Rugby

7:07 PM BST Ireland completed their fourth ever Six Nations Grand Slam with a 29-16 victory over England at a pulsating Aviva Stadium on Saturday, emphatically underlining their status as the world’s top ranked team heading into September’s World Cup. The script could not have been better prepared — a chance to seal a first

2:56 PM BST Players from Welsh rugby’s four professional clubs have been presented with standard contracts that will make existing and new offers legally binding, the country’s Professional Rugby Board (PRB) and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) said on Saturday. Welsh players threatened to go on strike last month over contract issues with the PRB

2:16 PM BST Ireland’s bid to complete a Six Nations Grand Slam with victory over England has been given the presidential seal of approval, after United States President Joe Biden threw his support behind Andy Farrell’s side. Biden, who often speaks with pride of his Irish roots, hosted Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at a

11:48 AM BST After an impressive 2023 Six Nations showing, Ireland will wrap up the tournament Grand Slam in Saturday’s finale if they beat England. Steve Borthwick’s side look to bounce back from their 53-10 drubbing by France last time out. The England boss said after the match that his side are far off the

4:40 PM BST The Ireland women’s rugby team will swap their traditional white shorts and make a permanent switch to navy shorts after players voiced concerns about period anxieties, the country’s rugby union (IRFU) said on Tuesday. The navy shorts will be worn for the first time by the team when they take on Wales

11:42 AM BST With one round left to play, Ireland are still on for the Six Nations Grand Slam after they managed to edge past Scotland 22-7 on Sunday despite being hit by a host of injuries. But by the time they took to the field, we’d already seen one of the most remarkable performances

2:48 AM BST Reuters and ESPN staff World Rugby will encourage member unions to join a global trial of lowering tackle height to below the sternum in the community game, the governing body has said, stressing the importance of reducing injury risk via “education, sanction and law change”. It pointed to trials conducted in France

9:45 PM BST England coach Steve Borthwick said his team were a long way behind the world’s best sides after France inflicted a record 53-10 drubbing on their hosts at Twickenham in the Six Nations on Saturday. It was England’s third heaviest ever defeat and their biggest at home, giving Borthwick plenty to ponder after

8:32 PM GMT Records tumbled at Twickenham with promises kept. It was a match where we were going to bear witness to a great entertainer. And we did — except it wasn’t England’s Marcus Smith running the show. Instead, this was yet another incredible performance by the magician Antoine Dupont as France handed England a

Mar 7, 2023 Rampant France ran in seven tries to overwhelm a ragged England 53-10 on Saturday, their biggest ever win over the English and first in the Six Nations at Twickenham for 18 years. Tries by fullback Thomas Ramos, lock Thibaud Flament and flanker Charles Ollivon gave the visitors a 27-3 halftime lead. England

Mar 8, 2023 The Six Nations returns this weekend with Ireland looking to extend their perfect run and boost hopes of a Grand Slam swoop. They face second-placed Scotland in a key clash on Sunday, who have surprised many so far in the tournament with eye-catching displays spearheaded by the box-office Finn Russell. England, gradually

7:41 AM GMT Wales national team players are struggling to play at their best at the Six Nations championship amid their ongoing dispute with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) over future contracts, No. 8 Taulupe Faletau said. Wales players had threatened not to play against England last month to protest contract and other issues, but

6:03 PM GMT England vice-captain Courtney Lawes has been ruled out of their Six Nations match against France with a shoulder injury, the Rugby Football Union said on Tuesday. Lawes has endured a tough time since he won the last of his 96 caps for England in Australia last July, with concussions, neck, buttock and

3:17 AM GMT The move to speed up Super Rugby Pacific and increase the amount of ball-in-play time is off to a promising start, with the Round 1 numbers now confirmed to have been an improvement on those from 2022. The trial laws, which prohibit huddles before lineouts and have placed a firm time limit

11:05 PM GMT New Zealand Rugby will make a decision on the next All Blacks coach in the next “four to six weeks”, rejecting Ian Foster’s wishes that the process instead be carried out after this year’s World Cup in France. NZR chairman Dame Patsy Reddy made the announcement on Wednesday morning, after weeks of

Feb 28, 2023 Marcus Smith has been released from England’s training squad this week to get game time with Harlequins but faces a battle to make the squad to face France in two weeks after George Ford was included in a trimmed 26-man group announced on Tuesday. Smith came on in the last minute of

10:39 AM GMT The creation of a British & Irish Lions women’s team has taken a step forward to being green lit following a two-year evaluation. The feasibility study, commissioned in 2021, has come back with “positive initial findings,” Lions said, regarding the creation of a women’s Lions touring team. The study investigated considerations around

11:52 AM GMT The third round of the Six Nations wasn’t short of storylines but the headlines see Ireland still on for the Grand Slam after their 34-20 win in Rome against an ever-improving Italy side. England dispatched Wales 20-10 in Cardiff after a turbulent week for Warren Gatland’s side and on Sunday, France and