Rugby

10:43 AM GMT England wing Anthony Watson has struck out at criticism surrounding some of the England players taking the knee calling it “a double standard.” Watson, 26, was one of 16 England players to take the knee ahead of their match against Scotland but has faced criticism over his decision to do so. –

9:50 AM GMT England centre Jonathan Joseph has been handed a two-week suspension for breaching COVID-19 government rules. Joseph and his Bath teammate Elliott Stooke, alongside Wasps’ Gabriel Oghre were all charged by the RFU for “off-field infringements of the Government’s National Covid-19 Rules and related to mixing of multiple households, with two players travelling

12:22 PM GMT Wales have made five changes for their trip to Scotland on Saturday in the Six Nations. Aaron Wainright, Gareth Davies, Liam Williams, Nick Tompkins and Owen Watkin all start as Wales battle a growing injury list. 2 Related Willis Halaholo is included on the bench and will make his Test debut if

11:00 AM GMT England have made five changes for their Six Nations clash against Italy on Saturday at Twickenham. Following their opening round loss to Scotland, England have handed starts to George Ford, Mako Vunipola, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Kyle Sinckler and Courtney Lawes. Ollie Lawrence and Mark Wilson, who both started in their championship opener, drop

12:40 PM GMT Scotland have made three changes for Wales from the side that secured their famous win against England. Cameron Redpath, Jamie Ritchie and Sean Maitland are all absent through injury so Blade Thomson, James Lang and Darcy Graham all start for Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday. – Play ESPN’s Rugby Pick’em for FREE

10:35 PM GMT Reuters with ESPN staff New Zealand scrum-half Aaron Smith described his France counterpart Antoine Dupont as the world’s top rugby player on Wednesday. Replying to the Six Nations’ Twitter question “Who is the best rugby player in the world right now?”, the 32-year-old Smith went for Dupont. “This guy is on another

12:33 PM GMT England coach Eddie Jones has said no player in his side is guaranteed a starting spot but backed his captain Owen Farrell to come back after a poor performance against Scotland on Saturday. Scotland ended a 38-year wait for a victory at Twickenham on Saturday when they beat England 11-6 on the

12:53 PM GMT Wales have called up James Botham, Lloyd Williams and the uncapped Willis Halaholo to their injury-hit squad ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Scotland at Murrayfield, the Wales Rugby Union said on Wednesday. The Cardiff Blues trio replace Dan Lydiate, Tomos Williams and Johnny Williams who were all hurt in the

2:27 PM GMT Kyle Sinckler and Mako Vunipola have been added to the England squad for Saturday’s Six Nations game against Italy, the Rugby Football Union (EFU) said on Tuesday. The two props missed the 11-6 defeat at the hands of Scotland on Saturday at Twickenham. – Play ESPN’s Rugby Pick’em for FREE Sinckler was

2:10 PM GMT Wales have a quadruple injury blow ahead of their Six Nations clash with Scotland in Edinburgh on Saturday, with loose-forward Dan Lydiate one of those ruled out for an extended period. Lydiate injured an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and has been ruled out of the remainder of the Six Nations

5:26 PM GMT Italy’s injured centre Marco Zanon will miss the Six Nations game against England on Saturday, the Italian Rugby Federation said on Monday, while Pierre Bruno and Andrea Lovotti have been added to the squad. Zanon started at outside centre in the Azzurri’s 50-10 opening day loss to France but was replaced after

10:25 AM ET George North and Louis Rees-Zammit scored second half tries as Wales overcame a poor start to defeat 14-man Ireland 21-16 in their opening Six Nations clash at the Principality Stadium on Sunday, easing the pressure on coach Wayne Pivac. – Play ESPN’s Rugby Pick’em for FREE Wales played with an extra man

8:00 PM GMT TWICKENHAM — Scotland’s celebrations reverberated around the empty Twickenham. Having earned their first win against England at Twickenham since 1983, a handful did this involuntary jig into their own 22. Those in blue hugged their nearest teammate. While those in white looked stunned and left wondering how exactly they’d played 80 minutes

11:24 AM GMT Andy Farrell has handed winger James Lowe his Six Nations debut, picking him over Jordan Larmour, as he announced his team to face Wales in the Principality Stadium on Sunday on the Six Nations. Johnny Sexton has recovered from an injury to captain the side in his 12th Six Nations tournament and

1:05 PM GMT Amid the turmoil and uncertainty COVID-19 has caused, the 2021 Six Nations kicks off on Saturday in the annual battle for European rugby supremacy. The stands will be empty, the streets of the six magnificent cities will be quiet, the pubs shut — yet for five weekends, national pride is on the

12:12 PM GMT Ospreys’ Dan Lydiate has been named by Wayne Pivac in his side to face Ireland on Sunday in the flanker’s first appearance for the national side since November 2018. The call-up is a reward for his recent form and he will be joined by Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau in an all-British

2:28 PM GMT Franco Smith has named a relatively inexperienced side for Italy’s opening Six Nations game against France on Saturday, with 10 of the starting XV having fewer than 10 caps. Smith has handed Juan Ignacio Brex his first cap for Italy and he will be partnered by Marco Zanon who has just four

12:09 PM GMT Fabien Galthie has named a more experienced side compared to last year’s Six Nations for his side’s opening game against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday. The main names missing are Romain Ntamack and Virimi Vakatawa who are injured. – Play ESPN’s Rugby Pick’em for FREE Mattieu Jalibert will replace the