Category: Rugby Union

Rugby Union News

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Former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom handed two-year jail sentence in France

  • 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.

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Sherratt: ‘It’s about getting that balance between heart and brain’

Matt Sherratt

Matt Sherratt will be back at Cardiff Rugby on Monday but admits he might have to delay his return to the Arms Park if he can get his Wales side to beat England in their Guinness Six Nations finale at Principality Stadium this weekend. After games against Ireland and Scotland, Sherratt leads Wales for the […]

The post Sherratt: ‘It’s about getting that balance between heart and brain’ appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

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Wales U18 set for season opener against Scotland

The Wales U20 team will complete their Six Nations campaign against England at the Arms Park tonight, but the age-grade international action continues apace with Wales U18 meeting their Scottish counterparts at Kingston Park, Newcastle on Sunday. (3pm kick-off). It is the first step on the international ladder for the youngsters, who have only three […]

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England must be ruthless against Wales – and that is the blueprint for the future | Ugo Monye

Context dictates that England have to be on the front foot in Cardiff – let’s have that as their modus operandi

Play the match, not the occasion. Lap up the theatre, the dramatics, the pyrotechnics, the hostility, if that is what gets you going, but when you cross the white line, play what is in front of you. If there is one message that should have been hammered home to England’s players this week, it is exactly that.

Sport rarely plays out the way we fully expect it to, otherwise the Principality Stadium would not be sold out on Saturday, there would not be a growing sense of belief among Wales supporters that this is the day their desperate run of defeats ends, there would not be a nervousness, a tension among England fans heading to Cardiff. It’s why we love our sport but if England can play the match and not the occasion, they have the potential and the players to put Wales away comfortably.

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Lewis and Hawkins heading home to boost Welsh pro clubs

Two Welsh internationals are returning from English clubs this summer to play for in the BKT United Rugby Championship. The 57-times capped Harlequins tight head prop Dillon Lewis has signed for Dragons RFC, while the 22-year-old Joe Hawkins is leaving Exeter Chiefs to join the Scarlets in a major double boost for the Welsh professional […]

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Wales XV named for Six Nations finale against England

Joe Roberts and Aaron Wainwright

Senior men’s head coach Matt Sherratt has named the Wales team to play England in the final round of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations at a sold-out Principality Stadium, Cardiff on Saturday 15 March (KO 16.45h GMT, live on BBC and S4C). There are two personnel changes to the starting line-up that faced Scotland in […]

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‘A rugby incident’: Ireland’s Simon Easterby defends Beirne and Porter

  • Head coach addresses incident with Antoine Dupont
  • Scotland make two changes for trip to Paris

Ireland’s interim head coach, Simon Easterby, has expressed disappointment with comments made by his France counterpart, Fabien Galthié, over Antoine Dupont’s injury. Les Bleus won 42-27 in Dublin on Saturday to end Ireland’s grand slam hopes and move into pole position for the Six Nations title. But the post-match discussion was dominated by the season-ending knee injury suffered by the France captain.

The 28-year-old scrum-half ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament when the Ireland forwards Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Beirne cleared out a ruck. Galthié said the actions of Beirne and Porter were “reprehensible” and reported the pair to the match’s citing commissioner, but no retrospective action has been taken.

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‘It is not too dissimilar’: England’s Earl happy to make central switch if needed

  • 6-2 bench split means Earl will provide cover at centre
  • “Half the stuff I do is as a 12 anyway,’ says back-rower

Ben Earl has said he would take a shift to playing at centre against Wales in his stride on Saturday after Steve Borthwick revealed the back-rower is the first cab off the rank in the event of injury.

As England go in search of the bonus-point victory they are likely to need to keep their hopes of winning the Six Nations title alive, the head coach has opted for a 6-2 split on the bench. With three fly-halves in the squad, there is no obvious centre cover and Tommy Freeman is starting there for England for the first time.

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Borthwick deserves credit after bold selection for England’s Wales test

Head coach wants his players to stamp their authority on Saturday’s encounter in the Cardiff cauldron

Pick the bones out of that. Four openside flankers in the squad, three fly‑halves, just two second-rows and one centre. It does not stop there with a first start on the wing and a debut in waiting on the bench, in Cardiff – a place that has a habit of swallowing up and spitting out fledgling England careers.

On the back of a six-day turnaround, the easy move was to slot Henry Slade back into midfield for the injured Ollie Lawrence and challenge the other 14 who started the victory against Italy last Sunday to go out and do the same against Wales.

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Steve Borthwick may use three fly-halves for Six Nations finale in Wales

  • England’s Fin Smith, Marcus Smith and Ford all in squad
  • ‘Our aspiration is to win the tournament,’ says Borthwick

Steve Borthwick is prepared to unleash his triple threat of No 10s simultaneously against Wales on Saturday, with the head coach insisting England are heading to Cardiff intending to win the Six Nations title.

Borthwick has selected Fin Smith and Marcus Smith as well as George Ford in his matchday squad for the first time and revealed deploying all three in harness is a possibility as England seek to keep their championship hopes alive on “Super Saturday”.

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‘I’ve done nothing wrong’: Ireland’s Porter hits back over Dupont injury

  • France coach Galthié furious over loss of pivotal captain
  • Prop says he had ‘no malicious intent’ in incident at ruck

The Ireland prop Andrew Porter insisted “I haven’t done anything wrong” as he hit back at France’s head coach Fabien Galthié amid the fallout over Antoine Dupont’s season-ending knee injury.

Les Bleus’ captain – widely regarded as the world’s best player – faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament during his country’s 42-27 Six Nations win in Dublin. France were furious with the incident which caused the injury, with Galthié branding it “reprehensible” as he announced his intention to refer Porter and his Ireland teammate Tadhg Beirne to the citing commissioner for possible retrospective punishment.

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