7:14 AM BST Quade Cooper could be just one injury away from a shock return to Test rugby after he rejoined the Wallabies for the first time in four years, with coach Dave Rennie saying the veteran playmaker will have the chance to push for selection by how he trains over the next few weeks.
Rugby
11:06 PM BST The man who plucked Australia Sevens star Maurice Longbottom from virtual obscurity hopes the fleet-footed Indigenous playmaker’s appearance on the Olympic stage will reinvigorate Rugby Australia’s push to unearth more First Nations talent – particularly in the shorter form of the game. Longbottom is set to be one of the stars of
7:07 PM BST Dan Biggar’s boot proved the difference as the British & Irish Lions came from behind to beat South Africa 22-17 in an attritional first test in Cape Town on Saturday. Biggar kicked four penalties and a conversion for a 14-point personal tally to take the Lions to victory after they were 12-3
6:18 PM BST The British & Irish Lions have issued a complaint to the Irish Independent after one of its columnists, former Ireland forward Neil Francis, made an “offensive” remark about fly-half Marcus Smith’s skin colour. Francis described the Harlequins and England star as having a “David Beckham haircut and an Oompah Loompa tan” during
10:07 AM BST British & Irish Lions’ assistant coach Robin McBryde has said World Rugby showed a lack of thorough planning after the appointment of South African Marius Jonker as the Television Match Official (TMO) for the first test against the Springboks. Jonker is a late replacement for New Zealander Brendon Pickerill, who did not
5:51 AM BST Australia and Melbourne Rebels winger Marika Koroibete will relocate to Japan to play with Top League club Wild Knights next season, the club said on Friday. Koroibete will link up with former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans at the Wild Knights, which won the Top League title this year after beating Suntory Sungoliath
3:03 AM BST ESPN staff The three-match Bledisloe Cup has been thrown into uncertainty with the shutdown of the trans-Tasman travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday announced an eight-week pause on the travel bubble as New South Wales struggles to manage a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney.
1:05 AM BST It took three attempts, but the Wallabies have their first piece of silverware under coach Dave Rennie. The Trophée des Bicentenaires will stay in Australia’s keeping until at least the end of next year following the Wallabies dramatic 33-30 win in Brisbane last week, which secured a 2-1 series win over a
9:58 AM BST Alun Wyn Jones has been named as captain for the British & Irish Lions’ first test against South Africa, it was announced on Wednesday. Jones returned to the squad last week having recovered from a dislocated shoulder he sustained in the Lions first warm up match against Japan on June 26. This
12:00 PM BST South Africa centre Damian de Allende has said he went into “a bit of a shock” after he was burned in a fire pit accident last month and is lucky to play again following his selection for Saturday’s opening test against the British & Irish Lions. De Allende and Springbok lock RG