RUGBY UNION:Leicester Tigers lock Graham Kitchener will captain the England XV to face the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.

The uncapped second row will lead the England side coached by Joe Lydon and Jon Callard, with Exeter Chiefs fly-half Henry Slade as vice-captain.

England’s starting line-up boasts three fully-capped internationals and eight England Saxons.

CYCLING: Stefano Pirazzi won the 17th stage of the Giro d’Italia, his first professional victory, while Nairo Quintana retained the overall leader’s pink jersey.

Pirazzi edged out Tim Wellens and Jay McCarthy in a sprint at the end of the 204-kilometer (127-mile) stage from Sarnonico to Vittorio Veneto.

Quintana remained 1min41sec ahead of fellow Colombian Rigoberto Uran and 3min 21sec ahead of Cadel Evans.

RUGBY LEAGUE: Wigan captain Sean O’Loughlin is set to return for the champions’ Super League trip to Huddersfield tonight.

O’Loughlin has endured an injury-hit past year and has made just five Super League appearances this season, with a groin problem the reason for his latest lay-off.

Injury-hit Warriors have performed impressively without him but coach Shaun Wane said: “We have got our captain back. That’s a big one.”

FOOTBALL: Veteran Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart will miss the World Cup after injuring a calf muscle in his right leg.

The Hamburg player would have been coach Louis van Gaal’s most experienced player in his 23-man squad for Brazil.

With 109 international appearances Van der Vaart is the second important midfielder to drop out of the squad after Kevin Strootman suffered a season-ending knee injury in March.