Rugby

6:02 AM BST It’s one win apiece after two rounds in the 2022 Rugby Championship, which may yet prove to be the most keenly fought edition of the tournament to date. The Pumas and All Blacks flipped the script on the Wallabies and Springboks respectively, their victories coming in contrasting fashion in San Juan and

11:47 PM BST Reuters with ESPN staff All Blacks forward Ardie Savea insisted Ian Foster has the full backing of his players after their 35-23 win over South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday eased some of the pressure on the embattled coach. But New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson on Sunday afternoon [NZT] refused

2:13 AM BST New Zealand coach Ian Foster admits he has “no idea” if Saturday’s excellent 35-23 Rugby Championship victory over South Africa will be enough to save his job, but believes there is more to come from his team. The All Blacks had lost five of their last six tests going into the contest

1:33 AM BST It’d be easy to point at the ever-growing Wallabies injury list for why they couldn’t get the job done in San Juan on Sunday morning [AEST], but in their biggest ever loss to Argentina their problem area back three was exposed from the outset, while their experienced heads failed to step up.

1:11 AM BST Australia have been forced into a late change on the eve of their Rugby Championship clash with Argentina after hooker Folau Fainga’a was ruled out of the contest in San Juan and replaced by Lachlan Lonergan, who will make his first test start. Fainga’a took a blow to the head in training

6:52 AM BST Richie Mo’unga will start at fly-half in the place of Beauden Barrett as one of four changes to his starting XV made by New Zealand coach Ian Foster for the must-win Rugby Championship clash with South Africa at Ellis Park on Saturday. Barrett fell heavily on his neck during last weekend’s 26-10

4:00 AM BST Mendoza was the scene of one the Wallabies most courageous victories, but now the team head to San Juan with a growing injury list and yet more team reshuffles. With Michael Hooper stepping away from camp on the eve of the Test and Quade Cooper suffering an Achilles injury, the Wallabies’ depth

11:43 PM BST Liam Napier JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Ellis Park; scene for the 1995 World Cup final that united the Rainbow Nation – and many years later the greatest Test of all time. Set in a sketchy part of Johannesburg it is one of rugby’s most iconic venues, the spiritual home of the South

4:21 PM BST Associated Press LONDON — English rugby club Exeter Chiefs will stop playing their “Tomahawk Chop” chant during games as part of a rebrand to move away from a Native American theme that had come under increasing criticism. The chant has traditionally been played over the speakers on matchdays at the club’s Sandy

3:42 AM BST All Blacks fly-half Beauden Barrett said he feared the worst after landing head-first from a terrible mid-air challenge against South Africa but that his team would continue to be courageous under the Springboks’ high ball. Barrett was upended by South Africa winger Kurt-Lee Arendse while rising to intercept a box kick and

3:55 AM BST The man who passed the Wallabies captaincy on to Michael Hooper has given a revealing insight into his former teammate’s transition into the role, and believes it may be time for the 124-Test veteran to have his playing time managed so that he arrives at next year’s World Cup in peak mental

10:39 AM BST England coach Eddie Jones has been rebuked by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) after he claimed they relied too heavily on the private school system to produce national team players. Jones said that players who came through the system lacked “resolve” and led a “closeted life” in an interview with the the

5:54 AM BST The Wallabies have been forced into another team shuffle with experienced prop Allan Alaalatoa withdrawing from camp due to a family bereavement, according to Sydney Morning Herald. Alaalatoa becomes the fourth member from the Wallabies squad to fly home from Argentina after Michael Hooper (personal reasons), Dave Porecki (concussion) and Quade Cooper

12:02 PM BST South Africa have recalled No. 8 Duane Vermeulen as one of five changes to their starting line-up for the second Rugby Championship test against New Zealand at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday. Vermeulen had sat out the international season to date after knee surgery, but has been deemed fit to play

1:50 AM BST Wallabies halfback Nic White has revealed several teammates have spoken to Michael Hooper following their courageous 41-26 win over the Pumas, after their captain shocked world rugby with a late withdrawal from the squad for personal reasons. Making the decision to pull out from their Argentina tour on the eve of their

9:28 PM BST South Africa wing Kurt-Lee Arendse has been suspended for four weeks following his red card in the 26-10 Rugby Championship victory over New Zealand in Nelspruit on Saturday. Arendse was red carded after 75 minutes following a dangerous tackle on All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett that saw the latter land on his

11:14 AM BST Gloucester lock Ed Slater has said he “doesn’t think too far into the future” after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). Slater, 34, started feeling muscle twitches in his arm 11 months ago and announced at the end of July that they were as a result of MND. 2 Related He

7:08 AM BST Round 1 of the Rugby Championship is in the books, with South Africa and Australia emerging victorious over New Zealand and Argentina respectively. Those wins came in contrasting fortunes, however, with the Springboks in control of their Test against the All Blacks from start to finish whereas the Wallabies came from behind