Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - The Chiefs women's rugby team will be known as Chiefs Manawa in next year's inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki competition

The name Manawa was derived from the words Mana and Wāhine.

The process to find the teams identity was led by coach Allan Bunting along with men's coach Clayton McMillan, New Zealand Rugby Māori Cultural Advisor Luke Crawford, Chiefs jersey designer Dave Burke, the franchise's commercial manager Kate Rawnsley and a number of the women's players.

The women's team will be sponsored by Waitomo.

Just one round of games will be played in Super Rugby Aupiki with a final in late March.

The South Island team is known as Matatu.

Ronaldo brace in United win.

Cristiano Ronaldo made it 801 career goals as Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-2 in their English Premier League game at Old Trafford.

In scoring his two goals, 36-year-old Ronaldo became the first player in history to reach 800 goals in competitive games for club and country, doing so in 1,097 matches.

The game was watched by Ralf Rangnick, who replaces Michael Carrick as interim United boss after this game.

Carrick has since announced that he is leaving the club.

The result leaves United three points off fourth-placed Arsenal after recording two wins and a draw under Carrick.

Meanwhile Antonio Conte's unbeaten league start as Tottenham boss continued as they kept pace with the top four with a comfortable 2-0 win over a lacklustre Brentford.

A 12th-minute own goal from right wing-back Sergi Canos gave them the lead, before Son Heung-min finished off a scintillating counter-attack in the second half.

Tottenham climb to sixth - two points behind West Ham in fourth - while Brentford slip to 12th.

-BBC

IOC talks to Peng again

The International Olympic Committee says it has held a second video call with Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai but shares in concern for her safety.

Peng, 35, disappeared from public view for three weeks after accusing a top Chinese official of sexual assault.

The Women's Tennis Association has suspended all events in China and has "serious doubts" that Peng is "free, safe and not subject to intimidation".

The IOC says it has agreed "a personal meeting" with Peng in January.

"There are different ways to achieve her well-being and safety," the IOC said in a statement.

"We share the same concern as many other people and organisations about the well-being and safety of Peng Shuai. This is why, just yesterday, an IOC team held another video call with her.

"We have offered her wide-ranging support, will stay in regular touch with her, and have already agreed on a personal meeting in January."

The IOC originally held a video call with three-time Olympian Peng on 21 November and a video appeared to show her attending an exhibition tournament in Beijing over the same weekend.

Her disappearance, after accusing former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault, had prompted widespread concern, with international sports stars and governments calling on China to provide proof that she was safe.

-BBC

Breakers without coach

The Breakers will open the new Australian NBL season without head coach Dan Shamir on the sidelines as he continues his recovery after testing positive for COVID-19.

Assistant Coach Mody Maor will lead the Breakers in their first action against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Saturday night.

Shamir was one of Breakers travel party who tested positive last week resulting in the cancellation of their final pre-season game.

Maor is hoping he won't let Shamir down in his first time taking the reigns.

"I love this team, I love this Club and I care about Dan a lot, and I don't want to let him down. I want him to feel that he has the time and space to get better and come back and that the team is here to support him," Moar said.

With majority of the team back on the training court in Melbourne, Maor also provided an update on where the team was at with their preparations for Saturday.

"We were all quarantined for a few days so we lost a bit of our fitness and a bit of our game shape. We also missed a preseason game that was very important for us in a troubled preseason already but we have a great group of guys who came in and did the work and we feel confident coming into the game."

Holdworth fastest in first practice

Lee Holdsworth topped the first co-driver Practice session for Sunday's Bathurst 1000 motor race.

The Holden driver, who is Chaz Mostert's co-driver, was just ahead of James Moffat in a Ford.

Third fastest was Alex Davison in a Ford with New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen's co-driver Garth Tander fourth fastest in a Holden.

Van Gisbergen has already wrapped up the 2021 Super Cars title.

There is another practice session today.

More high profile positive Covid tests

UFC President Dana White and Williams F1 principal Jost Capito have both tested positive for Covid-19.

White says he and his immediate family tested positive following a Thanksgiving holiday together in Maine and they were now isolating.

White, who said he is vaccinated, said he is feeling better and still hopes to attend this weekend's UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile Capito will not be in Saudi Arabia for the penultimate F1 race of the season this weekend.

The race in Jeddah is the first since the death of team founder Frank Williams at the age of 79 last Sunday and the former world champions and Formula One are planning tributes this weekend.

Williams said in a statement that Capito, who took over the team in February, tested positive prior to travel.

The British-based team has an historic connection to Saudi Arabia, which is hosting a race for the first time, with sponsorship from national airline Saudia in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

-Reuters

Rangnick all set to go at Old Trafford

Manchester United's interim manager Ralf Rangnick will start work at Old Trafford tomorrow having been granted a work permit.

The German coach had been waiting for the approval process to be completed since being appointed on Monday. Rangnick, 63, has replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was sacked last month.

Though Rangnick will be at Old Trafford later today for the Premier League game against Arsenal, caretaker manager Michael Carrick will continue to take charge of the team.

Rangnick will be interim manager until the end of the season before the former Schalke 04 and RB Leipzig coach takes up a consultancy role with the club for a further two years.

Rangnick, who began coaching in the early 1980s, is a proponent of 'gegenpressing' -- a style of football in which teams press with high energy to win the ball back as soon as possible, rather than falling back to regroup.

He left his role as head of sport and development at Russian Premier League side Lokomotiv Moscow to take over at United.

Rangnick's first game in charge will be Monday's league game at home to mid-table Crystal Palace.

-Reuters

Australia are beatable at home

Australia are no longer a dominant force on home soil and England have real belief they can secure victory in the upcoming Ashes series, fast bowler James Anderson said ahead of next week's opening test at the Gabba.

England have lost nine of their last 10 test matches in Australia, but Anderson said the tourists were ready to turn things around.

"We believe we have got a group of players who can win. I'm not just saying that," he told the BBC. "Quite often you do say that because you have to be positive, but we do genuinely believe we can win out here."

Anderson pointed to the recent success of India and South Africa in Australia as proof the hosts were beatable over the five-match series.

"It's not like years ago when they were such a dominant force, you would go there tentatively," added the 39-year-old, who will likely be playing his final Ashes in Australia.

He added that the impressive form of captain Joe Root and the return of Ben Stokes would boost England's chances of victory.

The series begins in Brisbane on Dec. 8.

Australia retained the Ashes in 2019 after a 2-2 draw in England.

-Reuters

MLB on strike

For the first time in 26 years, Major League Baseball is in a work stoppage.

With ownership and the MLB Players Association unable to get anywhere close to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, MLB locked out players.

Commissioner Rob Manfred wrote in a statement posted on MLB.com: "This defensive lockout was necessary because the Players Association's vision for Major League Baseball would threaten the ability of most teams to be competitive. It's simply not a viable option. From the beginning, the MLBPA has been unwilling to move from their starting position, compromise, or collaborate on solutions."

MLBPA executive director Tony Clark responded in a statement, "This drastic and unnecessary measure will not affect the Players' resolve to reach a fair contract. We remain committed to negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement that enhances competition, improves the product for our fans, and advances the rights and benefits of our membership."

The lockout ends a brief but frenzied free agent signing surge in recent days that saw players land deals worth at least $2 billion collectively.

The last baseball work stoppage was a strike that began on Aug. 12, 1994, caused the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and didn't end until April 2, 1995.

-Reuters