11:25 PM GMT ESPN staff with Reuters New Zealand fullback Beauden Barrett has voiced his support for Ian Foster’s bid to take over from Steve Hansen as All Blacks coach, saying he would like to see “continuity” in the role. Japan assistant coach Tony Brown has meanwhile declared he will remain loyal to Jamie Joseph,

8:42 PM GMT South Africa fans give the Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks a heroes welcome at O.R. Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s underprivileged children should “keep dreaming and keep believing”, Springboks captain Siya Kolisi said as he carried the Rugby World Cup trophy through thousands of fans on the

11:16 AM GMT Saracens have been deducted 35 points and fined £5.3 million for salary cap breaches, Premiership Rugby announced on Tuesday. An independent disciplinary panel said Saracens failed to disclose player payments in each of the last three seasons. In the event that Saracens appeal the decision, the sanctions will be suspended pending the

So Rugby Union completes a ninth World Cup — bringing it to where football was in 1974 — with a tournament in which the fashionable pre-tournament pick proved to be the smart one. South Africa continued its 12-year cycle of victories, on the way trashing the theory that to lose one match was to lose

2:37 PM GMT Pieter-Steph du Toit has been named World Rugby Player of the Year to cap his weekend after featuring prominently for South Africa as the Springboks defeated England in the Rugby World Cup final. Du Toit, 27, won the award from Springboks teammate Cheslin Kolbe, Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones, New Zealand backrower

11:30 AM GMT TOKYO — The Rugby World Cup is back in South Africa’s hands after a phenomenal display against England in the final. With the dust settling on the tournament, it is the perfect time to reflect on the past six weeks of world-class rugby and attempt to pick our team of the tournament.

1:29 PM GMT TOKYO — RFU CEO Bill Sweeney will seek talks with England coach Eddie Jones to extend his contract through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup once the dust has settled on their heartbreaking defeat to South Africa. Jones is contracted with the RFU through to August 2021 and Sweeney ideally wants the

6:43 AM ET Wingers Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe scored South Africa’s first tries in a World Cup final as the Springboks out-gunned England 32-12 to win the trophy for the third time and reassert the supremacy of the southern hemisphere on Saturday. Superb game management, set piece dominance, brutal defence and almost flawless place-kicking

12:25 PM BST Roger Federer may represent Switzerland when it comes to tennis, but the legend of that game could not hide his roots when it came to the Rugby World Cup final, tweeting his praise for the Springboks’ victory. The Boks beat England 32-12 in Yokohama, Japan, on Saturday, pulling away in the second