Hull 20 Huddersfield 34: Danny Brough sends England reminder

Danny Brough gave England coach Steve McNamara another nudge with a superb display just days before the national squad to face the Exiles is revealed as Huddersfield won 34-20 at Hull.

The Giants scrum-half kicked brilliantly, scored the decisive try and dictated play as his side kept up with Warrington at the top of the engage Super League.

Huddersfield boss Nathan Brown said: 'On form, Danny should be in the England team. He's earned his chance because he's playing consistently well.'

David Hodgson's  hat-trick ensured the Giants led for most of the afternoon. Even when the hosts did threaten an upset, having clawed their way back to within two points late on, Jordan Turner fumbled Sam Obst's pass and Brough went over for the match-winning try.

Tries from Michael Lawrence and Hodgson had sandwiched Ewan Dowes' first-half effort for Hull.

Hodgson got his second soon after the interval. Then Mark O'Meley and Willie Manu crossed for the hosts, before Hodgson's third, Brough's interception and Lee Gilmour's try completed the scoring.

Stand-off Ben Jeffries scored three of Bradford's five tries in their 28-14 win over Salford.

Catalan Dragons returned to winning ways with a 42-22 win at Wakefield.

Castleford revived their play-off challenge by ending a four-match run of defeats with a 56-24 win over Harlequins.

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England beaten by Barbarians

The Barbarians conjured a superb last-minute try to condemn a youthful England side to defeat in a non-cap international at Twickenham.

Tries from Henry Trinder, Ugo Monye and James Simpson-Daniel helped the hosts into a 24-7 lead after 26 minutes.

But the Baa-Baas hit back with four unanswered tries to lead 31-24 before England responded with a penalty from Charlie Hodgson and a Tom Johnson try.

But Baa-Baas wing Tim Visser finished off a flowing move to win it late on.

It was a second try for the Edinburgh-based Dutchman, as the invitational side out-scored England six-to-four on the try count.

The hosts also had to contend with worrying-looking injuries to Harlequins duo Ugo Monye and Joe Marler.

Monye, a contender for the final wing spot in England's World Cup squad, limped off with damaged knee ligments while 20-year-old prop Marler was carried off on a stretcher with mild concussion. Matt Banahan also suffered a soft tissue injury.

Of the players hoping to boost their prospects of getting on the plane to New Zealand, captain Luke Narraway probably advanced his cause the most, while Banahan confirmed his versatility with a powerful display and fly-half Charlie Hodgson showed touches of class.

Hodgson's array of passing was in evidence from the off as he created the opening try inside three minutes.

Twice sending Banahan - playing at inside centre - on short bursts up the middle, the Saracens-bound number 10 then checked his pass superbly to put Narraway in space, who in turn sent Trinder over.

If the young Gloucester centre, one of five players making their senior debuts, enjoyed his start to life at international level, he was swiftly exposed to its harsher realities.

Paul Sackey, England's top try-scorer at the last World Cup, left him clutching at thin air as hared round him in the lead-up to the Barbarians' first try.

Prop Marler, another debutant, drifted to the right in the defensive line and Frederic Michalak seized the opportunity, delaying his short pass perfectly to fellow Frenchman Benoit Baby, who danced through the gap and sprinted to the line.

Michalak's conversion levelled matters at 7-7 before England reasserted themselves.

The giant Banahan ploughed straight through Michalak and Exeter flanker Johnson - another debutant - just failed to ground a bouncing ball in the left corner.

A strong drive from Marler, bouncing off Springboks flanker Joe van Niekerk, earned England a penalty that Hodgson - to the sound of mild booing from the crowd - kicked to nudge the hosts 10-7 ahead.

Their second try arrived in the 19th minute as Banahan sucked in the Baa-Baas midfield on a dummy run, Hodgson released Simpson-Daniel and he and Mike Brown put Monye into space.

The Harlequins wing chipped inside and when Nicolas Jeanjean failed to secure the ball, Monye stooped over the full-back and dabbed the ball down, Hodgson adding a second conversion for a 17-7 lead.

Simpson-Daniel then profited from Narraway's good work in collecting a Michalak kick and leaving his opposite number Sergio Parisse for dead with a dummy before feeding his Gloucester team-mate.

