Men’s rugby league: England captain Sam Tomkins admits his team could hardly have made a better start to the World Cup but knows the hard work starts now.

Handsome wins over Samoa, France and Greece earned England a quarter-final against Papua New Guinea this afternoon.

Tomkins was among those rested for the clash with minnows Greece, and says he is ready now to play out the rest of the tournament as England eye a second consecutive final appearance.

Men’s football: Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has been fined £8,000 for comments made about referee Thomas Bramall after last month’s defeat at Wolves.

Cooper said Bramall was known for being inconsistent after the 1-0 Premier League loss at Molineux where both sides had a penalty awarded after VAR intervention, while there was another incident in the first half.

The Forest manager has been sanctioned by the FA for improper conduct after admitting the charge.

Men’s cricket: Australia were given a scare before defeating Afghanistan but the T20 World Cup hosts will be eliminated at the Super 12s stage if England beat Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Having posted 168 for eight at Adelaide, buttressed by Glenn Maxwell’s 54 not out off 32 balls, Australia needed to keep Afghanistan to a score of 106 or fewer to get ahead of England’s net run-rate.

Marcus Stoinis held his nerve to seal what might still be a priceless four-run win for Australia.

Men’s football: Manchester City’s top scorer Erling Haaland is poised to return for the champions’ Premier League clash with Fulham on Saturday.

The prolific Norwegian, who has scored 22 goals in 16 City appearances, has missed the last two games through a combination of a foot injury and illness.

The 22-year-old has been back in full training since Thursday, although manager Pep Guardiola remains guarded on his prospects of playing.