2:40 AM BST A return to the days of round-robin competition and a little more ‘common sense’, that’s what Chiefs veteran Liam Messam wants for Super Rugby as he prepares to sign off from the tournament after 12 seasons in Hamilton. The former All Blacks back-rower will likely play his final home game on Friday
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2:27 PM BST KweséESPN Staff Stade Delort in Marseille, France, will host the Rugby World Cup 2019 repechage tournament to decide the 20th and final place at the Rugby World Cup. The line-up for the four-team tournament will be confirmed on Aug. 18, when the Rugby Africa Gold Cup concludes; the winners of that tournament
11:26 PM BST Even at under-8s level, people were talking about George Smith. On Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the young Smith was dominating junior-age rugby and forging a path that, almost 30 years later, would see him bow out of the Australian game as a Wallabies great and a player who inspired a generation of No.
3:25 PM BST PRO 14 side Cardiff Blues have signed U.S. rugby international Samu Manoa from Toulon. The 6-foot-7, 20-stone No. 8 arrives in Wales following three seasons in France, having previously spent four seasons at Northampton Saints, where he won the Aviva Premiership in 2014. Scarlets’ Wayne Pivac will succeed Warren Gatland as Wales
2:36 PM BST Professional rugby will come to Los Angeles next year when LA Coast Rugby joins Major League Rugby, bringing the sport to a city where interest in it has been steadily growing. Both LA Coast Rugby and Rugby United New York will enter the league for the 2019 season, bringing the total number
9:32 PM BST Greg GrowdenESPN Rugby Close After more than 30 years with The Sydney Morning Herald and Fairfax Media in Australia, Greg Growden now writes exclusively online for ESPN. Never afraid to step on toes, you can expect plenty of compelling insight from one of Australia’s most renowned writers. At last an Australian local
After 18 rounds of competition, Super Rugby has just one weekend left to run of its regular season. The New Zealand and Australian conference titles have been won by the Crusaders and Waratahs respectively, thus earning home quarterfinals, but their opposition for the opening week of the finals remains unknown. Meanwhile, there is a real
3:56 AM BST George Smith and Kane Douglas won’t get the opportunity to bid a playing farewell to Queensland Reds fans on Friday night, with coach Brad Thorn set to blood more young talent for their last match of the year. Wallabies great Smith has failed to recover from the knee injury that forced him
8:00 AM BST The NSW Waratahs are pursuing for a perfect 2018 Australian Conference record this weekend, when they anticipate a big forward onslaught from the Brumbies at home. A home win on Saturday will enable the Tahs to stitch up second spot on the overall ladder, meaning they will play both a qualifier and
9:00 AM BST Huw Richards Close • FT’s rugby writer from 1995 to 2009• Also writes for the International Herald Tribune and the Sunday Herald You can’t say that the Welsh Rugby Union have not moved on. From sacking coaches in car parks because of panic over possible headlines in the following morning’s regional press, they’re now