Rugby

10:25 AM BST Rugby Australia has criticised what it termed the abuse of referee Nic Berry by South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus following the first test between the Springboks and British & Irish Lions in Cape Town. Erasmus used 26 clips in an hour-long video critique of the match officials’ performance in Saturday’s

1:24 PM BST South Africa’s director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, posted an hour-long video on Twitter on Thursday airing his grievances over the refereeing in the first test of the British & Irish Lions tour, before saying he would “step away” for the last two tests. The Boks and Lions have each repeatedly voiced their

4:12 AM BST Fiji defeated New Zealand 27-12 to claim the gold medal in the Olympic Rugby Sevens at the Tokyo Stadium on Wednesday, retaining the title they won in Rio de Janeiro five years ago. Argentina earned the bronze medal with a 17-12 victory over Britain, sparking wild scenes of celebration from the South

Jul 26, 2021 British & Irish Lions assistant coach Steve Tandy believes South Africa’s Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, should direct complaints about rough play from the tourists through the appropriate channels rather than social media. Erasmus retweeted a video from Saturday’s first Test that he says shows Springboks winger Cheslin Kolbe being taken out

10:10 AM BST British & Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has made three changes to the side that beat the Springboks in the opening test. Conor Murray and Mako Vunipola have been named to start after impressing off the bench last week. Chris Harris has also been brought into the starting XV for the

2:19 PM BST South Africa have picked two new front-rowers and made another change in the pack for the second Test against the British & Irish Lions as the Springboks look for more forward power for Saturday’s clash at the Cape Town Stadium. An injury to Ox Nche sees Steven Kitshoff come in at tighthead,

12:15 PM BST Britain fought back superbly from 21 points down to beat the United States 26-21 on Tuesday and seal a semi-final meeting with New Zealand in the Olympic Rugby Sevens at the Tokyo Stadium. Six-man Argentina overcame an early red card to shock South Africa 19-14 and will face defending champions Fiji in

5:17 AM BST New Zealand said on Tuesday that the Wallabies have been granted an exemption to enter the country to play next month’s Bledisloe Cup. Travel between Australia and New Zealand was suspended last week following the worsening of a coronavirus outbreak in Australia, putting the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship in doubt. The

10:55 AM BST Australia will play Olympic champions in a daunting men’s rugby sevens quarter-final task after the Samu Kerevi-inspired side showed vast improvement in a 14-12 loss to New Zealand. The result left Australia third in their pool, scraping into medal contention as one of two lucky losers in Tokyo thanks to a face-saving

6:06 PM BST The U.S. men’s national rugby team will host New Zealand in Washington for an October test match designed to grow interest in the sport among Americans in hopes of staging a future Rugby World Cup, organisers said on Monday. The Oct. 23 test, to be played at the home of the National

1:03 PM BST British & Irish Lions assistant coach Steve Tandy believes if South Africa’s Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus has any complaints about rough play from the tourists he should direct them through the appropriate channels and not social media. Erasmus has retweeted a video from Saturday’s first test which he says shows Springbok

12:22 PM BST The British and Irish Lions have received a fitness boost with the news that fly-half Finn Russell is set to resume training on Monday and could be in contention for this weekend’s second test against South Africa. Scottish No. 10 Russell has been sidelined for several weeks with an Achilles problem and

7:14 AM BST Quade Cooper could be just one injury away from a shock return to Test rugby after he rejoined the Wallabies for the first time in four years, with coach Dave Rennie saying the veteran playmaker will have the chance to push for selection by how he trains over the next few weeks.

11:06 PM BST The man who plucked Australia Sevens star Maurice Longbottom from virtual obscurity hopes the fleet-footed Indigenous playmaker’s appearance on the Olympic stage will reinvigorate Rugby Australia’s push to unearth more First Nations talent – particularly in the shorter form of the game. Longbottom is set to be one of the stars of

7:07 PM BST Dan Biggar’s boot proved the difference as the British & Irish Lions came from behind to beat South Africa 22-17 in an attritional first test in Cape Town on Saturday. Biggar kicked four penalties and a conversion for a 14-point personal tally to take the Lions to victory after they were 12-3

6:18 PM BST The British & Irish Lions have issued a complaint to the Irish Independent after one of its columnists, former Ireland forward Neil Francis, made an “offensive” remark about fly-half Marcus Smith’s skin colour. Francis described the Harlequins and England star as having a “David Beckham haircut and an Oompah Loompa tan” during

10:07 AM BST British & Irish Lions’ assistant coach Robin McBryde has said World Rugby showed a lack of thorough planning after the appointment of South African Marius Jonker as the Television Match Official (TMO) for the first test against the Springboks. Jonker is a late replacement for New Zealander Brendon Pickerill, who did not

5:51 AM BST Australia and Melbourne Rebels winger Marika Koroibete will relocate to Japan to play with Top League club Wild Knights next season, the club said on Friday. Koroibete will link up with former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans at the Wild Knights, which won the Top League title this year after beating Suntory Sungoliath