12:06 AM GMT Having gone from hunter to the “hunted” after a brilliant 2018 season, Ireland are struggling to deal with the pressure of being the “top dog” of world rugby during their Six Nations campaign, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has said. Six Nations Grand Slam winners last year, Ireland’s title defence got off

Mar 5, 2019 Scotland have dropped captain Greig Laidlaw to the bench for their Six Nations match with Wales on Saturday. Scrum-half Laidlaw has been omitted in favour of Ali Price for the game at Murrayfield as Scotland look to get their campaign back on track following successive losses to Ireland and France. Joe Cokanasiga

11:13 AM GMT England have made five changes ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash against Italy at Twickenham, with Joe Cokanasiga making his first Six Nations start. Cokanasiga gets the nod on the wing as Eddie Jones names a huge backline which includes Ben Te’o at inside centre and Manu Tuilagi shifted to No.13. In

2:42 AM GMT World Rugby has said its proposed global league would include promotion and relegation to allow minor nations the possibility of access but conceded that part of the tabled format was opposed by a number of unions. The global governing body came under fire last week after New Zealand media reports said the

4:18 PM GMT The Stormers have confirmed that coach Robbie Fleck will leave the team at the end of the Super Rugby season, to be replaced by Western Province counterpart John Dobson. Fleck is in his fourth campaign in charge of the Cape Town-based side, but has not managed to take them past the quarterfinals

12:59 PM GMT Round 3 kicks off in Wellington and continues with the undefeated Rebels and Crusaders hosting the next two games, against the Brumbies and the Chiefs respectively, before the big traditional Australian derby featuring the Waratahs and the Reds. But the best might just be coming last with the Bulls hosting the Sharks

10:45 PM GMT Welsh regional rugby was plunged into chaos on Tuesday as Ospreys denied they were on the verge of merging with Scarlets and lashed out at the Professional Rugby Board (PRB) who have proposed a drastic overhaul of the domestic game. The Ospreys said they were not about to join forces with rivals

4:45 PM GMT Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has reiterated that South Africa Rugby will rigorously enforce World Rugby Regulation 9 from 2020 in a bid to soften the impact of the growing flood of top players plying their trade abroad. The regulation states that players must be released by their clubs for international duty for