England coach Tony Smith has kept his cards close to his chest ahead of the semi-final. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
New Zealand sprung a double surprise today in Brisbane in the embarrassingly cagey build-up to Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against England. They have switched the Wigan scrum-half Thomas Leuluai to hooker, although the biggest shock was [...]

Don’t leave us Damien! Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
Wah! The market is in turmoil, readers! There’s panic on the streets, red-braced, mobile phone-clutching men are vying for space on the window ledges. Fear, hysteria, slumps, slides and disaster loom. The market has crashed. We’re all doomed.
And how do we know the transfer market is in such trouble? [...]

Kaka insists he is staying put at the San Siro. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Guardian
Milan playmaker Kaka has publicly declared that he has no intention of leaving the Serie A club for Chelsea. Kaka has been linked with an £80m move to the London club for several weeks, with some reports suggesting that Andriy Shevchenko’s return to [...]

Fernando Alonso is struggling to recapture his past glories at Renault. Photograph: Robert Ghement/EPA
Had things turned out as intended for Fernando Alonso the 27-year-old Spaniard would be starting tomorrow’s race through the streets of the Mediterranean principality in a McLaren-Mercedes with the strong possibility of completing a hat-trick of wins in this most prestigious event [...]