Rugby

Aug 23, 2023, 01:31 PM New Zealand have named a strong line-up, including all three Barrett brothers, for their final Rugby World Cup warm-up fixture against South Africa at neutral Twickenham on Friday. Coach Ian Foster has selected the same backline that helped beat the Springboks 35-20 during the Rugby Championship in Auckland last month.

Aug 23, 2023, 09:34 AM England coach Steve Borthwick will be without number eight Billy Vunipola for the opening game of the Rugby World Cup against Argentina after he was handed a three-match suspension on Wednesday following a red card in the weekend loss to Ireland. Vunipola’s ban will be reduced to two games if

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 23, 2023, 07:15 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Rugby Australia is

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 23, 2023, 01:20 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Eddie Jones has

Aug 22, 2023, 08:51 PM England captain Owen Farrell will miss the team’s first two matches of the Rugby World Cup after an independent disciplinary hearing upheld his red card on Tuesday, handing the flyhalf a four-match suspension including Pool D fixtures against Argentina and Japan. Farrell was sent off during their 19-17 win against

Israel Folau will not feature at Rugby World Cup 2023, after the former Wallabies star was left out of Tonga’s squad because of a knee injury. Folau had switched his allegiance to the Pacific Island nation under World Rugby’s eligibility laws, which were updated at the start of 2021, and was poised to join a

Rugby World Cup 2023 will be the 10th time the game’s global showpiece has been staged and the second time it will be held in France in its entirety. It kicks off in Paris on Sept. 8 when the tournament hosts face New Zealand at Stade de France in Paris. Here are all the basics

Aug 17, 2023, 01:11 AM Hours out from the Wallabies departure for the Rugby World Cup, their campaign has been rocked with assistant coach Brad Davis quitting immediately due to “personal reasons”. Announced as Eddie Jones’ attack coach in May, Davis has quit immediately and will no longer join the squad in France, instead he

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 17, 2023, 05:14 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Wallabies coach Eddie

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 17, 2023, 03:11 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Eight years after

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 16, 2023, 03:53 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. With the eyes

Aug 15, 2023, 01:40 PM Owen Farrell is free to play again after his sending off in England’s 19-17 win over Wales on Saturday was overturned, the RFU said on Tuesday. The England captain was sent off after smashing his shoulder into the face of Wales forward Taine Basham in the sort of no-arms tackle

Aug 14, 2023, 12:05 PM England have called up Northampton’s Alex Mitchell to replace Jack van Poortvliet in their World Cup squad after the scrumhalf was ruled out of the tournament having sustained an ankle injury in Saturday’s 19-17 win over Wales, the RFU said on Monday. Van Poorvliet had established himself as the probable

Liam Napier Aug 8, 2023, 03:16 AM The All Blacks unveiled their 33-man World Cup squad on Monday night. Few shocks or surprises emerged but as with any pinnacle event, dreams were achieved and others shattered. Read on as we unpack the squad that will chase an unprecedented fourth Webb Ellis Trophy. Brodie Retallick injury

Aug 7, 2023, 12:21 PM Henry Slade had been dropped from England’s squad for the Rugby World Cup in France, heading the list of high-profile omissions as coach Steve Borthwick named his 33-man selection for the tournament on Monday. Slade, 30, featured for England at the last two tournaments and has been a regular since

All Blacks coach Ian Foster has unveiled the 33-man group he believes can bring a fourth Webb Ellis Trophy home to New Zealand. Foster fronted the media on Monday afternoon in Napier alongside two-time World Cup winning captain Richie McCaw, who had the honour of revealing the names to the New Zealand public. There were

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 7, 2023, 02:02 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. It’s Rugby World

Aug 3, 2023, 03:09 PM Marcus Smith will get an opportunity to impress for England ahead of the Rugby World Cup when he starts at fly-half in Saturday’s warm-up fixture against Wales in Cardiff, with three more players in line to debut. Meanwhile, Warren Gatland made major changes to his Wales lineup that could see