Rugby

3:45 PM GMT France are to cut their Six Nations squad from 37 to 31 players as they set up a bubble to avoid COVID-19 contamination, the French league and federation said on Saturday. The initial agreement between the national league (LNR) and the federation (FFR) said that the France squad would feature 37 players

12:44 PM GMT England’s Billy Vunipola hopes a strong showing in the Six Nations can help him cement a spot in Warren Gatland’s British & Irish Lions squad for their tour of South Africa this year. Vunipola missed Lions’ 2017 visit to New Zealand due to injury but is confident he will be part of

10:04 AM GMT Hosts and reigning champions New Zealand will take on neighbours Australia at Auckland’s Eden Park on the opening night of the women’s World Cup in September, organisers said on Friday. The hosts will be hoping for a bumper crowd for a triple-header at the 44,000 seater stadium on Sept. 18 to kickstart

6:17 PM GMT Fresh doubt has been cast on whether the Six Nations will go ahead as scheduled as organisers seek travel exemptions from the French government. The French government introduced strict travel restrictions to and from the UK including a 6pm curfew, a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of travel, and a seven-day

12:00 PM GMT England coach Eddie Jones and the captains of the four home unions have said they want the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa to go ahead this year rather than 2022. The tour, scheduled for July 3-Aug. 7, is in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic that remains a crisis

12:00 PM GMT England coach Eddie Jones and the captains of the four home unions have said they want the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa to go ahead this year rather than 2022. The tour, scheduled for July 3-Aug. 7, is in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic that remains a crisis

1:48 PM GMT Ireland captain Johnny Sexton has said the muscle strain he sustained in Leinster’s PRO 14 derby against Munster on Friday is “nothing major” and he intends to be fit for his side’s opening Six Nations game against Wales on Feb. 7. Coach Andy Farrell said he is hopeful that Jacob Stockdale will

1:37 PM GMT England coach Eddie Jones has said he is excited by the dual challenge of dealing with a rash of withdrawals from his squad and a succession of coaching disruptions as he prepares his defence of the Six Nations championship. Jones is without half of his first-choice pack after Sam Underhill joined Joe

1:16 PM GMT England’s preparations for the Six Nations have been further disrupted with Sam Underhill ruled out of the championship. The Bath back-row has a hip injury and has withdrawn from the squad. Eddie Jones has opted to call up Wasps’ Jack Willis as Underhill’s replacement. The news follows Monday’s withdrawals of Joe Launchbury

4:10 PM GMT Italy head coach Franco Smith has named a 32-man squad for the Six Nations, but will be without star full-back Matteo Minozzi after the Wasps player opted out of the tournament. Minozzi, who has scored 11 tries in 22 caps for his country, wrote on social media that he was “physically and

11:20 AM GMT Ireland included Tadhg Furlong in their squad for this year’s Six Nations as coach Andy Farrell said on Monday that the British and Irish Lions prop was ready to join the group despite last playing almost a year ago. Furlong has not played since last year’s Six Nations and his club, Leinster,

2:13 PM GMT England will be without two of their most experienced forwards for the Six Nations with Joe Launchbury and Joe Marler both ruled out, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed in a statement on Monday. Launchbury, a second-row, misses out due to a fibia stress fracture, while prop Marler has opted out due

4:30 PM GMT England have called up Wasps’ Paolo Odogwu and Bristol Bears’ Harry Randall ahead of the Six Nations but there is no place in the squad for Jonathan Joseph. Odogwu and Randall join Bath’s Beno Obano as the three uncapped players in Jones’ 28-man squad for the Six Nations, which starts for England

3:19 AM GMT LONDON — David Pocock never shirked a challenge when playing for Australia’s rugby union team, the Wallabies, and he has been equally fearless when it comes to making a stand on environmental issues. Now the 32-year-old is calling on fellow athletes to use their profile to help to bring sport up to

9:27 AM GMT Beyond the famous rugby players and the wealthy wine farms, there has always been football in Stellenbosch, albeit out of view behind the vines and University ivory towers. Known for its strong [and traditionally white] rugby history, the town of Stellenbosch’s rich football heritage has often been overlooked, but thanks to Stellenbosch

3:32 PM GMT Harlequins rugby coach Paul Gustard will leave the club with immediate effect after little more than two years in charge, the London-based club said on Wednesday, Gustard, who left his role as England’s defence coach for the Harlequins job in May 2018, led the side to a sixth-place finish in the interrupted

2:28 PM GMT Scotland have included Bath centre Cameron Redpath in their 35-man squad for the Six Nations after winning a potential tug-of-war with England for the player. Redpath’s father Bryan won 60 caps at scrum-half for Scotland and captained the team but an approach to the player for the Autumn internationals late last year

1:04 PM GMT Wales have named uncapped Scarlets backrow Josh Macleod in their 36-man squad for the Six Nations, while there is a recall for loose-forward Dan Lydiate, who last featured three years ago. Monaco-born Macleod is a former Wales Under-20 international who plays as an openside flanker and is widely regarded for his defensive