Category: Rugby

Rugby News

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‘Exciting’ Noah Caluori could make England debut this autumn, says Borthwick

  • England coach talks up 6ft 5in wing’s humility and desire

  • Door closed on Tom Willis but left ajar for Owen Farrell

England could fast-track the Saracens teenager Noah Caluori into the Test spotlight as soon as next month following the wing’s dramatic start to his top-level club career. The 19-year-old celebrated his first Prem start with five tries against Sale Sharks on Satur­day and the national head coach, Steve Borthwick, says he is already in contention for a senior England debut.

It was impossible to miss Caluori’s aerial ability and eye for the try line at the weekend with the former Lions captain Sam Warburton ­describing the 6ft 5in player as “almost undefendable” and “an absolute diamond”. England have been aware of his potential for a while and it seems that some game time against Fiji a fortnight on Saturday is not impossible.

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England invite Noah Caluori to training after sparkling five-try Prem debut

  • Saracens’ 19-year-old wing impressed in win over Sale

  • Jack Willis omitted from autumn internationals lineup

Noah Caluori, the 19-year-old ­Saracens wing, has been invited to train with England by the head coach, Steve Borthwick, after an incredible five-try barrage against Sale in his first start in the Prem on Saturday.

A 36-man training squad has been named to prepare for the upcoming autumn internationals, with Jack Willis the most notable omission by Borthwick after the No 8’s decision to return to play in France.

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Tom Willis to drop out of England reckoning after signing Bordeaux contract

  • No 8 to leave Saracens at end of the season

  • Only Gallagher Prem players eligible for England

Tom Willis will leave Saracens at the end of the season after signing a contract with Bordeaux that will make him ineligible for Steve Borthwick’s England squad. In a major blow to the head coach, Willis has rejected a new deal from Saracens in order to return to the club where he spent a chunk of the 2022-23 campaign once Wasps had entered administration.

Since heading to north London in 2023, he has established himself as England’s first-choice No 8 and was awarded an enhanced contract by the Rugby Football Union in recognition of the impact he has made.

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‘We’re coming for them’: George Williams and Jack Welsby preview England v Australia

Hosting the world champions is as tough as it gets, but the players say this is the ‘best England team in a long time’

By No Helmets Required

With the club season over, England players George Williams and Jack Welsby are focusing on their next challenge: an Ashes series against the world champions. The pair will take centre stage at Wembley against Australia on 25 October. We met up in London to discuss the first Ashes series since 2003.

George, as captain, what will you say to players like Jack who have waited so long to face Australia?
Williams: “The last time we played them over here was 2016, which is a long time ago. I was young and came off the bench. It was a good experience. But Jack knows – he’s been around the block long enough now, won Super League titles and played against the NRL’s best, so I don’t have to tell him too much. The younger ones? Probably just enjoy it. They don’t come around often. You want to test yourself against the best in the world. We want to knock them off their perch.”

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‘Inspiring’ Lewis Moody will make it a day of emotion at Leicester-Bath clash

Fans of his old clubs have chance to show support for their former flanker after shock of his MND diagnosis

Emotions are bound to run high at Welford Road on Saturday, and not just because Bath are in town to renew one of the great rivalries in English rugby.

Not even because Leicester’s round-four date with the reigning champions is a repeat of last season’s final, a little over four months ago, when Johann van Graan’s side resisted a fierce Tigers fightback at Twickenham to claim their first league title in 29 years.

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Wallabies star Len Ikitau wins John Eales Medal after ‘exciting’ year

  • ‘Flickitau’ is first centre to win Australia’s top prize

  • Tabua Tuinakauvadra crowned top Wallaroos player

Wallabies star Len Ikitau has won the John Eales Medal, becoming the first centre to claim Australian rugby’s highest individual honour.

Ikitau enjoyed a phenomenal year in the gold jersey, opening the voting period in spectacular style by delivering the magical match-winning flick pass to Max Jorgensen in Australia’s epic win over England at Twickenham last November.

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Owen Farrell to miss out on England recall for autumn internationals

  • Former captain will not be in training squad next week

  • Farrell has not played for England since 2023 World Cup

Owen Farrell is expected to be overlooked by Steve Borthwick for England’s autumn internationals campaign despite injury headaches at inside-centre. It is understood that Farrell will not be named in a training squad on Sunday for next week’s mini camp and as a result Borthwick is expected to omit the 34-year-old former captain when he finalises his squad on 26 October.

