Category: Rugby

Rugby News

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Roebuck and Steward injuries likely to trigger major England reshuffle against Fiji

  • Smith, Arundell and Lawrence in frame to start

  • Borthwick faces dilemmas to backline selection

Injuries to Tom Roebuck and Freddie Steward look likely to trigger an eye-catching reshuffle in England’s backline for the Test against Fiji on Saturday. Marcus Smith, Henry Arundell and Ollie Lawrence are all in contention to be involved, with Manny Feyi-Waboso potentially the solitary starting back-three survivor from the win against Australia on last Saturday.

The head coach, Steve Borthwick, had been hoping to announce his starting XV early this week only for that plan to be mothballed when Roebuck limped out of training prematurely on Tuesday with an ankle problem. Steward has not trained so far this week after sustaining a finger injury late in the win against the Wallabies, opening the way for Smith to replace him at full-back.

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Tears and trouble: Shaun Wane on England’s narrow defeat to Australia

The coach says England will not win the Ashes until Super League players become used to ‘really intense games’

By No Helmets Required

Shaun Wane is a bear of a man who has built a hugely successful rugby career on intimidation and rabble-rousing, terrifying his own players as much as opponents and reporters. But being an emotional person works both ways. It would not have been a surprise if the 14-4 defeat to Australia had left the England coach in tears on Saturday but, in fact, he his feelings broke through when I asked him about his grandchildren.

After the final whistle Wane spent some time cuddling his small grandkids by the England dugout, showering them with attention and affection. It was lovely and touching. Their smiles and laughter were clearly infectious. A few minutes later, Wane was telling the press how “devastated” he was by the defeat and how 10 loose minutes from his players after half-time had infuriated him. “That really, really hurts – I’m so disappointed,” he said.

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The Breakdown | Fixation on forward rotation threatens to turn rugby contests into war of attrition

Every team aspires to their own ‘Bomb Squad’ and the modern-day arms race is focused on unleashing heavyweight power from the bench

There was a time in rugby union when the phrase “Bomb Squad” felt novel. South Africa were ahead of the game in maximising the impact of replacement forwards off the bench and the sight of all that fresh beef rumbling on to the field early in the second half was certainly arresting. As the Springboks have proved repeatedly, it works a treat if you possess the requisite strength in depth.

As with all good ideas, however, other people love to copy them. And so we have a modern-day arms race. Everyone now has, or aspires to, their own Bomb Squad. Around the 45th-50th minute in virtually any game there will be an army of stunt doubles preparing to replace the players who started the game. And if a coach can field fewer than three specialist backline reserves in order to bolster further his forward resources, happy days.

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Steward injury could offer Smith the chance to start for England against Fiji

  • Hand injury leaves full-back’s availability in doubt

  • Smith in frame with Furbank and Daly ruled out

A hand injury to the full-back Freddie Steward could present Marcus Smith with a fresh chance to start for England when they face Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday.

Steve Borthwick’s team will meet the Pacific Islanders in the second of four November internationals after a comfortable opening victory against Australia, but the No 15 jersey may become a significant problem for the England head coach.

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Pitch invading prankster Daniel Jarvis charged after lining up with Kangaroos players at Ashes Test

  • Serial prankster arrested for stunt in Liverpool

  • ‘He got me an absolute ripper,’ says Kangaroos star Cameron Munster

A pitch invader who lined up alongside Australia’s rugby league players while the national anthem played at the weekend’s Ashes match in Liverpool has been arrested.

Daniel Jarvis, a serial prankster, allegedly escaped the attention of security before kick-off in the second Test against England, slipping undetected on to the pitch to link arms with Kangaroos star Cameron Munster as Advance Australia Fair played.

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Henry Pollock can be spark England need but maybe someone should have a word | Robert Kitson

Back-row scored stunning try against Australia but perhaps he can be advised to rein in fractionally some of his antics

The sporting gods can sometimes be mischievous. Steve Borthwick’s vision of rugby heaven is a cohesive team that consistently delivers without huge amounts of fuss and squeezes the life out of opponents like a white-shirted python. Control, physicality, tactical acumen and work rate will forever be more central to his vision of Test match success than individual front-page razzle-dazzle.

And what happens? With almost comic timing the door to the England dressing room has been flung off its hinges by a 20-year-old rock star forward with the ability to transform games on his own. Henry Pollock has now scored three tries in 61 minutes of international rugby, is all over social media and already has half the rugby world itching to punch his lights out.

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Abbi Church shines on debut for Jillaroos in gruelling win over New Zealand

  • Australia beat Kiwi Ferns 10-4 at Auckland’s Eden Park

  • Church scores crucial try and sets up another on Test debut

Australia fullback Abbi Church has produced a spectacular Test debut in a hard fought 10-4 Pacific Championships win over New Zealand.

Church, 27, came into the starting side when No 1 Tamika Upton was ruled out with a calf strain, and set up a try before scoring one herself at Eden Park.

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Sititi and Roigard seal New Zealand’s Chicago revenge win over Ireland

  • Ireland 13-26 New Zealand

  • All Blacks trail despite early 20-minute red card for Beirne

Tadhg Beirne was shown a contentious early red card as Ireland’s quest to create more special memories in Chicago ended in an emphatic 26-13 loss against New Zealand. Almost nine years to the day since Ireland’s milestone first victory in the fixture, the All Blacks gained revenge at Soldier Field thanks to tries from Ardie Savea, Tamaiti Williams, Wallace Sititi and Cam Roigard.

