Rugby

3:17 AM GMT The move to speed up Super Rugby Pacific and increase the amount of ball-in-play time is off to a promising start, with the Round 1 numbers now confirmed to have been an improvement on those from 2022. The trial laws, which prohibit huddles before lineouts and have placed a firm time limit

11:05 PM GMT New Zealand Rugby will make a decision on the next All Blacks coach in the next “four to six weeks”, rejecting Ian Foster’s wishes that the process instead be carried out after this year’s World Cup in France. NZR chairman Dame Patsy Reddy made the announcement on Wednesday morning, after weeks of

2:13 PM GMT Marcus Smith has been released from England’s training squad this week to get game time with Harlequins but faces a battle to make the squad to face France in two weeks after George Ford was included in a trimmed 26-man group announced on Tuesday. Smith came on in the last minute of

10:39 AM GMT The creation of a British & Irish Lions women’s team has taken a step forward to being green lit following a two-year evaluation. The feasibility study, commissioned in 2021, has come back with “positive initial findings,” Lions said, regarding the creation of a women’s Lions touring team. The study investigated considerations around

11:52 AM GMT The third round of the Six Nations wasn’t short of storylines but the headlines see Ireland still on for the Grand Slam after their 34-20 win in Rome against an ever-improving Italy side. England dispatched Wales 20-10 in Cardiff after a turbulent week for Warren Gatland’s side and on Sunday, France and

3:57 AM GMT Eddie Jones has finally landed an assistant coach ahead of the Wallabies‘ Rugby World Cup assault, with former Wests Tigers and NSW State of Origin fullback Brett Hodgson to take on the defensive responsibilities. One of the worst kept secrets in Australian rugby was finally confirmed on Monday afternoon, just a couple

8:12 PM GMT CARDIFF, Wales — Wales have been battling all week on and off the field. They’d secured one victory on Wednesday, but this was one scrap too many. England needed 75 minutes to break the hosts’ resolve, but in a match of low quality, and one contested in the air as much as

2:50 PM GMT It was at roughly 5.50 p.m. on Wednesday evening when word of a resolution between the Welsh rugby team and the sport’s powerbrokers emerged from the squad’s hotel on the outskirts of Cardiff. Strike action had been averted. Wales’ third match of the men’s Six Nations against England — their blockbuster fixture

Feb 8, 2023 After a one-week break, the Six Nations returns under a wave of uncertainty as Wales confirmed on Wednesday their match against England would take place, after talks with the players over contract disputes were resolved. In the round’s early kickoff, Ireland head to Rome where they will look to follow up on

9:45 PM GMT Liam Napier Dreams will be dashed and realised in this pivotal World Cup year. Best laid plans have already been ripped up elsewhere, with England, Wales and Australia changing coaches on the eve of the global tournament in France. The All Blacks have a clear plan of where they want to go

8:56 PM GMT CARDIFF, Wales — – The Six Nations rugby match between Wales and England on Saturday will go ahead after potential strike action from Welsh players over a contract dispute was averted. More than 100 players gathered at Wales’ training base on Wednesday to discuss a range of issues with members of the

10:15 PM GMT The Waratahs and Wallabies have received a huge vote of confidence after Angus Bell re-signed with Australian rugby through 2027, but there is upheaval elsewhere with Taniela Tupou and coach Dan McKellar both reported to be on the move. Bell, 22, has put pen to paper on a new four-year deal that

2:06 PM GMT Wales have delayed naming their team for the Six Nations fixture against England in Cardiff on Saturday, but coach Warren Gatland said he is confident he will have players to take to the field amid the threat of strike action this week. Gatland was due to name his team on Tuesday, but

9:00 AM GMT Chelsea spent £323 million on eight new players in the January transfer window, but the arrival of a barefoot New Zealander could be the Premier League club’s most important act of recruitment. Gilbert Enoka is the leadership management and mental skills coach for New Zealand’s rugby team. The culture change he implemented

9:43 AM GMT Professional Rugby Board (PRB) chair Malcolm Wall has apologised to Welsh players for the “stress and real discomfort” caused by their contract dispute stalemate as the threat of a strike looms over Saturday’s Six Nations clash with England. The build-up to the match has been overshadowed by tension between the PRB and

Feb 16, 2023 Wales head coach Warren Gatland says he is confident the Six Nations clash with England next week will go ahead despite the threat of a Welsh players’ strike over salary cuts. The build-up to the game has been overshadowed by tension between the Professional Rugby Board (PRB) and the Welsh Rugby Players

11:16 AM GMT Players contracted to England’s women’s rugby team will be entitled to fully paid maternity leave for 26 weeks as part of a new policy announced by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) on Thursday. Players who are called up within 12 months of giving birth or adopting a

8:47 AM GMT England women’s rugby coach Simon Middleton, who is leaving his post after this year’s Six Nations, has said there needs to be “female influence” on the Red Roses coaching staff. Middleton has won five Six Nations titles with England but will leave his position as head coach after the conclusion of the