Rugby

12:15 PM BST Just two days out from the 2020 Bledisloe Cup opener, the question on the tip of every Australian rugby supporter’s tongue remains: Is Dave Rennie the man to end the Wallabies’ 18-year drought? The second Kiwi to take charge of the Australia’s national rugby team, whose fortunes, brand and popularity have waned

11:37 PM BST ESPN staff Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has wasted no time in commencing the evolution of the national team, handing Test debuts to Queensland Reds youngsters Harry Wilson, Filipo Daugunu and Hunter Paisami in Sunday’s Bledisloe Cup opener in Wellington. The uncapped trio have been included in a new-look Wallabies squad, which retains

11:02 PM BST Liam Napier After weeks on the backfoot, the tide may be turning for New Zealand rugby. New South Wales relaxing their quarantine regulations, and the Rugby Championship schedule resolution which prevents the All Blacks quarantining through Christmas, paved the way for a much needed win, though not before New Zealand Rugby agreed

12:00 PM BST Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has named six uncapped players in his 35-man squad for their two remaining Six Nations games this month. Leinster’s Ryan Baird, Ed Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park, Hugo Keenan, and Will Connors, as well as Munster’s Shane Daly will be hoping to make an impact and win their first

11:47 AM BST Associated Press PARIS — France coach Fabien Galthie included five uncapped players into his squad ahead of an upcoming test against Wales and his team’s final match in the Six Nations. Galthie called up two new faces on Wednesday — prop Georges-Henri Colombe-Reazel and centre Olivier Klemenczak, who both play for Racing

1:19 PM BST England forward Courtney Lawes has been ruled out for 12 weeks with an ankle injury, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed on Wednesday. England coach Eddie Jones is already navigating a convoluted Six Nations schedule with his training squad minus any players from Bath, Sale, Bristol, Exeter, Worcester or Wasps due to

11:15 AM BST Sale Sharks’ final Gallagher Premiership match against Worcester Warriors has been cancelled due to more coronavirus cases, meaning they miss out on a place in the end-of-season playoffs. Sale were meant to play Worcester on Sunday but the game was delayed after the Sharks returned a cluster of positive coronavirus results. The

5:12 AM BST And we thought 2019 was a chaotic year for Australian rugby. From the Israel Folau saga to the Wallabies’ World Cup hellhole, Michael Cheika’s unceremonious exit and the continued fallout from that failed campaign, we could have been forgiven for thinking brighter days lay upon the horizon in 2020. And so they

2:13 PM BST Wales coach Wayne Pivac has named seven uncapped players in his 38-man squad for the finish to the 2020 Six Nations and the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup, with exciting winger Louis Rees-Zammit among those hoping to make his debut. The Gloucester player is one of five uncapped backs, along with scrum-half Kieran

11:50 AM BST England coach Eddie Jones, restricted in his options by the ongoing Premiership season, has included 12 uncapped players in an initial 28-man training squad to begin preparations for the delayed Six Nations game away to Italy on Oct. 31. England will also have a non-cap match against the Barbarians the week before,

3:28 PM BST Sale Sharks’ final Gallagher Premiership match against Worcester Warriors has been postponed until Wednesday after the club reported a number of COVID-19 positive tests, the league announced on Saturday. Sharks had initially said that Sunday’s match would go ahead while Warriors, who said all their tests were negative, released a contrasting statement

10:42 PM BST The draw for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France will take place in Paris on Dec. 14 using seedings based on the world rankings taken after last year’s tournament, organisers said on Friday. Officials said it was the “least-worst option” following the disruption of the international calendar in 2020. However, recognising

2:23 AM BST Sam Burgess has stood down as assistant coach of South Sydney as the NRL and NSW Police launch an investigation into serious misconduct claims. The NRL has been shocked by allegations published in The Australian on Friday and has instructed its integrity unit to speak to South Sydney officials. The newspaper report

1:12 PM BST England and Sale Sharks centre Manu Tuilagi has been ruled out for six months with an Achilles injury, according to the Gallagher Premiership side’s director of rugby Steve Diamond. Tuilagi, 29, was injured 12 minutes into Sale’s 14-34 win over Northampton Saints on Tuesday. “Manu will be a loss to England and

3:18 PM BST Siya Kolisi with the trophy during the Rugby World Cup 2019 Champions Tour Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images/Getty Images Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks captain Siya Kolisi will resume his leadership duties in the national team colours on Saturday for the first time since lifting the Webb Ellis Cup last year. Kolisi has been named alongside

12:27 AM BST South Africa has voted to pull its four major franchises from Super Rugby and explore expanding their presence in the European PRO14 competition in a major shift for the game in the country. In a widely expected move, a Special General Meeting of the South African Rugby Union (SA Rugby) decided in

5:02 AM BST All Blacks coach Ian Foster said on Tuesday Rugby Championship organisers needed to move quickly to change the tournament’s schedule and allow his team to spend Christmas with family rather than in quarantine in New Zealand. The All Blacks are scheduled to play Australia in Sydney on Dec. 12 and would have

2:53 AM BST Rugby World Cup holders South Africa are “desperate” to play in the Rugby Championship this year, but there remains a number of hurdles before they will commit to the competition, according to director of rugby Rassie Erasmus. The Southern Hemisphere competition will be staged in Australia from Nov. 7 to Dec. 12