The Wales No 8 Taulupe Faletau looks set to miss the Six Nations after breaking his arm again, according to reports. Faletau, a British and Irish Lion, suffered a fractured forearm playing for Bath in October and missed the autumn international series. The 28-year-old returned for his club in Saturday’s 18-16 Champions Cup win over…
Wasps out of Champions Cup as Antoine Dupont-inspired Toulouse seal win
Wasps’ hopes of reaching the Champions Cup quarter-finals ended as Toulouse claimed a 42-27 bonus-point victory at the Stade Ernest-Wallon. Jamie George’s late try seals victory for Saracens over Cardiff Blues Tries from Yoann Huget, Joe Tekori, Romain Ntamack and two from the man-of-the-match Antoine Dupont plus 17 points from the boot of Thomas Ramos…
Gerbrandt Grobler: ‘If Eddie Jones came calling, I wouldn’t turn it down’
If Gerbrandt Grobler needed a reminder that he can never fully escape his doping past, it came within days of his arrival at Gloucester. It may have been coincidence but he was the first player drug-tested in pre-season following his summer move from Munster, brought about by the storm that brewed in Ireland over his…
Paul Gustard: ‘All I wish for England is for them to win the World Cup’
Paul Gustard does not look like a man laden with regrets. If anything, on a chilly lunchtime in the first week of 2019, he appears happier than he did in almost three years as England’s defence coach. “There will be no green-eyed monster,” insists Harlequins’ head of rugby when asked how he will feel if…
Marcus Smith lands 26 points for Harlequins as Sale are shredded
Harlequins’ new era under Paul Gustard is off to a flying start after 26 points and commanding performance from Marcus Smith were enough to put Sale to the sword. Max Crumpton’s last-gasp try, Harlequins’ sixth, chalked up the hosts’ half-century but that they only conceded three second-half points says everything about their effort and attitude,…
Rugby World Cup could expand to 24 teams in 2023, say organisers
Expanding the Rugby World Cup from 20 to 24 teams is being given serious consideration by the game’s governing body. World Rugby says four more teams could feature in France in 2023, although the 2027 tournament would appear more likely. As things stand Canada, Kenya, Hong Kong and Germany will be involved in a play-off…
Joe Marler to play for Harlequins despite England training camp withdrawal
Joe Marler is available for Harlequins’ match with Gloucester on Saturday despite withdrawing from England’s training camp in Bristol for “personal reasons”. The veteran British & Irish Lions prop was due to join Eddie Jones’s 36-man squad on Sunday but pulled out that afternoon and has instead trained with his club. Although declining to expand…
New rugby union season makes Lions an ‘impossible challenge’, warns Spencer
John Spencer, manager of the British & Irish Lions in New Zealand last year, said he was “very concerned” about the future of one of the game’s most iconic brands after changes to the domestic rugby calendar, as future tours will be trimmed to eight games with no training week for the full squad before…
RFU’s full-time contracts for England women’s team ‘hugely significant’
The England women’s captain, Sarah Hunter, believes the decision of Twickenham to offer 28 full-time contracts from the beginning of next year is “hugely significant” and will encourage more to take up the sport. Rachael Burford expecting bigger things for Harlequins and Premier 15s Apart from a nine-month period before the 2017 World Cup, England…
Rugby World Cup stadium opens as a symbol of ‘hope’ in tsunami-hit Kamaishi
On the afternoon of 11 March 2011, Akiko Iwasaki was preparing for another busy evening at her traditional inn when a magnitude-9 earthquake triggered a deadly tsunami along Japan’s northeast coast. Bledisloe Cup capitulation proves Australian rugby is in crisis Within 30 minutes, the waters of the Pacific Ocean that drew visitors to her ryokan…