The Stagcom 6th September Round Up
We may be a day late with the weekend round up, but with plenty happening on Monday - including the tennis and the football - we thought it'd be best to wait until today.
It was a busy weekend with a bunch of international games and the return of the Aviva Premiership - too much to keep on top of in truth. Allow us to recap the stories you might have missed!
International Break
The first round of qualifiers for the 2018 Russia World Cup were played over the weekend. Sam Allardyce took charge of his first match as England Manager, and overall it was a success for the home nations.
England overcame a potential banana skin in the form of Slovakia with a 1-0 win. Big Sam's first game as boss had looked to be heading for a disappointing 0-0 draw, but Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana popped up with a goal in the fifth minute of injury time to sneak a late win.
Scotland began their qualifying campaign with a 5-1 hammering of international minnows Malta; Hull midfielder Robert Snodgrass notched a hat-trick, with Chris Martin and Steven Fletcher grabbing the other goals. Northern Ireland were the other home nation in action on Sunday, grabbing a point away to the Czech Republic in a 0-0 draw.
Monday saw the Republic of Ireland travel to Serbia. Martin O'Neill's side took an early lead through Jeff Hendrick, before the home side turned the game on its head to make it 2-1. Newcastle United's Daryl Murphy then scored a late equaliser to secure a valuable point for the Irish.
Wales were the final home nation in action last night, and thumped Moldova 4-0 in Cardiff. Sam Vokes and Joe Allen gave Chris Coleman's side a half-time lead, with Gareth Bale adding a second-half brace.
Murray Makes it to Quarters
Andy Murray was in scintillating form as he dispatched of Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the fourth round at the US Open. The British number one dropped only five games throughout the entire match to set up a quarter-final against sixth seed Kei Nishikori.
Murray's performance was a reminder to all that he is the man in form, after Novak Djokovic ended Kyle Edmund's fabulous run in the tournament on Sunday. If all goes as expected, the top two seeds will meet each other in Sunday's final at Flushing Meadows, which, let's be honest, is the match everyone wants to see.
Rugby Union Returns
The 2016/17 Aviva Premiership got under way at the weekend and started with a bang! The first game of the season saw Leicester Tigers reduce a 24-point deficit to tie the score at 31-31 and then Sam Harrison went over in the final minute to give Tigers an unlikely win.
Last season's champions Saracens thumped Worcester 35-3 at Twickenham to begin their title defence; but weren't at their best. Sarries only lead 6-3 at the break but second-half tries from Jamie George, Alex Lozowski, Schalk Burger and Ben Spencer gave Mark McCall's side victory with a bonus point.
Rosberg Reduces Lead
Nico Rosberg reduced Lewis Hamilton's lead at the top of the championship to just two points after winning the Italian Grand Prix. The German's win came as a surprise after Hamilton was in pole position on the grid after a stunning display in qualifying on Saturday.
The British driver fell back to sixth in the race following the first corner, and despite clawing his way back to second, Hamilton was unable to challenge Rosberg for the race victory. Despite the poor start, Hamilton refused to blame anyone other than himself for the poor start. The championship is certainly heating up now!
Image Credits: Squawka, Sky Sports Tennis, Sky Sports F1, Leicester TIgers Fan