3:04 PM GMT Scotland have made three changes to their Six Nations squad ahead of the opening match against Italy on the weekend. Head coach Gregor Townsend has called up uncapped Glasgow centre Stafford McDowall, Warriors wing Rory Hughes and Edinburgh scrum-half Henry Pyrgos. Glasgow trio Matt Smith, Alex Dunbar and Rob Harley – who

Jan 25, 2019 James Harrington With less than nine months to go until the start of the Rugby World Cup, you would expect that international sides would be as settled as they could be — injuries permitting. Ireland and Wales have named experience squads for the Six Nations, but the rest have been forced to

12:36 PM GMT “Gutted” coach Tim Walsh harbours hope Australia can repeat their heroics at this week’s Sydney Sevens rugby tournament despite falling flat on the final day of the Hamilton round. The Australians lost their quarter-final 24-17 to hosts New Zealand on Sunday and suffered a 24-14 defeat to Scotland in a classification game.

3:04 PM GMT The Rugby Football Union (RFU) ended a trial aimed at making the game safer by lowering the legal height of tackles after a study revealed that it increased the likelihood of concussion, according to multiple reports. The rule change — where the height of a tackle was lowered from the line of

9:40 AM GMT SA Rugby and the country’s players’ association, MyPlayers, on Thursday held a workshop on the advancement of concussion protocols in the local game, with the aim of increasing concussion prevention and rehabilitation training. With the topic of player safety increasingly under scrutiny, and in the wake of Samoan rugby player Faiva Tagatauli’s

2:38 PM GMT ESPN staff Cornal Hendricks will play his first XVs rugby match as a professional since 2015 on Saturday, having been named to start for the Bulls in a Super Rugby preseason match against the Lions in Pretoria on Saturday. Hendricks, a former Cheetahs and Springboks winger, retired in 2015, on medical advice,

2:00 PM GMT ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print England international Jonathan Joseph has extended his contract with Bath Rugby, committing his future to the Premiership club. Challenge your friends and be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes! &• Find out what’s new this year, and what you could win!

1:54 PM GMT Former Samoa under-20 flanker Faiva Tagatauli died on Thursday morning after suffering a suspected head injury while playing for his club at the weekend, the Samoa Rugby Union (SRU) said in a statement. Tagatauli was playing for Vaimoso Rugby Club on Saturday when he indicated he wanted to be replaced 10 minutes

12:00 PM GMT James Harrington With close to 200 names to pick from, settling on 15 of the best players across multiple positions for your ESPN Fantasy Rugby team can be quite the task. Luckily, we’re here to help. Here are at least three star players from each position that may help you claim bragging