4:25 PM BST Reigning champions Leinster have been handed a tough defence of their European crown after they were named in a Champions Cup pool alongside four-time winners Toulouse, Wasps and Bath. Leinster battled their way 15-12 victory over Racing 92 in last season’s final, with Isa Nacewa’s 78th minute kick securing the victory infront
Rugby
11:04 AM BST England are “bitterly frustrated” at their inability to hold leads and maintain their discipline in South Africa and have a point to prove in the final match of the series in Cape Town Saturday, lock Joe Launchbury has said. England lost the three-match series with defeats in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, where they
3:31 AM BST Craig Dowd Close Craig Dowd played 60 Tests for New Zealand between 1993 and 2000, including in two World Cups, and he was part of the All Blacks team that won their first series in South Africa in 1996. He played for the Blues and Auckland in New Zealand domestic rugby, and
2:16 PM BST South Africa flyhalf Elton Jantjies believes it is coach Rassie Erasmus’ attention to detail that has seen the side claim back-to-back Test wins over England and be on the brink of a series clean sweep in Cape Town on Saturday. Erasmus replaced Allister Coetzee this year and after a narrow loss to
10:42 AM BST ESPN staff South Africa forward Duane Vermeulen says Billy Vunipola will be a ‘big loss’ for England as the Springboks ramp up the pressure on Eddie Jones’ side. The Saracens No. 8 has returned home after re-fracturing his arm during Saturday’s second Test in Bloemfontein — the latest in a series of
6:12 PM BST Rassie Erasmus praised his much-maligned predecessor Allister Coetzee on Monday for the improved skills of the South African side that have seen them clinch a three-match home series against England with a game to spare. Coetzee was sacked as Springbok coach in February after securing 11 wins out of 25 tests —
8:17 PM BST Nick Said, KweséESPN Saturday’s fixture between South Africa and England is set to bring down the curtain on 127 years of Test rugby at Cape Town’s Newlands Stadium, a venue steeped in history, but one well past its sell-by date. The Springboks host their tourists in the third and final Test of
12:08 PM BST ESPN staff Eddie Jones is in no immediate danger of being sacked as England coach despite his tenure reaching a new low after suffering a fifth straight Test defeat. England lost 23-12 to South Africa to surrender the three-game series in Bloemfontein Saturday with the final match to come in Cape Town
5:07 AM BST ESPN staff Benjamin Fall’s red card has been rescinded by a World Rugby appointed judicial committee after the committee deemed Fall’s running line was altered after he was bumped by the All Blacks’ Anton Lienert-Brown. Fall was shown a red card by referee Angus Gardner in the 11th minute on Saturday night
5:01 PM BST ESPN staff England coach Eddie Jones has issued a ‘sincere apology’ to Bath owner Bruce Craig after branding him as the ‘Donald Trump of rugby’. Jones and Craig have been feuding for months after Craig criticised Jones’ coaching methods with the number of injuries suffered by England players during Jones’ training camps