Australia drop Fainga’a, Samu for second Bledisloe Cup test

New Zealand responded from a poor first test performance to beat Australia 27-7 in their second Bledisloe Cup match at a near sold-out Eden Park in Auckland on Sunday.

Australia captain Michael Hooper has stuck to the party line and attempted to downplay the mystique surrounding Auckland's Eden Park ahead of their second Bledisloe Cup test against New Zealand on Sunday.

South Africa will not play in the Ruby Championship this year. SANZAAR, the governing body, has announced a new schedule without the Springboks after SA Rugby decided not to send a team to the bio-bubble in Australia.

The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic could see England's rugby clubs start going bankrupt before Christmas without a government bailout, Premiership Chief Executive Darren Childs said.

All Blacks winger Jordie Barrett slotted a 78th-minute penalty to snatch a 16-16 draw against Australia in their first Bledisloe Cup test on Sunday, a rugby match that stretched nine minutes into injury time.

Compared to his previous 99 rugby test matches, Australia captain Michael Hooper said on Saturday the build-up to his team's first Bledisloe Cup encounter with the All Blacks has been "strange."

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) will not ban England fans from singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" but will educate them on the history of the song and its links with American slavery, the domestic governing body said.

Wallabies prop James Slipper has left his young team mates with no illusions about their task over the next two weeks, saying their poor results of the past made the team the deserved underdogs in their Bledisloe Cup tests against the All Blacks.

The Springbok Green and Gold squads are in Cape Town all masked up as they begin preparations for the Castle Lager Springbok showdown at Newlands on Saturday.

Australia coach Dave Rennie has expressed some sympathy for the All Blacks over the disputed Rugby Championship schedule and hopes a relaxation of biosecurity rules in New Zealand might mean they are not in isolation over Christmas.

Former Wales assistant coach Rob Howley, who has returned in a similar role with Rugby Canada after being banned for betting, said he was keen to rebuild his career after a challenging period out of the sport.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie looks set to be the main beneficiary of a decision by the country's Super Rugby coaches to invest in youth with several players likely to be pressing for starting positions against New Zealand's All Blacks next month.

The Bledisloe Cup test between Australia and New Zealand scheduled for Melbourne this year has been switched to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rugby Australia said on Monday. 

The final game of New Zealand's Super Rugby Aotearoa between Auckland Blues and Canterbury Crusaders at Eden Park has been cancelled after the government extended COVID-19 restrictions in the country's biggest city, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said.

Winger George Bridge scored two tries in the space of three minutes in the second half to help the Canterbury Crusaders beat the Otago Highlanders 32-22 on Sunday and clinch the Super Rugby Aotearoa title with a match to spare.

The return of recreational rugby in England has been given the go-ahead by the government after it approved the Rugby Football Union's (RFU) action plan for phased resumption.

The Brumbies beat the Queensland Reds 22-20 in Canberra to extend their lead at the top of the Super Rugby Australia to seven points.  The Brumbies led 14-3 at half-time.

The Canterbury Crusaders bounced back from their first loss of the competition and put one hand on the Super Rugby Aotearoa trophy on Saturday with a 32-19 victory over the Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton.

England hooker Jamie George has signed a new three-year contract at Saracens, the Premiership club have said.

Former Wallabies flanker Sean McMahon is to rejoin the Australia sevens set-up after a gap of five years in a bid to make the squad for next year's Tokyo Olympics, Rugby Australia said on Monday.

The World Champion Springboks have arrived at the Moses Mabhida Stadium after a procession from Umhlanga to Durban.

Springbok coach, Rassie Erasmus, says he hopes the team's world cup success has a permanent positive effect on South Africa.

With less than 24 hours until the Springboks take on England in the Rugby World Cup final, thousands of South Africans living in London are gearing up to get out and support the Bokke across the city.

Matching South Africa's physicality has been the byword for the week among the England squad, but flanker Sam Underhill says they will have to pick their moments to engage to prevent the World Cup final turning into a war of attrition.

After suffering their third Rugby World Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of South Africa on Sunday, Welsh rugby is having to come to terms with another disappointment.

Returning to Australia on Tuesday  after a quarter-final loss to England in the Rugby World Cup, both Michael Hooper and David Pocock expressed disappointment over the campaign.

South Africa have booked their place in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan with a 66-7 bonus point win over Canada in their final pool match in Kobe.

While praising captain Vasily Artemyev as a great ambassador for Russian rugby after their brave defeat to Ireland on Thursday, Coach Lyn Jones could not resist a quip about the fullback's most prominent physical feature.

Phil Davies hailed the courage of his Namibia side in the wake of their 57-3 Rugby World Cup Pool B loss to South Africa on Saturday as he steadies for an even bigger challenge against New Zealand on Oct. 6.

Ireland can effectively give themselves three weeks to prepare for a likely Rugby World Cup quarter-final against South Africa with a win over Japan on Saturday.