Rugby

Bundee Aki will miss Ireland’s Test matches against South Africa and Fiji in November after being given an eight-match ban. Aki, 32, received the third red card of his career on Saturday for a dangerous clear-out on Seabelo Senatla as Connacht faced Stormers in the United Rugby Championship (URC). The ban means Aki is set

6:29 AM BST ESPN staff All Blacks centre Quinn Tupaea will be out for up to nine months after it was revealed the injury he suffered against the Wallabies in Melbourne was worse than originally thought. The All Blacks on Thursday said that further scans had confirmed an ACL tear and that Tupaea would now

World Rugby will be watching closely after approving a host of new rules to be trialled at two Queensland Reds games. Top-tier referees Nic Berry and Damon Murphy will oversee the trial games between the Queensland President’s XV and a Queensland Reds development squad on October 9 and 15. Time limits will be placed on

England’s women will play their first standalone match at Twickenham when they host France in the Women’s Six Nations in 2023, England Rugby have announced. England, who have won four consecutive Six Nations titles, have played at Twickenham before but the fixture was combined with a men’s match. Head coach Simon Middleton said in a

French referee Mathieu Raynal said he “100%” stood by his much-criticised decision to penalise Australia’s Bernard Foley for time-wasting against the All Blacks earlier this month. The Wallabies were leading the Rugby Championship test 37-34 in Melbourne when Raynal awarded them a penalty close to their own posts with less than two minutes on the

The Rugby Championship is in the books for another year, the 2022 edition the most keenly fought yet, with each nation suffering at least two defeats. But it was New Zealand who emerged from the shared 2-2 records ahead of the closing two rounds of the tournament to take out the trophy for the second

Premiership club Worcester Warriors went into administration on Monday after being suspended by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) from all competitions after failing to meet a deadline to prove they could operate amid their financial difficulties. Worcester are looking for new owners after they were served in August with a winding-up order over unpaid tax,

England have announced their 36-man training squad for the autumn series and there is no room for Danny Care, Joe Marchant or Harry Randall, who all toured in the summer to Australia. Henry Slade also misses out having featured prominently since the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, while Joe Launchbury, Kyle Sinckler and Joe

There are 348 days until the Wallabies’ opening match at the Rugby World Cup. As of now, worryingly, only two names can be written on the teamsheet in ink, a handful of others in pencil as the rest of the A4 piece of paper that carries the signature of team manager Chris Webb is dominated

South Africa won the battle but lost the war following their 38-21 victory against Argentina at a sold out King’s Park in Durban on Saturday, a result that handed the 2022 Rugby Championship title to New Zealand. The All Blacks top the standings with 19 points from their six games, one more than South Africa,

Chris Farrell will not be involved with Munster while legal proceedings are ongoing in France relating to a case of alleged rape in which the Ireland international is an alleged witness, the club said on Friday. The case dates back to 2017 when Farrell, 29, was playing for Top 14 side Grenoble. The Bordeaux Court

Determined to challenge the All Blacks before and after the first whistle, the Wallabies insist their response to the haka is designed to respect, not antagonise, their opponents. The Wallabies have arrived at their house of horrors, Eden Park, for Saturday night’s Test with New Zealand with the Rugby Championship on the line. Usually, all

Wasps have announced their intention to appoint administrators in order to “protect” their interests, a statement from the club’s holding company said on Wednesday. The decision puts the former Premiership and European champions on the brink of relegation, with Rugby Football Union (RFU) regulations stating a club placed in administration once the season has begun

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has brought back promising No. 8 Harry Wilson for this weekend’s Rugby Championship finale against the All Blacks, while Bernard Foley has retained his spot at No. 10 for the Eden Park clash. Wilson joins Cadeyrn Neville in the forward pack as the only two changes to an Australia side pipped

All Blacks skipper Sam Cane will miss the Rugby Championship decider against Australia, with Sam Whitelock leading New Zealand as they chase the title. Coach Ian Foster has made five changes to the team that pocketed the Bledisloe Cup for another year with their 39-37 triumph in Melbourne last Thursday. Cane, who like David Havili

Consistently inconsistent, convincingly unconvincing, remains the theme of this All Blacks season. There have been times in this year’s four-win, four-loss, campaign where the All Blacks broke from their turbulent shackles to regain the conviction long associated with their legacy. In those periods they produce the all-court rugby only they can to spark believers of

Australia’s Darcy Swain has been suspended for six weeks for the Bledisloe Cup incident that left New Zealand’s Quinn Tupaea with a bad knee injury. Tupaea suffered a ruptured medial cruciate ligament (MCL) and a partial anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in his left knee after Swain entered a ruck and made firm contact with

Women’s World Cup favourites England have included Loughborough Lightning’s 20-year-old forwards Sadia Kabeya and Morwenna Talling in a 32-player squad which also contains six players who helped lift the trophy in 2014. Kabeya, a destructive tackler with four caps to her name, got the nod ahead of established back-rowers Vicky Fleetwood and Sarah Beckett, while