Ireland initially overcame the controversial third-minute dismissal of Beirne for a high tackle on Beauden Barrett, who landed three conversions, to lead through a Tadhg Furlong score and eight points from Jack Crowley. But the All Blacks underlined their class in the second half to cruise to victory deservedly.

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No mountain too high for Itoje and England with Australia first up in autumn series

England captain stresses team must display their full power in Saturday’s first of four home internationals in November

Just occasionally even the world’s best rugby players are genuinely taken aback. In mid-September, Maro Itoje, recuperating from his British & Irish Lions exertions, stood and watched an England training session and could not believe the pace, intensity and all-round zip on view. “I was thinking: ‘Wow, I need to get back in the gym, I need to make sure I come back quickly,’” he admitted this week.

Itoje says his former teammate Mako Vunipola was just as impressed – “He didn’t remember it being that fast” – on a visit to England’s base in Bagshot the other day. Another recent retiree, the England scrum-half Danny Care, felt similarly. All of which has been fuelling Itoje’s growing belief, with the 2027 Rugby World Cup on the horizon, that “there’s no mountain we can’t climb”.

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Wallabies firing again in time for England clash after return to free-running DNA

Victory over hosts at Twickenham 12 months ago proved a launchpad for Australia to begin climb back from nadir

If only Henry Slade had managed to stop Ben Donaldson getting that offload away, if only Ollie Sleightholme had been able to make that wrap-up tackle on Len Ikitau, if only Marcus Smith was able to catch Max Jorgensen. But Slade didn’t, Sleightholme couldn’t, Smith wasn’t, and Jorgensen scored in the corner. This time last year the Wallabies beat England 42-37, their first victory against them at Twickenham in nine years, and it was, the players will tell you themselves, the moment when everything changed. “This game last year was a big turning point for us as a group,” says the Australia captain, Harry Wilson. “It really made us believe that on our day we can beat anybody in the world.”

Twelve months ago England weren’t worried about the Wallabies so much as they were worried for the Wallabies. The one thing an Australian team doesn’t want is pity, but that’s what they got. They had won two Tests out of nine in 2023, when they embarrassed themselves at the World Cup, and, after a few months during which he seemed to spend most of his time bowling around in a cork hat and shouting at everyone about how rubbish Australian rugby was, their head coach Eddie Jones had defected to Japan. A couple of their better players had hopped codes to play in the NRL and they had dropped to ninth in the world rankings. It was all getting a bit existential.

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England looking for northern stronghold to relight Ashes fire after Wembley letdown

England will look to Australia-born AJ Brimson to turn their fortunes around in second Test at Hill Dickinson Stadium

All change. In truth, something had to give following the nature of England’s performance at Wembley last weekend but as Shaun Wane’s side look to send the Ashes to a deciding Test in Leeds next Saturday, there are wholesale changes that the hosts hope will provide a reaction both on and off the field.

Wembley was underwhelming last weekend on multiple fronts. England limped to a fairly miserable 26-6 defeat, in which they showed little of what had been promised in the build-up to a first Ashes series in 22 years. But the atmosphere felt flat, in part due to what Wane’s men delivered, but also due to the fact the stadium wasn’t full.

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Ireland and All Blacks back in Chicago with memories of 2016 on the mind

  • Ireland’s Caelan Doris making comeback from injury

  • World champions South Africa play Japan at Wembley

It is back to where it started for Ireland. And by “it” we mean any kind of success against the All Blacks. With that, of course, comes credibility on the world stage, a status they still enjoy.

On Saturday night, UK and Ireland time, afternoon in the United States, Ireland take on New Zealand at Soldier Field in Chicago. Before any considerations of team news and vibes, the words Ireland, New Zealand and Soldier Field will transport many a rugby fan back not quite nine years. On 5 November 2016, Ireland, at the 29th time of asking, finally prevailed over the All Blacks, 111 years after their first shot at them. And how. No ugly scrap by a plucky underdog here, but an exhilarating 40 points and five tries under a Chicago sun.

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Australia’s Harry Wilson rejects claims Wallabies use illegal breakdown tactics

  • Borthwick has highlighted entering rucks from the side

  • Wilson denies Wallabies use dangerous or illegal tactics

Australia’s captain, Harry Wilson, has rejected a claim made on the eve of their clash with England that the Wallabies use illegal breakdown tactics.

The Daily Telegraph reported that England head coach, Steve Borthwick, has highlighted Australia’s alleged ploy of deliberately entering rucks from the side when he met referee Nika Amashukeli before Saturday’s Twickenham showdown. Player welfare concerns were also raised over the tourists’ approach to clear-outs.

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Having a ball-player is important but England also need a bit of beef, and that’s Freeman | Ugo Monye

Centre pairing of Northampton duo Tommy Freeman and Fraser Dingwall is unconventional but exciting, as is the depth of England’s squad

Optimism is often manufactured at the start of a campaign. Everyone goes in believing they can win every game, but there is a mood of true optimism around England before the autumn series. Considering they have won their last seven matches, had their best finish to a Six Nations for five years, and then won a summer series in Argentina, I think it’s fair to have confidence. Argentina beat the British & Irish Lions and England won there despite having 13 players away in Australia, plus one of the coaches.

The amount of Prem players excelling and the level in that competition also makes me excited for what England can achieve in November, starting with Australia on Saturday. Steve Borthwick is growing into the job and is more confident in what he’s doing: turbulence may not be the right word for the early days of his tenure, but I think people expected more. As fans we want immediate results, but coaches tend to have a “helicopter” view and understand the direction of travel.

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