Remember when the Lions came to Australia? So do I.

Don’t be too disheartened, because the Wallabies are back in action this weekend playing South Africa, the world’s number one team, in the Rugby Championship.

Coach Joe Schmidt is reportedly set to name a side that includes veteran playmaker James O’Connor starting at fly-half.

O’Connor has not played for the Wallabies since 2022. He is now set to be part of a Wallabies outfit seeking its first victory at Ellis Park in Johannesburg since 1963.

13
The number of times that Sweden’s Armand Duplantis has set a new world record in the men’s pole vault. Duplantis set his most recent record in Budapest on Tuesday by clearing 6.29m at the Hungarian Grand Prix track and field meet. The 25-year-old first set the world record in 2020 and has improved upon it in one-centimetre increments since. This tactic is financially lucrative, as he is paid a bonus by World Athletics every time he sets a world record. 

"It is definitely going to happen."
UFC boss Dana White speaking to U.S. channel CBS about Donald Trump’s plan to host a match at the White House next year, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country’s independence on 4 July 1776. White said that he is set to meet with Trump at the end of this month to finalise plans for the event.

The youngest person to sail solo around the world is Laura Dekker. The Dutch sailor completed her 518-day voyage in January 2012, at the age of 16. She eclipsed Australian Jessica Watson’s record by about eight months. Dekker stopped at ports along the way, however, which means Watson still holds the record for the youngest person to sail around the world solo.

🏟️ American sprint star Fred Kerley has been suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit after missing three drug tests in one year. Kerley, who won bronze in the 100m sprint in Paris last year and silver at Tokyo 2020, is set to challenge the suspension. A statement released by his lawyer said: “He strongly believes that one or more of his alleged missed tests should be set aside either because he was not negligent or because the doping control officer did not do what was reasonable under the circumstances to locate him at his designated location.” 

🏐 Donnell Wallam is set to return to Super Netball after signing with the Sunshine Coast Lightning. Wallam spent the 2025 season playing in New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership. Before that, the Australian Diamonds star spent three years at the Queensland Firebirds. She was not offered a contract by the Firebirds at the end of the 2024 season. Wallam said: "I'm really excited to return to [Super Netball] next season, I feel like I still have more to give and more to learn from the league." In 2022, Wallam raised concerns about mining company Hancock Prospecting’s sponsorship of the Diamonds, leading to the Gina Rinehart-led business withdrawing its funding. 

🎾 No Australians are left in the men’s or women’s singles draw at the Cincinnati Open after Alexei Popyrin and Adam Walton both lost in the Round of 32 today. After winning the opening set tiebreak, Popyrin lost to the tournament’s ninth seed, Andrey Rublev, in three sets. Meanwhile, Walton was beaten in straight sets by Czech 22nd seed Jiri Lehecka.

🎾 Former tennis star Monica Seles has spoken publicly for the first time about being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease, in an interview with The Associated Press. Seles, a nine-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one, was first diagnosed three years ago. She said: “It took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it’s a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.” Seles was infamously stabbed on the court at a tournament in Hamburg in 1993. She returned to professional tennis in 1995 and played until her retirement in 2003.

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South Africa outclassed Australia to win the second match of the T20 series by 53 runs in Darwin last night. The three-match series is now tied at 1-1. Here’s what to know.

22-year-old Dewald Brevis starred for South Africa, scoring an unbeaten 125 runs off 56 balls to help the visitors post a total of 218 runs. Brevis reached 100 runs in just 41 balls, recording the second-fastest century in South African T20I history. His innings also set a new mark for the highest T20I score on Australian soil, eclipsing the previous mark of 124 runs set by Aussie Shane Watson. 

Tim David produced another strong batting performance with 50 runs, but Australia did not come close to reaching South Africa’s total, eventually being bowled all out for 165 runs. 

The loss saw Australia’s nine-match T20 winning streak come to an end. 

The decider is set to be played at Cazalys Stadium in Cairns on Saturday. The match will start at 7:15pm and be broadcast on Foxtel and Kayo.

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The World Games are currently underway in Chengdu, China. Here’s what to know. 

The World Games are an international multi-sport event staged every four years for sports and disciplines that aren’t contested at the Olympic Games. 

The event, which was first held in 1981, provides a global stage for niche, emerging, and non-Olympic sports. The event typically lasts around 11 days and uses mostly existing venues to minimise the need for new infrastructure. 

Chengdu is hosting the 12th edition of the World Games, which began on 7 August and will run through the remainder of this week to 17 August. It’s the first time the Games have been held in China. 

Around 4,000 athletes from over 100 nations are competing in 256 events across 34 sports. 

New additions in 2025 include powerboating, cheerleading, and para freediving, while sports such as bowling and waterskiing are absent this time.

Australia sits 35th on the medal tally with one gold medal and three bronzes. Noah Ballard won gold in the freestyle wakeboard competition, Australia’s women’s lacrosse side won bronze, and Australia’s life-saving team also collected two bronze medals (one in the men’s 4x25m manikin relay and one in the women’s 4x50m pool life saver relay).

China is leading the medal tally with 18 gold, six silver, and two bronze medals.

A tragic moment came early in the Games when 29-year-old Italian orienteering athlete Mattia Debertolis collapsed in extreme heat during competition and died days later.

You can watch the World Games live on the event website or app.