Category: Rugby Union

Rugby Union News

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Wallabies’ pop-gun revival under Joe Schmidt blown apart as France unload heavy artillery | Daniel Gallan

Plucky defeats decorated with patches of excellence will not cut it for Australia with a home World Cup now looming large

The camera found Joe Schmidt shortly after France had completed a 22-point swing. Australia’s coach had seen a 21-12 half-time lead obliterated in 16 brutal minutes. Schmidt, one of rugby’s sharpest minds, looked short of answers. The trouble was that the questions confronting him had obvious answers but almost impossible solutions.

Why had Australia’s discipline deteriorated? Because they were under pressure. Why had their tackle intensity and ruck speed fallen away? Because France had introduced fresh power from the bench. Why had the Wallabies gone from a nine-point half-time lead to a 13-point deficit in barely a quarter of an hour? Because one team had more large, skilful, Test-quality rugby players than the other.

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South Africa prove too strong for enterprising Scotland in Nations Championship

  • South Africa 42-28 Scotland

  • Scots run in four tries to earn bonus point

A breathless match, all the more so given the thin air of Pretoria, but the upshot is, for all Scotland’s wit and energy, South Africa march on with another full house of points. The visitors were brilliant in scoring their four tries, their pace and skill regularly making mugs of their hosts, but power remains the thing the Springboks do better than anyone. At this altitude, it is very hard to stop.

They were unanswerable in the middle of each half, scoring five of their six tries around then, but Scotland scored two apiece in the second and fourth quarters. They were within sight of a losing bonus point with 10 minutes to go. They even looked as if they might score again. But Jesse Kriel’s late score meant they had to settle for one.

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South Africa 42-28 Scotland: Nations Championship rugby – as it happened

South Africa win after surviving two Scottish rallies in Pretoria

9 mins. A worrying moment for Scotland as a Papier kick is allowed to bounce in behind with a gathering green group of shirts very close on the chase. Russell turns, dives on it at full stretch and grips it to his chest long enough for his ruck clearers to arrive, set it and let White clear the lines.

7 mins. Bok discipline is once more wanting under pressure with Wiese again infringing, this time for entering a maul from the side. Russell puts it into touch for a 5m lineout platform that is ruined by Ashman not throwing straight. Papier boots clear from the scrum.

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Fiji 8-73 England: Nations Championship rugby union – as it happened

England bounced back in style with an 11-try victory over Fiji in Liverpool

2 mins. A single carry before Van Poortvliet sets up the caterpillar ruck to box-kick to touch for a zero nonsense start from England. This is not the case from Fiji from the lineout as Tagitagivalu spills a simple tap off the top; presenting England a scrum that promptly results in penalty against Mawi.

Caleb Muntz chips through the shimmering summer air deep into England territory.

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Will Jordan grabs try-scoring record as All Blacks hammer Italy in Nations Championship

  • Fullback scores hat-trick as New Zealand win 47-17 in Wellington

  • New coach Dave ‌Rennie has ‌back-to-back wins in his first matches

Will Jordan grabbed a hat-trick of tries including a ⁠record 50th for New Zealand as the All Blacks thrashed Italy ⁠47-17 in the ⁠Nations ​Championship Test.

Jordan touched down once in the first half ⁠and twice in three minutes after half-time at Wellington Regional Stadium to eclipse ⁠Doug Howlett’s record against the outclassed Italians.

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Australia 26-42 France: Nations Championship rugby union international – as it happened

  • Wallabies unable to defend 21-12 half-time lead

  • France run in four tries in dominate second half

Australia in gold, France in blue, round two of the Nations Championship is under way…

Anthem time in Brisbane, which means an always welcome rendition of La Marseillaise. Advance Australia Fair pales by comparison, but the duration of the song allows plenty of close-ups of the Wallabies’ excellent First Nations jersey, worn to coincide with NAIDOC Week here in Australia.

