Rugby

11:10 PM GMT Bill Sweeney, the CEO of the Rugby Football Union, said he was “really disappointed” with England’s autumn series results but gave no indication that coach Eddie Jones was in any danger of being removed. England delivered a poor display and were booed off at Twickenham after being outplayed 27-13 by South Africa

10:28 PM GMT TWICKENHAM — If anyone wondered whether prematch talk about their boss’ suspension would weigh heavy on South Africa’s minds, then it was in stark contrast to the light work they showed in dispatching England in their own backyard on Saturday. The build-up to this game was dominated by talk of South Africa

10:03 AM GMT Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Bill Sweeney was accused of being “asleep on the job” following the financial crises which forced Premiership clubs Worcester Warriors and Wasps into administration. The sports’ governing bodies appeared in front of the select committee for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on

2:40 PM GMT Wales centre Joe Hawkins will earn his first cap in their final autumn international against Australia at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, while Leigh Halfpenny gets a first start since July 2021 as he takes over at fullback. Hawkins comes into the side in place of Owen Watkin, who has a knee

11:43 AM GMT England’s Tommy Freeman will start as right wing against South Africa in their final November Test on Saturday while Alex Coles comes in as blindside flanker in the team named by coach Eddie Jones on Thursday. Freeman has been in the training squad throughout November and finally gets his chance to add

1:11 AM GMT ESPN staff Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks captain John Smit has weighed into the Rassie Erasmus saga, saying the director of rugby’s ongoing social media commentary had made the South Africa team “so easy to dislike.” Erasmus was last week handed a two-game matchday ban after he published multiple posts on Twitter, highlighting

4:18 AM GMT Ireland flanker Josh Van der Flier has been named World Rugby’s Player of the Year, after helping drive his nation to the top of the world rankings through a stellar 2022 season. Van der Flier beat out Ireland and Leinster team mate Johnny Sexton, France scrum-half and last year’s winner Antoine Dupont

8:19 PM GMT New Zealand halfback TJ Perenara faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after rupturing his Achilles in the closing stages of Saturday’s 25-25 draw with England and now faces a race against time to get fit in time for next September’s World Cup. The 30-year-old Perenara had to be helped from the

9:37 PM GMT AAP with ESPN staff The Wallabies insist their massive injury toll, with top prop Taniela Tupou now in possible danger of missing the Rugby World Cup, comes down to bad luck and the perils of a collision sport. Tupou was stretchered off in the second half of their 13-10 loss to Ireland

11:30 PM GMT The Wallabies’ 2022 season can be summed by the opening three minutes of their 13-10 loss to Ireland in Dublin. In a year that has been dominated by injuries, the sight of Hunter Paisami being twisted in a tackle and immediately clutching a knee came as no surprise. And nor did the