Rugby

7:12 AM GMT There is no hiding from the obvious: The Wallabies have played truly terrible rugby for the past 120 minutes. As a result, they have turned a promising first-up showing in Wellington and solid opening half in Auckland into an ugly 2-0-1 record that means the Bledisloe Cup has been filled with Steinlager,

12:45 AM GMT Reece Hodge will play his first Test for Australia at flyhalf against New Zealand in Brisbane this weekend after coach Dave Rennie made six changes to his starting side for the fourth Bledisloe Test. With James O’Connor still struggling with a knee injury that ruled him out of last weekend’s record 43-5

5:12 AM GMT ESPN staff The South African Rugby Union (SA Rugby) has reaffirmed its commitment to the Rugby Championship for the next decade, tournament organisers SANZAAR said on Wednesday, bringing an end to speculation that the three-time Rugby World Cup winners may look to join Europe’s Six Nations. The four-nation SANZAAR alliance faced turmoil

5:24 AM GMT Australia has the young talent to potentially build the best front row in the world, new scrum coach Petrus Du Plessis said a few days after meeting the players in person for the first time. The South African-born former prop followed head coach Dave Rennie from Glasgow Warriors and has been impressed

6:25 PM GMT Toronto Wolfpack have failed in their attempt to be reinstated into the Super League for 2021 after a majority of the teams voted against the move, the Canadian club said on Monday. The Wolfpack pulled out of this year’s competition in July citing financial challenges from the COVID-19 outbreak, having failed to

8:00 PM GMT Champions England sealed the Grand Slam in the women’s Six Nations for a second year running after they trounced Italy 54-0 in Parma on Sunday in their final match of the tournament which was postponed from March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. England had already won the title without stepping foot on

8:00 PM GMT Australia coach Dave Rennie refused to blame the inexperience of his playmakers for the record loss to the All Blacks, but admitted there had been a gulf in class between the two teams on Saturday’s showing. Injuries forced Rennie to hand first caps to Noah Lolesio at flyhalf and Irae Simone at

10:37 PM BST It took 273 days from start to finish to crown the 2020 Six Nations champions. England’s name eventually sits next door to this year’s championship, but the story of how we got to this bizarre, prolonged completion will unlikely never be repeated. This was rugby’s Super Saturday, with Ireland, France and England

2:55 PM ET England finished strongly to beat Italy 34-5 in Rome and put themselves in prime position to win the Six Nations championship but they must wait until the end of the France v Ireland game later on Saturday to discover if they have done enough. England, who began the day 23 points behind

12:17 PM ET Scotland beat Wales away for the first time in 18 years as a narrow 14-10 victory at a windswept Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli on Saturday ensured a strong finish to their Six Nations campaign. Scotland, who trailed 7-6 at half time, finished with three victories and two defeats in this year’s

11:29 AM BST The Wallabies have endured a Halloween nightmare to hand the All Blacks the Bledisloe Cup for an 18th straight year. New Zealand piled on six tries to one, with five-eighth and man-of-the-match Richie Mo’unga bagging a brilliant double and a 23-point personal haul as the All Blacks seized an unbeatable 2-0 lead

9:52 AM BST The cancellation of England’s game against the Barbarians because of coronavirus protocol breaches made rugby a laughing stock, England coach Eddie Jones said on Thursday. On the day the Rugby Football Union was bringing charges against the Barbarians players who twice broke camp to visit a London restaurant, Jones, who had previously

10:28 AM BST The Six Nations games between France and Ireland and Wales against Scotland have been postponed due to coronavirus cases in the camps. The French rugby federation told Reuters on Thursday that France’s game had been postponed following an outbreak of cases in the French camp. 1 Related The game was scheduled for

Oct 30, 2020 After the tumultuous 2019 season, the Wallabies were always going to need to undertake a significant rebuild. Coach Michael Cheika departed the day after Australia’s quarterfinal loss to England and with him the backbone of a team that had been through two Rugby World Cup cycles; Will Genia, David Pocock, Adam Ashley-Cooper,

Oct 29, 2020 Scotland fly-half Finn Russell has been restored to the starting lineup alongside captain Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray as coach Gregor Townsend named his side to take on Wales in the final round of the Six Nations on Saturday. Russell made his comeback off the bench last week when he won his

Oct 29, 2020 JJ Williams, one of Wales’ and the British and Irish Lions’ greatest ever wingers, has died at the age of 72. Williams was central to both teams success in the mid-to-late 1970s, helping Wales to Grand Slams in 1976 and 1978, and four Triple Crowns between 1976 and 1979. His former club

11:21 AM BST Exeter’s Jonny Hill will make his England debut against Italy on Saturday after coach Eddie Jones named him as lock partner to Maro Itoje for the game in Rome where the Six Nations title is at stake. Scrum-half Ben Youngs will win his 100th cap, inside captain and flyhalf Owen Farrell. In

11:38 AM BST Alun Wyn Jones will become the most capped player in test history when he leads a much changed Wales in their Six Nations finale against Scotland on Saturday. Lock Jones will earn a 149th cap, including nine for the British & Irish Lions, and move ahead of former New Zealand captain Richie