A Lexus spokesperson said: “LS has been removed from sale in the UK though it does remain on sale in other European markets.
“Reasons for this are down to homologation and legislation issues but also the successful introduction of the LM model which is proving extremely popular in this segment.
“We also still sell the ES for those who prefer a Lexus saloon.”
Before it was removed, the LS range’s price tag began at £101,000, rising to £128,000 for the Takumi version.
Each one is powered by a hybrid system that combined a 3.5L V6 petrol engine with two electric motors and a lithium ion battery.
Together, the motor produces 354bhp and can do 0-62mph in just 5.4 seconds, when four-wheel drive is engaged.
The luxury brand’s decision closes the curtain on the 35-year history the LS had in the UK.
1990 saw the first-generation LS 400 hit the market, just after it had been launched in the US.
Lexus’ first model was used to establish the Toyota offshoot as a leading luxury vehicle manufacturer that could challenge the elite carmakers of Europe and America.
Marketed with a cheaper starting price, four further generations followed, with the final one, the LS 500, launching in 2017 before it was updated in 2020.
Following the removal announcement, Lexus’ UK line-up now consists of the LBX, UX, NX, RZ, RX, ES and LM.
This comes less than a year after the luxury carmaker dropped two other models from its UK catalogue.
Lexus removed its LC and RC sports cars from sale in April, meaning it no longer had a V8 on offer for Brits.
The two-door GTs were approaching the end of their expected life cycles, at seven and 10 years old respectively.
However, a spokesperson for the brand cited “legislative and homologation issues” as the reason for their withdrawal.
According to AutoCar, it is still unclear whether the decision was made in light of GSR2 safety regulations, the EU’s new cybersecurity directive or fleet emission quotas.
However, the outlet states that both motors are no longer available in mainland Europe, and the UK allocation for each has been sold out.
THE National Lottery Set For Life numbers are in and it’s time to find out if you’ve won the top prize of £10,000 every month for 30 years.
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Tonight’s National Lottery Set For Life numbers are: 05, 16, 19, 21, 36 and the Life Ball is 08.
The first National Lottery draw was held on November 19 1994 when seven winners shared a jackpot of £5,874,778.
The largest amount ever to be won by a single ticket holder was £42million, won in 1996.
Gareth Bull, a 49-year-old builder, won £41million in November, 2020 and ended up knocking down his bungalow to make way for a luxury manor house with a pool.
Sue Davies, 64, bought a lottery ticket to celebrate ending five months of shielding during the pandemic — and won £500,000.
Sandra Devine, 36, accidentally won £300k – she intended to buy her usual £100 National Lottery Scratchcard, but came home with a much bigger prize.
The biggest jackpot ever to be up for grabs was £66million in January last year, which was won by two lucky ticket holders.
Another winner, Karl managed to bag £11million aged just 23 in 1996.
The odds of winning the lottery are estimated to be about one in 14million – BUT you’ve got to be in it to win it.
A BUNGLING council has been slammed as an embarrassment for spending almost £40,000 on building a giant rock “sculpture”.
Nottinghamshire residents helped foot the hefty bill for the construction of The Scrooby Rock, a memorial to the Mayflower Pilgrims.
The project was officially unveiled in September 2024, with Conservative-run Nottinghamshire County Council providing a £37,400 grant to help fund the £60,000 art installation.
However, many have criticised the project and accused the authority of hypocrisy, including multiple leading county councillors.
Former Council Leader Ben Bradley raised concerns in 2024 over Newark and Sherwood District Council’s £81,240 bill for sculptures.
It had chosen to place the Kiddey Stones, a set of historic sculptures that had been kept under cover in a cemetery for decades, outside its new headquarters.
The district council’s scheme was branded “disappointing” by Councillor Bradley at the time, who added: “We all know local government is under huge financial pressure, with more people coming through the door in need of support.
“It’s important we encourage partners to focus on that, rather than nice shiny things we’d all like to spend money on.”
The county council’s £40,000 spend on The Scrooby Rock was raised at a County Hall meeting on January 23 when independent councillor Francis Purdue-Horan said: “When Newark revealed plans last year to spend £80,000, moving sculptures by famous Nottinghamshire son Robert Kiddey, it was branded ‘really disappointing’ and a ‘waste of money’ by senior members of this county council.
“Is there a limit on how much you think this council should spend on sculptures and do you feel this opens you up to allegations of hypocrisy?”
Nottinghamshire County Council’s Deputy Leader Bruce Laughton denied a limit and highlighted that the decision had been made by the previous administration.
Purdue-Horan questioned the how the county council could approve the spending of £40,000 of taxpayers money near the Yorkshire border for sculptures but then also criticise Newark and Sherwood District Council’s sculpture plans.
He also decried “personal attacks” on councillors in Newark by the county council and called the actions as “embarrassing” for Tories in Nottinghamshire.
