Rugby News
South Sydney star issued with summons by Queensland Police
29-year-old hooker set to appear in court on 18 September
NRL star Brandon Smith has been charged with drug supply and using inside knowledge for betting.
The South Sydney hooker was questioned by police when he arrived in Queensland ahead of their 10 August clash with Gold Coast, but released without charge.
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Continue reading...An inspired Argentina played with greater discipline to upset New Zealand 29-23 in a bruising Rugby Championship Test on Sunday and record their first ever home win over the All Blacks.
It would be simplistic to say South Africa won this slugfest solely because of Pollard. But he did kick all six of his shots at goal
Handré Pollard doesn’t simply point to the poles. The South African metronome, his face stuck in a perpetual scowl, thrusts a meaty finger towards the uprights as if he owns them. “You’re mine,” he growls, with the promise that in just a few short seconds an oval ball will be spiralling through them courtesy of his swinging right boot.
If there’s such a thing as a Test match animal then it is Pollard, the only fly-half present at the final whistle of two victorious World Cup campaigns. And Test match animals win Test matches. Whatever transpires across 80 minutes is almost immaterial. All that matters is the result.
Continue reading...South Africa kept its title hopes alive after bouncing back from defeat a week ago with fly-half Handre Pollard producing a masterly kicking performance in a 30-22 win over Australia in their Rugby Championship match at the Cape Town Stadium on Sunday morning.
Handre Pollard kicks 15 points as South Africa edge the arm wrestle in Cape Town.
Australia haven’t beaten South Africa in back-to-back games since 2015.
Tell you what, I think they’ll do it.
South Africa 30-22 Australia
Springboks avenge shock loss to Wallabies
Handré Pollard put in a commanding performance at fly-half as a more pragmatic South Africa beat Australia in their second Rugby Championship Test in Cape Town to reignite the defence of their title.
Australia stunned the world champions 38-22 in their competition opener in Johannesburg last Saturday as the hosts tried to play an expansive gameplan with ball in hand and were picked off. This time round they turned it into an aerial contest, marshalled superbly by Pollard, who kicked 15 points to go with tries by the wing Canan Moodie, the No 8 Kwagga Smith and the lock Eben Etzebeth.
Continue reading...Troubled club at least manage to fulfil a fixture before losing 38-6 at Leigh, but Super League status is looking desperate
The notion of Salford walking out on Friday night to play their game against Leigh may seem to casual observers like a positive step, given they failed to fulfil their recent fixture against Wakefield and seem engulfed in a perma-crisis.
In hindsight, the Salford warning signs were there last winter when the club requested an advance of £500,000 on their central distribution to survive the off-season. “We should have seen the wolves were at the door then,” one Super League chief executive said this week.
Continue reading...Here’s how to follow live rugby union, Premier League buildup and action with our writers and live reporters
Continue reading...Winger starts as Australia bid for historic win in Cape Town
Rob Valetini and Tom Robertson also come in
Corey Toole will make his Test debut in one of three changes to the Wallabies starting side as they attempt to go back-to-back against the Springboks in South Africa for the first time since 1963.
The 25-year-old Paris Olympics sevens star will replace injured winger Dylan Pietsch for their Rugby Championship clash in Cape Town on Saturday night local time (Sunday 1.10am AEST).
Continue reading...Queensland Reds flanker Fraser McReight will become the Wallabies’ 91st captain this weekend, leading an Australian side in Cape Town that will include debutant winger Corey Toole.
Welsh union’s plan could see two teams cease to exist
Abi Tierney: ‘Change is hard and this is hard for fans’
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has recognised the “hurt and anger” caused by its proposal to reduce the number of professional men’s sides in Wales from four to two, but insisted maintaining the status quo would be a mistake.
Welsh rugby’s governing body has produced a radical plan to turn around the game at club and international level, outlining its ambitions in a 90-page consultation document entitled The Future of Elite Rugby in Wales. There will be a six-week consultation period before the WRU makes a final decision on the plans, and its chief executive, Abi Tierney, has urged people to “improve on the proposals” and provide “something fit for purpose for Welsh rugby”.
Continue reading...South Africa have made 10 changes to their starting team for their second Rugby Championship match against Australia at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Wallabies flyhalf James O’Connor has described Saturday’s comeback victory over South Africa in Johannesburg as one of the most satisfying wins of his 17-year international career.
Joe Schmidt’s side turned a 22-point deficit into a first win at Ellis Park since 1963. If this is a redrafting of the story, then the sport will be better off
For 18 minutes, everything was going according to script. The double world champions were running riot at Ellis Park, stomping over the gain line with every carry, shrugging off tacklers and hammering anyone unlucky enough to be wearing a gold jersey.
Australia had touched the ball twice before Kurt-Lee Arendse scored the opening try; once when James O’Connor kicked off, then again when Tom Wright spilled a contestable kick. Twelve minutes later André Esterhuizen sliced through the right before Siya Kolisi bulldozed over under the posts. Manie Libbok kicked seven extra points to nudge the score to 22-0 in South Africa’s favour. We’d not yet reached the quarter mark of this one-sided contest.
Continue reading...Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has slammed South Africa’s “really awful” performance in the Rugby Championship opener against Australia, blaming poor game management after a brilliant opening quarter.