Gatland's assistants for Lions tour named British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland has named Rob Howley, Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell as his assistants for next year's tour of Australia. Both Howley and Rowntree will be undertaking their second Lions tours and Farrell will be on his first. The Lions begin the tour with a match against the Barbarians on June 1 in Hong Kong before travelling to Australia, where they play five warm-up matches ahead of the first of three games against the Wallabies. "I am confident that Rob, Graham, Andy and myself can come together quickly to face one of the hardest rugby challenges," Gatland said. Reuters Ye Shiwen to renew pool rivalry with Coutts Teenage swim sensation Ye Shiwen and fellow London Olympic gold medallist Jiao Liuyang headline China's team for next month's inaugural Aquatic Super Series in Perth, organisers said yesterday. Ye, who scored a medley double at the London Games, will rekindle her rivalry with Australia's Alicia Coutts at the meet on January 18-19 which also features swimmers from South Africa. Coutts, Australia's best performer in the pool in London with five medals, took silver behind Ye in the Olympic 200m individual medley final. Another Olympic gold medallist, London 200m butterfly champion Jiao, is part of the strong mainland team but distance superstar Sun Yang is missing. Chad le Clos spearheads the South African line-up. La Clos shocked the world when he defeated American great Michael Phelps in his pet event, the 200m butterfly in London, as well as winning silver in the 100m butterfly. AFP Yankees take a plunge on slugger Youkilis The New York Yankees have dipped into Boston's former talent pool once again, signing Kevin Youkilis to a one-year US$12 million Major League Baseball contract, US media reported. Youkilis, who turns 34 in March, will join New York as their starting third baseman. He replaces all-star Alex Rodriguez who is out due to left hip surgery. The Yankees have not officially announced the deal because Youkilis must first pass a physical exam. He finished last season with the Chicago White Sox. Youkilis split 2012 between the Red Sox and White Sox. In 122 games, he had a career-low .235 batting average with 19 home runs. AFP Watson tipped to be US Ryder Cup captain The United States will announce their new Ryder Cup captain today, breaking with tradition by revealing his identity on breakfast television. The PGA of America said the captain would be introduced on NBC's Today Show before attending a news conference in New York City's Empire State Building. The new captain will take charge of the 12-man American team for the next Ryder Cup against Europe, at Gleneagles in Scotland in 2014, replacing Davis Love III. The PGA has kept a close guard on the name of the new captain, although local media have speculated that Tom Watson and Larry Nelson were among the leading candidates. Reuters