Sports News Roundup: Rugby-South Africa hold off 14-man NZ to win record fourth World Cup; Boxing-Fury knocked down but beats Ngannou on a split decision and more

Unfancied Colombia thumped Brazil 9-1 to be crowned baseball champions for the first time, capping a wild and unpredictable tournament that saw traditional powers Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Puerto Rico all fall short. Motor racing-Leclerc takes Mexican pole in Ferrari front-row lockout Charles Leclerc swept to pole position for the Mexico City Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday with Carlos Sainz qualifying second in a surprise Ferrari front-row lockout.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Rugby-South Africa hold off 14-man NZ to win record fourth World Cup

South Africa produced a magnificent defensive display to edge 14-man New Zealand 12-11 in a compelling arm-wrestle of a Rugby World Cup final on Saturday and win the Webb Ellis Cup for a record fourth time. Only a single yellow card had been shown in nine previous World Cup finals but the crackdown on foul play in the game led to four being handed out over 80 minutes of intense rugby played out in front of a crowd of 80,065 at the Stade de France.

Boxing-Fury knocked down but beats Ngannou on a split decision

WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury beat former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou on a split decision in a non-title fight in Saudi Arabia on Sunday that almost delivered one of boxing's biggest upsets. Fury, unbeaten holder of one of the sport's most prestigious belts, narrowly avoided a first defeat at the hands of a 37-year-old opponent who had never boxed professionally before but went through the full 10 rounds with some swagger.

Motor racing-Ricciardo says fourth on the grid was no fluke

Daniel Ricciardo secured AlphaTauri's best grid position of the Formula One season on Saturday and said fourth in Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying, sandwiched between the two Red Bull drivers, was no fluke. The Australian broke his hand at the Dutch Grand Prix in August and missed five races before returning in Austin, Texas, last weekend, where he finished 15th.

Soccer-Brentford stun Chelsea in 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge

Brentford snatched a 2-0 win away at Chelsea on Saturday as the expensively assembled Blues failed to turn possession into goals once again and were punished by a thumping header from defender Ethan Pinnock and a last-minute breakaway goal by Bryan Mbeumo. The west London derby defeat was yet another setback for Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino, whose side had shown signs of putting a poor start to the season behind them recently with two wins out of three and a 2-2 draw against Arsenal last weekend.

Rugby-New Zealand PM praises resilient All Blacks despite World Cup final loss

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins praised the All Blacks for their resilience and determination despite seeing Ian Foster's side slip to a narrow defeat against South Africa in the final of the Rugby World Cup in Paris on Saturday. New Zealand lost 12-11 as the South Africans defended the title they won in Japan four years ago, with the All Blacks forced to play much of the game with 14 players following Sam Cane's red card.

Games-Colombia strike gold on Pan Am Games diamond

Colombia struck gold on the diamond, winning the men's baseball final at the Pan American Games on Saturday while Brazil ruled the top of podium on the judo mat and the tennis court. Unfancied Colombia thumped Brazil 9-1 to be crowned baseball champions for the first time, capping a wild and unpredictable tournament that saw traditional powers Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Puerto Rico all fall short.

Motor racing-Leclerc takes Mexican pole in Ferrari front-row lockout

Charles Leclerc swept to pole position for the Mexico City Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday with Carlos Sainz qualifying second in a surprise Ferrari front-row lockout. The Italian team had seemed slow in final practice, with Leclerc 13th and Sainz 15th, but they pulled the time out of the hat when it mattered, with Leclerc lapping in one minute 17.166 seconds.

Soccer-Nketiah hat-trick fires Arsenal to 5-0 rout of Sheffield United

Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah ended his scoring drought in stunning fashion with a hat-trick in his side's 5-0 home thrashing of hapless Sheffield United in the Premier League on Saturday. The 24-year-old, who made his full England debut this month, had not scored for the Gunners since August and had recently lost his place in the starting line-up.

Tennis-Sabalenka aiming to thwart Swiatek at WTA Finals, keep top spot

Aryna Sabalenka has enjoyed a stellar 2023 and the Belarusian will head into the season-ending WTA Finals on Sunday in Cancun, Mexico, aiming to fend off Iga Swiatek and secure the year-end world number one ranking. Australian Open champion Sabalenka leapfrogged four-time major winner Swiatek and claimed the top ranking for the first time after the U.S. Open last month. She is in control of her destiny heading into the finale.

Athletics-Marathoners in Beijing go maskless, unfazed by smog

Runners undeterred by thick smog engulfing the Chinese capital ran the Beijing Marathon maskless on Sunday, many wearing shorts in one of the warmest Octobers on record. Despite a greyish brown smog settling, some 30,000 marathoners set off at 7:30 a.m. (2330 GMT) from Tiananmen Square on the route through four districts of the Chinese capital over 42.195 km (26.2 miles).