Ollie Watkins to miss England World Cup qualifier against Latvia with injury

Ollie Watkins to miss England World Cup qualifier against Latvia with injury

England striker Ollie Watkins will miss the World Cup qualifier in Latvia on Tuesday because of injury.The 29-year-old was replaced at half-time of the Three Lions' 3-0 win against Wales on Thursday.Watkins scored his side's second goal at Wembley but collided with the post late in the first half after missing a chance.England boss Thomas Tuchel said afterwards that the Aston Villa forward was "OK" but the striker has returned to Villa and will miss the trip to Riga. The Three Lions would qualify for next summer's World Cup with two matches to spare by beating Latvia.Captain Harry Kane missed the Wales match, but Tuchel said before the game he was "convinced" the Bayern Munich striker would be available in Riga.The 32-year-old trained alongside his England team-mates at Tottenham's training ground on Monday. Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon moved to a central position in the second half in Watkins' absence at Wembley and could do the same in Riga.Marcus Rashford is another option. The Manchester United forward is on loan at Barcelona and prefers to play from the left - but has often been deployed from a central position during his career.He has 18 goals for England - the most after Kane…

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Stuart Hogg on retirement mistake and Montpellier reset

Stuart Hogg on retirement mistake and Montpellier reset

Hogg admitted shouting and swearing and acting in an abusive manner towards his ex-wife when he appeared in court last year.The former full-back, who joined Exeter from Glasgow Warriors in 2019, was spared jail time when sentenced in Selkirk Sheriff Court in January and was instead ordered to complete a community payback order with one year of supervision.In March, a sheriff noted Hogg's "complete compliance" with the order and said no further review of it would take place.He had previously been given a five-year non-harassment order and fined £600 when he breached his bail conditions.The Hawick-born player, who recently stated he had "reset" at a rehabilitation clinic after his initial arrest, said that taking part in a charity event was the catalyst to him coming out of retirement."The Doddie Aid cycle ride from Scotland to Rome changed everything," he added in the interview with The Rugby Paper. "For the first time since retiring, I felt part of a team again. I came back and told my dad 'I've made the biggest mistake of my life'."I missed the camaraderie, the laughs, the buzz. I needed that back. "The players and coaches [at Montpellier] value me, maybe because I finally value myself."The real…

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Rob Baxter frustrated as Exeter fall short at Bristol in Prem

Rob Baxter frustrated as Exeter fall short at Bristol in Prem

Exeter boss Rob Baxter says he is frustrated his side were not able to win at Bristol in the Prem but will not overreact to the defeat.The Chiefs lost 18-14 despite facing a Bears side that was down to 14 men for 30 minutes.The defeat was a first of the season for Exeter, who had a potentially match-winning try disallowed late on as they slipped to sixth in the table."We were up there talking as coaches and going 'really, we've let this one slip' and I think we have," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon."I'm not going to run away from that, I think we've let it slip. But at the same time I can't believe people think we were coming into this season as the finished article and we were just going to either win or draw, go the season unbeaten."We've still got a lot of hard work to become a great side, but all we've got to do is keep doing that day by day and week by week."I said to the lads 'we weren't the best team in the Premiership last week when we beat Newcastle and we're not the worst team in the Premiership now because we lost…

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Jayden Wareham: ‘Fantastic’ striker impresses Exeter City boss Gary Caldwell

Jayden Wareham: ‘Fantastic’ striker impresses Exeter City boss Gary Caldwell

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell says Jayden Wareham deserved the goal he scored against Reading following his recent performances.The 22-year-old summer signing fired in an equaliser against his former club in Saturday's 1-1 League One draw.It was Wareham's third goal for the club and his first since the end of August as City went two games without a defeat for the first time this season."I think Jayden Wareham is a fantastic young striker who's moved to a different club that brings different challenges, but some of his performances have been outstanding," Caldwell told BBC Sport."I think recently his work ethic, his out of possession work, his quality as a team-mate has been really good and his team-mates are seeing that, the effort he's putting in."I keep saying to him 'the harder you work and work for the team then the moments will come and we know when you get chances you will score goals'."His finish was outstanding, I think it's a run we need to make more across the first defender, and when he gets chances he'll score goals."I've been delighted with Jayden Wareham. As a young player moving club it's going to take a little bit of time and there's…

