Sports Journalist · 64 articles
Henry Pollock is pushing to finally win a starting shirt for England’s Nations Championship finale against Argentina, with a trio of former internationals demanding Steve Borthwick throw off the leash. According to a fresh update from PA, Chris Ashton, Ben Youngs and Jeremy Guscott are among the voices calling for the Northampton Saints back-rower to […]
Rassie Erasmus has made ten changes to his Springboks starting XV for Saturday’s Nations Championship finale against Wales in Durban, with four uncapped players — including two 20-year-olds — set to win their first caps. According to a fresh update from RugbyPass, the head coach has torn up the side that beat Scotland 42-28 in […]
The All Blacks have recalled Rieko Ioane into camp as injury cover ahead of Saturday’s Nations Championship Test against Ireland at Eden Park, with wings Leroy Carter and Fehi Fineanganofo both picking up knocks in the win over Italy. According to New Zealand Rugby, Carter is managing an AC joint problem and Fineanganofo a shoulder […]
Scotland lock Alex Samuel will undergo knee surgery next week and faces a spell of several weeks on the sidelines, head coach Gregor Townsend has confirmed, with vice-captain Rory Darge also facing a fitness check after failing a head injury assessment during Saturday’s 42-28 defeat to South Africa. According to Townsend, speaking after Scotland’s four-try […]
Sunday brought the hangover from a brutal weekend of Test rugby, and there was no gentle way to process it. Wales are picking through the wreckage of a second-quarter collapse in Argentina, Scotland are nursing both a bruising defeat and a refereeing grievance, and the World Rugby rankings have been reshuffled from the top four […]
International rugby’s summer window doesn’t just settle contests on the field – it reshapes the World Rugby rankings algorithm by the week, and Sunday’s update showed just how volatile the middle of the table has become. Fresh results from the Nations Championship, plus the second-tier World Rugby Nations Cup, produced movement everywhere from the top […]
Scotland rugby head coach Gregor Townsend has accused South Africa’s Ben-Jason Dixon of throwing a “head-butt” that escaped with only a yellow card, after Scotland’s 42-28 Nations Championship defeat to the Springboks in Pretoria. According to The Scotsman, Townsend said he was left with “a mixture of frustration and pride” once the dust settled on […]
Progress in international rugby is rarely a straight line, and Wales were given a blunt reminder of that in San Juan. Argentina beat Steve Tandy’s side 35-21 in round two of the Nations Championship at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario on Saturday, according to Sky Sports, with Joaquín Oviedo scoring twice as Los Pumas […]
England have called up Raffi Quirke as scrum-half cover after Alex Mitchell was ruled out of Saturday’s Nations Championship finale against Argentina with a hamstring injury. According to Ruck, Sale Sharks scrum-half Quirke has been drafted into Steve Borthwick’s squad for the trip to Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, with Mitchell […]
England have leapfrogged Scotland back into fifth place in the World Rugby rankings after thrashing a 14-man Fiji side 73-8, reversing last weekend’s positions for the second Sunday running. According to the latest World Rugby rankings update, South Africa remain top of the standings on 93.96 points despite gaining just 0.02 for their 42-28 win […]
Five Tests in a single Saturday is as delicate a balancing act as the Nations Championship’s new global calendar was ever going to produce, and round two delivered every mood the format promises: a coaching crisis in Brisbane, a record-breaking rout in Liverpool, a title-defence statement in Pretoria, and a changed-but-unbeaten Ireland side sending a […]
Ireland handed four Test debuts in a much-changed side that beat Japan 36-20 in Newcastle, with number eight Sean Jansen marking his first cap with a try and the player-of-the-match award as head coach Andy Farrell’s side made it two wins from two in the Nations Championship. According to a fresh update from RugbyPass, Connacht […]