Rugby

12:12 PM BST The African qualifiers for the 2023 Rugby World Cup will be staged as a knockout tournament in France next year, organisers said on Monday. The top eight African teams compete in the Rugby Africa Cup 2022 in France, which will serve as the last qualifying round for the 2023 World Cup. The

7:34 AM BST Rugby will be dead in five years if more teams copy South Africa’s approach to the game, England’s World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward said, criticising the world champions’ reluctance to run with the ball and heavy reliance on the set piece. South Africa, who play Australia in the Rugby Championship on Saturday,

3:47 AM BST Damian McKenzie will make his first Test start at fly-half for three years against Argentina in Brisbane on Saturday after All Blacks coach Ian Foster completely overhauled his team for their fourth Rugby Championship clash. The fleet-footed playmaker, who has made all his Tests starts since 2018 at fullback, came off the

2:39 PM BST Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson has urged players to get vaccinated as Premiership Rugby introduced relaxed rules for teams with high coronavirus vaccination rates. On Monday, Premiership Rugby said in a statement that clubs would be allowed to loosen COVID-19 restrictions, such as relaxing social distancing measures and removing the

10:46 AM BST South Africa will be without key lock Lood de Jager for the second Rugby Championship Test with Australia in Brisbane on Saturday. This is one of two changes by coach Jacques Nienaber for the must-win game. De Jager suffered a concussion in the 28-26 defeat in the Gold Coast on Sunday and

11:39 PM BST Aaron Smith has played his last game for New Zealand in the Rugby Championship this year, with the scrum-half to remain at home for the birth of his second child. The All Blacks No. 9 did not travel to Australia with the squad ahead of the Test with the Wallabies in Perth,

7:08 PM BST England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) has set its sights on hosting the 2031 World Cup, chairman Tom Ilube said Tuesday. England last staged the global showpiece event in 2015 when their team under coach Stuart Lancaster went out of the tournament at the group stage. “We would like to bid for that

12:30 PM BST World Rugby (WR) chief executive Alan Gilpin has said that organisation “will continue to consider” staging the Rugby World Cup every two years instead of every four but that all stakeholders would have to be given their say before the idea was even considered. Japan hosted the last men’s Rugby World Cup

2:57 AM BST Assault charges against New Zealand flanker Shannon Frizell were formerly dismissed by a Dunedin court on Tuesday after the loose forward completed a police “diversion” scheme aimed at first offenders, local media reported. The 27-year-old, who has played 15 Tests for the All Blacks, faced two charges of assault against a woman

2:37 AM BST Lock Brodie Retallick will captain New Zealand for the first time in the absence of Ardie Savea when the All Blacks take on Argentina in the Rugby Championship on Australia’s Gold Coast on Sunday. Loose forward Savea suffered a head knock in the 38-21 defeat of the Wallabies in Perth last weekend

3:45 AM BST ESPN staff The Wallabies have moved to further acknowledge Australia’s First Nations people by adding jersey numbers in an Indigenous style for Sunday’s Rugby Championship clash with South Africa on the Gold Coast. Dave Rennie’s side will become the first Australia team, of any sport, to wear both the coat of arms

12:49 AM BST Liam Napier No one factor reveals the magic ingredient behind Akira Ioane’s rise to sit among the most captivating loose forwards on the planet. Improved fitness, a greater appreciation for the privileged position he holds and being happier within himself all contributed to breakthrough performances against the Wallabies that strongly suggest he

12:03 AM BST ESPN staff Jordie Barrett is free to face Argentina in the Rugby Championship clash on the Gold Coast on Sunday after his red card for kicking Marika Koroibete was dismissed by a SANZAAR judiciary panel. Barrett was sent off late in the first half of the All Blacks’ 38-21 win over the

1:23 PM BST A new 12-a-side tournament has launched with the aim of bringing £250 million into global rugby over the next five years, as well as attracting a wider global fanbase to the game. World 12s will see the world’s best male and female players compete in franchised teams, with the inaugural men’s competition

11:15 AM BST England head coach Eddie Jones has urged World Rugby to conclude their disciplinary process against South Africa director Rassie Erasmus quicker to set an example to the game. The Springboks coach made an hour-long video critique of the match officials following their loss against the British & Irish Lions in the series

4:09 AM BST The mixed reaction to Jordie Barrett’s red card in Bledisloe Cup III has at least made one thing abundantly clear — that having the trial red-card replacement law in place for the Rugby Championship was one of SANZAAR’s smarter moves in recent times. But that also a further delineation perhaps needs to

6:06 AM BST England coach Eddie Jones has added Richard Cockerill and Anthony Seibold to his coaching staff, England Rugby said on Friday. Former Leicester Tigers head coach Cockerill joins as forwards coach and will work alongside Matt Proudfoot, while Seibold, who most recently managed Australian National Rugby League side Brisbane Broncos, has been named

11:28 AM BST World Rugby has cancelled scheduled events in Cape Town and Singapore in this year’s Sevens Series due to “ongoing challenges” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, officials confirmed on Friday. The series had been due to visit Singapore (October 29-30) and Cape Town (December 10-12), the latter with a Women’s Sevens Series