Today's sports news: what you need to know

Latest - The former All Black halfback Bruce Deans has died after battling cancer.

The former All Black halfback Bruce Deans has died after battling cancer.

He was 58.

Deans, represented Canterbury during its famous Ranfurly Shield reigh between 1982-85 and played ten tests between 1987 and 1989.

Deans was a member of the 1987 World Cup winning squad but never got to play during the tournament, with captain David Kirk playing in the number 9 jersey.

Deans brother, Robbie, also represented Canerbury and the All Blacks.

Their great uncle Bob Deans was a member of the 1905 Originals side and entered into New Zealand rugby folklore for a disallowed try against Wales, when he claimed to have score a try that would have drawn New Zealand level only to be pulled back over the line before the referee could catch up.

It was the only match that New Zealand lost in the 35-match tour in 1905.

Wilde third in Tokyo

The young New Zealand triathlete Hayden Wilde has finished third at the Olympic Test event in Tokyo.

Wilde was up with the leaders through all 3 disciplines and was a part of a 3-man group that got away on the run to decide the placings.

The podium finish means Wilde is well placed to gain a spot in the New Zealand team for next year's Olympics.

Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk won.

Wilde was a member of the New Zealand team that won the World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series in Canada last month.

Warriors women side get stand alone game

The National Rugby League women's competition have introduced two stand-alone matches for the first time since the competition's inception last year.

The Warriors will hosts host a match at Mount Smart stadium on September 22nd while St George Illawarra will host a game at Leichhardt Oval the following week.

Last year, all the women's fixtures were played before the men's finals matches, culminating in the decider on grand final day.

Kyrgios cops hefty fine

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has copped a heavy fine from the ATP and faces a possible suspension for verbally abusing the chair umpire during his second-round defeat to Karen Khachanov at the Cincinnati Masters.

The 24-year-old Australian won the opening set against his Russian opponent, despite foot and ankle issues, before unleashing a profanity-laced tirade at umpire Fergus Murphy, throwing his towel over a camera and forcing broadcasters of the US event to switch to an overhead view.

Kyrgios took umbrage with Murphy, who he has previous history with, over his monitoring of the shot clock and berated the Irishman for most of the match.

He became obsessed with the issue, repeatedly calling Murphy a "potato" and labelling him a "disgrace" and the "worst ref in the world".

While on a toilet break Kyrgios took two racquets with him and smashed them in the players' tunnel before returning to the court.

After a double-fault handed Khachanov the match and the players shook hands, Kyrgios told Murphy "you're a f......ing tool bro" and appeared to spit in the direction of the umpire before he shunned the traditional handshake.

Kyrgios has been fined $175,000 by the ATP.

-AAP

McCullum to coach Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders have appointed former Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum as their new head coach.

McCullum, 37, played for the two-time IPL champions in two separate stints and also represented Trinbago Knight Riders, the Caribbean Premier League franchise that is owned by the same parent company Red Chillies Entertainment.

McCullum replaces South African Jacques Kallis, who parted ways with the Kolkata franchise last week after three seasons.

"It's a great honour to take on this responsibility. The Knight Rider franchises in IPL & CPL have become iconic and have set the standard in franchise cricket," McCullum said in a statement.

In the IPL, the former opening batsman McCullum is best remembered for his blistering knock of 158 not out against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first match of the inaugural season in 2008.

-Reuters

Auckland too strong for Northland

Auckland has beaten Northland 43-10 in their provincial rugby game in Whangarei.

The defending champions made no race of it as they ran in three early tries and led 24-3 at the break.

The result follows Auckland's draw with North Harbour in their opening game.

Auckland scored six tries to one.

Tonight North Harbour host Counties Manukau and Hawke's Bay host Wellington.

Manly thump Tigers

Manly's top-four hopes are well and truly alive after they put another dent in the Wests Tigers' NRL finals bid with a 32-12 win at Lottoland.

With three rounds to play after this weekend, Daly Cherry-Evans controlled the game perfectly for the Sea Eagles as they provisionally moved into the top four ahead of South Sydney.

It was a horror Thursday night for the Tigers, who could finish the round as low as 12th after two-straight losses.

With Robbie Farah already in doubt for the rest of the season, hooker Jacob Liddle suffered a serious knee injury in the sixth minute and didn't return.

The result means the joint venture will likely need to win their last three games to maintain any hope of breaking an eight-year finals drought.

Manly controlled 63 per cent of possession and forced five line dropouts, including two that came after defenders pushed the Tigers back into their own in-goal.

-AAP

Messi, Ronaldo and Van Dijk up for award

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil Van Dijk have been shortlisted for the UEFA Player of the Year award.

Van Dijk was voted both the Premier League Player of the Season and the Players' Player of the Year, and was instrumental in the Merseyside club's sixth European Cup triumph.

Two-time award winner Messi was the leading scorer in both La Liga (36 goals) and the Champions League (12 goals) last season but his Barcelona side fell in the semi-final stage to Liverpool, who overcame a three-goal deficit in the second leg to advance.

Ronaldo, who has won five Champions League titles, did not fare too well in Europe in his debut season with Juventus, the Italian side losing in the quarter-finals to Ajax Amsterdam.

However, he helped Juve seal their eighth successive league title with 21 goals and was voted the Serie A's Most Valuable Player.

-Reuters

Ruiz wants fight shifted

World heavyweight boxing champion Andy Ruiz Jr wants his December title rematch with Anthony Joshua in New York instead of Saudi Arabia.

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn, who said this week both parties had signed up to the fight in Diriyah, near Riyadh, raised the threat of legal action if the Mexican-American refused the terms set out.

"I have not signed anything yet - we are negotiating everything," said Ruiz, holder of the IBF, WBO and WBA belts after stunning Joshua in June at Madison Square Garden.

The choice of venue has been questioned in some quarters, with Saudi Arabia facing heightened international criticism over human rights.

Hearn said a Saudi title fight might be a game changer for boxing.

Ruiz said his next opponent, assuming he again beat Britain's Joshua, would likely be Bulgarian IBF mandatory contender Kubrat Pulav before a possible unification fight against WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

-Reuters

Franchitti back racing

Three times Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti will be getting back behind the wheel at next month's Goodwood Revival meeting for his first race since injury-enforced retirement in 2013.

The Scot suffered spinal fractures, concussion and a broken ankle in a career-ending crash at the Houston Grand Prix that October.

Now 46, the four times IndyCar champion will drive a classic 1960s Ferrari 250GT in the Kinrara Trophy, billed as the world's most valuable race with a field of cars valued at more than $400 million.

He will also drive an ex-Le Mans AC Cobra in a Tourist Trophy race against the likes of Denmark's retired nine times Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen and Italian ex-F1 racer Emmanuele Pirro.

-Reuters