England women’s hopes of success at the FIH Hockey World Cup ended at the group stage after a 0-0 draw with India.
David Ralph’s side finish third in Pool D on four points, with two teams moving forward to the next round, and will now play in a classification phase that sees teams placed from 9th to 16th.
England won their opening match 4-0 against South Africa on Sunday but lost to China two days later, conceding four before Tess Howard and Sophie Hamilton reduced the deficit.
The national side have not challenged in tournaments since winning Commonwealth gold in 2022, finishing fourth in the 2023 EuroHockey Nations Championship, and fifth last year.
Teams from England and Great Britain have finished no higher than sixth in the FIH Pro League since a third place in 2020-21, while Great Britain also finished eighth at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile England’s men are through to the second stage of the men’s World Cup, topping Pool D with three wins out of three.
They defeated Pakistan 4-1 and India 4-2 prior to beating Wales 8-2 in their final group stage match on Wednesday.
They move in a second stage pool with India, with their 4-2 win carried forward, and will face two qualifiers from Pool A on Saturday and Monday as they attempt to reach the semi-finals.
England women play Chile on Friday and Japan on Sunday in their classification pool, with both World Cups being held in Wavre in Belgium and Amstelveen in the Netherlands.
Taryn Brasher and Kristen Cruz clinched an AVP Manhattan Beach Open three-peat on Sunday, sweeping Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft.
It was the tournament’s first three-peat since Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings won four straight titles from 2005-08.
Brasher and Cruz, the top-ranked women’s pro beach volleyball team out of Louisiana State, rolled past Cheng and Kraft 2-1 (21-18, 21-16).
Brasher and Cruz took a commanding 4-1 lead to start the first set, the first of back-and-forth surges by both sides. Cheng and Kraft tied the set at 15, but Brasher and Cruz pulled ahead for the 21-18 win.
Kristen Cruz dives for a dig during the AVP Manhattan Beach Open women’s final at Manhattan Beach Pier on Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Taryn Brasher, left, and Kristen Cruz celebrate after defeating Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft during the AVP Manhattan Beach Open women’s final Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Brasher and Cruz kept the pressure on during the second match, pulling ahead early 8-6 and leading by as much as 17-12 before closing out the victory.
On the men’s side, Andy Benesh and Taylor Crabb defeated Thomas Hurst and Gage Basey in two sets (21-14, 21-13) to clinch the tournament title.
Crabb previously clinched a Manhattan Beach Pier bronze plaque, but it was Benesh’s first time winning the open.
Crabb and Benesh took a commanding 8-3 lead in the first set with all of the energy flowing on their side. Hurst and Basey rallied to cut the deficit to 8-7, but Benesh ended the scoring drought with a monster block.
Taylor Crabb dives for a ball during the AVP Manhattan Beach Open men’s final at Manhattan Beach Pier on Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Andy Benesh, left, spikes the ball under pressure from Thomas Hurst.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Andy Benesh and Taylor Crabb stand alongside friends and family after winning the AVP Manhattan Beach Open on Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Benesh and Crabb added to their lead to 13-8 with back-to-back blocks and rolled to a 21-14 win.
The duo led early in the final set and had little trouble delivering a 21-13 victory.
Crabb had 10 kills and 14 digs during the match, with many of the kills coming during the second set. Benesh closed with 14 kills and eight blocks.
Manchester Super Giants (MSG) rebranded from the Originals, also changing their team logo and colours, after RPSG group – led by Indian billionaire Sanjiv Goenka – bought a 70% stake in the franchise, with Lancashire having 30% ownership.
Goenka’s Indian Premier League (IPL) side Lucknow Super Giants have yet to reach that competition’s final since being founded in 2022, but his Hundred investment has resulted in immediate success as Jos Buttler’s side sealed the Manchester franchise’s first title for either men or women.
Lancashire chief executive Daniel Gidney, also on the board of MSG, says there’s no choice but to be bold in a rebrand.
“If you’re trying to launch a new brand in a new market, in the UK particularly, in a city that is dominated by football, you’ve got to go big and loud,” Gidney told BBC Sport.
One daring ‘brand activation’ resulted in almost 30,000 free shirts being given to Super Giants fans.
“To give everybody a free jersey who bought a ticket is extraordinarily different,” said Gidney.
“You can’t normally do it because a kit manufacturer will go, ‘No, no, no. I’ve got to sell that kit for £60-80.’
“You never get anything for free. It’s had a massive impact, much more than I thought.”
The decision was made this first year to forego a potentially lower kit deal for the opportunity to build the MSG brand, get fans in the team colours, and then strike a more lucrative supplier deal in years to come.
But how does that benefit Lancashire more broadly? The county’s merchandise continues to be sold at Old Trafford on matchdays, while at the moment you won’t find MSG products in the club shop.
Gidney says Lancashire were able to “retain effectively 50% merchandise arrangements” with MSG, who they can use as a “bit of a pilot” – possibly bringing some of what they learn into the T20 Blast competition.
The franchise will now hope to have acquired new fans and take momentum from their first on-field triumph, while they also pocket £275,000 in prize money.
