The All Blacks have copped another big out as they bid to extend their winning streak over the Wallabies to 13 at Accor Stadium for Game 2 of the 2026 Bledisloe Cup. Live updates below!
‘Brilliant guy’: South African rugby player tragically found dead hours before match
South African rugby player Hyron Andrews has died in a tragic accident on a French island.
‘We want the best league in the world’: Bath’s Bruce Craig on 16 years at the Rec
Bath’s co-owner and ‘wily old fox’ on the need for Champions Cup change and the future of the Prem
It doesn’t feel like 16 years since Bruce Craig first shared his vision for Bath Rugby with the Guardian. Back then there were plenty wondering if his extravagant ambitions would be realised and even he describes it as “a long haul” at times. “It has been a lot more difficult than I anticipated. Anyone would have wanted it to happen a lot quicker than it actually has. But anything worthwhile is difficult and takes a long time.”
It has also taught him loads about the inner workings of professional rugby. “I’m not the new young buck on the block I was a few years ago, I’m the old wily fox now.” These days he compares it to a “four-dimensional” puzzle, even for the wealthiest owners. “When you come from business into rugby you probably think there would be a lot of crossovers. But it’s different. In business … it’s a lot easier to get the outcomes.”
Continue reading...Sports quiz of the week: love, songs, speedy skating and celebrations
Have you followed the big stories in football, rugby, tennis, boxing, basketball, skateboarding, F1 and the NFL?
Continue reading...‘Keep him on board’: Star’s shock allegiance call emerges in Wallabies’ worst nightmare
Wallabies coach Les Kiss is adamant that Mark Nawaqanitawase’s desire is to play for Australia at next year’s Rugby World Cup despite the code-crossing star reportedly considering representing Fiji or Italy at the tournament.
The one that got away: Tom Willis back to show what England are missing
Bordeaux No 8 takes on Gloucester in Champions Cup to underline hole he will leave Borthwick for the World Cup
Swines are swirling above Twickenham, the cows have returned to their roots and hell is an icy sub-zero. Steve Borthwick has been given a free pass to pick one player based outside England. The consensus is that Jack Willis – Toulouse captain and two‑time Top 14 player of the season – would be the obvious choice. The smart money, however, would be on Borthwick picking brother Tom in a flash.
For clarity, this is not going to happen. It is not World Cup season without a cause celebre but the reality is that you, dear reader, have more chance of selection. Still, the story of the younger Willis warrants re-examining. Firstly because his decision to head for France after receiving an enhanced contract was unprecedented. Secondly because for Bordeaux he is pulling up trees, forests and anything else in his way this season. England’s No 8 depth is shallow and Willis is the type of player Borthwick would give his right arm for. After Bordeaux have begun their Champions Cup defence at Gloucester on Friday, chances are his left too.
Continue reading...Injuries force Wallabies into No 10 change for second Bledisloe Test against All Blacks
Declan Meredith plays with Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson out
New Zealand make three changes to starting XV for Sydney clash
Australia coach Les Kiss has named Declan Meredith as starting flyhalf and uncapped playmaker Harry McLaughlin-Phillips as back-up for Saturday’s second Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand in Sydney.
Kiss suffered the first defeat of his reign as coach in the thumping 50-19 loss last week in Auckland that ensured the All Blacks would retain the Bledisloe Cup for the 24th straight year.
Continue reading...England boosted with Feyi-Waboso on track for Nations Championship
Tweaked hamstring to keep Exeter wing out at Toulouse
Genge and Lawes want England restrictions lifted
England’s game-breaking winger Manny Feyi-Waboso should be fit for international duty next month despite tweaking a hamstring playing for Exeter against Newcastle on Sunday. Initial scans have not revealed any major damage and Rob Baxter, the Chiefs’ director of rugby, is hopeful the 23-year-old will be back in action before too long.
Medical staff from Exeter and England have looked at Feyi-Waboso’s scan and the player will be unavailable for his club’s opening Champions Cup pool fixture at Toulouse on Saturday. The early indications are said to be positive, however, and he is on track to feature in England’s opening Nations Championship Test against Australia on 8 November.
Continue reading...Louis Rees-Zammit demands end to artificial Prem pitches after leg burns at Saracens
Bristol wing: ‘Someone do something about it!’
