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France’s Peato Mauvaka cited for head-first lunge at Scotland’s Ben White

  • Hooker cited for foul play after Six Nations finale
  • Mauvaka had received yellow card over incident

The France hooker Peato Mauvaka has been cited for foul play after an off-the-ball incident with Scotland’s Ben White in their final Six Nations match.

Mauvaka received a yellow card for throwing himself head first into the grounded scrum-half during France’s title-clinching win in Paris on Saturday. The incident was referred for a bunker review at the time but the punishment was not increased beyond the 10 minutes in the sin-bin.

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Newcastle Falcons’ future in limbo as losses prompt recruitment freeze

  • Steve Diamond says bailout won’t keep Falcons alive
  • Ealing and Coventry fail to meet promotion criteria

The survival of Newcastle Falcons as a professional rugby team will require more than just a one-off £4m bailout from the remaining nine Premiership clubs, according to a senior Falcons employee. Steve Diamond, their director of rugby, has confirmed Newcastle may have to negotiate a potential short-term loan to participate in next season’s Premiership, raising fresh doubts about the club’s longer-term viability.

Diamond has already been forced to put a freeze on player recruitment for next season following confirmation the Falcons have been discussing a possible central loan if they fail to secure fresh investment between now and mid-June. Their longtime backer Semore Kurdi has been actively seeking a buyer for the club since last year.

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‘Three-peat’ Lynn and Gloucester-Hartpury players ready to switch on for Wales

Sean Lynn will be joined by five victorious Gloucester-Hartpury players in joining up with Wales’ Guinness Women’s Six Nations squad this week after securing an historic hat-trick of Professional Women’s Rugby titles at the weekend. The new Wales Women’s head coach masterminded a ‘three-peat’ for the Circus as they hit back from a 19-5 deficit […]

The post ‘Three-peat’ Lynn and Gloucester-Hartpury players ready to switch on for Wales appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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Llandovery and Ebbw Vale set for SRC Cup final showdown

Jason Strange believes the lessons learned in Ebbw Vale’s two semi-finals defeats last season could allow them to finally get across the line and win the Super Rygbi Cymru Cup at Llandovery on Thursday night. The Steelmen were forced to come from behind at Swansea to maintain their unbeaten run in Pool B and join […]

The post Llandovery and Ebbw Vale set for SRC Cup final showdown appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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Saracens and Leicester to trial separate away sections for Premiership fans

  • Trial to take place in two games next month
  • Will Evans: ‘Players want this. You’ll see a better product’

The Premiership will trial away ­sections for supporters in two forthcoming matches in April, in an effort to improve atmospheres in top‑flight fixtures.

It is understood that for ­Saracens’ fixture against Gloucester on 19 April and Leicester’s match against ­Harlequins on 26 April, ­specific areas for visiting supporters to congregate in will be created.

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Vibrant Six Nations leaves Andy Farrell with tricky decisions on Lions selection

England finished strong while Ireland appear to be fading, but the head coach must avoid an over-reliance on recency bias

The streets of Cardiff on Saturday night made the last days of the Roman empire look positively sedate. There were almost as many puddles of sick outside the Queens Vaults pub as England had scored tries inside the Principality Stadium, the glossy veneer of “Super Saturday” replaced by the dejected, what-just-happened stagger home. Truth be told, the pissed-up paying public weren’t looking too flash either.

What a deeply sobering weekend to be a player in red. To lose 68-14 against anyone at Test level is a nightmare; to do so under the roof at home against England is full-on zombie apocalypse stuff. An Aussie dollar or two, then, for Andy Farrell’s thoughts as he left the ground pondering his options for the British & Irish Lions series against the Wallabies this year. As things stand, representatives from Wales will be hard pressed to fill a phone box.

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Farrell looks likely to overlook England coaches for his British Lions staff

  • Borthwick said backroom team not been approached
  • Coaches set to miss out for second straight Lions tour

Andy Farrell looks likely to overlook England’s assistants when selecting his British & Irish Lions coaching staff, with Steve Borthwick revealing he has not been approached about members of the backroom team.

