Rugby

11:34 AM BST The inaugural Rainbow Cup will no longer have cross-over matches between sides in the northern and southern hemisphere after UK officials failed to approve travel for South African teams due to COVID-19 restrictions. The competition will continue with dual events that will see teams from Wales, Scotland, Italy and Ireland play in

4:34 PM BST England head coach Eddie Jones has been backed by the Rugby Football Union after England’s poor Six Nations campaign. Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images The Rugby Football Union (RFU) gave its backing to England head coach Eddie Jones on Tuesday following the team’s fifth-placed finish in the Six Nations championship but made a

2:51 AM BST The stage is set for a thrilling conclusion to Super Rugby AU’s regular season with just two points separating the Force and Rebels in the race for the final playoff spot. Meanwhile in New Zealand, Super Rugby Aotearoa has suddenly sprung to life as the Crusaders suffered a second loss in three

12:37 PM BST France put on a blistering display as they thrashed Ireland 56-15 in Dublin to win Pool B of the Women’s Six Nations to set up a final clash with fierce rivals England next weekend. Ireland held their own in the opening period but the rampant French crossed for five tries in the

6:10 PM BST Former Wales and British & Irish Lions captain and coach John Dawes has died at the age of 80 after a period of ill health, it was announced on Friday. Dawes made his international debut in 1964 and won 22 caps for Wales, leading them to the Grand Slam in 1971. He

11:20 AM BST Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter has said the British & Irish Lions coaching staff, who are led by Warren Gatland, are being “disingenuous” as a row over the release of Premiership players for the South Africa tour continues. The Lions want players for a two-week training camp at the end

12:09 AM BST ESPN staff Jack Goodue and Joe Moody are the latest frontline All Blacks to suffer serious injuries as veteran scrum-half Aaron Smith says the Super Rugby Aotearoa season has “come home to roost” as more and more players are cut down. Goodhue and Moody both left the field during the Crusaders’ 30-27

9:26 AM BST British & Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has confirmed his backroom staff for the tour of South Africa with Gregor Townsend, Robin McBryde, Steve Tandy and Neil Jenkins all named. Gatland will lead the Lions to face reigning World Cup champions the Springboks in July. It will be his third tour

8:31 AM BST South Africa’s economy is set to lose 6.6 billion rand ($[US]453 million) if this year’s British & Irish Lions tour goes ahead without fans, according to a study commissioned by SA Rugby, which admits it will “do anything” to get some supporters into stadia. The Lions are set to tour South Africa

10:01 PM BST Centre Emily Scarratt scored 24 points as champions England sealed a place in the final of the Women’s Six Nations with a nine-try 67-3 bonus-point victory over Italy at the Stadio Lanfranchi in Parma on Saturday. The massive win was a second in succession for the visitors and ensures they will finish

2:52 PM BST England captain Sarah Hunter is set earn her 124th cap when the Red Roses face Italy in the women’s Six Nations on Saturday, the game will mark her first international match in 13 months. Hunter comes back in at No. 8 following a lengthy injury layoff that also saw her miss last

1:10 AM BST What a weekend of Super Rugby?! The Crusaders lost at home, the Waratahs fell agonisingly short of a first win for 2021 and the Reds continued their dominance. Elsewhere, there were wins for the Brumbies, Highlanders and Blues. Read on for a wrap of some of the key talking points from the

2:11 PM BST France began their Six Nations campaign with an emphatic 53-0 victory over Wales at the Stade de la Rabine on Saturday. Winger Caroline Boujard enjoyed an impressive evening after scoring a hat trick inside the opening 15 minutes for Les Bleues in the Pool B clash. Agathe Sochat also crossed the line

5:21 PM BST Champions England were off to a flying start in their women’s Six Nations title defence as they beat Scotland 52-10 in a dominant performance in a Pool A encounter on Saturday. The postponed tournament is being played in a condensed format with two pools of three teams each, with the pool toppers

5:35 PM BST Scotland flanker Hamish Watson was named the 2021 Six Nations player of the championship after securing 35% of more than 125,000 votes cast by fans, the tournament’s organisers said on Friday. Watson put in a string of fine performances as Scotland beat England at Twickenham for the first time since 1983 before

10:41 AM BST The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has backed Wayne Pivac to remain as coach until at least the 2023 World Cup following March’s Six Nations triumph. Pivac, who succeeded Warren Gatland in 2019, was heavily criticised last year after a miserable run saw Wales finish fifth in the Six Nations. 1 Related However,

4:55 AM BST New Zealand Rugby (NZR) will continue to have dialogue with players opposed to private equity investment in the All Blacks to build support for the sale of a minority stake to U.S. firm Silver Lake, NZR Chief Executive Mark Robinson said on Tuesday. Silver Lake has offered to buy up to a

11:40 AM BST A Vodafone survey has shown that supporters have voted for Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones to captain the British & Irish Lions in this summer’s tour of South Africa while England’s Owen Farrell has been dropped to the bench. The data collected also shows that fans omitted England’s Billy Vunipola, George Ford and