Pat Lam left three players out because of the pitch
Louis Rees-Zammit has called for an end to artificial pitches in the Prem after posting a graphic image of the wounds he sustained during Bristol’s defeat at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium on Saturday.
The Wales wing revealed the extent of the friction burns caused to his right leg after running out for the Bears on Saracens’ artificial pitch with the caption: “Can we please stop playing on these AstroTurf pitches!! Someone do something about it!!”
Continue reading...From the Roosters to… who?! Code-hopping superstar eyes blockbuster allegiance switch
Mark Nawaqanitawase’s blockbuster move from the NRL back to rugby union may not mean he returns to the Wallabies, with a stunning swap of allegiance being considered.
New Zealand 50-19 Australia: Bledisloe Cup rugby union international – as it happened
The Wallabies suffer a 12th straight defeat to the All Blacks as the home side extend their unbeaten streak at Eden Park to 54 Tests
Out come the Wallabies into the arena. The response, as you might expect, is muted. The Eden Park floodlights are starting to take effect as a beautiful evening transitions into a gloaming.
Tonight’s referee is the Cardiff-born, former Belgium international, now Irish Rugby Football Union official Andrew Brace.
Continue reading...‘A step back’: Wallabies skipper’s brutal admission as 40-year Bledisloe nightmare rolls on
The Wallabies were looking to do something they haven’t done in 24 years as they took on the All Blacks in the opening Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden Park.
The Spurs of Prem Rugby: how Harlequins lost their swagger
Marcus Smith’s return from injury offers hope but Quins appear a fragile side beset by entrenched problems
Speak to anyone who holds Harlequins close to their heart and a word that often comes up is “fragility”. Fragile in defence against Gloucester last weekend but mentally fragile too. The scars of recent seasons are deep and the problems entrenched. A club that is famed for its swagger has, in short, lost its mojo and the more you pull back the curtain, the longer it appears it will take to return.
A caveat. It would be oh so very typical of Harlequins to swashbuckle their way past Sale Sharks on Sunday but in many ways, that feels like part of the problem. During pre-season Harlequins set themselves the target of following in the footsteps of Exeter, who finished ninth two seasons ago before reaching the final last June. As Marcus Smith pointed out, it was not so long ago that Quins were seventh in January with only two wins and champions five months later. But in the eyes of supporters, these former glories, these roadmaps out of their current malaise are doing little but masking the extent of the problems, offering but false hope.
Continue reading...‘I don’t think anyone really saw it coming. I didn’t’: Meet Bristol’s World Cup hopeful Fitz Harding
The 27-year-old flanker confounded expectations leaping from Durham university’s fourth XV to Prem rugby captain – don’t bet against his big England ambitions
At the start of every season for the past few years Fitz Harding has written down his goals for the next 12 months on the first page of a crisp new notebook. “You can probably guess what they are,” says Bristol’s impressive captain ahead of his team’s trip to Saracens this weekend. “I want to win the Prem, I want to play for England, I want to go to the World Cup.” He makes it sound almost matter of fact, like a list of basic groceries to be picked up on the way home.
The longer you spend with him, though, the more you wonder if those lofty ambitions may be realised. Not only is the 27-year-old Harding intelligent and personable but he is not the type to give up easily. Nor does he lack for motivation. “I don’t just want to be in England’s squad. I want to play for England. It sounds silly but just getting a phone call [ahead of the November Tests] wouldn’t mean very much to me. They’re not going to write in my obituary: ‘He made the England squad once.’”
Continue reading...Is Prem rugby union turning into basketball? Nailbiters supply case for defence
Record try-glut in round one suggested all-out attack is en vogue, but maybe you can defend well and still concede tries in the modern game?
After one weekend of the Prem season the feeling was we had crossed the Rubicon. A remarkable 52 tries, eclipsing the previous record for round one despite the fact that fewer matches were played added further weight to the argument – a criticism and a compliment – that the English club game is creeping closer towards a form of basketball.
Then came round two and 41 tries. A sizeable number, certainly compared with seasons of yesteryear, but equally giving a sense that defences had their day in some cases. Sale’s gritty victory over Saracens was a dogfight, Leicester’s win over Newcastle wasn’t pretty and while Bristol ran in six tries against Northampton, their success owed everything to defensive steel.
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