Records in Beijing and Sydney, and a rugby league World Cup off to a flier

Top line: The rugby league World Cup opened with Samoa's record-breaking 78-4 victory over France¹ on Friday, October 16, and first matches were played from 16 October 2026².

What happened

The big ones

Samoa's win came at CommBank Stadium, where Samoa ran in three tries in the final eight minutes¹, and a late bounce off the upright gave Benaiah Ioelu a try after the siren.

On Sunday, October 18, Olympic champion Tamirat Tola won the Beijing Marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 10 seconds, breaking the course record by nearly four minutes and recording the fastest marathon ever run in China.³ Ethiopia also took the women's title, with Anchinalu Dessie Genaneh successfully defending her Beijing crown in 2:20:36.³

Also on Sunday, 70-year-old Jennifer MacDonell of Ottawa set a new W70-74 marathon world record at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.⁴ She finished in 3:23:59, more than three minutes faster than the previous record.⁴

On Saturday, October 17, WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Sebastian Fundora closed the show with a final second 12th-round knockout of undefeated mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj.⁵

In Sydney, the All Blacks completed a Bledisloe Cup sweep with a victory over the Wallabies.¹

Beyond the majors

• Rugby union: On Saturday, October 17, the Bulls beat Paris 56-20 and Leinster beat Clermont 48-23 in the URC and Champions Cup mix. Stormers 49 - 12 Bristol⁶ was the same day.
• Champions Cup: Harlequins hit back in style, with Marcus Smith leading a 57-19 rout of Vannes.⁷
• Retirement: Canadian women's rugby player Tyson Beukeboom announced her retirement after 13 years representing Canada.⁸
• Refereeing: Ben Whitehouse retired from refereeing to join the Wales coaching team⁶, announced on Monday, October 19.
• Golf: Yusaku Hosono won the Japan Open Golf Championship at Shiga on October 18⁹, the Japan major with a ¥210 million purse. In Delhi, Eugenio Chacarra of Spain won the DP World India Championship on October 18.¹⁰
• Cricket: In the UAE ODI tri-series in Abu Dhabi on October 19, Afghanistan won by 158 runs against Zimbabwe¹¹. In the ICC League 2, Nepal beat Oman by 10 runs¹² on the same day.
• College football: Miami is No. 1 in the Associated Press college football poll for the first time since 2002¹³.

Majors in a line

Tampa Bay led the best-of-seven American League Championship Series 3-2 and could clinch its third American League pennant at home on Monday.¹³

What's next

• Thursday, October 22, 07:00 UTC: New Zealand v India, first T20I at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. India will tour New Zealand from October 22 to December 1, playing five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests.¹⁴
• Saturday, October 24, 07:00 UTC: Second T20I of the same series at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, starting at 12:30 PM IST.¹⁵

Sources

1. PACNEWS SPORTS, 19 OCTOBER 2026 - Islands Business
2. 2026 Rugby League World Cup
3. Tola wins 2026 Beijing Marathon in record 2:03:10: Top results, winners
4. Ottawa's Jennifer MacDonell sets new W70-74 marathon world record - Canadian Running Magazine
5. Premier Boxing Champions - Watch Live PBC Boxing Fights
6. All.rugby : stats, transfers, fixtures/results and news - All.Rugby
7. Rugby News: Latest Rugby Union News, Teams & Transfers
8. TSN
9. 2026 Japan Golf Tour
10. 2026 Professional Golf Tour of India
11. Live Cricket Scores
12. ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 2023/24-2027 Fixtures, Live Score, Schedule, Points Table & News
13. Monday Sports: October 19, 2026
14. IND vs NZ ODI, T20I and Test 2026 series: Full list of commentators and broadcast talent for India tour of New Zealand - Yahoo Sports
15. India Vs New Zealand T20I Series: Full Schedule, Live Streaming, Venues, Fixtures And All You Need To Know