Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Chiefs hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho will join the All Blacks in Dunedin ahead of Saturday's first test against Fjij.

Taukei'aho has been called into the squad as injury cover, with Asafo Aumua reporting concussion symptoms following the one-off test against Tonga in Auckland.

Aumua played the majority of the second-half against Tonga after replacing starting hooker Dane Coles.

With Codie Taylor also in the All Blacks squad Taukei'aho is unlikely to feature against Fiji this week.

The All Blacks start their test preparations with a gym session in Dunedin today.

Folau to return to rugby in Japan

Former Wallabies fullback Israel Folau will return to rugby union next season after agreeing to join Top League side NTT Communications.

Dual code international Folau resumed his career in Australia last week after he was registered to play for amateur rugby league club Southport Tigers.

The 32-year-old will join up his former coach at the New South Wales Waratahs Rob Penney, who was named NTT's director of rugby.

Folau played rugby league for Australia before switching to Australian Rules in 2011, jumping codes once again to rugby union in 2013.

A fundamentalist Christian, Folau had his Wallabies and Super Rugby deals terminated in 2019 after posting a meme that said hell awaited "drunks, homosexuals, adulterers" and others.

First five-eighth Otere Black, who left the Blues, has also joined NTT.

- Reuters

Cooper completes Olympic preparation

Mountainbiker Anton Cooper has finished 16th in his last competition before the Olympics.

Cooper remains in sixth place overall in the World Cup standings after the result in France.

The race could not have been more different to his anticipated heat and humidity in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, as heavy rain turned the course into a mud-bath.

He finished 3:16 behind winner and world cup leader Mathias Flueckiger of Switzerland.

Commonwealth Games champion Sam Gaze had his best finish of the season, climbing from 82nd on the start list to finish 31st.

Meanwhile Rotorua's Lachlan Stevens-McNab continued his outstanding form to finish third in the junior downhill race.

Former national champion George Brannigan was the best of the kiwi gravity riders in the elite downhill in ninth place.

Dame Val wins in Sweden

Dame Valerie Adams has made a succsseful return to international competition with victory at a Diamond League meeting in Stockholm.

Dame Val had a best throw of 19.26 metres.

She finished 21cm ahead of Auriol Dongmo of Portugal with Magge Ewen of the United States third.

Adams is scheduled for more competition in Europe before heading to Tokyo for the Olympics.

"This was my first diamond league since 2018, and since 2018 I've had 2 kids so I'm very happy," said Dame Val.

Another solid finish for Dixon

Scott Dixon remains third in the IndyCar championship after finishing fourth in this morning's race in Ohio.

But the six-time series champion has slipped further behind his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Alex Palou, who leads the championship.

The Spaniard finished third in Ohio and is now 39 points ahead of Mexican Pato O'Ward in the championship, with Dixon a further 17 points back.

American Josef Newgarden won the race and is now just 13 points behind Dixon, while the third Chip Ganassi car driven by Swede Marcus Ericsson finished second.

"Good job by all the Ganassi crew, congrats to Marcus and obviously Alex and Josef for the win there but we need some work, we've got to do some work," Dixon said.

The next IndyCar race is in Nashville next month.

Pogacar retains yellow

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar kept a close eye on his challengers as he retained the overall leader's yellow jersey in the Tour de France after the ninth stage, a 144.9km mountain trek from Cluses in the northern Alps.

Australian Ben O'Connor of the AG2R-Citroen team won the stage from the breakaway, ahead of Italians Matteo Cataneo and Sonny Colbrelli.

Slovenian Pogacar, who claimed the yellow jersey yesterday, was in control all day and responded to a late attack by Ecuador's Richard Carapaz, his main rival for the general classification, in the final climb to the Alpine resort of Tignes (21km at 5.6%) to stay top of the rankings.

With his maiden Tour stage win, O'Connor climbed up to second in the overall standings, two minutes and one second off the pace, with Colombian Rigoberto Uran in third, 5:18 behind Pogacar.

After a crash-strewn start to the Tour, last year's runner-up Primoz Roglic abandoned the race, failing to recover from injuries sustained in a third-stage tumble. An exhausted Mathieu van der Poel, who wore the yellow jersey during the week, also quit ahead of his bid to win Olympic gold in the mountain biking event.

Belgian Wout van Aert, who started the day in second place overall, cracked on the Col du Pre, halfway through the stage, and finished more than half an hour behind O'Connor as he dropped out of contention.

-Reuters

Wimbledon to have capacity crowds

Wimbledon will have capacity crowds from the singles quarter-finals onwards as COVID-19 restrictions on attendances are relaxed.

Attendances have been capped at 50% since the start of the tournament last Monday although next weekend's finals were to rise to 100% on the 15,000-capacity Centre Court.

After a successful opening week, the Championships have now been given permission to operate at full capacity from Tuesday's women's quarter-finals onwards on Centre Court and No.1 Court.

Wimbledon is being used as a pilot event for the safe return of crowds as part of the Government's Events Research Programme.

It will mark the first time outdoor stadiums will be at full capacity at a sporting event in Britain since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports in the country in March 2020.

There was no play at Wimbledon today.

-Reuters

Vieira to lead Palace

Premier League club Crystal Palace have appointed former Nice boss Patrick Vieira as their new manager on a three-year deal to replace Roy Hodgson.

Hodgson left boyhood club Palace at the end of last season after four seasons in charge, guiding them to a 14th-placed finish in his final season.

Vieira, who captained Arsenal to three league titles and four FA Cups as a player, was sacked by French Ligue 1 side Nice in December after a stint that lasted 2-1/2 years.

The 45-year-old also led Arsenal's 'Invincibles' side who went a full Premier League season unbeaten in 2003-04, and won the 1998 World Cup and the European Championship in 2000 with France.

Vieira previously also managed Major League Soccer club New York City from 2016-18, where he guided them to two playoff appearances.

Palace begin their Premier League campaign with a trip to Chelsea on Aug. 14.

-Reuters

Englans-Sri Lanka game rained off

Seamer Tom Curran picked up four middle-order wickets as England bowled Sri Lanka out for 166 in the third one-day international before the game was abandoned due to rain in Bristol.

The washout meant that the hosts won the series 2-0.

While Sam Curran captured five wickets to script England's victory at The Oval three days ago, it was his elder brother Tom who finished with 4-35 as the tourists were bundled out with 53 balls left in their innings.

Sri Lanka once again failed to make a solid start with the bat as captain Kusal Perera and fellow opener Avishka Fernando were removed by the new-ball attack of Chris Woakes and David Willey in the opening six overs.

-Reuters

England beat USA

England scored eight tries - but conceded a worrying four - as a virtual reserve team beat a spirited United States 43-29 in an entertaining though ragged Twickenham clash.

England were without 13 players on Lions duty and several others being rested, and starting with eight debutants, they led 26-3 at halftime after two tries for Joe Cokanasiga and one each for Sam Underhill and Ollie Lawrence.

The second half was an end-to-end affair with some loose England defending allowing Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz, Cam Dolan, Hanco Germishuys and Christian Dyer all to score for a battling American team playing their first match since the 2019 World Cup.

Debutant trio Jamie Blamire, Marcus Smith and man of the match scrumhalf Harry Randall all scored for England, as did Lewis Ludlam, as they did enough to send the 10,000 crowd home happy.

-Reuters

Hawks too good for Sharks

Hawke's Bay scored a season high 37 points in the first quarter on their way to a 97-71 win over Southland in the National Basketball League in Invercargil.

Jordan Hunt had 21 points for the Hawks while Devondrik Walker had 17.

The Hawks are second in the standings behind Saints, while the Sharks are third.