Princess Charlene was joined by her husband Prince Albert and children Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella on Saturday as she showed her support for the kids participating in the Sainte Dévote Rugby Tournament.
The 10th edition of the Sainte Dévote Rugby Tournament was held at the Louis II Stadium on Saturday, organised by the Monaco Rugby Federation in partnership with the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.
The international U-12 Rugby Sevens tournament welcomed 16 teams from 14 countries: Andorra, Belgium, United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Spain, France, Georgia, Mauritius, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Morocco, Monaco, and Switzerland.
Together with Prince Albert and the twins, Princess Charlene watched on as the young teams fought it out for the 2022 title. Also present was her brother and General Secretary of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation Gareth Wittstock.
After a day of competition, the Montpellier Hérault Rugby team won the international tournament trophy after dominating the final 5-1 against the Apollo Perelini Rugby Skills Academy of Dubai.
The tournament is named after the patron saint of both the Principality and Corsica.
It was Princess Charlene’s second official engagement this year and marks a notable return to public life after a difficult year.
For more pictures of the tournament, click on the Foundation’s Instagram page below…
Ferrari will start the inaugural Miami Grand Prix with both its F1-75s on the front row after Charles Leclerc took pole position ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz in a session that once again demonstrated how close the battle is at the front of the pack.
It was the Scuderia’s 67th front row lock-out, while for Charles, it was his 12th pole position, which sees him equal the number of Ferrari poles secured by Sebastian Vettel. In the all-time list, he is now equal with Gerhard Berger and David Coulthard.
The two Ferrari drivers comfortably made it through the first two parts of qualifying, almost among the quickest on their way to Q3. Charles and Carlos were in the best possible shape for the final showdown as they each had two sets of new soft tyres at their disposal. On his first run, the Monegasque managed a 1’29”055 and his team-mate was a fraction slower in 1’29”071; but Max Verstappen sat at the top of the time sheet. The Ferrari duo pitted for fresh tyres and set off once again in pursuit of the quickest time. Leclerc produced a brilliant lap, stopping the clocks in 1’28”796 and Sainz was also on great form, delivering an equally impressive 1’28”986 to secure second place.
“It feels really good to come here and put everything together on such a difficult track,” said Charles Leclerc. “Although I was not very happy with turns 1-2-3, it was a good lap and I’m really glad to have secured pole. I feel at ease with the car. It feels great to drive and really makes you think of how to extract its full potential.Tomorrow will be a tight race and it is good to have Carlos by my side.”
Sunday’s race looks like being a tricky one in which anything could happen, particularly as air and track temperatures will be very high. However, there can be no better way to start than with both cars on the front row. The lights go out at 9.30pm Monaco time.
Photo of Charles Leclerc with acting legend Michael Douglas at the inaugural Miami GP, source: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre
AS Monaco secured an eighth consecutive victory against Lille on Friday (2-1), making them the most form side in Europe’s top five divisions, and certifying their Champions League credentials.
Philippe Clement’s men have provisionally reached second place in the league, although Marseille and Rennes are yet to play, and wins for both sides would relegate Monaco back down to fourth.
Regardless of the results, Monaco’s destiny is once again in their hands and they are not only the most in-form side in France, but also in Europe’s top five divisions. It is also their best run since February-August 2017.
Should they win their two remaining league games, at home against Brest and then away to Lens on the final day of the season, they will most likely find themselves competing in the Champions League next season.
Within that run, Monaco have won matches in style, notably against PSG and Saint-Étienne. But at times they have also had to dig deep and lean on their experience from last season’s Champions League push, as well as on the infallible serenity of their coach, who is a reassuring figure on the touchline in moments of adversity.
This victory certainly goes into the “dig deep” category, as Monaco prevailed against the reigning champions, who despite a troubled season, still have the ability and nous to make things difficult for any opposition.
Monaco were creatively defunct for large periods of the first-half, but still went into the break with a lead to defend. The opener came from an unorthodox source, Aurélien Tchouaméni, a reliable defensive presence in Monaco’s midfield, but certainly not a reliable source of goals, popped up on the edge of the box to dispatch past the helpless Lille goalkeeper.
Lille weren’t beaten and forced their way back to parity in the second-half. Englishman Angel Gomes’ run worked an opening inside the box, which he duly profited from as he curled into the top corner, way out of the reach of Alexander Nubel in the Monaco goal.
There is an air of inevitably to Monaco nowadays, of a powerful unrelenting force that just always seems to have just too much for their opponent, and so it proved again. It was once again Tchouaméni, this time on his stronger right foot, who drove home a spectacular shot from range to give Monaco the advantage once more.
There are strong rumours that this may be Tchouaméni’s last season in the red and white of Monaco, and if this is his swansong, then it’s a beautiful one at that.
From there, Monaco, as they have done so often in recent times, managed the game from there, barely giving Lille a sniff of goal. Clement’s men march-on (1-2), their place in Europe next season now looks more than likely, although in what competition remains to be seen.
Post-match, Clement praised his side’s determination. “It was not our best match, but in my opinion, it was a victory won with the determination and solidarity of the whole team because we gave everything to take these three points.”
Clement added that his side need to remain “focused” and not try to “calculate” as his side go into their penultimate game of the season against Brest, where a victory would mathematically secure some form of European football, not that Clement is paying attention to those calculations.
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