Rugby

8:00 PM GMT Australia coach Dave Rennie refused to blame the inexperience of his playmakers for the record loss to the All Blacks, but admitted there had been a gulf in class between the two teams on Saturday’s showing. Injuries forced Rennie to hand first caps to Noah Lolesio at flyhalf and Irae Simone at

2:55 PM ET England finished strongly to beat Italy 34-5 in Rome and put themselves in prime position to win the Six Nations championship but they must wait until the end of the France v Ireland game later on Saturday to discover if they have done enough. England, who began the day 23 points behind

11:29 AM BST The Wallabies have endured a Halloween nightmare to hand the All Blacks the Bledisloe Cup for an 18th straight year. New Zealand piled on six tries to one, with five-eighth and man-of-the-match Richie Mo’unga bagging a brilliant double and a 23-point personal haul as the All Blacks seized an unbeatable 2-0 lead

9:52 AM BST The cancellation of England’s game against the Barbarians because of coronavirus protocol breaches made rugby a laughing stock, England coach Eddie Jones said on Thursday. On the day the Rugby Football Union was bringing charges against the Barbarians players who twice broke camp to visit a London restaurant, Jones, who had previously

10:28 AM BST The Six Nations games between France and Ireland and Wales against Scotland have been postponed due to coronavirus cases in the camps. The French rugby federation told Reuters on Thursday that France’s game had been postponed following an outbreak of cases in the French camp. 1 Related The game was scheduled for

11:22 AM BST Gael Fickou will be shifted from centre to the wing to make up for the absence of the injured Teddy Thomas as France look to win the Six Nations for the first time in 10 years when they take on Ireland on Saturday. Fickou is replaced by Arthur Vincent at centre in

Oct 30, 2020 After the tumultuous 2019 season, the Wallabies were always going to need to undertake a significant rebuild. Coach Michael Cheika departed the day after Australia’s quarterfinal loss to England and with him the backbone of a team that had been through two Rugby World Cup cycles; Will Genia, David Pocock, Adam Ashley-Cooper,

Oct 29, 2020 Scotland fly-half Finn Russell has been restored to the starting lineup alongside captain Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray as coach Gregor Townsend named his side to take on Wales in the final round of the Six Nations on Saturday. Russell made his comeback off the bench last week when he won his

11:21 AM BST Exeter’s Jonny Hill will make his England debut against Italy on Saturday after coach Eddie Jones named him as lock partner to Maro Itoje for the game in Rome where the Six Nations title is at stake. Scrum-half Ben Youngs will win his 100th cap, inside captain and flyhalf Owen Farrell. In

Oct 29, 2020 JJ Williams, one of Wales’ and the British and Irish Lions’ greatest ever wingers, has died at the age of 72. Williams was central to both teams success in the mid-to-late 1970s, helping Wales to Grand Slams in 1976 and 1978, and four Triple Crowns between 1976 and 1979. His former club

11:38 AM BST Alun Wyn Jones will become the most capped player in test history when he leads a much changed Wales in their Six Nations finale against Scotland on Saturday. Lock Jones will earn a 149th cap, including nine for the British & Irish Lions, and move ahead of former New Zealand captain Richie

6:51 PM BST British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland has warned players who miss the team’s warm-up fixture against Japan on June 26 that they will be at a disadvantage when he makes his final selection for the tour of world champions South Africa. The Lions are locked in a battle with Premiership Rugby

2:34 PM BST Ireland prop Cian Healy will win a 100th cap in Saturday’s Six Nations clash against France in Paris as coach Andy Farrell made just a single, enforced change from the side that thumped Italy last weekend. Ireland can mark Healy’s milestone with a bonus-point victory that would ensure they win the Six

8:28 AM BST SA Rugby is investigating a breach of COVID-19 regulations during which a young rugby player from a club in Border tragically passed away after picking up a serious injury during a tournament match. The name of the deceased player is Vizicelo Sebenza Zondani and the incident happened at a tournament at Ngqwele

5:01 AM BST AAP with ESPN staff Wallabies attack coach Scott Wisemantel has questioned whether New Zealand actually went “up a notch” in Auckland but admits Australia must bring their A-game on Saturday in Sydney, demanding accuracy as they attempt to level the Bledisloe Cup series. Missed tackles and turnovers by the Wallabies were costly

4:56 AM BST It’s the nature of sports that, over time, you watch a player’s journey from its beginning to end and all the triumphs and defeats, the joy and heartache that come and go along the way. As a rugby player in Australia, that means their start in club rugby, rise through the professional

11:45 PM BST The Wallabies know exactly what they must fix up if they’re to claim victory in Bledisloe III this weekend in Sydney and extend the series into a deciding fourth game a week later in Brisbane. The Australians have based themselves up in the Hunter Valley but haven’t escaped the downpour saturating the

2:43 PM BST Ireland centre Garry Ringrose will be out for the rest of the year after suffering a broken jaw in the Six Nations win over Italy at the weekend, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) said on Monday. The 25-year-old collided with the knee of Italy winger Edoardo Padovani while trying to block