7:18 PM BST Munster prop James Cronin has been banned for a month after committing an unintentional doping violation due to a mix-up at a pharmacy, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) said in a statement on Monday. Cronin, 29, tested positive for the steroid prednisolone and corticosteroid prednisone, which are on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s
Rugby
4:50 PM BST World Rugby is set to investigate Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) chairman Ratu Vilikesa Bulewa Francis Kean over alleged homophobic comments. The Fiji chairman has come under pressure after the Sunday Times published quotes of Kean using homophobic language. A World Rugby statement read: “World Rugby notes allegations in the UK Sunday Times
4:05 AM BST World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont believes the unity shown in the global game during the coronavirus pandemic will finally lead to a new international competition along the lines of last year’s Nations Championship proposal. Beaumont, who faces a challenge for his job from Argentine vice-chairman Agustin Pichot in an election later this
5:38 PM BST Former French international Mathieu Bastareaud will join Lyon after a short spell at RU New York, the French Top 14 side said on Saturday. “LOU rugby is happy to announce that Mathieu Bastareaud has signed a two-year contract starting next season,” Lyon said in a statement. Centre Bastareaud, who won 54 caps
11:17 AM BST Three-time World Player of the Year Dan Carter announced he was leaving Japanese Top League side Kobelco Steelers in an Instagram post on Friday. Carter, who won the Top League in his first season with Kobe last year, signed a two-year contract with the club in 2018 but, with Japan’s domestic season
11:44 AM BST Cash-strapped Rugby Australia is set to benefit from a World Rugby relief fund, while the Wallabies could face a compressed 13 Test-schedule through a proposed revision of the international calendar. World Rugby on Thursday announced a relief fund of $US100 million ($A158 million) as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreck havoc on
10:46 AM BST Premiership club Saracens have asked their highest-earning players to defer part of their salaries until the start of the 2020-21 season and placed staff on the British government’s furloughing scheme. Players earning more than £75,000 per year will be asked to defer anything above that amount, the club said in a statement
9:21 AM BST Argentina will abandon plans to bid to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup to give Australia a free run as the southern hemisphere candidate, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday. The Argentine government announced in 2016 that the country would bid to bring the tournament to South America for the first time
3:15 AM BST ESPN staff New Zealand Rugby [NZR] has frozen 50 percent of player payments for the remainder of the year as the governing body gets to grips with the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. NZR and the New Zealand Rugby Players Association [NZRPA] on Thursday revealed that they had agreed to a
9:40 AM BST Senior players will take a significant pay cut believed to be at least 60 percent, after Rugby Australia and the Rugby Union Players’ Association finally reached a resolution on an interim pay deal. Negotiations started almost three weeks ago and RA has yet to determine when a mooted replacement competition for the