Golf: Fighting Faldo moves into contention

Nick Faldo overcame treacherous conditions to remain in contention for the Australian Open title at Royal Adelaide yesterday. Faldo started his third round with three straight birdies on the way to an even-par 72, to finish the day on 218, two over par. In a test made tougher by a stiff wind, no golfer was under par, with the Australian Stuart Appleby also hitting a 72 to retain a one-stroke lead over his playing partner Faldo. It continued a good recovery for Faldo, who shot a poor 77 in the opening round but followed it with a three-under-par 69 on Friday. Greg Norman, who had a rare early tee-off after scraping past the halfway cut, hit a 72 to be eight over par on 224. Faldo, a six-time winner of the event, has called for it to be designated world golf's fifth major championship. "All the great players have played it, they have all come to Australia," Faldo said.

Things got off to a shaky start when the referee for the curtain-raiser at Twickenham yesterday, the Under-21 international in which England beat South Africa 32-10, could not be found, writes David Llewellyn. It appeared that Pablo Deluca, the Argentine official, had been locked in his room by an over-zealous steward. However, a major international incident with another South American country was averted when the referee was released unharmed. During the match, there were encouraging signs for the future of English rugby, with the captain Alex Sanderson particularly prominent up front. The Bath full-back Iain Balshaw scored 22 points, including a well-taken second-half try and five penalties. He also converted England's second try scored by the Sale wing Steve Hanley, and David Flatman, the Saracens prop, opened the scoring with a powerful try from a fifth-minute line-out.