4:23 PM GMT Ireland lock Devin Toner will miss the rest of the Six Nations after undergoing ankle surgery, according to numerous reports on Friday. Toner was forced off during the second half of Ireland’s opening Six Nations defeat to England last weekend and had already been ruled out of the match against Scotland on
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9:00 AM GMT Mathieu Bastareaud is to start for France against England in the Six Nations on Sunday, one of six changes to Jacques Brunel’s side from their opening defeat to Wales last weekend. Bastareaud starts alongside Geoffrey Doumayrou in midfield while Gael Fickou is back in the side on the wing, with Yoann Huget
1:00 PM GMT Scotland have made four changes to their starting line-up ahead of their Six Nations second-round match against Ireland at Murrayfield. Head coach Gregor Townsend has included last year’s top try-scoring Saracens wing Sean Maitland, who has recovered from a hamstring injury to replace last weekend’s hat-trick try-scorer Blair Kinghorn, who is benched.
1:00 PM GMT Joe Schmidt has named his Ireland team ahead of their Six Nations second-round match against Scotland at Murrayfield. Chris Farrell makes his first start of the tournament as he joins Bundee Aki in the centre, while Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton have been named at 9 and 10, respectively. Jonathan Davies will
10:46 PM GMT The other benefactor of the “Giteau Law” has called on Wallabies coach Michael Cheika to consider tweaking it as he assembles his Rugby World Cup squad this year. Drew Mitchell was thrust into the 2015 World Cup alongside Giteau after Cheika redrafted the eligibility laws to allow Australians playing overseas to represent
1:36 PM GMT The opening weekend of the Six Nations has come and gone…and you forgot to sign up to ESPN’s free Fantasy Rugby game! Don’t worry, it happens! Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time sign up, prove your managerial smarts and be in with the chance of winning some serious prizes. Even if you
11:16 PM GMT Huw Richards Close • FT’s rugby writer from 1995 to 2009• Also writes for the International Herald Tribune and the Sunday Herald PARIS — A Tricolor hurled down from the upper deck of the Stade de France after the final whistle was a suitably Gallic verdict on the opening match of the 2019 Six
9:48 PM GMT WELLINGTON — All Blacks centre Ngani Laumape has committed to the Hurricanes and the national team until 2021. The 25-year-old, who made his debut for the Wellington Super Rugby franchise in 2016 and New Zealand debut one year later, has extended his contract for a further three years. The Waratahs were found
12:33 AM GMT All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has described Michael Cheika as a “Mickey Mouse” Wallabies coach and delivered a damning verdict on his emotional frailties. Hansen was speaking at a fundraising event in Wellington at which he may not have been aware his comments would be reported. However, media in New Zealand picked