Sport

Society is screening every Wimbledon match this year

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 3rd July 2023

Manchester’s hugely popular food hall and waterside taproom Society is showing every Wimbledon match possible this year.

Already a favourite city centre hang-out spot, especially in the summer, we can’t think of many better places to watch all the action beyond being literally sat courtside.

Wimbledon 2023 kicked off on Monday, 3 July with the opening round of the men’s and women’s singles tournaments and a whole host of other games are now underway.

So, if you’re a massive tennis fan or even just a casual who likes to watch the big games whenever strawberries and cream time comes around, Society has you sorted.

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With free entry and tables available for big group bookings online, there isn’t much you need to do beyond rocking up, sitting back and watching the action.

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Now home to six different independent and local traders, not to mention being an official taproom for Vocation Brewery, you won’t have to move an inch to get some of the best food and booze in town.

Just like the festival season, we love it when it feels like the full summer of sport gets going and now Wimbledon is here, we’re saying that time is now.

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See you there in time for the coin toss!

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Society/Wimbledon (via Instagram)

Sport

‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pep Guardiola on Man City's dominance coming to an end post match press conference

Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.

Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.

A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.

In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.

Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.

As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”

Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.

“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.

On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.

He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.

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Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.

Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.

In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.

You can watch the highlights from the game down below:

Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — TNT Sports/Virgin Media Sport (screenshots via YouTube)

Sport

Sale Sharks sign highly-rated Harlequins hooker, Nathan Jibulu

Danny Jones Danny Jones Sale Sharks sign Harlequins hooker Nathan Jibulu

Sale Sharks are investing in youth with their latest bit of transfer business after signing one of the Harlequins’ hottest prospects, Nathan Jibulu.

The highly-rated hooker, who has already nine appearances this season, including more than half a dozen in the Gallagher Premiership, has been exciting plenty of scouts throughout rugby union and is already firmly in national team plans.

Having already been part of the England Under-20 and A squads, not to mention impressing at club level in a relatively short space of time, it’s a big coup for Sale.

From the Quins academy to the right side of Shark-infested waters.

Jibulu joined the Twickenham-based outfit back in 2022 just a year after they won their second English championship (a full decade since their first) after previously attending Seaford College and representing nearby Wimbledon Warriors.

However, now the six-foot and seriously strong forward will be swapping the life near the capital for the North and Greater Manchester, specifically.

Set to join Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 season – scheduled to kick off in September – he’s looking like a really strong addition to their front row and a future squads to come.

Speaking to the club in an official statement, he said: “When I was younger, whenever someone asked me, ‘what team would you want to play for?’ I’d always say Sale…

“I’ve scrummed a lot with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and I got to know him pretty well. I always tell him how special and different he is, and I can’t wait to play with him. 

“The way the club has developed him and nurtured him to become an established Premiership and England player speaks volumes about the coaching and the support that he’s getting at Sale.  

“The entire front row is in the England squad, with the Curry boys too, so that tells you that someone at the club is doing something right. I looked at that and I said, ‘why would you not want to be there?’”

Still just 22 years old and having made just as many appearances for his soon-to-be former club, Sale weren’t the only ones chasing his signature.

Jibulu went on to add: “I love those games where you go toe-to-toe physically, so all of that attracted me straight away, and then speaking to people who are there already, they said all the stuff that I really like so it was a no brainer when the opportunity came about.”

As for his impending coach, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Nathan is really driven, he understands what he wants from his life and his career, and he knows how he’s going to get it. 

“He’s a young lad but he’s incredibly mature and he’s got the game and the physical attributes to match. I’ve got no doubt he’ll play for England in the future and we’re really excited to bring him to the club.”

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Currently sat seventh in the table after another at times promising but somewhat frustrating start to the year, the summer can’t come soon enough for Sale.

Meanwhile, over in RL, it’s been a historic few days for those in a Wigan postcode as the Betfred Super League got off to a tense and record-breaking start and the 2025 Six Nations are hotting up.

You can find the best places to watch it down below.

Where to watch the 2025 Six Nations in Manchester city centre

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Colin McLaughlin (via Wikimedia Commons)/Sale Sharks (via X)

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