Rugby

2:00 AM BST St George Illawarra prop Paul Vaughan is facing the axe at an emergency board meeting on Tuesday in which the NRL club will address an illegal house party organised and attended by 13 players. Jack de Belin and other players are also facing increased sanction on top of the one-game suspensions and

11:00 PM BST NRL boss Andrew Abdo says he is “gutted” by St George Illawara’s players breaching virus protocols and placing the season at risk. The NRL has come down hard on the 13 players who broke stay-at-home orders to party at Paul Vaughan’s barbeque on Saturday. 1 Related They were handed a combined fine

9:51 AM BST Furious St George Illawarra boss Ryan Webb has slammed the arrogance of the Dragons’ dirty 13, refusing to rule out further sanctions beyond the 20 games in bans and big fines from the NRL. The NRL came down hard on the 13 players who broke stay-at-home orders to party at Paul Vaughan’s

8:19 AM BST South Africa lock RG Snyman has undergone skin graft surgery after he suffered burns last month but he could still return in time for the test series against the British & Irish Lions, officials said on Sunday. Snyman needed grafts on his knee after being burned in an accident in Ireland last

2:45 AM BST ESPN staff Israel Folau will return to rugby in 2022 after signing with Japanese Top League club NTT Communications Shining Arcs. The code-hopper, who was recently cleared to play rugby league for Southport Tigers on the Gold Coast, was unveiled as one of the Arcs’ new signings on Monday. Folau will play

4:22 PM BST England scored seven tries — but conceded a worrying four — as a virtual reserve team beat a spirited United States 43-29 in an entertaining though ragged Twickenham clash on Saturday. England were without 13 players on Lions duty and several others being rested, and starting with eight debutants, they led 26-3

10:00 PM BST Argentina held on for a narrow 24-17 win over Romania despite outscoring their hosts by four tries to one in their summer Test in Bucharest on Saturday. Argentina, who now travel to Cardiff to take on Wales in two tests over the next fortnight, were 19-7 ahead but were pulled back by

7:13 PM BST The British & Irish Lions got their South Africa tour off to a winning start as Josh Adams scored four tries at Ellis Park on Saturday, beating their Johannesburg namesakes 56-14 in a stiff early examination against the surreal backdrop of empty stands. Louis Rees-Zammit dotted down the first try of the

3:44 PM BST Ireland survived some brilliant attacking Japanese play to gain revenge for their shock 2019 World Cup defeat with a 39-31 win in an entertaining and free-scoring match at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. While Ireland struck first and outscored the visitors by three tries to two to lead narrowly at the break,

3:47 PM BST England have included eight uncapped players in their starting lineup to play the United States at Twickenham on Sunday, with Harlequins Marcus Smith named at fly-half. Coach Eddie Jones has put together a team for the future with several players away with the British & Irish Lions or being rested for the

2:25 AM BST ESPN staff with Reuters Injured Wales forward Alun Wyn Jones could yet make a “miracle” recovery and join the British & Irish Lions for the Test series against the Springboks in South Africa, coach Warren Gatland has revealed. Jones was injured in last week’s farewell Test against Japan at Murrayfield, the Lions

5:41 AM BST South Africa captain Siya Kolisi has challenged the Springboks to be “warriors”, promising “more of the same” with the side set to adopt the plan that won them the 2019 Rugby World Cup when they host Georgia in their first Test for 20 months on Friday. The Boks are playing two Tests

10:36 AM BST Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg will captain the British & Irish Lions in the opening match of their South African tour, when they take on the Gauteng-based Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday. Welsh winger Josh Adams is the only player retained in the starting lineup from the side that beat Japan 28-10

3:10 PM BST Samoa’s national rugby sevens teams are stranded in Dubai after failing to meet their own government’s COVID-19 requirements en route home from missing out on qualification for the Tokyo Games, sports officials said on Thursday. Players and staff from the men’s and women’s teams were denied passage on a flight from Dubai

10:36 AM BST Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg will captain the British & Irish Lions in the opening match of their South African tour, when they take on the Gauteng Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday. Welsh winger Josh Adams is the only player retained in the starting lineup from the side that beat Japan 28-10

2:14 PM BST South Africa named a strong team to take on Georgia on Friday in their first test in 20 months since winning the World Cup in Japan in 2019. The test is one of two warm-ups for the Springboks ahead of their three-test series against the British & Irish Lions and new coach

2:00 PM BST Full-back Leigh Halfpenny will make his 100th test appearance when Wales host Canada at the Principality Stadium on Saturday and there could be as many as five debuts for the home side in the international friendly. Coach Wayne Pivac has been forced to make a number of changes from the side that

10:35 AM BST South African Rugby President Mark Alexander has accepted there will be no fans at stadiums for the British & Irish Lions series but is confident the COVID-19 protocols in place will allow all the scheduled games to go ahead. The Lions, who will face the Springboks in three tests from July 24,