Netherlands won Women Hockey World Cup 2018

Netherlands have been crowned Hockey World Cup winners for a record eighth time after a crushing 6-0 win ended Ireland’s fairy tale tournament. Four goals in a seven minute spell around the half-time break earned the Dutch an emphatic victory.

Ireland had won new fans on their unlikely road to the final but found no answer to their opponents' intensity. Despite the defeat, Ireland is expected to climb up to 10th in the world rankings for the first time. Lidewij Welten, Kelly Jonker, Kitty van Male, Malou Pheninckx, Marloes Keetels and Caia van Maasakker all scored for the Dutch, who have extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 32 matches.

The top four goal scorers in the tournament all came from Alyson Annan's squad, with van Male topping the order with an incredible eight goals for the defending champions. The only other World Cup meeting between these two teams took place in the group stages of the 2002 tournament when the Dutch crushed Ireland 6-0 on their way to the final.

The period before and after the interval firmly settled the contest and ended any chance Ireland had of getting back into the game, as the Netherlands continued their rampant form to clinically seal the gold medal. Ireland kept the Dutch scoreless in the final quarter and could have snatched a consolation at the other end as they once again showed their grit and work-ethic, giving everything right up until the final whistle.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Netherlands

Australian Jack Miller became the first satellite rider to win a MotoGP race in 10 years as the Aussie sealed a sensational victory in the rain affected Dutch TT at Assen. The race was restarted over 12 laps after being stopped initially on lap 15 due to adverse weather conditions, with heavy rain lashing the circuit.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez sealed second place to extend his lead at the top of the championship after title rival Valentino Rossi slid out of the lead, while Jorge Lorenzo struggled to the 10^th place. Marc VDS Honda rider Miller becomes the first satellite winner of a MotoGP since Toni Elias clinched victory in Portugal in 2006.

Britain Scott Redding reeled in and passed Pol Espargaro on the penultimate lap to snatch a brilliant third place on the Pramac Ducati, putting two satellite machines onto the podium. A host of riders were caught out by the conditions, including Dani Pedrosa, Cal Crutchlow, Andrea Dovizioso, Bradley Smith, Aleix Espargaro and Alvaro Bautista. Marquez now leads the championship by 24 points from Lorenzo after eight rounds, with Rossi 42 points behind the Honda Rider in third.

Dovizioso, who had been in contention for victory in the original race, saw his hopes ended by a crash on lap two at turn 12, with Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider Smith Sliding out at turn 15. Smith re-joined the race and eventually finished 13^th and last. There were only 13 finishers in a dramatic 250^th MotoGP race at Assen, where the race was held for the first time.