After England rounded off their Six Nations campaign with a record win against Wales to ensure a second-placed finish, Borthwick stated that he wanted as many of his players selected for the Lions tour as possible when Farrell names his squad on 8 May.

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Pollock cameo captures air of optimism around buoyant England

Borthwick says Northampton youngster ‘just comes on and wants to win’ and is not letting the shirt weigh him down

No title, no trophy, but the morning after the night before was a bright one for Steve Borthwick. An absence of silverware but glistening silver linings all over the place. The most ruthless, complete performance of Borthwick’s tenure puts the exclamation mark on England’s best Six Nations campaign for five years and gives reason for a genuine sense of optimism that his side have come of age.

It was only a few weeks ago that England were being booed by the Twickenham crowd, but such dissent feels a world away now and perhaps no one epitomises the feelgood factor more than Henry Pollock. Brought on for his debut after 48 minutes, his first involvement was to pack down for a scrum. After a word of encouragement from Ellis Genge, there Pollock was, grinning from ear to ear, backslapping teammates, high-fiving, bringing smiles to the faces of both Curry brothers.

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France 35-16 Scotland: Six Nations 2025 – as it happened

Les Bleus wrapped up the title in style at the Stade de France thanks in no small part to Yoram Moefana

6 mins. The visitors are not here to shepherd France to victory and FInn Russell get them going with a raking cross-kick that finds van der Merwe on the left. He’s set to turn on the pace but a slip halts his plan. The pace of the game is relentless and possession is traded a couple of times.

4 mins. More possession for France, this time via a massive maul that marches forward fifteen metres and leaves Scotland with little choice but to infringe to stop it’s murderous progress.

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Dan Sheehan’s hat-trick sees off Italy and allows Ireland to celebrate legends

  • Italy 17-22 Ireland
  • Ireland recover from poor start to claim bonus-point win

The destiny of the title was out of Ireland’s hands but there was a point to prove – not to mention a handful of legendary careers in green to be celebrated. Thousands of Ireland supporters booked a St Patrick’s weekend sojourn to Rome hoping to see their tribe seal three consecutive titles. After a sobering defeat by France top spot looked out of reach: a bonus-point victory, to maximise their chances, would have to do. Mission accomplished thanks to a hat-trick of tries by the front-row dynamo Dan Sheehan.

But forget the points table, forget the performance: since Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony announced their decision to retire from international rugby at the end of this tournament, it would be an emotional day regardless. Healy’s international career began at Croke Park in 2009 and a 20-20 draw against Australia. All O’Mahony had to do, in the second half, was take his tracksuit off to prompt a deafening roar.

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Principality Stadium marks 75th anniversary of Llandow air crash

Llandow pic

Welsh rugby went into mourning on Wednesday to remember those people who died in what still remains the worst air crash in the nation’s history on Sunday 12 March 1950. Prior to kick-off at today’s match there was be a minute of reflection for that grave day when what should have been a joyous return […]

The post Principality Stadium marks 75th anniversary of Llandow air crash appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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Wales 14-68 England: Six Nations 2025 – as it happened

England cruised to a record-breaking 68-14 win over Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff to conclude their Six Nations campaign

5 mins. Wales possession in the England half has Mee brought into the attack in midfield but he’s a little isolated and that allows Earl to get to the ball and win a turnover penalty. Fin Smith sends it to touch, but Cowan-Dickie’s throw isn’t straight.

3 mins. It’s a simple peel off the lineout that Tom Curry drives to the line. He is stopped but next up Itoje takes turn and drives over to open the scoring very early and give England a perfect start.

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Tackle tyros Thomas and Beddall happy to cut England down to size

Harry Thomas couldn’t extend his try scoring record in the U20 Six Nations, but the Scarlets hooker still picked up the man of the match award for another barnstorming performance in the 23-13 win over Grand Slam chasing England in the Welsh capital. He also had his mother in tears at the end of the […]

The post Tackle tyros Thomas and Beddall happy to cut England down to size appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.