Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin has finished fourth in the Bonmartio 500 Indycar race in Illinois.

Fellow New Zealander Scott Dixon has slipped to fourth in the season standings, finishing 19th after crashing out on lap 65 of the 260-lap race, which was won by Josef Newgarden.

In his rookie Indycar season, McLaughlin sits 13th in the standings, and says while he's pleased with the way things are tracking, he's still got a lot to learn.

"I'm learning the car, getting better and more comfortable with it and trusting myself. That's the biggest thing with my journey right now, trusting my ability and what I want from the car."

McLaughlin said he was working hard to survive in what turned out to be something of a race of attrition with numerous crashes.

"It was an awesome day for us," he said afterwards.

"Initially in the starts, I probably didn't pick the right holes and was a bit safe in some ways.

"But for the second or third restart, or the 10th restart - whatever we had, it was crazy at the start - I really got into it and got comfortable."

Newgarden took advantage of wrecks and mechanical failures in galloping to his second win of the season, making up big ground in the points race in the process.

He is now just 22 points behind leader Pato O'Ward of Italy, who finished second with polesitter Will Power claiming third.

- Reuters/RNZ

Walsh fourth in Oregon

New Zealand shot-putter Tom Walsh has finished fourth at the latest Diamond League meeting in Oregon.

Olympic champion Ryan Crouser of the United States won with a Diamond League record throw of 23.15 metres.

Brazilian Darlan Romani was second with American Joe Kovacs third.

Walsh was almost two metres behind Crousers winning distance.

Walsh's best throw of 21.39 metres was more than a metre behind his Olympic bronze medal throw earlier this month.

Walsh still tops the Diamond League standings.

Boks too good for Pumas

Tries from wing Makazole Mapimpi and Malcolm Marx helped South Africa secure a comfortable 29-10 victory over Argentina in their Rugby Championship clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Both tries came in the second half, and the Springboks will be disappointed they could not score more to earn a bonus point in a dominant performance until a scrappy last 15 minutes.

Argentina scored a late try from loose-forward Pablo Matera, but they largely found the unyielding home defence too difficult to break down.

The teams were due to share a charter flight to Australia tomorrow, but championship organisers are discussing where and when the competition will continue due to COVID-19 travel regulations in New Zealand that have left plans on hold.

-Reuters

Ko makes no impression on leaders

A third round even par 72 has left Lydia Ko well behind the leaders at the British Open in Scotland.

The world number six again had a mixed day with four birdies and five bogies in her round at Carnoustie.

Ko is one under par for the tournament in a tie for 40th.

She is eight shots behind the leaders Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark.

New Zealand improve at SailGP

The New Zealand SailGP team has finished fifth in the latest regatta in Denmark,

Peter Burling's crew finished eighth and third to today's two races.

Australia, helmed by Tom Slingsby, beat Japan and Great Britain in the final to take the Denmark title.

After four rounds Australia lead overall with New Zealand up two places to sixth.

The next round is in Saint-Tropez in France in a month.

Liverpool on top

Liverpool made it two wins from two at the start of the new Premier League season as they cruised to a 2-0 home victory over Burnley.

Diogo Jota edged Liverpool in front with his second goal in as many games in the 18th minute, a brilliant header in front of a first full Anfield in 17 months.... Sadio Mane got the second in the 69th minute.

Burnley, the team who last season ended Liverpool's 68-match unbeaten home league run, a record that stretched back almost four years, had chances to level, but their final ball was lacking at the crucial moment.

British record signing Jack Grealish marked his home debut for Manchester City with a goal as the champions demolished promoted Norwich City 5-0.

Aston Villa beat Newcastle 2-0, Brighton beat Watford 2-0, Leeds and Everton drew 2-2 and Crystal Palace and Brentford drew 0-0.

North of the border Celtic went top of the Scottish Premiership after a 6-0 win over St Mirren.

-Reuters

Jakobsen wins another stage

Fabio Jakobsen grabbed his second Vuelta a Espana stage win in a week, continuing his extraordinary career revival by powering to victory on stage eight while champion Primoz Roglic retained his overall lead.

The Dutchman bided his time in a frantic bunch sprint at the end of the 173km flat ride from Santa Pola to La Manga del Mar Menor before surging to the front of the queue and keeping his wheel ahead of Italian Alberto Dainese and Belgian Jasper Philipsen, who came second and third respectively.

Jakobsen also won Tuesday's stage three, a year after a horrific crash in the Tour of Poland in August 2020 which led to him being put in a medically induced coma and having five hours of surgery for a brain trauma after a high-speed collision with Dylan Groenewegen near the finish line.

There was no change in the overall lead in Spain as Roglic and his fellow general classification contenders came over the line together right behind Jakobsen.

-Reuters

NZ reinforcements in IPL

The New Zealand cricketer Glenn Phillips has been picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for the resumption of the Indian Premier League in the UAE.

Phillips, a wicketkeeper-batsman, replaces England's Jos Butler, who will miss the rest of the tournament with his second child due to be born soon.

Royal Challengers Bangalore say their Australian coach Simon Katich will be unavailable for the remainder of the campaign due to personal reasons, with Director of Cricket Operation, New Zealander Mike Hesson taking over.

The eight-team Twenty20 competition was suspended in May after several players and backroom staff tested positive for COVID-19 amid a devastating second wave of the virus in India.

-Reuters