Rugby

5:48 AM BST As Rugby Australia stays quiet on whether there has been any interest in its State of the Union concept, Reds fly-half James O’Connor says his team is already “bleeding maroon” in the existing Super Rugby AU. Saturday night’s preliminary final against the Rebels looms as a big night for both the Reds

12:16 PM BST Well that was worth the wait. After an eight-year hiatus, New Zealand’s historic North vs. South fixture returned with everything but supporters at Sky Stadium in Wellington, with the Southerners prevailing 38-35 via an 83rd minute try from winger Will Jordan. Then, on Sunday, Ian Foster unveiled his first squad as head

5:15 PM BST London — Rugby is the antithesis to COVID-19 protocols. It is a sport built on contact and little regard for social distancing. So, as the 2,700 supporters watched their Harlequins lose 41-27 to Bath Rugby, if you allowed your mind trick itself for the briefest moment, it felt like life was back

11:43 PM BST The man charged with creating a new Wallabies game plan they can implement successfully says there have already been some selection disagreements but that Australia will play with “clarity” when they eventually take to the paddock later this year. Scott Wisemantel returned to Australia to be a part of Dave Rennie’s new

5:27 AM BST One of the great fixtures on New Zealand’s rugby calendar is at last again a reality, with the North Island vs. South Island game set to be played at Wellington’s Sky Stadium on Saturday evening [NZT, 3am ET]. The rugby season, like all other sporting competitions in 2020, was turned on its

6:56 AM BST Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger has not been offered a new contract by the team and ended his tenure after three years in charge, the Super Rugby side said Thursday. Former All Blacks midfielder Mauger was appointed to the role ahead of the 2018 season, taking over from Highlanders stalwart Tony Brown who

1:20 PM BST England’s rescheduled match against the Barbarians will be played on Oct. 25 with 20,000 supporters set to attend the game at Twickenham pending approval from public health authorities, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Wednesday. The match, originally scheduled to take place on June 21 was postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic

9:28 AM BST ESPN staff A four-game Bledisloe Cup series is firming as the likely scenario for Test rugby in New Zealand and Australia this year with the chances of the Rugby Championship proceeding shortening by the day, according to Newshub. While SANZAAR remains bullish about the prospects of the tournament going ahead from Nov.

4:07 AM BST Reuters with ESPN staff SANZAAR has dismissed reports that world champions South Africa are to join an eight-team competition in Europe later this year rather than play in the Rugby Championship. World Rugby vice-president Bernard Laporte told French newspaper Le Progres that the Springboks would replace Japan in the European tournament, which

7:46 AM BST There is no-one more deserving of a salary-boosting six-month stint in Japanese rugby than Michael Hooper. The incumbent Wallabies captain has, for more than a decade, thrown himself into breakdown after breakdown, defensive line after defensive line, with little regard for his body. He has won countless key turnovers and scored the

3:24 AM BST South African rugby side Southern Kings will not take part in any competitions for the remainder of 2020, due to financial issues, officials confirmed on Tuesday. The Kings have faced crippling financial woes in recent months after a failed takeover bid, leading South Africa Rugby to assume control in June. The Kings,

3:28 AM BST ESPN staff Wellington’s Sky Stadium will play host to New Zealand’s North vs. South match but the game will be played behind closed doors, NZ Rugby confirmed on Wednesday. Originally slated for Aug. 29 at Eden Park in Auckland, the match was thrown into uncertainty when New Zealand experienced a second wave

2:53 AM BST Former All Blacks captain Kieran Read is to make a surprise return to New Zealand rugby for Counties Manukau in the country’s Mitre 10 Cup provincial championship that starts next month. Read, 34, left New Zealand after last year’s Rugby World Cup and played under his former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen

8:29 AM BST Australian rugby has made great strides over the last couple of months, and the inclusion of their Super Rugby teams in a joint competition with New Zealand is the next logical step, All Blacks coach Ian Foster believes. New Zealand and Australia have held their own editions of Super Rugby this year

1:57 AM BST Crusaders coach Scott Robertson said he has asked about joining the coaching staff of fellow New Zealander Warren Gatland when he leads the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa next year. Robertson, who missed out on the All Blacks coaching job last year, said a role on the Lions tour

11:37 AM BST England rugby international Billy Vunipola has said he refused to kneel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement when the Premiership resumed last week as some elements of the anti-racism protests did not align with his religious beliefs. All 12 Premiership clubs decided on different gestures to show their support for

4:02 AM BST French Top 14 club Stade Francais has cancelled a preseason match because some players have developed lesions on their lungs after contracting COVID-19 and need an extra week to recuperate. The Paris-based club was scheduled to play Toulon next Thursday in preparation for its opening fixture of the 2020-21 Top 14 season

2:13 PM BST South Africa hooker Malcolm Marx has signed for Japanese Top League side the Kubota Spears, returning to the country where he helped the Springboks lift the World Cup trophy last year. Marx opted out of his contract with the South African Super Rugby side the Lions in May, taking advantage of a