The Scrooby Rock memorial commemorates Pilgrims who travelled on the Mayflower’s voyage from England to the New World in 1620, laying down the foundations of the modern United States.
Many of the leading Pilgrim Fathers came from the village of Scrooby, which lies near Doncaster on the border between Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire.
It is thought that 25 million Americans descended from the 102 passengers of the Mayflower.
In a joint response, Newark’s county councillors Sue Saddington, Sam Smith, Bruce Laughton, Keith Girling and Johno Lee highlighted the “stark” difference between the two referenced projects.
They said the county council’s £37,400 contribution to the £60,000 sculpture project in Scrooby would help tourism and the local economy.
The councillors said that the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the historic pilgrim voyage was vastly different to the moving of stones to Newark and Sherwood Council’s headquarters.
They continued: “In 1620, the Mayflower ship sailed from the UK to the United States.
“Onboard were Mayflower Pilgrims, who helped lay the foundations of the US.
“25 million Americans are thought to have descended from the 102 passengers – with many of the leading figures of the group from Scrooby in north Nottinghamshire.”
The councillors added: “That is what the county council funding has contributed to – a sculpture that is in the heart of Scrooby village, is seen by passers-by daily and is attracting tourists to Nottinghamshire from the USA and beyond – contributing to a boost in tourism and the local economy.”
South Hams District Council in Devon is consulting its residents on whether to increase parking charges in order to help fund other services.
However, instead of raising fees for all parking users, the plans would only target non-residents, charging them twice as much as locals.
If the proposal is successful, it would make the authority one of the first in England to introduce a two-tier parking fee policy.
South Hams District Council Leader Julian Brazil told the BBC that extra money is needed to pay for waste collection, to keep leisure centres open, and to look after the beaches and streets.
Local traders have hit back – pointing out that the plans are likely to put off visitors whose custom is essential to keeping the local economy going.
Sue Hawkins, who owns Nature’s Larder in Ivybridge, slammed the plans as “short-sighted” and “devastating”, saying they showed “ignorance of how the town works as a community”.
South Hams District Council has said that every local household would be able to register up to two cars in order to be able to park at the local rate.
However, any other vehicle in the household would have to pay a visitor rate.
Психологи з США розповіли, до яких наслідків може призвести хронічний біль. За словами фахівців, вплив стосується всіх сторін життя. Експерти відзначають, що хронічний біль нерозривно пов’язаний з психологічним станом людини. У зв’язку з чим вкрай важливо розібратися в наслідках фізичного страждання, так як від цього залежить ступінь негативних соціальних, емоційних і якісних наслідків життя, […]
Дізнайтеся, як ефективно боротися з плямами від поту та дезодоранту на кольоровому одязі! Простий метод очищення, що допоможе покращити вигляд ваших речей. Розглянемо дієві способи боротьби з плямами від поту та дезодоранту на кольоровому одязі. Піт містить кислоту, яка взаємодіє з тканиною та спричиняє її знебарвлення. На білому одязі з’являються жовтуваті сліди, а на кольоровому […]
THE heartbroken father of a young man killed by a falling tree in a horrifying Storm Eowyn accident had been waiting for his son to return home after speaking to him on the phone.
Kacper Dudek’s devastated dad told a local priest after his son’s tragic death: “He never came home.”
Kacper, 20, tragically died near Raphoe, Co Donegal at around 5.30am on Friday after the horror incident struck during adverse weather conditions.
The 20-year-old was travelling home from his workplace at Zeus in Letterkenny at the time of the tragic incident.
Hundreds of mourners are expected to attend his funeral mass at St Patrick’s Church in Murlog, Lifford on Thursday morning.
Although a native of Poland, he was raised in the border town of Lifford.
Kacper, the beloved son of Artur and Katarzyna Dudek, was born in Brody before moving to Ireland with his family at a young age.
He was the eldest of three, and is mourned by his parents, his siblings, Karol and Weronika, and his girlfriend Molly.
He died shortly after meeting a roadblock caused by a fallen tree.
Kacper had turned his car around, only to be struck by another tree at Feddyglass, near Raphoe.
Father Michael McCaughey, who attended the tragic scene, spoke with Kacper’s heartbroken family yesterday.
Speaking to the Derry Journal, the priest said: “This young man was speaking to his father and within minutes he was dead.
“He apparently had come across a fallen tree. He had phoned his father, and father advised him to take a different route home. Then literally within minutes of the accident a tree fell on him.
“One of the tragic things was his father waited for him to come home, and his father said to me: ‘He never came home’.
“I found those words heartrending.”
A full Garda investigation into the tragedy is still ongoing.
Hundreds of tributes have been paid to the tragic young man with many calling him a gentle soul.
Kacper remains will repose at his home in Lifford from 4pm on Tuesday.
His funeral mass will take place at 10:30am in St Patrick`s Church, Murlog, Lifford before a cremation afterwards in Lakelands Crematorium.
