Category: Australia Rugby

Jordan Petaia has taken a giant step towards becoming the first Wallaby to play in the NFL, after being signed by the Los Angeles Chargers.

• Invitational Australia & New Zealand side to play in July
• Players who have switched nationality will not be eligible

The British & Irish Lions are set to face a number of former All Blacks with Rugby Australia’s chief executive, Phil Waugh, confident players based in Japan can be recruited for the Anzac fixture in July. Waugh also confirmed that players who have represented Australia and New Zealand but subsequently switched nationality will not be considered, ending Israel Folau’s hopes of appearing in another Lions series and ruling out Charles Piutau.

The Lions will lock horns with an invitational Australia and New Zealand side for the first time since 1989. When the fixture was announced in 2023, the then Australia head coach, Eddie Jones, turned his nose up, saying: “I don’t want to be involved with the Kiwis.” With the former All Blacks head coach Ian Foster leading the combined side, Waugh believes the fixture in Adelaide will have star appeal.

Israel Folau is not done in Australian rugby just yet.

Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss has confirmed he has had two meetings with Rugby Australia officials about taking charge of the Wallabies at the completion of Joe Schmidt’s tenure in October.

Former Australia rugby union captain Rocky Elsom was handed a two-year prison sentence by a French court on Friday after being found guilty of misusing corporate funds.

• Former Narbonne president has faced financial charges
• Elsom not in court and his whereabouts remain unknown

The former Australia rugby union captain Rocky Elsom was sentenced to two years in prison by a French court on Friday, for misusing corporate assets during his time as the club president of Narbonne.

Elsom was also fined €100,000 (A$109,000) with half of that sum suspended. The 42-year-old did not appear in court; his whereabouts are currently unknown and a French arrest warrant has been issued against him.

Having taken charge of the southern French club Narbonne from 2015-16, Elsom went on trial for embezzling club funds by making unjustified expenditures to pay a coach or a general manager who was living in Australia at the time.

Michael Cheika has reportedly expressed interest in taking over as Wallabies head coach after meeting with Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh in Sydney on Tuesday.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was the main attraction but it was Siosifa Amone who stole the show on Friday night as the Waratahs claimed a thrilling, last-gasp 37-36 win over the Highlanders.

• Huge blow for Rugby Australia before home World Cup
• New Zealander to face All Blacks for last match in charge

Joe Schmidt will step down as Wallabies coach at the end of this year’s Rugby Championship in a blow to Australia’s hopes in the 2027 World Cup.

The New Zealander confirmed on Thursday he would extend his contract beyond the British and Irish Lions tour, but won’t continue through to the showpiece tournament on home soil. His last Test in charge will be against the All Blacks in Perth on 4 October.

After months of speculation, Joe Schmidt has confirmed he will step down as Wallabies coach in October, leaving Rugby Australia to search for a fifth head coach in six years.

The Wallabies have locked in what looms as a spicy encounter with former coach Eddie Jones and Japan in Tokyo in October, if he’s still in charge.

Sydney’s Accor Stadium has been confirmed as venue for the 2027 Rugby World Cup final.

• Semi-finals and third-place playoff also to be played in Sydney
• Melbourne to host nine matches in total; opener to be played in Perth

The eyes of the rugby world will again fall on Sydney after it was chosen to host the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup final, 24 years after the Wallabies’ heartbreaking defeat to England at the city’s Olympic Stadium.

Accor Stadium at Homebush, with a capacity of 82,000, will again host the decider as well as the semi-finals, the third-place playoff and two quarter-finals at the 11th edition of the global showpiece, which will take place in Australia for the first time since 2003.

Ex-Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper said Monday he was “excited” about coming out of retirement to play for a Japanese team under former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.