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England return to the north with Borthwick needing to avoid a Mersey meltdown

Team head to Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium to face Fiji needing to avoid a sixth straight defeat, with eyes on debutants Van Rensburg and Caluori

England’s men venture north to play international rugby union so infrequently that their Nations Championship fixture against Fiji is a newsflash in itself. It is more than a decade since the north-west last staged a union Test and approaching 30 years since the England coaches Steve Borthwick and Richard Wigglesworth, among others, had their youthful sporting ambitions sparked by watching England at Old Trafford and Huddersfield respectively in the late 1990s.

So even in the dog days of July, with temperatures nudging 30 degrees celsius and Merseyside feeling more akin to the Med, this particular game is significant even before England’s recent five-game losing streak is layered on. Get it right and Borthwick can head to Argentina for the final leg of this summer’s magic mystery tour with some pressure relieved. Get it wrong at Hill Dickinson Stadium and a hard day’s night looms.

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Steve Borthwick sidesteps questions over future if England lose to Fiji

  • Janse van Rensburg, Caluori and Kloska to make debuts

  • Head coach: ‘My conversations with the RFU are private’


Steve Borthwick says he and his players are also feeling “the hurt and pain” caused by England’s losing streak but has sidestepped questions about his job security if his team are beaten by Fiji on Saturday. The head coach has not tasted victory since early February and will come under significant external pressure should his side slip to a sixth successive Test defeat at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

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Wallabies name Declan Meredith for Test debut against France as injuries mount up

  • Australia call up flyhalf to face back-to-back Six Nations champions

  • Jock Campbell replaced by Tom Wright in starting XV in Brisbane

Declan Meredith will debut against France as the reconfigured Wallabies paper over the cracks created by more soft-tissue injury carnage in Brisbane.

The ACT Brumbies flyhalf will wear the No 10 against the back-to-back Six Nations champions at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

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Janse van Rensburg poised to face Fiji as England look to rebound from Boks defeat

  • Uncapped back set for Nations Championship call-up

  • Squad aims to bounce back at Hill Dickinson Stadium

England’s rugby players could be forgiven for wondering which way is up. On Sunday they were in South Africa, next Monday they will be in South America and they are now in sub‑Saharan Surrey preparing to face Fiji in Liverpool this Saturday. Ironically it is warmer in Bagshot this week than it is in Suva, albeit with fewer coral reefs and fresh coconuts.

Regardless of the rotating backdrop, though, there is no ­disguising the lingering disappointment of the 45-21 defeat against the ­Springboks in Johannesburg last weekend. ­Victory at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium would not repair everything overnight but there is widespread ­acceptance within the camp that they need to rebound strongly on Saturday.

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The Breakdown | Will anyone stop the Springboks completing a Rugby World Cup three-peat?

Door is ajar for Rassie Erasmus’ side to surpass All Blacks when leading sides converge on Australia next year

The best sports teams constantly look to reinvent themselves. Their core principles remain in place but, crucially, they never, ever stand still. To do so is to risk slipping backwards relative to their competitors and arrive at the worst of all possible outcomes: a poorer, less successful version of themselves.

The ultimate example in rugby, until now, has probably been the All Blacks. For decades it was not only about winning the next game, but underlining their position, to quote one of their motivational whiteboard slogans from 2013, as “the most dominant team in the history of the world”. When you are chasing that kind of rarefied target you don’t allow the grass grow beneath your jandals.

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Wallabies were brave and brilliant against Ireland but still miss some key ingredients | Daniel Gallan

If Australia can keep playing with the same amount of ambition, skill and speed they showed in Sydney, they will trouble anyone in the Nations Championship

Did anyone inside the sold-out Allianz Stadium, or watching around the world, really expect Ben Donaldson to slot the game-winning kick at the death? A few minutes earlier, when his team still held a slender five-point lead, he had the ball on a tee a little closer to the poles and a little further away from the right touchline. That effort curled across the face of goal and never threatened to sneak inside the upright.

This one was more of a challenge. Just about the toughest challenge a right-footed kicker can encounter. He struck it better but started it too far to the right without the requisite bend. And as the ball sailed wide, it seemed to carry with it the story of Australia’s afternoon. Brave and brilliant, frenetic and entertaining, but ultimately still missing some crucial ingredients as they went down 31-33.

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