Rugby

11:58 PM BST New Zealand will start Saturday night’s Rugby Championship opener against the Springboks in a rare position: As underdogs. That is no surprise given the All Blacks’ recent 2-1 series loss to Ireland on home soil, a defeat that has put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons in New Zealand rugby circles. Coach

6:00 PM BST England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL) will restrict transgender participation in the domestic game, with the governing bodies recommending that only players recorded as female at birth be allowed to play in the women’s category. The RFU said last week that it had begun a review of its

12:39 AM BST Veteran lock Rory Arnold has shrugged off any injury concerns to put his hand up for selection for the Wallabies’ opening Rugby Championship Test against Argentina. The 32-year-old, who is shifting his career from France to Japan, is primed to make his first appearance of the year for the Wallabies as they

12:41 AM BST Ten days out from the opening of The Rugby Championship Tests, SANZAAR have approved the re-introduction of the 20-minute Red Card law trial for the 2022 tournament. Failed to be approved by World Rugby ahead of the July internationals this year, the re-introduction in the Rugby Championship is a continuation of the

2:09 AM BST Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has blasted the New Zealand Rugby board following the All Blacks shock series loss to Ireland in June, labeling the relationship between the board and All Blacks players “the worst it’s ever been”. Speaking on New Zealand radio with Today FM’s Tova O’Brien on Thursday morning,

12:54 AM BST A group of former players have issued formal legal proceedings against World Rugby and the governing bodies of England (RFU) and Wales (WRU) over claims that the failure to protect them led to the early onset of dementia, British media reported. London-based law firm Rylands Legal is representing the claimants, which include

7:55 AM BST Wallabies squad members Lalakai Foketi and Matt Gibbon have backed the re-emergence of the Australia A side believing the three-week Fiji tour has prepared them for the trials of Test match rugby. Both recalled to the Wallabies squad following standout performances in the Pacific Nations Cup, Foketi and Gibbon will be eyeing

4:09 AM BST Six-time Super Rugby championship-winning coach Scott Robertson says he still wants to coach the All Blacks and lead New Zealand to World Cup glory. But, in comments likely to interest national rugby federations the world over, Robertson says he wants to win the the Webb Ellis Cup with two nations before his

8:14 AM BST Ian Foster has shrugged off queries over his future as New Zealand coach ahead of a tour of South Africa that could spell the end of his tenure. Despite huge pressure, Foster survived a New Zealand Rugby review into the 2-1 series defeat to Ireland, with his assistant coaches instead taking the

6:52 AM BST Embattled All Blacks coach Ian Foster has ditched specialist coaches John Plumtree and Brad Mooar in a bid to turn around their poor form following the series loss against Ireland earlier this month. Jason Ryan has left the Canterbury Crusaders to replace Plumtree as forwards coach while Foster will work with the

11:12 AM BST Tonga advanced to next year’s Rugby World Cup finals after crushing Hong Kong 44-22 on Australia’s Sunshine Coast on Saturday. Sonatane Takulua scored a hat-trick of tries as the Tongans claimed the final berth in Pool B, where they will face defending champions South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and Romania. Hong Kong, who

4:15 PM BST England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) have recommended that only players recorded as female at birth be allowed to play in women’s rugby and will hold a vote on transgender participation next week. The RFU said on Friday that it began a review of its existing policy in 2020 with a survey that

3:01 AM BST ESPN staff Ian Foster and Sam Cane have been retained as All Blacks coach and captain respectively. The duo will now come under immense pressure to right the team’s poor recent run of results in the upcoming Rugby Championship, where the All Blacks begin their campaign away to the Springboks in South

11:48 PM BST Liam Napier Humbled and hurt, the All Blacks stand on the verge of inciting a full-scale national inquiry. The unforgiving New Zealand rugby public have been vehement in their relentless feedback since the All Blacks lost the third Test against Ireland in Wellington last Saturday to fall to their first home series

3:22 PM BST Gloucester Rugby lock Ed Slater has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), the club confirmed in a statement. Slater, 33, had his diagnosis confirmed last week. He will retire from professional rugby with immediate effect. The statement read: “Gloucester Rugby is deeply pained to announce that Ed Slater has been diagnosed

1:50 AM BST ESPN staff An already tough week for the All Blacks has taken another turn, after vision of back-rower Akira Ioane and former Test scrum-half Justin Marshall needing to be separated emerged on social media. The video shows Ioane needing to be held back by teammates while Marshall is restrained by injured winger

11:17 AM BST England, Scotland and Wales will field joint men’s and women’s Britain teams from the 2022-23 World Rugby Sevens Series with a view to improving their Olympic prospects, their respective governing bodies said on Wednesday. Rugby sevens made its Olympic debut in Rio in 2016 and returned in Tokyo last year, with Britain’s

8:39 AM BST England prop Joe Marler has revealed that he forgot he was a father after suffering concussion. Rugby has been facing up to issues with concussion after a group of former players announced legal action against World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union and the Rugby Football Union over a perceived failure to protect