Rugby

Rugby World Cup 2023 will be the 10th time the game’s global showpiece has been staged and the second time it will be held in France in its entirety. It kicks off in Paris on Sept. 8 when the tournament hosts face New Zealand at Stade de France in Paris. Here are all the basics

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 17, 2023, 05:14 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Wallabies coach Eddie

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 17, 2023, 03:11 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Eight years after

Aug 17, 2023, 01:11 AM Hours out from the Wallabies departure for the Rugby World Cup, their campaign has been rocked with assistant coach Brad Davis quitting immediately due to “personal reasons”. Announced as Eddie Jones’ attack coach in May, Davis has quit immediately and will no longer join the squad in France, instead he

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 16, 2023, 03:53 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. With the eyes

Aug 15, 2023, 01:40 PM Owen Farrell is free to play again after his sending off in England’s 19-17 win over Wales on Saturday was overturned, the RFU said on Tuesday. The England captain was sent off after smashing his shoulder into the face of Wales forward Taine Basham in the sort of no-arms tackle

Aug 14, 2023, 12:05 PM England have called up Northampton’s Alex Mitchell to replace Jack van Poortvliet in their World Cup squad after the scrumhalf was ruled out of the tournament having sustained an ankle injury in Saturday’s 19-17 win over Wales, the RFU said on Monday. Van Poorvliet had established himself as the probable

Liam Napier Aug 8, 2023, 03:16 AM The All Blacks unveiled their 33-man World Cup squad on Monday night. Few shocks or surprises emerged but as with any pinnacle event, dreams were achieved and others shattered. Read on as we unpack the squad that will chase an unprecedented fourth Webb Ellis Trophy. Brodie Retallick injury

Aug 7, 2023, 12:21 PM Henry Slade had been dropped from England’s squad for the Rugby World Cup in France, heading the list of high-profile omissions as coach Steve Borthwick named his 33-man selection for the tournament on Monday. Slade, 30, featured for England at the last two tournaments and has been a regular since

All Blacks coach Ian Foster has unveiled the 33-man group he believes can bring a fourth Webb Ellis Trophy home to New Zealand. Foster fronted the media on Monday afternoon in Napier alongside two-time World Cup winning captain Richie McCaw, who had the honour of revealing the names to the New Zealand public. There were

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auAug 7, 2023, 02:02 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. It’s Rugby World

Aug 3, 2023, 03:09 PM Marcus Smith will get an opportunity to impress for England ahead of the Rugby World Cup when he starts at fly-half in Saturday’s warm-up fixture against Wales in Cardiff, with three more players in line to debut. Meanwhile, Warren Gatland made major changes to his Wales lineup that could see

Aug 3, 2023, 02:07 AM New Zealand will field an experimental side for their Test against Australia on Saturday, after Ian Foster made 13 changes to his starting team to give fringe players the chance to play themselves into contention for the World Cup. The All Blacks extended their two decades of domination of the

All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor has lauded the rugby smarts of in-form teammate Scott Barrett, as the Crusaders skipper continues to draw rave reviews for his performance in Bledisloe I. Barrett was arguably the standout performer in New Zealand’s crushing 38-7 win over Australia at the MCG, a victory that locked away the huge trans-Tasman

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auJul 31, 2023, 03:54 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Another year, another

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auJul 30, 2023, 04:49 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. MELBOURNE — It

Jul 29, 2023, 07:16 PM Flyhalf Manie Libbok scored a breakaway try against the run of play to secure South Africa a bruising 22-21 victory over Argentina and earn a second-place finish in the Rugby Championship at Ellis Park on Saturday. The Springboks had to withstand heavy Argentine pressure, some of their own making through

Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auJul 28, 2023, 05:55 AM Close Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. MELBOURNE — Bad