Rugby

5:52 AM GMT New Zealand scrumhalf Aaron Smith will join the squad in Dublin midweek ahead of the test against Ireland to provide injury cover after a head-knock to Brad Weber. Smith was expected to miss the entire season-ending northern hemisphere tour to stay home with family after the birth of his son Leo but

9:41 AM GMT England coach Eddie Jones has told young fly-half Marcus Smith to be wary of the “flood of distractions” that could come his way as the “next big thing” and referred to the attention U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu has received since winning her first Grand Slam. Jones said Raducanu “hasn’t done so

12:56 AM GMT The Wallabies were left to lament a lack of execution and poor discipline as their five-match winning streak was brought to a halt by Scotland, a result coach Dave Rennie says his side will simply have to “cop on the chin”. Australia had their chances at Murrayfield, and saw a first-half try

Nov 7, 2021 Scotland’s replacement hooker Ewan Ashman scored a try on his debut as they won the forward contest to defeat Australia 15-13 in a feisty autumn international clash at Murrayfield on Sunday. Loose-forward Hamish Watson also crossed for a try, and fly-half Finn Russell slotted one penalty and a conversion as the Scots

Nov 7, 2021 England hooker Amy Cokayne scored a hat trick of tries as the Red Roses powered past world champions New Zealand 56-15 at Franklin’s Gardens on Sunday for their second victory by a record winning margin over the Black Ferns in as many weeks. In the second of back-to-back clashes between the two

3:06 PM GMT England captain Owen Farrell will immediately rejoin the squad at Pennyhill Park after returning a negative COVID-19 test, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said in a statement on Sunday. Farrell tested positive for COVID-19 on the eve of their autumn internationals test against Tonga at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday and was forced

6:15 PM BST England’s latest “new era” got off to a spectacular start on Saturday as they ran in 11 tries to crush an outclassed Tonga 69-3 in their first game in front of a Twickenham full house since March 2020. Jamie George, Jonny May and Ben Youngs each scored twice while Adam Radwan, Maro

10:53 PM BST Second-half tries by debutant lock Thibaud Flament and hooker Peato Mauvaka and superb goal-kicking by Melvyn Jaminet helped France to a 29-20 victory over a battling Argentina in a typically intense clash in the Stade de France on Saturday. Flament was playing fly-half in the fifth team of England’s Loughborough University five

8:17 PM BST South Africa mauled their way over for a late try to snatch a narrow 23-18 victory against Wales at a rain soaked Principality Stadium on Saturday and begin their autumn international tour on a winning note. Malcolm Marx scored the only try of the match with seven minutes remaining as the World

6:39 PM BST As starts to the autumn programme goes, this was pretty much ideal for England and Eddie Jones. An 11-try victory over Tonga, with young faces in the squad combining seamlessly with the more experienced players in front of a packed Twickenham, is all they could have asked for. England had to navigate

10:22 AM BST England captain Owen Farrell is a doubt for their match against Tonga on Saturday after returning a positive COVID-19 test. The Rugby Football Union said in a statement on Friday that Farrell would miss the Captain’s Run training session ahead of the game due to the result. The news comes after an

1:58 AM BST Motivated by the stunning return of Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale is hoping to add his own influence to a Wallabies team on the up and keep his dream of a fourth Rugby World Cup appearance alive. The veteran Test back is enjoying a first taste of Dave Rennie’s Wallabies environment, after being

2:19 PM BST A number of players from Wales’ women’s team are set to receive a contract for the first time, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) announced on Wednesday. The Union have agreed for 25 contracts to be offered, up to 10 will be professional and up to 15 will be retainer agreements for a

10:02 AM BST Wales will be without captain Alun Wyn Jones and loose-forward Ross Moriarty for the remainder of the autumn international series after they were ruled out for “a number of months” on Tuesday. Welsh Rugby have confirmed the pair will both need surgery, lock Jones for his troublesome shoulder and Moriarty after he

8:10 AM BST Former New Zealand prop Carl Hayman has been diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of 41, shining the spotlight on concussion-related illness in former rugby players. Hayman, who played the last of his 45 tests at the 2007 World Cup, revealed to New Zealand sport website ‘The Bounce’ he had

10:14 PM BST ESPN staff While there were two games over the weekend, World Rugby’s November Test window officially begins this Saturday. And there are some mouth-watering fixtures to be played, highlighted by the weekend’s closing encounter between Scotland and Australia at Murrayfield on Sunday afternoon [BST]. Read on as we bring you all the

2:13 PM BST South Africa full-back Damian Willemse has been handed a rare start as one of four changes to the match-day squad for the autumn international series match against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday. Willemse, an exciting utility player who can feature almost anywhere in the backline, has been brought into the side that

10:53 AM BST England coach Eddie Jones said he has always tried to be a “reasonable person” amid criticism of his coaching methods and the high turnover rate of backroom staff. A report in the Times last week said a former England player described Jones as “brutal, rude, aggressive” while a former employee said the