Simpson-Daniel, who made his reputation when he embarrassed the great Jonah Lomu in the same fixture nine years ago, stepped inside Ruan Pienaar to finish in dazzling style.

That proved to be the high-point of England's afternoon, as the Barbarians got on top in the scrum and started to dominate at the breakdown.

The hosts lost Bath-bound flanker Carl Fearns to the sin-bin for killing the ball at a ruck six minutes before half-time and the Barbarians should have immediately capitalised.

With a man advantage at the scrum, they worked a perfect opening only for Van Niekerk to waste the scoring chance with a forward pass to Sackey, released by Toulon and sporting the pink socks of Stade Francais, a sign perhaps of where he will be playing next season.

But after a break-out from Brown, Paul Hodgson's pass was intercepted by Michalak, who raced away to score, the maverick Frenchman adding the conversion for good measure.

That brought the Barbarians to within 10 points at the interval, and they halved that deficit nine minutes into the second period.

For all the positives from Simpson-Daniel in attack, the watching Martin Johnson would not have been too impressed with the way the wing allowed his opposite number Visser to collect Michalak's cross-kick, step past him and race away up the left touchline to score.

Michalak missed the conversion to leave it at 24-19, and did so again when the Baa-Baas drew level in the 57th minute, replacement Joe Tekori showing soft hands to put George Smith over in the right corner.

But the momentum was with the invitational side, and Van Niekerk swiftly plundered a fifth try from close range, Michalak converting for a 31-24 lead.

England took stock while Marler, after a lengthy spell of on-pitch treatment, was carried off.

Hodgson kicked a penalty - to more boos - to reduce the deficit to four points, and reinforced with several replacements, they regained the lead with eight minutes left, Johnson capping his debut with a dummy before accelerating over.

But the Barbarians, who introduced rugby league convert Willie Mason for his union debut for the last 15 minutes, had the last word with a try befitting their tradition.

Fijian Tekori outstripped the England midfield before releasing the charging Van Niekerk.

The powerful South African was stopped just short, but still conjured an off-load off the floor for Visser to finish, Pienaar converting with the last kick of the match.

England: Brown (Harlequins), Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), Trinder (Gloucester), Banahan (Bath), U Monye (Harlequins), Hodgson (Sale), Hodgson (London Irish); Marler (Harlequins), Paice (London Irish), Doran-Jones (Gloucester), Kitchener (Worcester), Attwood (Gloucester), Johnson (Exeter), Fearns (Sale), Narraway (Gloucester, capt)

Replacements: Brookes (Newcastle, for Doran-Jones, 58, Doran-Jones for Marler, 62), Gaskell (Sale, for Fearns, 52), Gibson (London Irish, for Kitchener, 58), Young (Newcastle, for P Hodgson, 58), Myler (Northampton, for Brown, 66), Turner-Hall (Harlequins, for Monye 43). Not used: Gray (Harlequins)

Sin Bin: Fearns (35).

Barbarians: Jeanjean (Brive); Sackey (Toulon), Baby (Clermont Auvergne), Bastareaud (Stade Francais), Visser (Edinburgh); Michalak (Toulouse), Pienaar (Ulster); Perugini (Aironi), Ghiraldini (Benetton Treviso), Kubriashvili (Toulon), Lund (Biarritz), Geldenhuys (Aironi), Van Niekerk (Toulon), Smith (Toulon), Parisse (Stade Francais, capt).

Replacements: Bruno (Toulon, for Ghiraldini, 50), Hayman (Toulon, for Kubriashvili, 50), Tekori (Castres, for Geldenhuys, 55), Williams (Cardiff Blues, for Smith, 65), Mason (Toulon, for Sackey, 65), Rabini (La Rochelle, for Baby, 50). Not used: Tillous-Borde (Castres).

Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

Attendance: 38,680

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Vettel seals dramatic Monaco win

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel won his first Monaco Grand Prix and pulled further ahead in the championship.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Jenson Button, who briefly led the race, had closed in on Vettel but a late safety car helped the German.

Alonso finished second for the first time in 2011, with Button third and Red Bull's Mark Webber fourth.

Lewis Hamilton became embroiled in a row over critical comments about stewards after finishing sixth.

