Rugby News

112 points conceded in two rounds, and now Deflandre The number stings. 112 points shipped across two rounds, 36 scored, a minus-76 difference. Racing 92 sit bottom of the Top 14 before they travel to Charente-Maritime. First a 64-5 hammering in Bordeaux-Begles, then a 48-31 loss to Lyon. Marcel-Deflandre on Saturday 19 September at 4:35pm…

Anthony Watson would have said no as a player. Retired, the England and Lions back thinks a Six Nations match in America is worth doing. Ireland’s union disagrees.

A standalone Test after a brutal month Rassie Erasmus has already set the tone ahead of the Springboks’ trip to Australia. The world champions play a one-off Test against the Wallabies next weekend, the final stop on a tour that has already taken them from Argentina to the United States. South Africa arrive with plenty…

One club, academy to 118 appearances He could have left. Plenty of clubs wanted him. Tommy Freeman signed a new long-term contract with Northampton this morning. The 25-year-old wing has never worn anything but a Saints shirt, from academy prospect to 118 first-team appearances at Franklin’s Gardens. Two Premiership titles have come in that spell,…

Baltimore to Australia, with a stop in Dallas and nobody sent home. Rassie Erasmus wants the Springboks to close out their tour properly against a Wallabies side that has momentum of its own.

“Nine hundred kilos behind you” Jeremy Paul packed down at hooker for the Wallabies from 1998 to 2006. He knows what a scrum weighs. He is also done being polite about it. The former Australia international has gone after the brake foot, the foot a hooker must plant flat in the middle of the tunnel…

Seven Tests in, and no witch hunt Three defeats on the bounce will usually start something in New Zealand. Sir John Kirwan went on the Rivals podcast this morning to say it should not, and he did not hedge. Asked whether losing the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series might have New Zealand Rugby second-guessing the March…

The deal was done. Almost. Last week the story looked finished. Several English outlets were reporting that Henry Pollock had put pen to paper on a new long-term deal at Northampton. This morning, the flanker reopened the file himself. “Northampton have been brilliant with me, I have spent my whole career here, they have made…

Twelve years in Charente-Maritime, if he sees it out 2031. That is the date on the new contract, and it means Ronan O’Gara could end up spending twelve seasons in the same technical area. La Rochelle have tied down their head coach for another five years. He arrived in 2019 and never looked for the…