Rugby

5:38 AM BST The All Blacks may have tucked the Bledisloe back into the cabinet for a 19th year, but the Rugby Championship is only just gathering momentum. Sunday’s Test between the Wallabies and All Blacks in Perth has been a long time coming, with West Australian rugby fans twice having had the match date

1:13 AM BST Liam Napier Strength in depth is a pillar that underpins the All Blacks, one set to be severely examined as they confront 12 Tests in the next 10 weeks. Traditionally if the All Blacks don’t hurt opposition with their starting team they have an equally dynamic threat waiting on the bench. Lose

12:34 AM BST An emotional Ardie Savea says he has no intention of deviating from his usual approach to rugby despite being named New Zealand captain ahead of the All Blacks’ Rugby Championship meeting with Australia in Perth next weekend. Savea will celebrate his 53rd appearance for his country by taking over the captaincy after

2:33 PM BST South Africa rugby winger Cheslin Kolbe is joining Toulon from fellow French giants Toulouse, the Top 14 club said on Friday. The 27-year-old Kolbe, who is currently playing in the Rugby Championship with the Springboks, had two years left on his contract with Toulouse, who he joined in 2017, winning two French

7:58 AM BST ESPN staff Almost a week after relations between Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby soured, RA have confirmed Optus Stadium in Perth will host Bledisloe III with a Father’s Day afternoon clash on September 5. This will be the first time Australia have hosted an afternoon Bledisloe clash in 25-years, with the

5:23 AM BST Captain Sam Whitelock and first-choice halves Richie Mo’unga and Aaron Smith have been left out of the All Blacks’ travelling squad for next week’s Rugby Championship Test against Australia in Perth with the players expecting babies. The All Blacks did not name a replacement skipper for lock Whitelock in the 35-man squad

2:53 AM BST The United States has long been dubbed the sleeping giant of world rugby. But such has been the slow rate of growth, one wonders whether the giant will actually ever wake from its slumber. There have, however, been positive signs over the past few years with Major League Rugby bedding down its

10:15 AM BST Australia’s Queensland state will host eight Rugby Championship tests in double-headers over four weekends from September in a revised schedule following new COVID-19 restrictions across the country and in New Zealand. Organisers had considered moving games to South Africa or the UK amid lockdowns and tightening travel curbs in Australia and New

6:42 PM BST Tries from wing Makazole Mapimpi and hooker Malcolm Marx helped South Africa secure a comfortable 29-10 victory over Argentina in their Rugby Championship clash at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday. Both tries came in the second half, and the Springboks will be disappointed they could not score more to earn

8:06 PM BST Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has said South Africa was ready to host the remainder of the Rugby Championship, as the competition’s organisers scramble for a venue for the rest of this year’s matches in the coming days. The Springboks have been told they cannot enter New Zealand for two tests in late

1:45 PM BST South Africa have not let the uncertainty over the future of this year’s Rugby Championship, sparked by New Zealand’s stricter COVID-19 regulations, affect them ahead of Saturday’s second clash against Argentina. The two teams, who meet at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium for a rematch after the Boks won the first Test

7:31 AM BST Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has been left “bloody angry” after the All Blacks pulled out of the third Bledisloe Cup Test in Perth, saying only one country is interested in doing what’s best for the game. The final match of the series, set for the 28th of August in Perth, was officially

2:55 AM BST The back half of the Rugby Championship will either be played in Queensland or be rerouted to the United Kingdom and Europe as SANZAAR scrambles to finalise the draw for a tournament that has proved problematic all year. The All Blacks and Wallabies are due to face each other in Perth on

9:32 AM BST Flyhalf Handre Pollard as said winning is the priority for South Africa, not playing entertaining rugby, in response to continued criticism of the Springboks’ style of play. The world champions, who defeated the British & Irish Lions 2-1 in their recent series, have been roundly criticised for what is perceived as a

1:18 PM BST Lood de Jager will earn a 50th cap for South Africa in their Rugby Championship Test against Argentina in Nelson Mandela Bay on Saturday — a milestone that had looked doubtful as he battled a career-threatening injury last year. De Jager, 28, is one of the finest second-row forwards in the game

1:15 PM BST South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber has rotated his team for their second Rugby Championship clash with Argentina in Nelson Mandela Bay on Saturday, reverting to something close to a full-strength side. The Springboks beat Argentina 32-12 in their competition opener at the same venue last weekend with a much-changed team. However, they

1:25 AM BST While some former Wallabies are plumping for greater selection of overseas-based players, ex-Test stars Ben Darwin and Stirling Mortlock feel it could see Australia slide further down the world rugby rankings. Following a record Bledisloe Cup defeat by New Zealand, Rugby Australia is reportedly looking at lowering the existing 60-cap selection requirement

11:25 PM BST ESPN staff Wallabies great Toutai Kefu is in hospital fighting for life after he was injured in a home invasion in Brisbane on Sunday night. Multiple news agencies have reported that Kefu is in a serious condition after he was stabbed in the abdomen during the incident at his Coorparoo home around