9:45 PM BST ESPN staff Leicester Tigers head coach Matt O’Connor has left the club with immediate effect after just one game of the new Premiership season. It comes 48 hours after Leicester lost 40-6 at Exeter in their opener. In May, Leicester missed out on a place in the Premiership play-offs for the first
Rugby
11:29 AM BST KweséESPN Staff Assistant coach Matt Proudfoot says Cheslin Kolbe will add some ‘zip’ the Springboks’ attacking play ahead of the Rugby Championship matches against Australia and New Zealand over the next two weeks. Kolbe joined the Springboks for their first training session on Monday in Brisbane, where the South Africans are preparing
4:58 AM BST Sam Bruce & John Goliath The four Rugby Championship nations have enjoyed a few days off, with the tournament set to recommence this Saturday. The Springboks and Pumas are on the road for the next two weeks, making the long-haul journeys for games in Australia and New Zealand. The All Blacks and
5:27 PM BST Jamie Braidwood Premiership rugby returned this weekend with no shortage of memorable moments. But who shone the brightest in week one? ESPN recaps the key individual performances from the opening round games. Gloucester 27-16 Northampton SaintsDanny Cipriani Cipriani made headlines for the wrong reasons during the summer, but the talented fly-half had
9:05 AM BST Kenya Simbas coach Ian Snook said his team need to improve on their defence ahead of the World Rugby Repechage tournament which serves as a Rugby World Cup qualifier. After failing to qualify for the world cup through the Rugby Africa Gold Cup, where they finished second to Namibia, the Kenyan team
3:28 AM BST Israel Folau is set to make a surprise comeback but prop Taniela Tupou is racing the clock after being included in a 31-strong Wallabies squad for the Rugby Championship clashes against South Africa and Argentina. Folau is a chance of overcoming an ankle injury, which sidelined him for Australia’s heavy second Test
5:14 PM BST KweséESPN Staff A Ruan Steenkamp hatrick wasn’t enough for the Blue Bulls as they went down 35-38 to the Golden Lions at Loftus Versveld on Saturday evening. The Bulls suffered their second consecutive loss as the Lions moved to the joint-top of the Currie Cup table with 10 points, alongside Western Province
11:55 AM BST Jamie Braidwood Toby Flood doesn’t need anyone to tell him how competitive the upcoming Premiership season will be. The Newcastle Falcons fly-half is preparing for the second year of his second stint at his hometown club and knows the pressure is on following last season’s unexpected success. With Flood returning to the
4:24 PM BST The All Blacks are deadly in the last quarter of a rugby match. They seem to find an extra gear when other teams’ clutch systems start to cease. They increase the tempo to hyper speed and really test the opposition in the wider channels by keeping the ball in hand, and making
11:50 AM BST Jamie Braidwood Christian Wade is ready to make Premiership history — physically and mentally. The Wasps winger needs just 11 tries to overcome Tom Vardnell’s record haul of 92 and is raring to go following a preseason which saw him go above and beyond to improve his game. Pat Lam, Bristol Bears’