Wallabies rookie playmaker Tane Edmed will go from onlooker to the main man, elevated from his 80-minute stint on the bench last weekend to starting No.10 for the second Bledisloe Cup clash in Perth.
Ticket row throws Super League play-offs into turmoil as Leigh threaten to pull out
Owner Derek Beaumont unhappy at Wigan’s allocation
Fixture in doubt as organisers scramble to find solution
Super League’s play-offs have been thrown into turmoil after Leigh Leopards’ owner threatened to withdraw his side from Friday’s semi-final against Wigan over a row surrounding ticketing allocations.
With the winners progressing to next Saturday’s Grand Final at Old Trafford, Leigh are bidding to reach the showpiece for the first time, but their participation in the game is in doubt.
Continue reading...Roosters star James Tedesco wins his second Dally M Medal
Big win completes year of redemption for fullback
Tamika Upton of the Broncos wins women’s award
James Tedesco has romped to his second Dally M Medal with the Sydney Roosters star finishing 22 points clear of his nearest rival.
In a big night for the Roosters, Tedesco claimed the NRL’s highest individual honour for the first time since sweeping the awards in 2019.
Continue reading...‘Ultimate team man’: Wallabies legend calls time on record-setting Test career in Bledisloe farewell
Veteran prop James Slipper will call time on his record-setting Wallabies career after Australia’s Bledisloe Cup clash against New Zealand on Saturday in Perth.
Saracens’ McCall says welfare guidelines leave players unprepared for new season
Internationals must have 10 weeks off
Lions not available until third round of Prem
Saracens’ Mark McCall is the latest Prem director of rugby to question player welfare regulations that he believes have left internationals undercooked for the season’s start.
Guidelines mandated by the Professional Rugby Board – established as part of the club-country agreement – dictate that England players who took part in summer tours of Argentina and the US have 10 weeks off. They were available for the first set of Prem games last weekend, but could not take part in the two rounds of Prem Cup matches before that.
Continue reading...Brisbane end Penrith’s five-peat dream with stunning comeback win to book place in NRL grand final
Broncos defeat Panthers 16-13 at Suncorp Stadium
Comeback victory sets up grand final showdown with Melbourne Storm
Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds has stepped up in the biggest moment of his career to end Penrith’s five-peat dream with a stunning 16-14 comeback victory.
The Broncos’ win in the NRL preliminary final has set up a grand final showdown with fierce rivals Melbourne.
Continue reading...Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu leads South Africa to nine-try rout of Argentina
South Africa 67-30 Argentina
Feinberg-Mngomezulu bags record 37 points
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored 37 points in a stunning individual fly-half display as South Africa moved to the top of the Rugby Championship table with a 67-30 bonus-point victory over Argentina at Kings Park.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored a hat-trick of tries as he beat Percy Montgomery’s Springboks record for most points in a single Test, to go with scores for the hooker Malcolm Marx, the wing Cheslin Kolbe, the scrum-half Morné van den Berg, the flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit (two) and the replacement back Manie Libbok.
Continue reading...‘Not up to the occasion’: Legend’s huge ref spray as gutsy Aussies fall short in Bledisloe heartbreak
It was a brave performance from Australia, but once again, they’ve fallen short in a Eden Park Test match against the All Blacks, going down 33-24.
‘Best I’ve seen them play’: SBW’s huge praise as brave Wallabies threaten 39-year first vs All Blacks
The Wallabies’ Bledisloe Cup drought has extended to 23 years following another loss to the All Blacks at Eden Park, but there was a lot the green and gold will, and should, be proud about.
Bledisloe Cup: New Zealand beat Australia in the Rugby Championship – as it happened
New Zealand retain Bledisloe Cup with victory
The Wallabies are being led onto the Eden Park turf by No 1 James Slipper. Today he becomes only the third international to register 150 caps.
Australia are wearing their traditional golden jerseys, green shorts, green socks.
Continue reading...Leigh overcome Wakefield in playoff to set up semi-final rematch with Wigan
Leigh 26-10 Wakefield
First-half blitz sets up showdown for Grand Final spot
Leigh set up a second consecutive semi-final shot at near-neighbours Wigan after brushing aside visitors Wakefield 26-10 in their Super League elimination playoff.
Three tries in a stirring first period all but sealed the win for Adrian Lam’s side, who will now make the eight-mile trip to the Brick Community Stadium next Friday in a bid to book a place in their first Grand Final.
Continue reading...Sports quiz of the week: Ryder Cup, Rugby World Cup final and a rebrand
Have you been following the big stories in football, rugby union, golf, athletics, cricket and the NFL?
Continue reading...Why Wallabies can break horror ABs curse: Skipper speaks out on blockbuster Bledisloe showdown
Wallabies captain Harry Wilson says his team is ready to defy history by beating New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday.
Newcastle’s Red Bull rebrand brings fresh energy to rugby’s troubled outpost
High-profile takeover has rejuvenated an ailing club, with the opportunity for Steve Diamond’s team to take flight and grow
Don’t mention the F-word. Such has been the pace of the Red Bull rebrand that one Newcastle official joked there would be spot fines for anyone who forgets it is no longer the Falcons giving them flight.
Energy drinks are in, feathered friends out, but the feelgood factor now coursing through the north-east promises more than just a dopamine hit. For the club, who only a few months ago were exploring a loan from their league rivals to stay afloat, and the revamped Prem, there is a feeling that the Red Bull revolution can be seminal.
Continue reading...‘I didn’t get empathy from Borthwick’: Ben Youngs on family trauma and why he rates Eddie Jones
Former scrum-half admits family illnesses made it difficult for him to embrace his achievement of being England’s most-capped player
“I found it hard, I really did,” Ben Youngs says as he explains why it was once so difficult to embrace his achievement of playing more times for England than any other men’s rugby player. Youngs won 127 caps and featured in four World Cups, but he used to look down at the ground whenever his longevity was mentioned.
Youngs retired from international rugby at the end of 2023, and played his last game for Leicester in the Premiership final in June, and so he can now give public voice to the trauma he carried for so long. While his sister-in-law Tiffany suffered for years with blood cancer, and his brother-in-law Jake endured motor neurone disease, Youngs played for England. He often felt as if he was putting himself ahead of everyone else while his brother and sister lost their partners to terminal illness.
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