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World Rugby boss Brett Gosper says the number of teams taking part in future World Cups could be increased.

Both England 2015 and Japan 2019 will have 20 teams, but the 2023 edition may be larger.

"As the sport grows and we conquer new markets the discussion is about looking towards expanding [the World Cup], rather than contracting," Gosper added.

Police have extended the bail date of Sunderland midfielder Adam Johnson after he was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of sexual activity with a girl under 16.

He is now due to report back to police on 23 April.

Kent all-rounder Matt Coles has all the qualities to play for England, according to county captain Rob Key.

The 24-year-old has rejoined his home county from Hampshire and Key said: "There are not many people who can bowl at 85 miles and hour plus and hit the ball out of the park. Plus he is a good fielder.

"If I was him, I'd be watching England and the way they go about some of their one-day cricket and I'd be thinking I could make a massive difference to that set-up."

England attacking coach Mike Catt knows his side have still got room to improve ahead of Saturday's Six Nations showdown against France at Twickenham.

"We have to have the ruthless edge to put away the chances we create. For players it is staying in the moment and making the right decisions," he told BBC Radio 5 live.

"The nice thing for me is how players like George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson have bounced back from the Ireland game and the way they played against Scotland was exceptional. However, it is down to the type of ball they get and the forwards deserve credit for that."

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Paris Saint Germain full-back Serge Aurier has apologised for insulting referee Bjorn Kuipers after his side's Champions League win over Chelsea.

Aurier is currently out injured but posted an offensive video in response to the sending-off of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"I beg the pardon of Mr Kuipers, his assistants and all match officials for my reaction after the match at Chelsea," Aurier wrote on Twitter., external

"My passion for football and my frustration at being injured for such a match led to my reaction, which had no place in football."

The Hillsborough police match commander has agreed that his failure to close a tunnel "was the direct cause of the deaths of 96 people".

David Duckenfield also accepted that he "froze" during the afternoon of the 1989 football disaster.

Mr Duckenfield has been giving evidence for a sixth day at the new Hillsborough inquests in Warrington, Cheshire.

Is there any hope at all for Manchester City and Arsenal as they bid to overturn first-leg deficits in the Champions League?

Well, BBC Sport has been crunching the numbers so you don't have to. The conclusion? The omens are not good.

Arsenal fans will not be cheered by the news that no team has ever overturned a deficit of two or more goals in the Champions League when they are playing the second leg away.

As for City, well they have to contend with the fact that Barcelona are scoring at a rate of one goal every 37 minutes in the Champions League this season.

If they do not succeed, it would be just the second time since 1996 that no British club has been in the quarter-finals - the only other occasion was in 2013.

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Leeds Rhinos and England full-back Zak Hardaker has been released without charge after being interviewed by police over the alleged assault of a 22-year-old man in Leeds on 3 February.

The investigation into Hardaker, 23, and Rhinos youngster Elliot Minichella, 19, has now been concluded and the club have said in a statement that "both players will be available for selection this week".

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Yes, you read that right - it's not 2007 again. Bayern Munich are competing with Manchester United for the services of Owen Hargreaves, as the two sides prepare to go head-to-head in a Legends match.

BBC Sport's Simon Stone reports: "At the press conference to launch the game at Old Trafford today, Bayern's Paul Breitner said he was meeting Hargreaves next week to ask him to play.

"Sitting next to him on the platform, United representative Denis Irwin immediately replied: 'I am seeing him this week.'

"Hargreaves spent seven years at Bayern, winning the Champions League in 2001. He left for United in 2007 and won the league and Champions League in his first season before suffering a serious knee injury."

New England Under-19 captain Joe Weatherley has revealed how a session with Test skipper Alastair Cook provided inspiration for their tour to Australia.

The Hampshire batsman, 18, will lead a 16-strong squad, who leave on Wednesday and will play seven games during the trip.

