Category: Australia Rugby

A new-look Wallabies side continued their rejuvenation under coach Joe Schmidt Saturday to overcome Georgia 40-29 in an entertaining one-off Test in Sydney.

The Wallabies will have a third captain in three games under new coach Joe Schmidt with Liam Wright failing to recover in time for Saturday’s clash with Georgia.

Progress can be hard to measure when you are coming from such a long way back but a second-up Wallabies win in the Joe Schmidt era is better than the alternative.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt says his new-look team learned “a bit about ourselves” in last week’s win over Wales as he named a largely unchanged line-up, albeit with a new captain, for Saturday’s second clash in Melbourne.

Joe Schmidt’s reign as Wallabies coach got off to a flying start in Sydney on Saturday with a hard-fought 25-16 defeat of Warren Gatland’s Wales, who slumped to their eighth straight loss.

Liam Wright will return to the Wallabies for the first time in five years as captain of the national team with up to seven players set to earn their debuts as new coach Joe Schmidt put a full stop on the disastrous Eddie Jones era.

Michael Hooper, who holds the record for the most caps as Australia captain, put an end to his international rugby career on Sunday after missing out on selection for the Paris Olympics.

New Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt concedes he’s never been so “underprepared” as he remains without a clear idea of his first team let alone a potential captain just nine days out from the opening Test against Wales and even after a four-day camp in Brisbane with his maiden squad.

Caleb Clarke scored a hat-trick as the Auckland Blues crushed the Waikato Chiefs 41-10 on Saturday to win their first full Super Rugby title since 2003.

Eddie Jones said Japan were “going in the right direction” despite being thrashed 52-17 by England in Tokyo on Saturday in the first game of his second stint in charge.

Veteran playmaker Kurtley Beale has earnt a shock recall for the Wallabies after he was one of 38 players named in Joe Schmidt’s first squad as Australian coach that includes 13 uncapped players.

New Zealand rugby player Connor Garden-Bachop has died aged 25.

The Wellington Hurricanes overcame a slow start to win their quarter-final 47-20 against the Melbourne Rebels, who farewelled the Super Rugby in fighting fashion.

England rugby star Jonny Hill has been accused of “putting a fan in a headlock and leaving him with a cut eye” after a semi-final defeat.

Rugby fans have been left shaking their heads in response to a medic’s classless act of unsportsmanship on the sideline of a game in Australia this week.