Siya Kolisi will become South Africa’s first black captain after being handed the role for the Test series against England next month. The 26-year-old flanker was the vice-captain to Eben Etzebeth last year and temporarily took over when the second-row was off the field but has been awarded the role on a full-time basis for…
Wales ready for Ireland’s aerial assault in must-win Six Nations match
Ireland and Wales meet on Saturday in Dublin to determine the heir apparent to England for the Six Nations crown. Matches between the two have in recent years been brutal even by the overtly physical nature of modern international rugby, but the route to victory has usually been in the sky. Ireland’s kicking game, led…
Power in danger of squeezing out skill in rugby union’s battle of big hits
The chairman of Augusta International, Fred Ridley, this week expressed his concern that modern golfers were smashing their way through courses and damaging the sport’s ecosystem: power was elbowing out skill through improved athleticism and technology. Rugby union has the same problem. As various surveys are made of injuries and concussion – the latest on…
Scott Williams try puts Scarlets into semi-finals with win over La Rochelle
The Scarlets uncorked a full-bodied red rather than their customary champagne as they overcame imposing opponents to reach the last four of the Champions Cup for the first time since 2007. It was a victory based on grit and courage as they absorbed pressure for the first hour before delivering the coup de grâce with…
Josh Charnley says he returns to rugby league a more confident player
Josh Charnley has insisted he can leave rugby union with his head held high despite cutting short his time with Sale to return to rugby league with Warrington. The 26-year-old has signed a deal with the Wolves until the end of the 2020 season, 18 months after crossing codes to join Sale from Wigan. Despite…
Israel Folau asked to explain post claiming gay people will go to hell
Australia’s full-back Israel Folau has been summoned to a meeting with leading Australian rugby officials to explain his recent message on social media that homosexuals would be condemned to “hell” unless they “repent” for their sins. Raelene Castle, the chief executive of Rugby Australia, and Andrew Hore, the chief executive of New South Wales Rugby,…
Burger happy to have taken tough option as Saracens head to Leinster
Schalk Burger has a vineyard that sprawls over 180 hectares of Western Cape countryside waiting for him as soon as he decides to retire. Had he taken what he calls “the easy option” he would be winding down the clock right now and topping up the bank balance in Japan rather than preparing for a…
Ireland seal grand slam with storming win over England in Six Nations finale
Beware the slides of March. England’s descent continued with a third successive defeat in the sleet as Ireland achieved a third grand slam and their third title in five years. It was the home side’s first defeat here since the 2015 World Cup and their first at home in the Six Nations for six years….
Exeter Chiefs move 11 points clear at top of Premiership by beating Bath
The champions Exeter moved 11 points clear at the top of the Premiership after Joe Simmonds’ late penalty thwarted Bath 20-18. The young fly-half booted half of his team’s points, while his older brother – the England No 8 Sam – scored a try, along with the Chiefs lock Jonny Hill. London Irish face fight…
Scarlets’ Aaron Shingler: ‘I need to keep pressing for World Cup place’
Aaron Shingler was one of Wales’s standout players in the Six Nations but the Scarlets flanker goes into Good Friday’s European Champions Cup quarter-final against La Rochelle feeling he has something to prove after being left out of the final match against France. The 30-year-old forward, whose international career looked to have tapered off last…