31/10/2015 Saturday Sportsday

hello and welcome to the BBC's SportsCenter. I am Lizzie

Greenwood-Hughes, here is what is coming up on today's programme. Can

New Zealand win back-to-back Rugby World Cups? The Brownlee Brothers

fit again and ready for Rio, and we meet England's rugby league team

ahead of a tough few weeks that first let's have a look at some of

the other sports stories around lunchtime. A mistake format 's

Whitlock at the World Championships, had to settle for fifth in the

all-round final. Japan took a record sixth gold. The Irish Paralympic

star Michael McKillop clinched his sixth IPC World Championship gold

medal after defending his 1500 metre title in Doha. South Africa finished

third at the Rugby World Cup after beating Argentina 24-13 in the

third-place play-off at the Olympic Stadium.

So the Springboks were third but who will be crowned rugby World Cup

champions at Twickenham later this afternoon? Will it be favourites New

Zealand, bidding to become the first team ever to retain the trophy, or

will it be archrivals Australia, also double World Cup winners? Our

man in the know, Olly Foster, these two have got one of the biggest

rivalries of any sport. Can we expect an absolute classic today? We

certainly hope so. The weather is set fair so there should be some

running rugby. Certainly the players are capable of scoring some

fantastic tries. We have already seen them do that over the past six

weeks, Adam Ashley-Cooper for Australia, Julian Savea, he could

score a ninth try at this tournament this afternoon. That would be a

record. You talk about record breakers. A lot of attention will be

on the likes of Richie McCaw, the All Blacks talismanic captain. He

will win his 148 and possibly last cap here. Dan Carter, their

inspirational fly-half, no one has scored more points than him in the

international game. It will be his first final. He was devastated when

he missed out on the final on home soil for years ago that the All

Blacks one. It is also going to be his last final before he retires

from international rugby -- that the All Blacks won. It is not about me,

the guys playing their last game, it is about this 2015 All Blacks side

that having worked extremely hard all year, that is my motivating

factor, just wanting to go out there and play the best I possibly can

with my team-mates alongside me. We will give them Jewish spec. They

have achieved a lot, not only in -- we will give them due respect. We

will congratulate them for what they have achieved in their careers but

there won't be any of that before the game. It is a fantastic rivalry

between the All Blacks and the Wallabies. It is amazing to think,

Lizzie, that this will be the first time they have faced each other at a

World Cup final. That is why there is so much anticipation and

excitement, and we do certainly hope it will be a classic as well. The

Max kicks off at 4pm, we will be watching. It has been a tough year

for Alister and Johnny Brownlee, with injury wiping out most of their

year. But they have been making good use of their time. It has been very

frustrating. This year has been a bit frustrating. For the first time

in two years I am getting back to the top of my game. I started the

season incredibly well. Gold Coast was the best triathlon form I had

ever done. I have the ankle problem. It seemed to come round and bite

me. I had a lateral ankle ligament construction. A stress fracture.

With Rio just around the corner it makes it even worse. It has

certainly been a tough year but time away from training has given the

brothers a chance to inspire with a different way with the Brownlee

foundation. It brings triathlon to schoolchildren and is playing an

important role. I loved it, it was brilliant, so good. I was halfway

through and I was like I have to do it for my school and my family, so I

didn't stop. I would do loads of times again, it was really fun.

Sporting and revealed in Olympic sport almost half of those were so

at London 2012 have suffered decreased numbers. British triathlon

seems to be bucking the trend, they are up by over 30% in terms of

competing members since 2009, around the time that the Brownlee brothers

began winning international medals. After London 2012, I have heard

maybe some sports were going down but from what I have seen the sports

that triathlon are involved in, the numbers have increased dramatically.

20 years ago hardly anyone knew what triathlon was. Here we are in Leeds

with 1300 kids doing one. That stage in my career in the last five or ten

years has been incredible. And they are not finished yet. Both brothers

are attending to add to their Olympic honours. If I get to the

shape I was in Gold Coast and the Olympic there is any one person who

can beat me and that is Alister and he is recovering as well. The last

couple of years have been challenging. Whatever happened to

joy this year is worrying because it could be a big positive for him.

London was great getting a bronze but if I can get a gold it will be

absolutely incredible. Good luck to them in Rio if they get there. I am

sure every England rugby union fan was wishing it was their side lining

up against New Zealand today but that is not rugby league fans can

enjoy tomorrow as England take on New Zealand and the first of three

tests. They will be without star player Sam Tomkins but still high

hopes, as Adam Wilde found out when he saw them put through their paces

at St Georges Park. Rugby league is a sports determined to break new

ground. Away from its northern heartland, leafy Staffordshire is

where England's elite have set up camp. This is preparation for the

cutting edge, a squad now within touching distance of the world's

best. Even those for whom injury means they will play no part are

acutely aware of the importance of this limited chance to impress will

stop we want the belief to grow in this rugby, for that, the national

team needs to be successful, getting people to look at rugby league and

admire what a great product we have got. International rugby league is

something of a rare occurrence. Last Saturday's big win over France was

England's first game in almost a year. To that that in context,

England's football team in that period played ten times. England's

rugby union team 16. It is something a lot of people are working hard on

within the game, to try and increase the international opportunities. The

two major domestic leagues in the world, the Super League and the NRL

need to come together closely to create a calendar that facilitates

more international sport. England's last serious test on these shores

was 2013 in that now infamous World Cup semifinal against tomorrow's

opposition, New Zealand. An agonising last-minute defeat that

has left the squad both scarred and inspired. Obviously the heart ache

of the World Cup with New Zealand, it would be great to go one step

further. We want to win every game. It all starts this week for us. Now

England have men on the inside. Six members of the squad are based in

the southern hemisphere. That is as well the head coach. That for the

English game, is that a weakness or a strength? It is a fine balance. If

there are too many players going across it will affect our domestic

opposition so much. It is not that the Super League is better or worse

than the NRL, it is different. Going into those uncomfortable

environments can improve you as a player and a person. That remains a

discussion at the game's highest level, but only after this series

can a side be built here at Saint Georges Park be judged. You can

watch the first test on BBC Two tomorrow from 4:45pm. Just a quick

update on the early Premier League football match between Chelsea and

Liverpool, Chelsea 1-0 up, and early goal from them. From all of us, have

a great weekend.