7:45 PM BST The All Blacks are renowned for the haka across the sporting world but for the man who will lead Ka Mate and Kapo O Pango in Japan, it’s the connection with the land, his ancestors and teammates that’s important rather than putting on a show for the crowd. Steve Hansen’s men have
Rugby
11:11 AM BST Over 15,000 fans attended Wales’s open training session in Kitakyushu, Japan on Monday ahead of the Rugby World Cup. Warren Gatland’s Wales squad have chosen Kitakyushu as their pre-tournament training camp and the city has embraced the squad as its second team, with three separate queues of fans nearly half a mile
9:40 AM BST Scotland loose forward David Denton has been forced to retire from professional rugby at the age of 29 on medical advice after an 11-month battle with concussion, Scottish Rugby said on Monday. Denton, capped 42 times for Scotland, suffered a blow to the head while playing for Leicester Tigers in a Premiership
9:37 AM BST England captain Owen Farrell has tweaked his tackling technique in training to avoid getting sent off during the Rugby World Cup, defence coach John Mitchell has said. Farrell went unpunished following two incidents of “no-arms” tackles against South Africa and Australia last year, and the 27-year-old is mindful of the new disciplinary
7:44 AM BST Dealing with the extreme humidity during the World Cup in Japan will not be child’s play for any team, so Wales are keen to avoid slip-ups by splashing baby oil on rugby balls in training. Warren Gatland’s side begin their campaign against Georgia on Sept. 23, and lubricated balls are one of
3:03 AM BST Michael Cheika has described the Wallabies’ lead-up to the Rugby World Cup as “perfect” but that has only muddied the selection waters for their opening Test against Fiji. Cheika insists there are a host of contestable positions in his starting XV to face Fiji on Saturday and believes the pressure on selectors
9:03 AM BST Former Wales captain Gareth Thomas has revealed he has been living with HIV “for years” and appealed for support to “break the stigma” around the condition. Thomas, 45, said in a video posted on Twitter that he had been moved to go public about his health because he had received emails threatening
7:27 AM BST All Blacks loose forward Luke Jacobson has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup due to a delayed onset of concussion and will be replaced by Shannon Frizell, the team said on Friday. The 22-year-old Jacobson had played just 20 minutes off the bench against Argentina before he was named in
12:51 AM BST Legendary flanker George Smith wants Wallabies coach Michael Cheika to persist with his recent back row combination, even if it means putting David Pocock on the bench. The veteran loose forward returned from a calf injury to play his first Test of the year in Australia’s final pre-World Cup hit out against
9:30 AM BST Gloucester fly-half Danny Cipriani and former England captain Dylan Hartley have told of their desperation to have been called up to head coach Eddie Jones’ 31-man Rugby World Cup squad last month, with both having been omitted from the final selection. Cipriani, 31, who was named Premiership player of the year and