Continue ReadingJayden Wareham: ‘Fantastic’ striker impresses Exeter City boss Gary Caldwell

Rob Baxter frustrated as Exeter fall short at Bristol in Prem

Exeter boss Rob Baxter says he is frustrated his side were not able to win at Bristol in the Prem but will not overreact to the defeat.The Chiefs lost 18-14 despite facing a Bears side that was down to 14 men for 30 minutes.The defeat was a first of the season for Exeter, who had a potentially match-winning try disallowed late on as they slipped to sixth in the table."We were up there talking as coaches and going 'really, we've let this one slip' and I think we have," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon."I'm not going to run away from that, I think we've let it slip. But at the same time I can't believe people think we were coming into this season as the finished article and we were just going to either win or draw, go the season unbeaten."We've still got a lot of hard work to become a great side, but all we've got to do is keep doing that day by day and week by week."I said to the lads 'we weren't the best team in the Premiership last week when we beat Newcastle and we're not the worst team in the Premiership now because we lost…

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Purbeck Film Festival returns with Sir Sam Mendes as patron

Purbeck Film Festival returns with Sir Sam Mendes as patron

The Purbeck Film Festival is set to open spanning over 30 venues across Dorset including churches, village halls and a museum.This year, Academy Award-winning director Sir Sam Mendes joins as its newest patron. Mendes said he was "delighted" to support the event.Highlights include appearances from the Fox acting family, a Q&A with director Dan Pringle and actor Laurent Lucas following Die Before You Die at Durlston Castle, and a special screening of War Paint: Women At War with director Margy Kinmonth in attendance.Featuring over 90 films and and documentaries from all over the world it runs from 17 October -2 November. Festival chair Andrea Etherington said Mendes' involvement was "a great honour," adding his support was "especially meaningful as the festival continues to thrive".A screening of the acclaimed film, The Servant, starring James Fox alongside Dirk Bogarde will be shown following a discussion and Q&A with four members of the Fox family, Freddie, Edward, James and Joanna David at The Mowlem Theatre, Swanage.Die Before You Die director Dan Pringle and French actor Laurent Lucas will take part in a question and answer session after the film set in Dorset is shown in the grounds of Durlston Castle near Swanage.At the showing…

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Weymouth and Portland poetry trail amplifies diverse local voices

Weymouth and Portland poetry trail amplifies diverse local voices

David GilyeatSouth of EnglandThe Jawbone CollectiveA poem namechecking Weymouth's ice cream parlour Rossi's is located at the premisesThirty poems by local residents have formed an interactive poetry trail across two towns.The OmniVerse Poetry Trail has been launched across Weymouth and Portland in Dorset as part of the Towns of Culture 2025 programme, in which the towns received a combined £60,000 from Dorset Council in funding.The poems, 15 in Weymouth and 15 in Portland, aim to amplify under-represented voices, including LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and disabled poets.Volunteer Jess Worner, who helped create the trail and has a poem on it, said: "Getting to see our gorgeous towns through many people's eyes and stories helped me find my own voice too."The project was arranged by the Jawbone Collective and local poet Naomi Wilcox-Lee, and included two workshops, two performance events, and the creation of the trail.Ms Wilcox-Lee said: "I'm so excited about our trail. We're really pleased to bring people's voices into the spaces that inspire them. "It's really great fun hunting down all the poems, and we have such a wonderful array of fantastic poems for people to discover."'Rewarding'The poems are situated in locations connected to their content, such as one poem that opens…

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Arrest after woman raped in Taunton park