"He's a had a tough time recently, but he has done so well in the game and been so successful. To pick the brains of such a good player was really useful for the batting unit," Weatherley told BBC Radio Solent.

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Southampton midfielder Lloyd Isgrove has signed a new two-year contract extension with the Premier League club.

Isgrove, 22, came through Southampton's academy and will remain at St Mary's until 2017.

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As you know, Arsenal face Monaco in the second leg of their Champions League tie this evening, needing to score at least three goals to have a chance of progressing.

Mission impossible? Perhaps, but the Daily Mirror has uncovered an interesting stat which should give Gunners fans cause for hope.

In his preview of the match,, external John Cross points out that the much-maligned Giroud has better goalscoring rate for Arsenal than club legend Dennis Bergkamp (0.43 v 0.28 goals per game).

Still, he says: "Arsenal will need Giroud to be at his very best if they are to make history and overturn Monaco's first leg lead."

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Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen is poised to become the youngest Dane to win 50 caps after he was named in the squad for upcoming friendlies against the United States and France.

If selected, the 23-year-old will reach the milestone at a younger age than previous record holder Michael Laudrup.

Somerset have announced that South African seam bowler Alfonso Thomas will skipper the team in limited-overs cricket, external this summer.

Former England opener Marcus Trescothick remains the official club captain and will continue to lead Somerset in County Championship fixtures.

Journalist Simon Kuper has told BBC Radio 5 live that he is unconvinced by Dick Advocaat's appointment as Sunderland manager until the end of the season.

"He hasn't exactly proven himself as a world beater in recent times," says Kuper. "His spell in charge of Netherlands is best remembered for the day he substituted Arjen Robben just as he was taking apart the Czech Republic at Euro 2004 and the Czechs went on to win.

"He's hardly gold standard in recent times. He's tended to have quite short stints as he has got older. He doesn't seem to have had the patience to build anything long term but then again Sunderland don't seem to either so it might be a match made in heaven."

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Former Nottingham Forest and Celtic striker, Pierre van Hooijdonk, who played under Dick Advocaat in the Dutch national team has been giving his views on BBC Radio 5 live on the appointment of Advocaat as Sunderland manager until the end of the season.

"He is easy going, But he is one of these coaches that like to be in charge of everything. He is a little man and little men always try to be big," says Van Hooijdonk.

"He has got the character for it, he knows the game well and he has loads of experience."

If Gaelic football is your thing on St Patrick's Day, you can watch live coverage of the MacRory Cup final on the BBC Sport website.

The game, which is for the top prize for Ulster schools, features St Patrick's Cavan and St Patrick's Academy, Dungannon and is taking place at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh.

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Barcelona coach Luis Enrique says his side are not taking progress for granted despite holding a 2-1 advantage heading into Wednesday's Champions League last 16 second-leg tie at home to Manchester City.

Barca, who are seeking a record eighth consecutive quarter-final appearance, have progressed 33 out of the 35 times they won the first leg away in European competition.

"We are still only halfway through the tie and have to play the return yet and looking at their players we can see they have the potential to make life difficult for us," said Enrique.

"They got back into the tie in the first leg despite our great start to the game. We are not taking anything for granted."

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Sire De Grugy will make just one more appearance this season at either Aintree, Punchestown or Sandown after losing his crown in last week's Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Last season star over two miles missed the bulk of the current campaign through injury and was a well beaten fourth behind Dodging Bullets at Cheltenham.

"He's come out of the race fine. The ground was just a bit quick for him," said trainer Gary Moore.

Is there anyone who doesn't love a good outtake?

Here's a classic of the genre, courtesy of the BBC News School Report project as Match of the Day pundit Kevin Kilbane - aka Zinedine Kilbane - is ticked off by pupils Ben and Sam from The Lancasterian School, a Special Educational Needs School in Manchester.

Image source, BBC School Report

You can watch the full report and read Kevin's thoughts on the experience on School Report's News Day on Thursday, when thousands of pupils around the UK will be turning their classroom into newsrooms.