12:53 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

7:27 PM BST Israel Folau should be working for NASA. That was the tongue-in-cheek take from Crusaders coach Scott Robertson after Folau yet again proved the Waratahs’ key strike weapon as they halted the defending champions’ winning streak at 19 games in a 20-12 win on Saturday night. But it was also an historic night

12:57 PM BST SYDNEY, Australia — An under-strength, emotionally wounded Crusaders side were well below their best in Sydney on Saturday night as their 19-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of a determined NSW Waratahs. But the nine-time Super Rugby champions can be forgiven for having far more important issues on

11:51 AM BST Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones could be ruled out of the season after suffering knee ligament damage in the Six Nations victory over Ireland last weekend, his club Ospreys has confirmed. Jones suffered the injury when he was tackled during the opening 10 minutes of Wales’ title-decider but carried on playing after

9:51 AM BST Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth has been ruled out of the Stormers’ Super Rugby tussle with the Wellington Hurricanes in the New Zealand capital on Saturday, after failing to pass concussion protocols. Etzebeth took a knock to the head in the 35-8 victory over the Jaguares last weekend, but was named in the

10:04 AM BST Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones was named Six Nations Player of the Championship on Friday after leading his country to a first Grand Slam since 2012. Jones turned in a string of consistent performances as Wales powered past France, Italy, England and Scotland before beating title holders Ireland at the Principality Stadium

3:26 AM BST Sanzaar have announced they will officially drop the Sunwolves from Super Rugby from 2021 in a statement on Friday afternoon. After weeks of rumours the side would be axed from the competition, Sanzaar stated they believe the immediate future of Super Rugby rests in a 14-team, round robin competition format. Sanzaar CEO

7:39 AM BST How did they get it so wrong? By the time Super Rugby wraps up next year, the competition will have run through three different formats in 10 years before reverting back to the 14-team model last used in 2010. Long gone are the Western Force, Cheetahs and Southern Kings while the Sunwolves

11:58 AM BST Saracens will host future London derby matches against Harlequins at Tottenham’s new White Hart Lane stadium, according to the club’s director of rugby Mark McCall. The Premiership fixture was staged at Wembley in 2017 before it was relocated to West Ham United’s London Stadium last year. The London Stadium will once again