In this “week of sport” we’ve rounded up the highlights from the past seven days, recapping action from the London Double Header at Twickenham, T20 Blast final and the Italian Grand Prix
Premiership Rugby: The London Double header at Twickenham
European champions Saracens and newly promoted London Irish began the 2017-18 Premiership campaign season, both winning with emphatic wins at the London Double Header at Twickenham.
In the opening match Saracens ran in nine tries to beat Northampton Saints 55-24. Sean Maitland scored a first-half hat-trick with further tries coming from Brad Barritt, Richard Wigglesworth, Alex Lozowski and Vincent Koch. Schalk Brits and Ben Spencer added more tries for Saracens in the second half, in a match that Northampton Saints rugby director Jim Mallinder described as “infuriating, embarrassing and disappointing”.
Following this, London Irish made a winning return to the Premiership with a bonus-point victory over Harlequins 39-29. Tries from Topsy Ojo and Tommy Bell gave Irish an 18-3 lead, before Joe Marchant pulled one back for Quins. Harlequins ill-discipline cost them as they twice had to play with only 14 players; with Demetri Catrakilis and Mike Brown being shown yellow cards. Both offences proved crucial with Irish scoring two tries and sealing the win whilst both players were off the pitch.
T20 Blast final: Nottinghamshire Outlaws beat the Birmingham Bears to win their first domestic 20-over title, at Edgbaston
A magnificent 132-run stand between Brendan Taylor (65) and Samit Patel (64 not out) propelled Nottinghamshire to 190-4 after struggling early on at 30-3. Harry Gurney’s 4-17 restricted the Bears to 168-8, giving Notts the win by 22 runs at Edgbaston. Notts now hold both domestic limited-overs trophies after their One-Day Cup success at Lord’s in July.
Italian Grand Prix: Hamilton takes the title lead after Italian Grand Prix win
A day after breaking the all-time record for pole positions, Hamilton was in total control at Monza, leading Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas to a one-two. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third and is now three points behind Hamilton in the F1 championship. “The team did an amazing job. Valtteri did a great job. Mercedes power is better than Ferrari power so that’s one thing” Hamilton said.