11:20 AM BST Warren Gatland will coach the Barbarians against Wales in their first match under his replacement as coach Wayne Pivac. Gatland will leave the Wales job after the World Cup in Japan, but will quickly return there with the Baa-baas for the fixture at the Principality Stadium on Nov. 30. 1 Related The

3:46 PM BST We’ve reached the penultimate of Super Rugby’s regular season, and amazingly all but Queensland Reds and the Sunwolves retain hope of .playing finals football. The action kicks off with the Highlanders hosting the Bulls in a key fixture, and it’ll be no less intense between the Waratahs and the Brumbies in Sydney.

9:59 PM BST It promises to be a thrilling conclusion to Super Rugby’s regular season with only the Reds and Sunwolves officially out of contention for the playoffs. Each of the conference winners could be decided by the time Round 17 wraps up in Buenos Aires but the race for four of the five wildcard

1:21 AM BST Craig Dowd Close Craig Dowd played 60 Tests for New Zealand between 1993 and 2000, including in two World Cups, and he was part of the All Blacks team that won their first series in South Africa in 1996. He played for the Blues and Auckland in New Zealand domestic rugby, and

9:29 AM BST With just two rounds of the regular season remaining, several teams still remain in the running to book their playoff spot. Round 17 is headlined by a key Australian derby between the Brumbies and Waratahs with plenty of playoff implications, while a logjam in the middle of the table could make this

3:10 PM BST Springboks fly-half Handre Pollard has rejoined the Bulls in New Zealand ahead of their Super Rugby Round 17 fixture against the Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday. The game is the last of a four-match tour through Australia and New Zealand. Pollard went home following the first — a much-needed win over Melbourne

7:51 AM BST The Wallabies are, at this stage, short of many of the ingredients a World Cup-winning team needs. The lack of a world-class, in-form fly-half; line-bending forward ball-runners and a genuine attacking X-factor are obvious issues Michael Cheika and his fellow Wallabies selectors will be trying to rectify before the tournament kicks off

2:28 AM BST 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. Andy Withers Close ESPN

5:30 PM BST England defeated the Barbarians 51-43 in a scintillating contest in the Quilter Cup on Sunday afternoon, bringing the rugby season to a close in front of a modest crowd at Twickenham. What started as a back-and-forth first half ended with the youthful England side establishing a solid 31-12 lead, as Alex Dombrandt

1:02 PM BST Former Springboks captain Warren Whiteley faces a race against time to be ready for the Rugby World Cup after announcing that he will be sidelined for at least another two months with the knee injury he sustained in April. Whiteley, 31, has been beset with injuries since he was named South Africa