7:08 AM BST The early signs are positive that superstars Will Genia and Adam Coleman will return for the Melbourne Rebels in their do-or-die Super Rugby game against the Highlanders. The key Wallabies pair both took part in a lively training session on Monday, giving every indication they will front for Saturday’s final round clash
Rugby
5:53 AM BST Wallabies great George Smith may have already played his final match in Australia as a knee injury threatens to rule him out of a planned Super Rugby farewell on Friday night. Smith twisted his knee in an attempted pick-and-drive against the Blues in Auckland two weeks ago and was a late withdrawal
4:03 AM BST Sam Bruce Close ESPN Associate Editor Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPNscrum after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. John Goliath Close Rugby
1:02 PM BST Sunwolves winger Semisi Masirewa has been suspended for three weeks by a SANZAAR foul play review committee for his lifting tackle on Waratahs flyhalf Bernard Foley. Masirewa was issued a red card late in the first half of the Super Rugby clash on Saturday night after tackling and lifting Foley off the
2:28 PM BST ESPN staff Scotland international scrum half Henry Pyrgos has signed for Edinburgh after leaving Glasgow Warriors. Pyrgos, 28, has gone in search of a new challenge after his spell with the Warriors who he helped to a Guinness PRO12 title in 2015. He made 147 appearances during eight years at the club
2:33 PM BST ESPN staff Reigning Premiership champions Saracens have announced a new agreement with Nike to supply their kit for the 2018/19 season. The two parties have agreed a three-year deal with the American sportswear company entering the rugby market to make Saracens their only partner Premiership Rugby side. Nike also supplied Saracens’ kit
12:09 PM BST ESPN staff Reigning champions Saracens will begin the defence of their Premiership title at Newcastle after the fixtures for the 2018/19 season were released. Sarries begin with their longest trip of the season on Saturday September 1 while an enticing West Country derby between newly-promoted Bristol Bears and neighbours Bath will kick
2:56 PM BST The Queensland Reds have all but snuffed out Melbourne’s Super Rugby finals hopes with an upset 37-23 win on Friday night. Scrum dominance and dogged persistence delivered the Reds a hard-earned four-tries-to-two victory at Suncorp Stadium, snapping a run of five consecutive defeats. “It probably won’t mean much to the tournament but
11:11 AM BST Winger George Bridge scored two tries as the Canterbury Crusaders sealed the top spot in Super Rugby throughout the playoffs with a 45-22 victory over the Otago Highlanders to celebrate Wyatt Crockett’s 200th match milestone on Friday. David Havili, Scott Barrett and Richie Mo’unga all crossed for the Crusaders in the highly
8:00 AM BST Karmichael Hunt will make his return to rugby on the Gold Coast on Saturday when he lines up in a club match alongside fellow exile Quade Cooper. Nine months after his last outing and six months after the arrest that led to his banishment from the Queensland Reds, Hunt has been registered