Rugby

5:05 PM GMT The 2025 Rugby League World Cup will take place in France, the French Rugby League federation confirmed on Friday. French prime minister Jean Castex will hold a full launch of the event on Jan. 11 in Paris. The tournament will be the 17th edition, and returns to France, where the first World

2:55 PM GMT England trio Owen Farrell, Jamie George and Manu Tuilagi are expected to be fit for selection for the Six Nations which starts on Feb. 5. Both Farrell and George were injured in England’s 32-15 win over Australia on Nov. 13, with the fly-half requiring surgery on his ankle. Tuilagi was forced off

3:34 PM GMT Premiership Rugby leaders Leicester Tigers have confirmed an investigation by the league into allegations of historical breaches of salary cap rules. The Times reported on Tuesday that the league’s salary cap director Andrew Rodgers is investigating a third-party company called Worldwide Image Management over payments made to Leicester players from the company.

1:56 PM GMT All Round 2 matches between U.K. and French sides have been postponed hours after Ospreys vs. Racing 92 was called off due to a number of positive COVID-19 cases in the Welsh squad. European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) awarded Racing 92 a 28-0 victory and five match points, in accordance with competition

10:22 AM GMT England will host the All Blacks at Twickenham in November 2022 as part of a four-Test programme which includes world champions South Africa. Eddie Jones’ England last played the All Blacks in the semifinal of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. It proved to be one of England’s greatest ever performances as they

12:05 AM GMT Former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt will replace Grant Fox as New Zealand’s independent selector after the July series against Ireland, the All Blacks said on Tuesday. Fox will step down after a decade in the role under former boss Steve Hansen and current coach Ian Foster. New Zealander Schmidt will work with

2:07 PM GMT Connor O’Halloran Former England full-back Danielle Waterman has announced the launch of the Women’s Rugby Association (WRA) on Monday, a new player’s union to represent the top-flight of women’s rugby Premier 15s. The Rugby Players Association represents all professional players in England, but only women who are under contract with the Red

11:50 AM GMT England captain Zoe Aldcroft has been named World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year, the governing body announced on Friday, after playing a crucial role in helping the Red Roses to a spectacular 18 consecutive Test wins. Aldcroft is the fourth English player to win the award after Michaela Staniford in 2012,

1:33 PM GMT France scrum-half Antoine Dupont has been named World Rugby Men’s Player of the Year, it was announced on Friday, beating out Australia’s Michael Hooper and Samu Kerevi, as well as England’s Mauro Itoje, to the award. The 25-year-old enjoyed a stunning year, notably completing a superb European Champions Cup and Top 14

1:20 PM GMT South Africa and Saracens prop Vincent Koch will join Wasps next season, the club announced on Thursday. The 31-year-old, who has 31 international caps and played a crucial part in the Springboks side that lifted the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, has played his club rugby in England since joining Saracens

4:21 PM GMT Leicester Tigers have signed South Africa’s World Cup-winning fly-half Handre Pollard ahead of the 2022-23 season, the English Premiership leaders said on Tuesday, to replace departing fly-half George Ford. Pollard, who has won 60 caps for South Africa since making his debut in 2014, will join Leicester next season after leaving French

4:05 PM GMT England’s Simon Middleton has become the first coach of a women’s team to win World Rugby Coach of the Year, the sport’s governing body announced on Tuesday. Middleton guided England’s “Red Roses” to their third successive Six Nations title in April and the team finished the year with an unbeaten record, winning

11:09 AM GMT England will begin their quest for a fourth consecutive Women’s Six Nations title away at Scotland on March 26 after the fixtures for next year’s competition were announced on Thursday. The 2022 edition, returning to its traditional format after COVID-19 enforced changes this year, will take place in a six-week window in

10:03 PM GMT Wallabies star Quade Cooper has revealed he will be taking the citizenship test on Friday that he’s happy should finally allow him to “officially call Australia home”. The New Zealand-born 33-year-old, who’s played 75 Tests for Australia, had been unhappy that his four previous applications for citizenship had been rejected because of

8:51 AM GMT Scotland rugby international Siobhan Cattigan has died at the age of 26, Scottish Rugby and her club Stirling County said on Wednesday. Cattigan, who won 19 caps for Scotland between 2018 and 2021, died on Friday Nov. 26, her club said. She was described as an “inspiration” and a “talented back-row forward

6:24 PM GMT A new U.S. rugby union sevens league will launch next October, which organisers said on Wednesday would pit 12 top international teams against four new U.S. franchises, with sides playing to win their share of $1 million prize money. A newly-formed U.S. company, The Rugby Football League, said the U.S. Rugby Sevens

11:45 AM GMT Munster have nine new COVID-19 cases in their camp in South Africa, the Irish rugby team said on Tuesday, taking the total count to 10. Both staff and players have tested positive and will quarantine in a hotel in Cape Town, joining the first player who returned a positive test on Sunday.

8:56 AM GMT Irish rugby team Munster and Welsh side Cardiff were unable to leave South Africa as planned on Sunday after both returned positive COVID-19 cases, the clubs confirmed. Cardiff said they have two positive cases, one suspected to be the new Omicron variant, while Munster have one case so far, but did not