The Gloucester centre Seb Atkinson, who started England’s two summer victories over Argentina, is sidelined through injury and likely to miss all four autumn Tests, against Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina, but as things stand that is not going to prompt Borthwick to turn to Farrell, who has not appeared for his country since the 2023 World Cup.

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‘Great day for the region’: York join Toulouse in 14-team Super League

  • London Broncos’ big names will play in Championship

  • Door open for them in 2027 if they can raise grading

York Knights’ owner, Clint Goodchild, believes the club’s historic promotion to the Super League for the first time is a watershed moment for the whole of North Yorkshire, after they and Toulouse were granted admission to the top flight in 2026 and London Broncos missed the cut.

The Knights will play in rugby league’s highest division for the first time since 1986 after they were selected by an independent panel alongside Toulouse to join the top 12 from Thursday’s IMG gradings and expand the Super League to 14 teams for the first time in more than a decade.

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Toronto Wolfpack players finally paid salaries after five-year battle

  • Canadian club folded during Covid-19 pandemic in 2020

  • Players receive around £750,000 in unpaid income

Players from the former Super League club Toronto Wolfpack have finally been paid around £750,000 in unpaid salaries following a five-year legal battle, the Guardian can reveal.

The Wolfpack folded in 2020 during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic leaving their playing squad – which included the likes of Sonny Bill Williams – unemployed and without a contract. Some of those players were able to source deals for 2021 and continue playing but others retired from the sport altogether and had to take jobs outside rugby league to make ends meet.

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‘Counterfeiting a code’: NRL announces 10-year ban for players who engage with R360

  • Agents who take players to unregistered competitions also face ban

  • Rules will ‘protect future of the game’, ARLC chair Peter V’landys says

The NRL has vowed to ban any player who leaves the code for R360 for 10 years, as it fights to fend off the threat of the breakaway rugby competition.

In a statement on Wednesday, the NRL also threatened to ban any agent if they take a player to the rebel competition.

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‘Not difficult’: Wane explains omission of Jake Connor from England Ashes squad

  • Leeds half-back won the 2025 Man of Steel award

  • First Test against Australia at Wembley on 25 October

The England head coach, Shaun Wane, has said the decision to leave Super League’s Man of Steel, Jake Connor, out of his squad for the Ashes was “not really difficult”. He added that he does not understand the obsession surrounding the exile of the Leeds Rhinos half-back.

Connor is by far the most notable omission from the 24-man squad to take on Australia in the first Ashes series since 2003. It begins on 25 October at Wembley, with Tests at Everton and Headingley to follow on successive Saturdays. There are a number of surprise inclusions, including a returnfor Hull KR’s Joe Burgess after his two-try performance in the Super League Grand Final on Saturday. The winger has been out of the national side for a decade.

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Carter Gordon returns to Wallabies squad after early end to NRL stint

  • Former Gold Coast Titan flyhalf lured back by Rugby Australia

  • Coach Joe Schmidt selects 34 players for Tests starting 25 October

Carter Gordon could be the Wallabies’ flyhalf again by the end of the month after securing a release from his NRL deal to be part of Australia’s spring tour.

The 24-year-old’s move to the Queensland Reds was confirmed on Monday after Rugby Australia secured a release from the second and final year of his Gold Coast contract.

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Hull KR aim for more while triumph brings hope for all Super League teams

Unpredictability and fresher feel has been apparent in Super League and whets the appetite for England’s home Tests against Australia

For the first time in two decades Super League woke up on Sunday morning with a name other than Wigan Warriors, St Helens or Leeds Rhinos as its champions. Hull KR are the first new winners of the competition since 2004, and only the fifth in history to be crowned at all.

For the Robins, this is a watershed moment. Without a major trophy in 40 years before this season, they have now completed an historic treble in 2025 and are arguably Super League’s premier club side. But for the wider competition as a whole, their success could not have come at a better time.

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Chiefs or Pythons? NRL’s 19th team name revealed by PNG prime minister James Marape

  • Public naming competition had more than 20,000 submissions

  • Rugby league franchise joining in 2028 will be known as Chiefs

Papua New Guinea’s new team to enter the NRL in 2028 will be known as the Chiefs, the country’s prime minister, James Marape, has announced.

The club’s name was unveiled at Santos National Football Stadium before kick-off in the men’s annual match between the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII and their Pacific neighbour on Sunday.

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