Rugby

6:21 AM BST Ahead of the opening Test against England in Perth, Wallabies veteran Quade Cooper says his exchanges with the old enemy’s playmaker Marcus Smith are mutually beneficial and for the good of rugby. Connecting over social media, Smith recently revealed Cooper, 11 years his senior at 34, had “helped me a lot”. That

3:09 AM BST New Zealand’s preparations for their opening Test against Ireland have been rocked with head coach Ian Foster, his assistants John Plumtree and Scott McLeod, as well as two key players all testing positive for COVID-19. Midfielders David Havili and Jack Goodhue as well as the coaches are in isolation after contracting the

2:45 AM BST This series is in no way make-or-break for Wallabies coach Dave Rennie, but if Australia are to be taken as serious World Cup contenders next year they simply must end their losing Test streak to England and claim the series win. More than 2,400 days have come and gone since Australia’s last

4:34 AM BST Wallabies great Mark Ella needed to be persuaded to have his name as part of the new trophy to be contested by Australia and England from Saturday week, but he says it is a great honour and “probably time” that two former players were recognised. Rugby Australia [RA] and the Rugby Football

1:45 AM BST Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan has doubled down on comments that his organisation could walk away from Super Rugby, saying it is a 50/50 call, while also describing the reaction stemming out of New Zealand as “hilarious”. McLennan dropped a huge bombshell last Thursday when he revealed that “all bets were off”

10:58 AM BST Leinster scrum-half Nick McCarthy has announced he is gay, and has thanked coaches Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster for their “unbelievable” support in what he said has been a difficult decision. McCarthy has 18 caps as an Ireland under-20 player and he captained the side in 2015 but said he contemplated quitting

7:17 AM BST Despite his limited pro rugby experience, Suliasi Vunivalu says playing in four NRL grand finals with Melbourne means he can handle the pressure of a Wallabies debut in the England Test series next month. The 26-year-old winger is finally injury-free and eager to get his international career started ahead of next year’s

10:26 AM BST Coach Eddie Jones has brought Billy Vunipola and Danny Care back from international exile after including them on Monday in a 36-man squad for England’s July tour of Australia. Vunipola, who was excellent for Saracens in Saturday’s Premiership final, suffered a concussion in the game but was included in the squad. He

5:21 AM BST Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has reaffirmed his desire that Australian rugby remains engaged with New Zealand at provincial level, despite the recent comments of Rugby Australia [RA] chairman Hamish McLennan. Rennie has long stated his belief that Australian players will only get better by regularly facing their counterparts across the Tasman, a

11:34 PM BST Wallabies giant Will Skelton has made an unwelcome piece of rugby history by becoming the first player to ever get sent off while playing for the Barbarians. Yet the colossal Australian’s first-half dismissal in Sunday’s non-cap international at Twickenham still didn’t stop the French-dominated invitation side offering Eddie Jones’ England a humbling

5:47 PM BST Replacement fly-half Freddie Burns landed a last-minute drop goal to give Leicester their first English Premiership rugby title for nine years as they overcame a dogged Saracens 15-12 at Twickenham on Saturday. First-half tries by South African forwards Hanro Liebenberg and Jasper Wiese had Leicester 12-6 up at the break but Saracens

1:26 AM BST As sure as the Tasman Sea tides rise and fall, so too does the rugby relationship its waters reach. Thursday’s bombshell from Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan that Australia could walk away from Super Rugby Pacific may have caught New Zealand off guard, but it is in no way a surprise when

4:27 AM BST Australia and England will have a battle each other for a new rugby trophy after they agreed to shelve the 25-year-old Cook Cup named after the British explorer. Governing body Rugby Australia confirmed a Sydney Morning Herald report that the new trophy would be unveiled on the eve of the teams’ series-opener

10:21 AM BST Ireland coach Andy Farrell has named five uncapped players in an extended 40-man squad for their three-test tour of New Zealand that will gauge both nations’ progress ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup. Exciting young lock Joe McCarthy has been included along with Leinster teammates, centre Ciaran Frawley and winger Jimmy

6:51 AM BST Former rugby international David Pocock has traded the ruck for the Australian senate after winning a seat in the upper house of parliament representing the territory surrounding the capital Canberra. One of a string of independent candidates who successfully challenged the major parties in last month’s federal election, Pocock unseated former minister

5:37 AM BST Liam Napier Debate inevitably rages following every All Blacks squad announcement. With six rookies selected for three Tests against Ireland next month, and incumbents making way for those inclusions, there is a new flavour as Ian Foster seeks to usher in swift improvement after successive defeats, and a sense of trepidation, ended

10:49 AM BST Castleford Tigers hooker Jacques O’Neill has been released from his contract in order to appear on ITV reality show Love Island. O’Neill made his debut for the Super League club in 2019 and has played 29 time since, despite being hampered by a persistent hamstring injury which caused him to miss the

9:51 AM BST Former Wales and British & Irish Lions fly-half Phil Bennett has died aged 73, his former team Scarlets announced on Sunday, prompting an outpouring of grief for the one of the country’s most beloved heroes in the sport. Bennett guided Wales to two Five Nations Grand Slams in the 1970s and played