South Africa overpowered England 32-12 with a brutally effective forward display to win their third World Cup in Yokohama on Saturday. The Springboks’ victory was built on a colossal display by their powerhouse pack that allowed fly-half Handre Pollard...
England face the daunting task of trying to match or even improve upon their stunning win over New Zealand when they face South Africa in the World Cup final. Eddie Jones's men will head into Saturday's showpiece in Yokohama as favourites after a...
Veteran winger Ben Smith scored a classy try double as New Zealand beat Wales 40-17 to clinch third spot at the Rugby World Cup on Friday in the perfect send-off for storied coach Steve Hansen. In what was the final Test for both Hansen and Wales...
Stompers 21Overseas 19 It was the kind of day when we all should have been playing beach rugby, the sun was shining from a blue sky, with a gentle warm breeze blowing down the pitch. The Ray Elliot Cup kicked off the new season with last year’s winner...
England have been fined for crossing the halfway line in their response to New Zealand's haka before last week's Rugby World Cup semi-final. From ignoring the haka to performing one of their own, opponents down the years have come up with innovative...
England have been fined for crossing the halfway line during New Zealand's haka after they formed a provocative V-shaped formation at last weekend's World Cup semi-final in Yokohama, tournament organisers said Wednesday. Protocol states opponents must...
Eddie Jones has responded in typically sharp fashion after Wales coach Warren Gatland questioned whether England had played their World Cup final a week early with a stunning victory over champions New Zealand. Gatland was speaking after Wales had been...
South Africa will play England in the Rugby World Cup final after Handre Pollard scored 14 points to steer Rassie Erasmus’ team to a hard-fought 19-16 victory over Wales in Yokohama on Sunday. Pollard nervelessly kicked the decisive penalty with four...
Fly-half George Ford led the way as England ended New Zealand’s eight-year reign as champions with a superb 19-7 World Cup semi-final win in Yokohama on Saturday. Ford, restored at 10 by coach Eddie Jones, took over goal-kicking duties after England...
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is predicting a “mighty clash” in this weekend’s heavyweight World Cup semi-final with England, but insisted they were not New Zealand’s biggest rugby rivals. The treble-chasing All Blacks have won their last six meetings...
France lock Sebastien Vahaamahina announced his international retirement on Monday 24 hours after being sent off in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat to Wales. Les Bleus led 19-10 when Vahaamahina was sent off in the 49th minute in Oita for...
South Africa shattered Japan's dreams of reaching the World Cup semi-finals with a pulsating 26-3 victory in Tokyo Sunday to set up a blockbuster last-four clash with Wales. A double from wing Makazole Mapimpi broke the hearts of the Brave Blossoms,...
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika quit Sunday after their humiliating World Cup quarter-final exit against England, drawing the curtain on a five-year reign that started strongly but ended in criticism and disappointment. The 52-year-old, whose contract...
Substitute Ross Moriarty snatched a late winner as Wales eliminated 14-man France 20-19 in a breathless World Cup quarter-final to exorcise the ghosts of their 2011 heartbreak on Sunday. A moment of madness cost France dearly in Oita after lock...
Aaron Smith scored a brace of tries as defending champions New Zealand thrashed Ireland 46-14 on Saturday to set up a mouth-watering World Cup semi-final against England in Yokohama next weekend. The All Blacks, seeking a third successive World Cup...
Wing Jonny May produced a quickfire double and captain Owen Farrell was perfect with the boot as England stormed into the World Cup semi-finals Saturday with a thumping 40-16 win over Australia. May celebrated his 50th England cap with his 26th and...
Japan are the darlings of the Rugby World Cup with some very unusual training methods - but none more bizarre than smacking their coach on the head with a plastic hammer. The tournament hosts have been a revelation, storming to four straight wins to...
Japan are the darlings of the Rugby World Cup with some very unusual training methods -- but none more bizarre than smacking their coach on the head with a plastic hammer. The tournament hosts have been a revelation, storming to four straight wins to...
French Top 14 club Montpellier won an appeal on Tuesday against a fine of 470,000 euros (517,000 dollars) imposed last week by the National Rugby League (LNR) for exceeding the league's salary cap. "Montpellier Rugby welcomes the decision of the...
Rugby World Cup organisers filed misconduct charges against Scotland on Tuesday over comments made about Typhoon Hagibis, after the Scots threatened legal action if their final pool game was cancelled because of the deadly storm. Organisers said they...
Japan’s “Ferraris” hit top gear Sunday as the hosts beat Scotland 28-21 in a barnstorming Rugby World Cup clash to create history by reaching the quarter-finals. Rampaging wingers Kotaro Matsushima and Kenki Fukuoka did the damage for Japan, who...
Wales set up a Rugby World Cup quarter-final with Six Nations rivals France as they topped Pool D with a far-from-perfect 35-13 win over minnows Uruguay on Sunday. A largely second-string Welsh side committed a slew of handling errors and forward...
World Player of the Year Johnny Sexton scored two tries as 14-man Ireland secured a 47-5 bonus-point win over Samoa to reach the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday. Ireland had Bundee Aki sent off for a high tackle in the first half but they...
Two Rugby World Cup matches were cancelled in an unprecedented move on Thursday as Japan braces for potential damage and disruption from powerful Super Typhoon Hagibis. Video: AFP Organisers took the “very difficult decision” to scrap the games on...
Winger Josh Adams scored a sensational hat-trick on Wednesday as Wales booked a Rugby World Cup quarter-final place with a 29-17 bonus-point win over Fiji, sending Australia through in the process. In an end-to-end encounter in Oita, Fiji scored two...
Scotland will play Japan for a spot in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after a 26-point haul from Adam Hastings helped them to a nine-try, 61-0 thrashing of Russia on Wednesday. A Scottish side boasting 14 changes from the team that beat Samoa 34-0...
Fly-half Nicolas Sanchez showed Argentina what they had been missing with a masterful first-half performance Wednesday, as the eliminated Pumas restored some pride with a 47-17 win against the United States at the Rugby World Cup. Sanchez was...
South Africa’s Cobus Reinach scored the fastest hat-trick in Rugby World Cup history as the Springboks all but assured themselves of a place in the quarter-finals with a 66-7 hammering of Canada in Kobe on Tuesday. The Springboks ran in 10 tries,...
Rugby union remains a sport of "intimidation", All Blacks coach Steve Hansen insisted Monday amid a slew of yellow and red cards for dangerous tackles that have marked the pool stage of the World Cup. "Our game is about intimidation -- some people...
An experimental New Zealand side recovered from a sticky start and two yellow cards to hammer Namibia 71-9 and move one step closer to finishing top of their pool at the Rugby World Cup on Sunday. Namibia battled to within a point at 10-9 after half an...
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