The Principality Stadium roof will be open for Saturday’s Six Nations clash between Wales and England, following a "U-turn" by England Manager Eddie Jones. Jones had said that he did not care "whether the roof was shut or not, claiming it made no difference." Wales took that to mean it "could go ahead and close the roof for the game." Now, England has informed the Wales Rugby Union that it wants the roof open and it will get its way (WALES ONLINE, 2/9).
The push for a Rugby State of Origin match has "gained further momentum" with the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust expressing interest in staging the clash at the Sydney Cricket Ground. After Wallabies captain Stephen Moore backed the Rugby Origin concept, Test coach Michael Cheika also supported the idea but said it needed to have "uniqueness." A proposal to play the New South Wales vs. Queensland game at the SCG "may fit that bill perfectly." It would be "the first rugby match at the SCG in 31 years" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/9).
Roger Federer accepted Andy Murray's invitation to play in Scotland for the first time. The 35-year-old Swiss will take part in Andy Murray Live, a charity exhibition event at Glasgow's SSE Hydro in November. Murray: "He's one of the best players that's ever played the game. It's not just how much he's won, but the way he plays and carries himself" (BBC, 2/9).
Maria Sharapova’s spring schedule "is falling into place" after the Madrid Open, which starts on May 5, granted her a wild card on Wednesday. It was the third tournament to confirm Sharapova on the entry list after the Stuttgart Open and the Rome Masters from May 15. Wild cards "are the only way that Sharapova can access the big events after her 15-month ban, which runs out on the third day of Stuttgart." She will return with a ranking of zero (London TELEGRAPH, 2/8).
An Ironman 70.3 triathlon race will take place on April 1 in Liuzhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It will be the first of five Ironman 70.3 races to be held on the Chinese mainland this year. The Ironman 70.3 Liuzhou race will begin with a 1.9km swim in the Liu River (XINHUA, 2/6).
The European Curling Championships 2018 will take place from Nov. 16-24 at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn, Estonia. The event is for men’s and women’s teams from the World Curling Federation’s European Zone and is divided into A, B and C-Divisions (WCF).