Arrest after woman raped in Taunton park

A man has been arrested after a woman was raped in a park, police have confirmed.The woman was found in a distressed state in Victoria Park, Taunton, by members of the public at about 05:00 BST on Saturday, Avon and Somerset Police said.The arrest was made at an address in the town at about 18:30 on Sunday."Although an arrest has now been made, our investigation is really just beginning," said Det Sgt Wendy Fellowes."It's important now that people don't post speculation online which could affect any future prosecution," she added.Anyone with any relevant information should contact police. Source link

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Send in Somerset families ‘systematically failed’, say parents

Send in Somerset families ‘systematically failed’, say parents

Michelle RuminskiSomerset political reporter, Taunton andBea SwallowWest of EnglandBBCMum-of-three Hayley says trying to secure special educational need provisions for her children has been "exhausting"Parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) say statutory deadlines are being missed by the system designed to support them.Only 6.5% of education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which are legally binding documents which set out the specific Send support individuals should get, were issued by Somerset Council within the statutory 20-week period last year.Parent-led group Somerset Send Army said families have been "systematically failed" and their children forced into "unsafe or unsuitable provision".The council said it was working hard to address a "very significant rise in demand" and was paying for external agencies to undertake EHCP assessments.Hayley lives near Glastonbury with her three children who all have Send requirements - including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sensory processing disorder and anxiety.The children each developed emotional-based school avoidance when their complex needs were not met in mainstream schools.Hayley says the only way to make sure her children are getting all their needs met "is to be there consistently"Hayley said she fought for four years to get her eldest son into a specialist school and…

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Increasing pressures for conformity de-skilling and demotivating teachers, study warns

The increasing pressure for teachers to obey school curriculum policies is “profoundly demotivating” and is leading directly to people leaving the profession, a new study warns. Teachers value being able to be creative and collaborate with each other to design lessons but are increasingly subject to school policies requiring their conformity. The research shows this is also reducing their curriculum-making skills and reducing teacher autonomy and motivation, as well as relationships between colleagues and with pupils. There is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in England. There is a particular challenge in recruiting physical science teachers, with government targets for recruitment being missed for the last 10 years and a high proportion of physical science teachers leaving early in their careers. The study says in an era where teacher retention is concerningly low, policies which reduce teacher motivation should be of “profound concern”. Dr Victoria Wong, from the University of Exeter, who led the study, said: “We have found evidence school and academy trust policies which require conformity are potentially very demotivating for teachers and can deprive them of the opportunity to learn curriculum-making for themselves. “This might save time in the short term but leads to loss of skills and…

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CrossCountry RMT rail workers’ strike will cause ‘significant disruption’

CrossCountry RMT rail workers’ strike will cause ‘significant disruption’

Sammy JenkinsWest of EnglandPA MediaRMT union members will walk out on Saturday 18 OctoberRail passengers are being warned of "significant disruption" ahead of planned industrial action and strikes.All CrossCountry services will be impacted as members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) walk out on Saturday 18 October. The firm runs long-distance series that stretch from the South West of England to Scotland.The industrial action includes RMT union members in customer service roles.Shiona Rolfe, CrossCountry's managing director, said they were "disappointed" for customers but "will try to run as many services as possible"."Customers will inevitably face significant disruption. We are committed to reaching an agreement with the RMT and remain available to continue talks," she added.Passengers are encouraged to check the CrossCountry website before travelling as some routes will run a limited service and others with no service at all.Services will also be impacted by planned engineering works and will finish much earlier than usual.What impact will there be?Limited services will run between: Birmingham and ManchesterBirmingham and BristolBirmingham and Leeds/YorkBirmingham and ReadingSome services will extend to Southampton and Edinburgh.Meanwhile, there will be no services on routes between:Birmingham – Leicester – Cambridge/Stansted AirportGloucester and CardiffDerby and NottinghamBristol/Somerset and Plymouth/Paignton/PenzanceEdinburgh…

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