Rugby

2:23 AM BST Sam Burgess has stood down as assistant coach of South Sydney as the NRL and NSW Police launch an investigation into serious misconduct claims. The NRL has been shocked by allegations published in The Australian on Friday and has instructed its integrity unit to speak to South Sydney officials. The newspaper report

1:12 PM BST England and Sale Sharks centre Manu Tuilagi has been ruled out for six months with an Achilles injury, according to the Gallagher Premiership side’s director of rugby Steve Diamond. Tuilagi, 29, was injured 12 minutes into Sale’s 14-34 win over Northampton Saints on Tuesday. “Manu will be a loss to England and

3:18 PM BST Siya Kolisi with the trophy during the Rugby World Cup 2019 Champions Tour Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images/Getty Images Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks captain Siya Kolisi will resume his leadership duties in the national team colours on Saturday for the first time since lifting the Webb Ellis Cup last year. Kolisi has been named alongside

12:27 AM BST South Africa has voted to pull its four major franchises from Super Rugby and explore expanding their presence in the European PRO14 competition in a major shift for the game in the country. In a widely expected move, a Special General Meeting of the South African Rugby Union (SA Rugby) decided in

5:02 AM BST All Blacks coach Ian Foster said on Tuesday Rugby Championship organisers needed to move quickly to change the tournament’s schedule and allow his team to spend Christmas with family rather than in quarantine in New Zealand. The All Blacks are scheduled to play Australia in Sydney on Dec. 12 and would have

2:53 AM BST Rugby World Cup holders South Africa are “desperate” to play in the Rugby Championship this year, but there remains a number of hurdles before they will commit to the competition, according to director of rugby Rassie Erasmus. The Southern Hemisphere competition will be staged in Australia from Nov. 7 to Dec. 12

4:11 PM BST Juan Imhoff scored the game’s only try in the dying minutes as France’s Racing 92 came from behind to beat defending champions Saracens 19-15 in their European Champions Cup semifinal on Saturday. The victory sent Racing, who have never won the title, into their third final at the expense of the three-times

2:11 AM BST ESPN staff Springboks, Blitzboks and Junior Boks players have been named in two 25-man squads for the Springbok Showdown to be played at Newlands in Cape Town on Oct. 3. SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber, the newly appointed Springboks head coach, selected the outfits, which feature 13

12:15 AM BST Siya Kolisi says his Stormers teammates must each make their own decision as to whether to show support for Black Lives Matter when rugby resumes in the South Africa on Saturday. Kolisi, who led South Africa to Rugby World Cup success in Japan last year, has revealed in-depth discussions within the Stormers

1:40 PM BST Gallagher Premiership owners have said clubs could go bust and the professional game may cease to exist if the U.K. government does not provide financial aid after its U-turn on allowing fans at stadiums amid the coronavirus pandemic. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament that, as part of new restrictions to

4:34 AM BST Trans-Tasman rugby relations have seemingly sunk even further into hostility with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) accusing Rugby Australia (RA) of back-tracking on a deal to condense the Rugby Championship to five weeks. SANZAAR was in damage control on Thursday morning after the tournament organisers released their six-week draw for the tournament, of

3:17 AM BST South Africa Rugby (SA Rugby) is in negotiations with Guinness PRO14 organisers to add additional teams to the European competition in the coming seasons, the latter confirmed on Wednesday. The Cheetahs and Southern Kings have competed in the competition since 2017, though the latter will be replaced in 2021 after being put

1:26 AM BST The Rugby Championship has hit yet another snag, after New Zealand Rugby hit out at the schedule released on Thursday morning. The draw for the six-week tournament was unveiled by tournament hosts Rugby Australia and SANZAAR boss Andy Marinos in Sydney, only for NZ Rugby to soon state the Dec. 12 date

9:08 AM BST Bledisloe Cup Tests will bookend the four-nation 2020 Rugby Championship, which kicks off in Brisbane on Nov. 7 with the schedule released by SANZAAR on Thursday. The tournament, involving Australia, New Zealand, world champions South Africa and Argentina, will be be played as six double-header fixtures, with the last to be played

9:08 AM BST Wallabies coach Dave Rennie is considering Noah Lolesio for a Test debut at No.10 in New Zealand next month after the Brumbies playmaker’s eye-catching return from injury in Saturday’s Super Rugby AU finale. Rennie has played match-maker in his first Wallabies camp, pairing 20-year-old Lolesio with Queensland Reds No.10 and experienced international

8:42 AM BST England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) CEO Bill Sweeney painted a bleak picture for the sport as he asked the British government for financial support after its U-turn on allowing fans in limited numbers at stadiums amid the coronavirus pandemic. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament that, as part of new restrictions

3:13 AM BST Argentina coach Mario Ledesma is confident his coronavirus-ravaged side will recover in time for the Rugby Championship in Australia although they are likely to be rusty as they return to international rugby. More than a dozen players and staff, including Ledesma, tested positive for COVID-19 over the past few weeks as the

3:08 PM BST The 2020 women’s Six Nations championship will resume with round four matches on Oct. 25, seven months after the tournament was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers announced. Both the men’s and women’s competitions were suspended in March, with four matches in the men’s event still to be completed and six