9:45 AM BST Fans will now be able to bring food into World Cup stadiums in Japan after the organizing committee admitted that the service at some venues was “not befitting” that of a showpiece event. There were lengthy queues for both food and beverages at stadiums during the opening weekend with some vendors completely

10:20 AM ET SAPPORO, Japan — England got their Rugby World Cup campaign off to a scrappy start with a 35-3 Pool C victory over Tonga, against whom Manu Tuilagi scored two tries while skipper Owen Farrell added 15 points with the boot. Four years on from their first-round exit on home soil, England were

11:43 AM BST YOHOHAMA, Japan — A tremendous first-half built on forward dominance, set-piece authority and the box-kicking of veteran scrum-half Conor Murray gave Ireland the perfect start to their Rugby World Cup campaign, despite coach Joe Schmidt deeming it not worthy of comparison with the All Blacks and Springboks’ efforts the previous night. There

1′ Hello and welcome to ESPN’s live coverage of England’s opening match of the Rugby World Cup, against Tonga in the impressive Sapporo Dome. The teams are on their way out to a cacophony of noise, drums, music and general excitement. It would be one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history if Tonga

8:06 AM BST TOKYO — Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is set to consider a number of changes to the team that beat Fiji in Australia’s Rugby World Cup opener on Sunday but he may be forced into one straight out of the gate for next Sunday’s clash with Wales. While the Wallabies reported a clean

10:36 AM BST A come-from-behind 39-21 victory over a fast-starting Fiji was far from perfect but it gave Australia a bonus point and something to build on as they head into a potential pool-winning clash with Wales next week, according to head coach Michael Cheika. The Wallabies were 21-12 down early in the second half

2:29 PM BST TOKYO, Japan — It may have been a slow burn earlier in the week but any thought that the Rugby World Cup’s first foray into Asia wouldn’t be embraced by the people of Japan was blown away in a brilliant sea of red and white on Friday night. 2 Related It had

11:18 AM BST Siya Kolisi will become South Africa’s first black Rugby World Cup captain when the Springboks tackle New Zealand on Saturday, and former Stormers coach Robbie Fleck feels Kolisi is the perfect man for the job. Fleck, who coached Kolisi at age group level at Western Province, and then made him Stormers captain

9:24 AM BST Ireland must do without the experience of Rob Kearney and Keith Earls in their World Cup opener against Scotland Sunday after the pair were unable to prove their fitness in time for Friday’s team announcement. Munster’s Andrew Conway will take the place of Ireland’s record World Cup try scorer Earls on the

6:26 AM BST TOKYO, Japan — The Wallabies made a solid start to the Rugby World Cup four years ago and Michael Cheika and his fellow selectors’ decisions have ensured they are best placed to repeat that performance against Fiji on Saturday. The location and conditions may be significantly different but the opposition from that