The Englishman was called before officials for two separate incidents and, asked why he had been to see stewards five times in six races this year, he said, apparently in jest: "Maybe it's because I'm black. That's what Ali G says."

The race was poised for a thrilling finish as Vettel, Alonso and Button were covered by less than a second and chasing each other hard.

But with just seven laps to go, Renault's Vitaly Petrov got caught in a pile-up and plunged his Renault into the barriers at the Swimming Pool.

After complaining of pain in his left ankle the Russian was taken to hospital for a body scan, but Renault subsequently released a statement confirming there was no swelling or broken bone.

The reappearance of the safety car released the pressure on Vettel, and when the race resumed 20 minutes later with the three leaders all having changed their tyres, Vettel comfortably held off Alonso and Button to add the Monaco title to his growing collection.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it had been particularly pleasing to win after the team had experienced a series of unexpected problems during the race.

"We had problems at Sebastian's first stop, we had radio issues and didn't get the tyres on that we wanted, so we had to change our strategy," said Horner.

"The main thing was that we didn't panic. We tried something a bit different, which was very aggressive, but Seb was making it work - that was what won him the race today.

"He was pretty confident, kept talking to his engineers, focusing on areas he could be quick."

BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan praised Vettel.

"Since he became world champion he has been supreme," said Jordan.

"He is always in the right place - but he also had luck on his side."

Monaco is regarded as the most challenging circuit on the calendar because the narrow, twisting streets push the drivers to the limit.

And Vettel had taken his first pole in Monte Carlo during a qualifying session which had been overshadowed by Sergio Perez's heavy crash which kept him out of the race.

Button, who started alongside Vettel on the front row, tried to play a decisive card in the race when he triggered the pit stops on lap 15.

Vettel had no choice but to respond and came in for his first stop on the following lap, but his crew of mechanics in the Red Bull garage did not have the tyres ready. The resulting delay saw Vettel return to the track in second place.

With a clear track ahead of him, Button quickly built a lead over the world champion.

But while a clever strategy call helped McLaren and Hamilton win in China, this time their attempt to out-think Red Bull backfired.

Button was on a three-stop strategy and when he came in for a second time Vettel regained the lead, and Button dropped to third after his final stop.

The Englishman refused to blame his team's strategy for failing to deliver him his first win of the season.

"We had to take the risk and go for more stops so we shouldn't be upset with what we did," said Button.

"The team did a great job this weekend and I was happy with our strategy. We had to try to do something different to beat Vettel, it was working but it didn't work in the end."

Alonso had muscled his way past Webber and up to third with a typically aggressive start and the Spaniard gained another place thanks to a two-stop strategy.

Vettel looked in real danger as his one-stop strategy meant he had to nurse his tyres for more than 60 laps.

But the restart after the second safety car meant the three leading cars were able to change their tyres and Vettel comfortably cruised to the line.

Alonso said: "Seven days ago we were two minutes behind the leaders and now we are fighting for victory.

"The car is identical to Barcelona so [this result] is just related to Monaco's unique circuit.

"It is also true that the car is working well on the supersoft tyres. They will be available for the next two races so hopefully we can repeat this performance."

Hamilton had a rollercoaster of an afternoon and was constantly in the thick of the action.

After a tussle with Michael Schumacher's Mercedes, Hamilton received a drive-through penalty after he bumped Massa in a three-way battle with Webber at the hairpin.

It's not too late [to win the world championship] but it's not looking great

The Englishman was ninth with seven laps to go, before Jaime Alguersuari's Toro Rosso rode over his McLaren, breaking the rear wing.

The team repaired Hamilton's car before the restart but Hamilton was soon back in trouble with the stewards when he collided with Pastor Maldonado's Williams at Sainte Devote - an incident for which he was subsequently penalised with the addition of 20 seconds to his finishing time, although the punishment which left his finishing position unchanged.

The battle at the hairpin also had repercussions for Massa as Hamilton hustled him again in the tunnel, and as the McLaren sailed safely through, Massa lost control on the tyre debris in the tunnel and hit the barriers.

It is the second race in a row that Massa has retired.

"I was quite a lot quicker than Massa, I went up the inside - and he turned in," said Hamilton in a fiery interview after the race.

"I get the penalty [though], which is usual. He held me up in qualification, I got the penalty. He turned in to me, I got the penalty.

