Rugby

3:06 PM GMT The delayed Women’s Six Nations will take place from April 3 across four weekends in a new play-off style format, organisers announced on Wednesday. Earlier this month, the women’s tournament was postponed until spring or the summer due to the coronavirus pandemic. The revised tournament will begin with two pools of three

11:45 AM GMT The Six Nations is set to go ahead in full after France eased its strict COVID-19 quarantine protocols for the annual tournament, the country’s sports minister Roxana Maracineanu said. France has placed restrictions on travel to and from the United Kingdom which led to French clubs withdrawing from the European Champions Cup.

8:08 AM GMT They say a change is a good as holiday, if that is indeed the case then few others could have used a vacation like Australian rugby after its 25-year association with Fox Sports came to an end last year. The new kid on the rugby broadcasting block is only partly that, with

3:29 AM GMT New Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos has reinforced chairman Hamish McLennan’s extension of an invitation to South Africa and the British & Irish Lions to contest their series Down Under, but insists having the Wallabies take on France is the governing body’s priority. Marinos at last got his feet under the

1:10 AM GMT Rugby Australia (RA) chairman Hamish McLennan continues to push the nation’s credibility of staging events during the coronavirus pandemic, raising the prospect that the British & Irish Lions’ tour of South Africa could instead be contested Down Under. Having already flagged a potential mini World Cup in Australia, McLennan says RA would

3:45 PM GMT France are to cut their Six Nations squad from 37 to 31 players as they set up a bubble to avoid COVID-19 contamination, the French league and federation said on Saturday. The initial agreement between the national league (LNR) and the federation (FFR) said that the France squad would feature 37 players

12:44 PM GMT England’s Billy Vunipola hopes a strong showing in the Six Nations can help him cement a spot in Warren Gatland’s British & Irish Lions squad for their tour of South Africa this year. Vunipola missed Lions’ 2017 visit to New Zealand due to injury but is confident he will be part of

10:04 AM GMT Hosts and reigning champions New Zealand will take on neighbours Australia at Auckland’s Eden Park on the opening night of the women’s World Cup in September, organisers said on Friday. The hosts will be hoping for a bumper crowd for a triple-header at the 44,000 seater stadium on Sept. 18 to kickstart

6:17 PM GMT Fresh doubt has been cast on whether the Six Nations will go ahead as scheduled as organisers seek travel exemptions from the French government. The French government introduced strict travel restrictions to and from the UK including a 6pm curfew, a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of travel, and a seven-day

12:00 PM GMT England coach Eddie Jones and the captains of the four home unions have said they want the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa to go ahead this year rather than 2022. The tour, scheduled for July 3-Aug. 7, is in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic that remains a crisis

12:00 PM GMT England coach Eddie Jones and the captains of the four home unions have said they want the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa to go ahead this year rather than 2022. The tour, scheduled for July 3-Aug. 7, is in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic that remains a crisis

1:48 PM GMT Ireland captain Johnny Sexton has said the muscle strain he sustained in Leinster’s PRO 14 derby against Munster on Friday is “nothing major” and he intends to be fit for his side’s opening Six Nations game against Wales on Feb. 7. Coach Andy Farrell said he is hopeful that Jacob Stockdale will

1:37 PM GMT England coach Eddie Jones has said he is excited by the dual challenge of dealing with a rash of withdrawals from his squad and a succession of coaching disruptions as he prepares his defence of the Six Nations championship. Jones is without half of his first-choice pack after Sam Underhill joined Joe

1:16 PM GMT England’s preparations for the Six Nations have been further disrupted with Sam Underhill ruled out of the championship. The Bath back-row has a hip injury and has withdrawn from the squad. Eddie Jones has opted to call up Wasps’ Jack Willis as Underhill’s replacement. The news follows Monday’s withdrawals of Joe Launchbury

4:10 PM GMT Italy head coach Franco Smith has named a 32-man squad for the Six Nations, but will be without star full-back Matteo Minozzi after the Wasps player opted out of the tournament. Minozzi, who has scored 11 tries in 22 caps for his country, wrote on social media that he was “physically and

2:13 PM GMT England will be without two of their most experienced forwards for the Six Nations with Joe Launchbury and Joe Marler both ruled out, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed in a statement on Monday. Launchbury, a second-row, misses out due to a fibia stress fracture, while prop Marler has opted out due

11:20 AM GMT Ireland included Tadhg Furlong in their squad for this year’s Six Nations as coach Andy Farrell said on Monday that the British and Irish Lions prop was ready to join the group despite last playing almost a year ago. Furlong has not played since last year’s Six Nations and his club, Leinster,

4:30 PM GMT England have called up Wasps’ Paolo Odogwu and Bristol Bears’ Harry Randall ahead of the Six Nations but there is no place in the squad for Jonathan Joseph. Odogwu and Randall join Bath’s Beno Obano as the three uncapped players in Jones’ 28-man squad for the Six Nations, which starts for England