Most players who sought protection in Australia return to team as diaspora groups warn of possible intimidation, writes Eileen NG and Rod McGuirk
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL: Glasgow City maintained their unbeaten record and now top the Scottish Premier League by six points after they beat Partick 4-0, Celtic drew 1-1 with Hibernian and Hearts saw off Rangers 3-2 to move into second place. At the other end of the table, Hamilton remain without a win following their 6-0 thrashing at Montrose and Carla Bryce bagged a hat-trick as Motherwell edged to a 4-3 success at Aberdeen.
ICE HOCKEY: Belfast Giants took a huge step towards defending the Elite League title after enjoying two wins from their weekend double-header with third-placed Sheffield Steelers while their nearest challengers, Nottingham Panthers suffered a 7-2 thrashing at Cardiff on Sunday evening. Coventry warmed up for tomorrow’s Challenge Cup final against Nottingham by winning 2-1 in Manchester and seeing off Glasgow Clan 4-1.
WOMEN’S RUGBY UNION: Alex Matthews scored three tries as defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury came from behind to beat Saracens 22-17 and move four points clear at the top of the English Women’s Premiership with a game in hand. Victory also secured a home semi-final in the end of season play-offs. Third-placed Exeter eased to a 47-14 win over Ealing and Sale cruised to a 62-3 crushing of bottom of the table Leicester.
MEN’S CYCLING: French rider Lenny Martinez narrowly won Sunday’s final stage of the Paris-Nice eight-day race but double Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard took the general classification by almost four-and-a-half minutes from Colombia’s Dani Martinez with Georg Steinhauser in third. Josh Tarling was the highest-placed Brit in 25th, almost 44 minutes behind Vingegaard. Oscar Onley withdrew after stage five due to illness.



