7:26 PM GMT ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print Saracens have been docked a further 70 points to confirm their relegation, Premiership Rugby announced on Tuesday. The English and European champions were deducted 35 points and fined £5.3 million in November after an independent disciplinary panel said the club failed to disclose player

10:29 PM GMT Sam Bruce Close ESPN Associate Editor Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPNscrum after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Brittany Mitchell Close ESPN

12:10 AM GMT In the shortest lead up to a Super Rugby season ever, season 25 kicks off in January with a full round of matches played from Friday night all the way through to Sunday morning. 2020 introduces earlier kick off times across the New Zealand conference and Australia conference, but the structure of

3:52 PM GMT ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print Saracens interim chief executive Edward Griffiths has resigned after less than a month in the role, the Gallagher Premiership have announced. Griffiths had re-signed as chief executive on a one-year contract, having previously left in 2015, after Nigel Wray retired earlier this month. 1

1:56 PM GMT Ireland captain Johnny Sexton is set to start the team’s Six Nations opener against Scotland this weekend after recovering from a knee injury. Fly-half Sexton has not played since hobbling off while playing for Leinster in a Champions Cup game against Northampton in early December, but last week the 34-year-old confirmed his

Jan 21, 2020 James Harrington Maverick: Noun. An unorthodox or independent-minded person. In Fantasy Rugby, such a quality is potential gold dust. It should not be confused — as it often is — with mercurial, an adjective to describe someone who is subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind. And Freddie Michalak.

2:24 PM GMT James Harrington As in most sports, risk-reward is a very real thing in rugby. Teddy Thomas, for example, was selected for France’s Six Nations squad for his abilities as a try-scorer. Whether he makes the matchday side will depend on whether Fabien Galthie believes that talent is enough to offset his sieve-like

Jan 21, 2020 James Harrington Last year was a big year for rugby. Wales claimed the Six Nations Grand Slam while England were left once again licking their wounds following a thrashing from South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final. While it may be enjoyable, we’re not here to make English supporters question why

9:46 AM GMT England prop Kyle Sinckler will leave Harlequins at the end of the season to join Bristol Bears on a two-year-deal. Sinckler, who played in all three British & Irish Lions Tests during the 2017 tour of New Zealand, will look to add to his 31 England caps during the Six Nations after

4:23 PM GMT James Harrington It’s the first Six Nations after a World Cup, and while not absolutely everything has changed — unless you’re France that is — plenty has. As is standard at the end of a World Cup cycle, plenty of players have retired: Rory Best, Guilhem Guirado, Louis Picamoles, Greig Laidlaw to