They were dealt the blow of losing captain Aiden Markram halfway through the group stage as he returned to South Africa for personal reasons, but Buttler seamlessly stepped up, while the appointment of Tom Moody as their director was another savvy decision.
Former Australia player Moody was at the helm for Oval Invincibles’ previous dominance in the men’s Hundred, with three consecutive titles. He will hope for further success at Old Trafford alongside compatriot Justin Langer, hired as coach from this season, the same role he has at Lucknow.
There are positives for their women’s side too, who just missed out on a knockout spot, but look likely to be in a good place if they can keep legendary former Australia captain Meg Lanning in charge.
People look for love wherever their heart takes them, but for Assn. of Volleyball Professionals players Chaim Schalk and Toni Rodriguez, they didn’t have to look far to find it.
“I said ‘I love you’ first,” Schalk said.
The beach volleyball power couple is competing in the AVP Manhattan Beach Open this weekend, continuing to focus on the competitive volleyball circuit that first brought them together.
The couple met briefly while playing at various beach volleyball events, but they really got to know each other and clicked while spending three weeks together during tournaments in China, India and the Philippines. Schalk told Rodriguez he would take her out to dinner at her favorite restaurant, but there was a catch. Rodriguez had to win her upcoming tournament in order to go out with Schalk.
American Chaim Schalk digs the ball during a match against Cubans Nosien Diaz Amaro and Jorge Luis Alayo Moliner during the 2025 Beach Volleyball World Championships at on Nov. 20 in Adelaide, Australia.
(Mark Brake / Getty Images)
Rodriguez made Schalk live up to his promise. The couple went to their favorite fast-food joint, Cafe Rio, because it was something they bonded over during their overseas trip.
“She texted me, ‘Cafe Rio on you?’ after winning,” Schalk said. “And then she flew back [to California] the next day, and we went there.”
Rodriguez didn’t need any motivation to win gold to go out with her future fiancé, but it didn’t hurt. She said that Schalk keeps her level-headed when it comes to playing on the beach.
Schalk has played on the biggest beach volleyball stages. He represented Canada at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. One of his proudest moments was defeating a Brazil team on its home soil.
Chaim Schalk and Ben Saxton of Canada play beach volleyball against Pedro Solberg and Evandro Goncalves Oliveira Junior of Brazil during the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
(Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
“Beating Brazil in front of 15,000 fans is something that I’ll never forget,” Schalk said.
He called playing in the Olympics the pinnacle of any sport and making Team Canada has been the highlight of his career.
Schalk has had dual-citizenship since birth and has switched his affiliation to Team USA. He hopes to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and play alongside Rodriguez. He is a two-time AVP League Champion and three-time winner on the AVP Tour.
His love for volleyball dates back to his time in Canada as a young boy playing with his brothers in their massive grassy backyard.
“I personally love volleyball. I love competing and love trying to win,” Schalk said.
Rodriguez grew up in St. Amant, La., and was focused on volleyball from a young age before playing the sport in high school and at Louisiana State.
American Toni Rodriguez plays a shot against Reika Murakami and Suzuka Hashimoto of Japan during a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour match in 2022.
(Matt Roberts / Getty Images)
The LSU graduate wanted to play indoor volleyball in college, but she couldn’t because of injuries and instead joined the beach volleyball team.
“Once I got to the LSU beach team and started learning the game and actually playing, I just came to find a new love for the sport,” Rodriguez said. “Once I started playing, there were a lot of opportunities to leave Louisiana and potentially play professionally.”
After three seasons at LSU, Rodriguez moved to California to begin her beach volleyball career. Schalk also left Alberta, Canada, to focus on his beach volleyball career.
“I moved in 2013 to California to train full time and play beach volleyball full time,” Schalk said, who along with Rodriguez lives in Gardena. “I didn’t know I would be here for this long, so it’s definitely different. I love California, and I think it’s a beautiful place to live and we’re lucky to live close to L.A.”
Rodriguez has won two FIVB gold medals. In 2024, she was part of the the first AVP League championship team and joined Molly Shaw winning silver, bronze and gold medals during three consecutive Challenger events in three different countries during a three-week span.
Schalk and Rodriguez have great affection for a sport that took them around the world before they met each other. Schalk said competing in Switzerland near the Swiss Alps was special.
“I have been there about eight times, but that place, for me, is my favorite place I’ve ever played at,” Schalk said.
While they chase AVP and Olympic wins, the couple also are planning a wedding after Schalk surprised Rodriguez with a bold question early in their relationship.
After only officially dating for two days following Rodriguez’s tournament, Schalk invited Rodriguez to Kauai, Hawaii, in January.
Rodriguez had a hunch he might propose because they had formed such a tight bond during their overseas trip.
They went on a hike with Schalk’s brother and kids to a spot with a beautiful jungle view and large swing.
Schalk’s family set up the proposal spot while everyone was walking to the site. Once they arrived, Schalk turned to Rodriguez, got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.
“I blacked out. It was perfect,” Rodriguez recalled.
The couple is set to get married this fall in El Segundo.
