Rugby

James Regan Feb 1, 2024, 10:43 AM Marcus Smith celebrates scoring the winning drop goal for England. Getty England fly-half Marcus Smith scored a drop goal with the last kick of the game to give his side a dramatic 23-22 win over Ireland, whose hopes of back-to-back Grand Slam titles came tumbling down at Twickenham on

Feb 1, 2024, 10:58 AM Maxime Lucu of France celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s fifth try. Getty France put in a dominant second half performance to earn a 45-24 bonus point victory over Wales in Cardiff on Saturday in a seesaw contest in which the lead changed hands numerous times before the visitors pulled

James Regan Mar 9, 2024, 08:43 PM Open Extended Reactions England captain Jamie George has labelled their thrilling 23-22 win over Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday as one of the proudest moments of his career. Fly-half Marcus Smith slotted a drop goal with the last kick of a back-and-forth match to seal victory for the

Mar 8, 2024, 10:27 AM Open Extended Reactions England hope winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will add some much needed power to their attack against Ireland in the Six Nations on Saturday when he makes his first Test start at Twickenham. England have scored six tries so far in this year’s Championship, nine fewer than Ireland who

Mar 8, 2024, 01:02 AM Open Extended Reactions Louis Lynagh, the son of former Australia flyhalf Michael, will make his debut for Italy in their Six Nations meeting with Scotland this weekend after head coach Gonzalo Quesada named the wing in his team on Thursday. Lynagh was born in Italy and has played at Under-20

Tom Hamilton, Senior WriterMar 7, 2024, 01:52 PM Close • Joined ESPN in 2011• Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours• Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018 Open Extended Reactions England have made three changes for their Six Nations clash with unbeaten Ireland on Saturday, with

Mar 5, 2024, 04:13 PM Open Extended Reactions The final straight of the 2024 Six Nations is coming into view as teams head into Round 4. Ireland have been flawless so far and are now two games away from being the first team to win back-to-back Grand Slams since the Six Nations era began in

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auMar 6, 2024, 12:47 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended Reactions

Mar 5, 2024, 10:47 PM Open Extended Reactions The Hurricanes will apologise to New Zealand’s government after a haka performed by their women’s side labelled the coalition “redneck”, local media reported on Tuesday. The team, known as the Poua, performed an altered haka using the phrase “karetao o te Kāwana kakiwhero”, or “puppets of this

Mar 4, 2024, 01:40 PM Open Extended Reactions Italy flanker Jake Polledri has announced his retirement from professional rugby at the age of 28, having failed to recover completely from a serious knee injury, he said on Monday. Polledri, born in England, qualified for Italy through his grandparents and played for them at Under-20 level

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auMar 3, 2024, 11:55 PM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended Reactions

Mar 3, 2024, 08:07 PM Open Extended Reactions Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell have returned to the England‘s squad ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations match against Ireland at Twickenham after head coach Steve Borthwick made three changes to his initial team on Sunday. ESPN reported on Monday that Smith and Mitchell were nearing their returns

Mar 1, 2024, 03:41 AM Open Extended Reactions Smart mouthguards will remain compulsory for players in Super Rugby Pacific but organisers have temporarily tweaked the rules over their use from this weekend’s second round after technical issues in the season-opening matches last week. The mouthguards (iMGs), which are compulsory in training and matches this season,

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auFeb 29, 2024, 10:10 PM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Open Extended Reactions

Liam Napier Feb 28, 2024, 10:49 PM Open Extended Reactions Dedicated and intensely driven, incoming Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt doesn’t do half measures. Daniel Halangahu, the former Waratahs playmaker turned Blues assistant coach, knew of Schmidt’s standing long before he joined the Auckland franchise for a one-off stint two years ago. As Schmidt prepared to

Tom Hamilton, Senior WriterFeb 26, 2024, 06:00 PM Close • Joined ESPN in 2011• Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours• Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018 Open Extended Reactions Marcus Smith had been absent due to a calf injury. Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images England

Feb 1, 2024, 10:39 AM Italy were denied a first away win against France in almost three decades and a first in the Six Nations as Paolo Garbisi’s last-gasp penalty hit the post in a 13-13 stalemate on Sunday. Garbisi almost ran out of time to kick the penalty after the 80th minute, before watching

Tom Hamilton, Senior WriterFeb 24, 2024, 07:40 PM Close • Joined ESPN in 2011• Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours• Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018 Open Extended Reactions EDINBURGH, Scotland — England must be sick of the sight of Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe.