Rugby

Jul 23, 2024, 10:43 AM Open Extended Reactions Former England scrumhalf Ben Youngs underwent heart surgery after collapsing during an open training session with Leicester Tigers. Youngs is England’s most-capped men’s player and has been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and tachycardia. Editor’s Picks 1 Related The 34-year-old had surgery after the incident but has

Jul 19, 2024, 11:30 PM Open Extended Reactions Queensland winger Mac Grealy has broken his 2024 try drought in spectacular fashion yet Wales still found a last-gasp escape to deny the Reds a repeat of their famous 1991 victory over the tourists. The underdog Reds were pipped 36-35 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Friday

Liam Napier Jul 17, 2024, 11:56 PM Open Extended Reactions As the engrossing July mini-series comes to a close conclusions can be drawn on world rugby’s delicate balance of power. After two weeks of heavyweight matches international rugby dovetails to a lightweight weekend, with the chance for the elite nations to rest and rotate against,

Jul 16, 2024, 05:43 PM Open Extended Reactions Was that the best weekend of international rugby since the World Cup quarterfinals? From Ireland’s series-levelling win in Durban, to Beauden Barrett’s second-half masterclass in Auckland, and even the gripping Australia-Wales clash, there was plenty to enjoy across the second weekend of international action. Unfortunately, that means

Jul 16, 2024, 02:38 PM The rules governing player outings will be changed following the arrests of Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou in Argentina on an allegation of sexual assault, France Rugby chief Florian Grill said on Tuesday. Jegou and Auradou, 21 and 20 respectively, were arrested in Argentina following an allegation of sexual assault

Jul 15, 2024, 07:56 AM Open Extended Reactions South Africa have added five players to their squad for their first-ever Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein on Saturday, but will be without lock Franco Mostert and centre Damian de Allende. Mostert was injured in the bruising, last-second 25-24 loss to Ireland in Durban on Saturday, while

Jul 2, 2024, 06:05 PM Beauden Barrett came off the bench to inspire the All Blacks to a 24-17 victory over England in an Auckland thriller on Saturday, denying the visitors a drought-breaking victory and locking up a 2-0 series win. Barrett set up the second of winger Mark Tele’a’s two tries in the 61st

NZLNZLENGENG NZL No. Name 15Stephen Perofeta, FB 14Sevu Reece, W 13Rieko Ioane, C 12Jordie Barrett, C 11Mark Tele’a, W T 10Damian McKenzie, FH  9Finlay Christie, SH 1Ethan de Groot, P 2Codie Taylor, H 3Tyrel Lomax, P 4Scott Barrett, L 5Patrick Tuipulotu, L 6Samipeni Finau, FL 7Dalton Papali’i, FL 8Ardie Savea, N8 Replacements 16Asafo Aumua,

Jul 12, 2024, 09:42 AM Open Extended Reactions George Furbank has 11 caps for England and won the Premiership title with Northampton Saints in the 2023-24 season. Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images England fullback George Furbank has been ruled out and will be replaced by Freddie Steward for their second Test against New Zealand on Saturday.

Jul 11, 2024, 05:41 AM Open Extended Reactions England coach Steve Borthwick has made one injury-enforced change to his team for the second and final Test of the series against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday. Prop Fin Baxter made his Test debut in last week’s 16-15 loss to the All Blacks

Liam Napier Jul 10, 2024, 01:40 PM Open Extended Reactions Boxing’s The Ring magazine lists Oleksandr Usyk, Naoya Inoue, Terence Crawford and Canelo Álvarez as its leading pound-for-pound champions. In a World Rugby equivalent, All Blacks wing Mark Tele’a would rank among the upper echelon. French superstar Antoine Dupont and Springboks wing Cheslin Kolbe are

Jul 8, 2024, 02:03 PM Open Extended Reactions There were plenty of expectations ahead of last weekend’s fixtures, and the games didn’t disappoint. England and New Zealand delivered an edge of the seat tussle in Dunedin, while Australia got the victory they needed to banish the memory of their woeful World Cup campaign. Joe Schmidt’s

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auJul 10, 2024, 09:18 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

Jul 10, 2024, 09:33 AM Open Extended Reactions South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus named the same match-day 23 for the second Test against Ireland in Durban on Saturday, making it the most experienced Springbok selection chosen in the 133-year history of the team. Erasmus made no changes to his starting XV from the side who

Jul 9, 2024, 10:02 AM Oscar Jegou plays for Stade Rochelais in France as back row. Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images France rugby players Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou have been arrested in Argentina following an allegation of sexual assault during their tour of South America, French Rugby Federation (FFR) President Florian Grill said

Jul 8, 2024, 08:03 AM Melvyn Jaminet plays as a fullback for Top 14 club Toulon and the France national team. Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images France fullback Melvyn Jaminet has been suspended from the national team after posting a video on social media with a racist comment, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) said on Sunday. The

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auJul 8, 2024, 12:44 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

Jul 7, 2024, 08:57 AM Open Extended Reactions Ireland coach Andy Farrell would not be drawn on the television match official calls that went against his side in their 27-20 loss against South Africa on Saturday, but said his team was off the pace at the start of the game. Ireland had a try by