1:56 PM BST YOKOHAMA — They started carving South Africa’s name into the Webb Ellis Cup with five minutes of the match remaining. This was as destructive a performance as you’ll ever see in the sport as South Africa suffocated and out-muscled England to win their third Rugby World Cup. 2 Related The true impact

1:19 PM BST England coach Eddie Jones had no explanation for his side’s failure to mount any real threat in their 32-12 Rugby World Cup final defeat by South Africa on Saturday, saying that sometimes in sport you just come up against a better team on the day. While it was not the in-depth insight

12:25 PM BST YOKOHAMA — Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus underlined the importance of the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday by reminding his players before kick-off that they were not just playing for themselves but for the entire Rainbow Nation. South Africa duly clinched their third World Cup title with a crushing 32-12 victory over

6:58 AM ET The All Blacks bid farewell to coach Steve Hansen and captain Kieran Read with a 40-17 victory over Wales at Tokyo Stadium on Friday, claiming the one World Cup prize that no team sets out to win — third place. 1 Related Winger Ben Smith grabbed a brace and Joe Moody, Beauden

7:54 AM BST England’s Tom Curry and South Africa’s Cheslin Kolbe have been named among the nominees for the World Rugby Player of the Year award ahead of their nations’ World Cup final clash on Saturday. Curry, 21, competing in his first World Cup, has featured in all of England’s matches in Japan so far,

3:50 PM BST TOKYO — After two Rugby World Cup cycles of New Zealand dominance, rugby is ready for a fresh name to adorn the Webb Ellis Cup. Saturday’s World Cup final in Yokohama will throw up a clash of hemispheres, styles and backstories as England face South Africa in the ninth final of rugby’s

1:04 AM BST South Africa have been bolstered by the return of flying winger Cheslin Kolbe for the Rugby World Cup final against England in Yokohama on Saturday night. Kolbe returns after missing the Springboks’ semifinal win over Wales through injury, with S’busiso Nkosi dropping out of the squad altogether Coach Rassie Erasmus has otherwise

10:49 AM BST Wasps have granted Marcus Watson permission to fly out to Japan to watch his brother Anthony play for England in the World Cup final this weekend. The winger has started in the opening two Premiership matches for his club this season, but has been allowed to travel to see England face South

10:34 AM BST World Rugby has announced the nominees for the Coach of the Year award, with Japan’s Jamie Joseph joining the four World Cup semifinalists’ coaches in the running for the prize. New Zealand-born Joseph led the World Cup hosts to their first ever quarterfinal in the competition earlier this month, overseeing a flawless

2:30 AM BST England have named an unchanged starting line-up for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final against South Africa. The only change comes on the bench where Ben Spencer replaces the injured Willi Heinz. Scrum-half Spencer only arrived in Japan Monday but has now been fast-tracked into the matchday squad as England seek to win