"But you get done trying to put on a show, trying to make a move. Fair play, if I feel I've gone too late I'd hold my hand up to admit I've caused an incident.

"It's not too late [to win the world championship] but it's not looking great."

Schumacher, a five time Monaco winner, conjured up memories of former glories in the opening stages of the race when he brilliantly passed Hamilton at the hairpin.

"That's something I thought you'd never see," said BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard. "Hamilton, one of the best racers in the world, caught napping by Schumacher - an inspired move."

But Schumacher fell back as his tyres quickly deteriorated, a problem with which his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg also struggled, before Schumacher eventually retired with a fire in his airbox. Rosberg went on to finish 11th.

There was some much-needed positive news for Sauber as Kamui Kobayashi finished fifth on a one-stop strategy. It was very nearly fourth, the Japanese driver only being passed by the charging Webber on the penultimate lap.

Kobayashi called it a "great achievement" after a difficult weekend with his team-mate Perez still recovering in hospital after a qualifying crash which left him with concussion and a bruised thigh.

Adrian Sutil collected sixth for Force India, but his team-mate Paul di Resta was 15th after receiving a drive-through penalty for a mis-timed pass on Alguersuari.

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Posh secure Championship return

Peterborough hit three late goals to beat Huddersfield at Old Trafford and win promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

The League One play-off final looked to be heading for extra time before Posh hit three goals in seven minutes.

Tommy Rowe headed them ahead from Grant McCann's free-kick before top scorer Craig Mackail-Smith's shot deflected in off Antony Kay's knee.

McCann curled in a free-kick to inflict Town's first league defeat of 2011.

For Huddersfield, who had not lost in 27 league and play-off games, the scoreline was wildly unfair.

But, for Posh boss Darren Ferguson, victory proved a happy end to a mixed weekend for his family, his father's Manchester United having lost to Barcelona in Saturday's Champions League final.

Posh have effectively swapped leagues with Preston North End, who sacked Ferguson in December, only for the Scot to return to Peterborough for a second spell two weeks later.

Peterborough, who have now been promoted in all the three play-off campaigns they have participated in, were the better side in the first half.

They almost took the lead within five minutes, only for Mackail-Smith's shot to be deflected onto the outside of the post by a last-gasp tackle from Kay.

George Boyd then showed good trickery in forcing an Ian Bennett save from 30 yards out as Posh, relegated from the Championship a year ago, threatened to run riot.

Huddersfield looked like their chances would be more likely to come from set-pieces and crosses, and Lee Peltier headed over from Gary Roberts' ball.

Posh keeper Paul Jones then plucked Peter Clarke's goalbound header out of the air.

Huddersfield boss Lee Clark had decided to play Benik Afobe as his only out-and-out striker, his usual policy for away games.

But, when the on-loan Arsenal youngster received the ball in the box, he failed to control it and the chance was gone.

Mackail-Smith was then put through, denied by another brilliant last-ditch Kay tackle.

And, from another Terriers cross, Afobe took the ball off Daniel Ward's foot when he was ready to shoot from inside the box.

The game was going from end to end and Boyd put Mackail-Smith through, but he was denied by yet another fine saving tackle, denying him the chance to shoot.

Roberts saw his free-kick tipped wide by Jones and then his corner found Afobe, who turned in the box but fired wide from eight yards out.

And, with the final chance of the first half, Mackail-Smith fired wide unmarked in the box after Boyd poked him through.

In the first major incident of the second half, McCann hit a curling free-kick from 20 yards out just over.

Then came Huddersfield's big chance, Ward running down the right wing, cutting inside and smashing the ball against the bar.

The Terriers were growing in confidence, causing Posh plenty of problems from crosses. But they could have been down to 10 men, when Kay brought down the effervescent Mackail-Smith, who was through on goal.

He was saved by the fact that defensive partner Clarke was still in with a chance of catching him and was only shown a yellow card.

But, moments later came the opener, Rowe's header finding the centre of the goal from McCann's whipped free-kick.

Clark decided to go to two up front and brought on Danny Cadamarteri. But the momentum was all Peterborough's by now, Mackail-Smith's shot hitting Kay before finding the corner of the net.

