Rugby

2:53 AM BST Quade Cooper’s Achilles injury appears to be the one problem the Wallabies have no answer for as the Rugby World Cup creeps ever closer and coach Dave Rennie again looks to the past for a solution at No. 10. But a bigger problem perhaps lies within Australian rugby’s inability to sufficiently develop

6:21 AM BST Bernard Foley is back in the Wallabies fold for the first time since 2019, the playmaker named as part of a 35-man squad to face the Springboks as coach Dave Rennie wrestles with the position of fly-half — a problem that has now seen James O’Connor dropped. Rennie on Thursday afternoon confirmed

2:27 AM BST Former Wallaroos captain Grace Hamilton has been sensationally dumped from the side’s opening O’Reilly Test against the Black Ferns. Just months after she lost the Australia captaincy to former Sevens star Shannon Parry, the back-rower has failed to gain selection in the matchday 23 with coach Jay Tregonning instead picking young Brumbies

3:40 AM BST ESPN staff Ian Foster has been retained as All Blacks coach following a New Zealand Rugby [NZR] board meeting on Wednesday. Foster’s position has been the subject of huge speculation following an inglorious start to 2022, which included a 2-1 series loss to Ireland on home soil. But the weekend’s 35-23 victory

2:36 AM BST Corey Norman’s rugby league career could be over with the former Queensland State of Origin player being given a lengthy Super League ban for “inappropriate contact”. Norman has been hit with an eight-game ban after being found guilty of intentionally placing a hand between the buttocks of Warrington’s Oliver Holmes during a

6:02 AM BST It’s one win apiece after two rounds in the 2022 Rugby Championship, which may yet prove to be the most keenly fought edition of the tournament to date. The Pumas and All Blacks flipped the script on the Wallabies and Springboks respectively, their victories coming in contrasting fashion in San Juan and

11:47 PM BST Reuters with ESPN staff All Blacks forward Ardie Savea insisted Ian Foster has the full backing of his players after their 35-23 win over South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday eased some of the pressure on the embattled coach. But New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson on Sunday afternoon [NZT] refused

2:13 AM BST New Zealand coach Ian Foster admits he has “no idea” if Saturday’s excellent 35-23 Rugby Championship victory over South Africa will be enough to save his job, but believes there is more to come from his team. The All Blacks had lost five of their last six tests going into the contest

1:33 AM BST It’d be easy to point at the ever-growing Wallabies injury list for why they couldn’t get the job done in San Juan on Sunday morning [AEST], but in their biggest ever loss to Argentina their problem area back three was exposed from the outset, while their experienced heads failed to step up.

1:11 AM BST Australia have been forced into a late change on the eve of their Rugby Championship clash with Argentina after hooker Folau Fainga’a was ruled out of the contest in San Juan and replaced by Lachlan Lonergan, who will make his first test start. Fainga’a took a blow to the head in training