Rugby

12:02 PM BST South Africa have recalled No. 8 Duane Vermeulen as one of five changes to their starting line-up for the second Rugby Championship test against New Zealand at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday. Vermeulen had sat out the international season to date after knee surgery, but has been deemed fit to play

1:50 AM BST Wallabies halfback Nic White has revealed several teammates have spoken to Michael Hooper following their courageous 41-26 win over the Pumas, after their captain shocked world rugby with a late withdrawal from the squad for personal reasons. Making the decision to pull out from their Argentina tour on the eve of their

9:28 PM BST South Africa wing Kurt-Lee Arendse has been suspended for four weeks following his red card in the 26-10 Rugby Championship victory over New Zealand in Nelspruit on Saturday. Arendse was red carded after 75 minutes following a dangerous tackle on All Blacks flyhalf Beauden Barrett that saw the latter land on his

11:14 AM BST Gloucester lock Ed Slater has said he “doesn’t think too far into the future” after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). Slater, 34, started feeling muscle twitches in his arm 11 months ago and announced at the end of July that they were as a result of MND. 2 Related He

7:08 AM BST Round 1 of the Rugby Championship is in the books, with South Africa and Australia emerging victorious over New Zealand and Argentina respectively. Those wins came in contrasting fortunes, however, with the Springboks in control of their Test against the All Blacks from start to finish whereas the Wallabies came from behind

1:45 AM BST New Zealand’s biggest newspaper has called time on All Blacks coach Ian Foster and wants New Zealand Rugby (NZR) to axe the beleaguered coach. The many Kiwis dissatisfied with Foster may soon get their wish, with local media reporting NZR should sack him if the All Blacks lose again this weekend in

2:56 AM BST Australia’s 41-26 victory over the Pumas in Mendoza will be a win the Wallabies will savour — but problems continue to mount for coach Dave Rennie and the Test season isn’t even half done for 2022. With another tough assignment to come in Argentina next week, followed by back-to-back Tests against a

12:23 AM BST Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber believes the team can improve after their record-breaking victory against the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship Test at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday. The Springboks’ 26-10 victory marked their largest margin against New Zealand since South Africa returned from international isolation in 1992, and the second largest of

10:31 PM BST Wallabies captain Michael Hooper has withdrawn from the Argentina portion of the Rugby Championship on the eve of their opening Test, believing he’s not in the right “mindset” to lead the team. In a release on Saturday morning, Rugby Australia announced the 121-Test flanker had made the decision to withdraw from the

3:01 AM BST Beaten 2-1 by England last month, the Wallabies open their Rugby Championship away to Argentina in Mendoza in front of what will no doubt be a hostile crowd. The South Americans, too, are buoyant after a series victory over Scotland, the 2-1 triumph clinched in dramatic fashion after the final siren to

4:21 AM BST Wallabies coach Dave Rennie says he has “no regrets” over Samu Kerevi’s Commonwealth Games participation, despite the powerhouse centre suffering a season-ending knee injury while on sevens duty in Birmingham. The decision to give Kerevi a second shot at a major international sevens medal – he contested the Olympics in Tokyo last

11:58 PM BST New Zealand will start Saturday night’s Rugby Championship opener against the Springboks in a rare position: As underdogs. That is no surprise given the All Blacks’ recent 2-1 series loss to Ireland on home soil, a defeat that has put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons in New Zealand rugby circles. Coach

6:00 PM BST England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL) will restrict transgender participation in the domestic game, with the governing bodies recommending that only players recorded as female at birth be allowed to play in the women’s category. The RFU said last week that it had begun a review of its

12:39 AM BST Veteran lock Rory Arnold has shrugged off any injury concerns to put his hand up for selection for the Wallabies’ opening Rugby Championship Test against Argentina. The 32-year-old, who is shifting his career from France to Japan, is primed to make his first appearance of the year for the Wallabies as they

12:41 AM BST Ten days out from the opening of The Rugby Championship Tests, SANZAAR have approved the re-introduction of the 20-minute Red Card law trial for the 2022 tournament. Failed to be approved by World Rugby ahead of the July internationals this year, the re-introduction in the Rugby Championship is a continuation of the

2:09 AM BST Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has blasted the New Zealand Rugby board following the All Blacks shock series loss to Ireland in June, labeling the relationship between the board and All Blacks players “the worst it’s ever been”. Speaking on New Zealand radio with Today FM’s Tova O’Brien on Thursday morning,

12:54 AM BST A group of former players have issued formal legal proceedings against World Rugby and the governing bodies of England (RFU) and Wales (WRU) over claims that the failure to protect them led to the early onset of dementia, British media reported. London-based law firm Rylands Legal is representing the claimants, which include

7:55 AM BST Wallabies squad members Lalakai Foketi and Matt Gibbon have backed the re-emergence of the Australia A side believing the three-week Fiji tour has prepared them for the trials of Test match rugby. Both recalled to the Wallabies squad following standout performances in the Pacific Nations Cup, Foketi and Gibbon will be eyeing