Mackail-Smith's strike, his 35th of the season and 99th for the club, is likely to be his last, the Scotland international having been targeted by Premier League-bound QPR and Norwich amongst others.

And McCann, whose set-pieces had caused problems for the Terriers, put an unreflective gloss on the scoreline from 25 yards out.

Lee Tomlin then fired over late on from Boyd's pass as Posh threatened to add a fourth.

But the whistle ended the heartbreak for Huddersfield, who, having finished third in the league, eight points clear of Posh, had been in the chase for automatic promotion until the penultimate day of the league campaign.

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PGA win sees Donald top rankings

Luke Donald beat Lee Westwood in a play-off to win the PGA Championship at Wentworth and overtake his countryman as the world number one.

The 33-year-old Donald won at the first play-off hole when Westwood found the water in front of the 18th green.

Donald hit 70 to Westwood's 68 to tie on six under, while Englishman Simon Dyson (69) was third at four under.

On climbing one spot to the top of the rankings, England's Donald said: "Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

The American-based golfer added: "It's something I'll be very proud of. Obviously, there's a lot of work still to do and hopefully there'll be much more to come, but I'll savour this.

"It's a lot of responsibility and I'm looking forward to the challenge of being number one and hopefully I can hold onto it for a few more weeks. I know Lee and Martin [Kaymer] will be chasing me hard.

"To come through in these circumstances in one of the biggest tournaments in the world, going head-to-head with Lee is pretty special. It doesn't get much better.

"To win here with the top three in the world, top six out of seven, all of the Ryder Cuppers, all four major champions, and to beat them in stroke play feels pretty good."

The second-ranked Donald, who has been vying for top spot for a number of weeks, only needed to finish above Westwood to take the reins, as long as world number three Martin Kaymer finished outside the top two.

But with Kaymer struggling down the field, the final day was set up for a duel between the world's two best-rated players.

Donald, who was second at Wentworth last year and won the WGC Match Play in February, began tied for the lead with 18-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero, with Westwood two back in the penultimate group.

But Donald, who fought back from a messy outward 40 with an inward 32 on Saturday to bring back memories of his first-round 64, was soon in trouble again. His opening drive went deep into the trees on the right and he could only hack out sideways, eventually running up a bogey, followed by another at the short second after a poor chip.

Manassero's challenge was effectively over after a double bogey on the third and Westwood joined Donald in a share of the lead with a birdie at the fourth.

From then on the lead was virtually a two-horse race. Westwood finally went clear on his own with a birdie on the 12th to reach six under and he forged a two-shot cushion with another birdie on 15. But the 38-year-old handed a shot straight back on the 16th when he raced his first putt 10ft past and missed the one coming back.

Donald, who had recovered with birdies at the fourth and 10th, hit his approach on 16 to a few inches and tapped in for another birdie to draw level again. Both players escaped with par fives on the 17th, and although Donald recovered to make par after driving into a fairway bunker, Westwood missed a birdie chance that would have proved decisive.

"I played lovely all day," said Westwood. "The reason I finished second was because I didn't take my chances on 17 and 18, not because I lost the play-off."

Playing the long 18th again, Donald's third shot to the green span back to about 10ft from the pin, while Westwood's effort screwed into the water guarding the front of the green, the controversial change to the famous finishing hole which was instigated in 2010. The Worksop star chipped on but could only make seven and Donald holed his putt first time for the title - his fifth of the year to continue a remarkable run that has seen him finish in the top 10 in his last nine events.

Of the man he beat, Donald added: "I felt a bit bad for Lee. I knew it would be a tough play-off. Lee's a hell of a player and doesn't back down."

Ireland's Shane Lowry finished birdie, birdie, eagle to shoot 67 and finish tied for fourth at two under alongside Australian Marcus Fraser (67) and Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin (71).

Three-time PGA champion and eight-time European number one Colin Montgomerie carded 68 to end in the group sharing seventh at one under for his best finish since a tie for second in the 2008 French Open.

Manassero, already a two-time winner on Tour after turning pro in 2010, ended with a 75 to also finish one under alongside England's David Horsey (71), Wales' Jamie Donaldson (69), Scot Peter Whiteford (70) and Sweden's Johan Edfors (71).

PGA final round - Shots of the day

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