Late O'Driscoll try ends Australian slam hopes

DUBLIN - Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll celebrated his 100th test with a last gasp try to give his side a 20-20 draw at Croke Park on Sunday and end Australia's bid for a grand slam over the four home nations. The Wallaby pack completely dominated a first half in which wing Drew Mitchell's second-minute try, taking advantage of an overly-ambitious skip pass from Ronan O'Gara, helped the visitors to a 10-6 halftime lead.

Exuberant South African openers humiliate England

CENTURION, South Africa - South African openers Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman shared a world record partnership to set up a devastating 84-run victory over England in their Twenty20 international at Centurion on Sunday. The pair scored at more than 12 runs an over in scoring 170 off 84 balls -- the biggest partnership for any wicket in international Twenty20.

Djokovic shrugs off Monfils challenge

PARIS - Serbia's Novak Djokovic shrugged off a brave challenge from crowd favourite Gael Monfils to claim the Paris Masters title with a 6-2 5-7 7-6 win on Sunday. World number three Djokovic, who had outclassed Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and had dropped only one set en route to the final, had to dig deep to win his second title in as many weeks.

Biedermann wins as Phelps fails again

BERLIN - The eagerly awaited clash between Michael Phelps and double world champion Paul Biedermann failed to materialise on Sunday when the American missed out on a place in the 200m freestyle final. Biedermann set his second short course world record in as many days, clinching victory with a new best time of 1:39.37 on a day when many more records fell.

Van Persie sustains partial ankle ligament rupture

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands said on Sunday. A KNVB statement said van Persie had been examined in a Dutch hospital on Sunday after he was carried off in the 15th minute of the 0-0 draw following a tackle by Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. It did not say how long van Persie would be out of action.

Thousands gather to honour Germany's Enke

HANOVER, Germany - Tens of thousands of fans joined family, friends and team mates of Robert Enke to pay their last respects to the Germany goalkeeper on Sunday, five days after his suicide shocked the country and soccer fans worldwide. At a memorial service at the Hanover 96 ground where Enke played his club football, 45,000 people, including Germany team mates and coaches dressed in black, watched as Enke's coffin was placed in the middle of the pitch.

Positive Trapattoni hopeful of Ireland fightback

DUBLIN - Ireland must end a barren run of 22 years without an away win over high-ranked rivals if they are to claw back a 1-0 World Cup playoff deficit against France on Wednesday and reach next year's finals. Manager Giovanni Trapattoni rated his side's chances as "50-50" in Paris after Saturday's defeat in Dublin.

Alonso makes first public Ferrari appearance

LONDON - Twice Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso made his first public appearance with his new Ferrari team at an event in Valencia, Spain on Sunday. The 28-year-old, who begins a three-year deal with the Italian team in January when his Renault contract expires, appeared with new team mate Felipe Massa and president Luca di Montezemolo.

Tony Smith resigns as England coach

LONDON - England rugby league coach Tony Smith has announced his resignation following his team's 46-16 defeat by Australia on Saturday in the Four Nations final. "I'm stepping down... even if we had won last night I'd still have stepped down," the 42-year-old told BBC Radio Five on Sunday. "I must consider my family's needs as well as my own, and therefore believe now is the right time to stand down."

Maradona banned two months, fined over outburst

ZURICH on Sunday after a foul-mouthed outburst at the end of last month's decisive World Cup qualifier in Uruguay. Maradona, 49, who faced a potential ban from some of his team's matches at next year's World Cup, apologised for his behaviour and showed remorse, soccer's governing body FIFA said.