Rugby

8:05 AM BST The Ireland men’s rugby sevens team secured their maiden Olympic berth after beating France 28-19 in the final qualifier on Sunday. Terry Kennedy’s try gave Ireland an early lead before scores from Stephen Perez and Paulin Riva put France ahead. Ireland responded through Jordan Conroy, who scored a pair of second-half tries,

6:57 PM BST Saracens overcame a sluggish start to secure a return to the top flight with a dominant 57-15 victory over Ealing Trailfinders in the second leg of the second-tier Championship playoff final on Sunday. Saracens, four-times Premiership champions and three-times European Cup winners in the last five years, were relegated last season as

4:12 AM BST Wallabies captain Michael Hooper says time will tell whether his six-month stint in Japan was a personal success, but admits player sabbaticals are worth exploring in greater number as Rugby Australia fights to retain its best players. Hooper fronted the media via Zoom on Friday morning, the skipper back in green and

12:26 PM BST South African teams could feature in Europe’s elite club rugby competitions from the 2022-23 season following the formation of the United Rugby Championship (URC) which was unveiled on Tuesday. The Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers will square up against four sides from each of Wales and Ireland, and two from Scotland and

1:46 PM BST South Africa’s Lions franchise have been forced to cancel their final fixture in the Rainbow Cup due to COVID-19 infections in their squad just three weeks before they host the British & Irish Lions in Johannesburg. The side were due to play the Stormers at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, but

2:43 AM BST ESPN staff The United States has thrown its hat into the ring to host the Rugby World Cup, with USA Rugby clearing the first hurdle in an attempt to bring the game’s global showpiece to North America for either the 2027, 2029 or 2031 events. USA Rugby was on Thursday “formally accepted”

4:50 AM BST Dual international Lote Tuqiri knows better than most what winning the right to host the Rugby World Cup would mean for Australian rugby. Having been enticed over to the 15-player game in the lead-up to the tournament, the former Wallabies winger was blown away by the scale of rugby’s showpiece in 2003

12:27 PM BST Eddie Jones has included 21 uncapped players in his initial 34-man squad for Tests against the United States and Canada, giving them an opportunity to make their mark in the absence of a host of unavailable regulars. Jones will be without 12 players involved in the British & Irish Lions squad, while

3:13 AM BST A Wallabies debut for ex-NRL star Suliasi Vunivalu will have to wait with the winger to miss the upcoming Tests against France with a hamstring injury. Vunivalu hobbled off the field in Queensland’s 31-24 Super Rugby Trans-Tasman loss to the Blues last weekend and Wallabies coach Dave Rennie says the injury is

Jun 9, 2021 Liam Napier For better or worse, professional athletes increasingly grow influential platforms. Within this wide-ranging realm public utterances in interviews or posts on personal platforms are made about the oft turbulent rides in their chosen sports; to push global or emerging brands, support causes, deliver messages and establish profiles they can leverage

6:37 AM BST South Africa’s Damian de Allende and R.G. Snyman have suffered burns in a “fire pit accident”, along with Munster team-mates Mike Haley and C.J. Stander last weekend, the PRO14 club has announced. Rugby World Cup-winning duo De Allende and Snyman, who were last week named in the Springboks’ squad to face the

2:26 PM BST Ed Robinson and Alex Codling will join England coach Eddie Jones’ backroom staff for their summer series against the United States and Canada, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Monday. Jersey Reds assistant coach Robinson will return to the England staff after serving as skills coach during the recent Six Nations

12:55 PM BST Kyle Sinckler has been added to the British & Irish Lions squad for the South Africa tour after tighthead prop Andrew Porter was ruled out with a toe injury, head coach Warren Gatland said. Ireland international Porter, 25, picked up the injury in Leinster’s PRO 14 Rainbow Cup loss to Glasgow Warriors

1:13 PM BST South Africa’s desire to have a fly-half who can settle the nerves and eke out a win in tight situations led to a recall for Morne Steyn for the British & Irish Lions series starting next month. Steyn won the last of his 66 test caps in 2016 and, despite the fact

1:24 AM BST Australia is on the board! After 13 straight defeats, the Reds at last opened the Aussies account in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, the Queenslanders defeating the Chiefs in an extraordinary game at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville. But it was otherwise another dominant weekend for New Zealand as the Hurricanes, Crusaders, Blues

2:06 PM BST South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is expecting the British & Irish Lions to play a fast tempo game and not try to arm-wrestle the world champion Springboks when the teams meet in a three-test series starting in late July. Erasmus coached the Boks to the World Cup title in Japan

12:00 PM BST England will face Fiji on the opening day of the Rugby World Cup next year while defending champions and hosts New Zealand will face neighbours Australia at Auckland’s Eden Park, the sport’s global governing body said. The tournament, to be held in Auckland and Whangarei from Oct. 8-Nov. 12 in 2022, was

The All Blacks will be without their captain for over half the Test season and yet, barring a few notable exceptions, Ian Foster remains largely spoilt for choice as he plots his second campaign in charge. Foster made his first public appearance of the year last week as the Rugby Championship draw confirmed the All