12:13 AM GMT Wallabies defence coach Nathan Grey has hit back at claims from All Blacks boss Steve Hansen that something is not right about Australian rugby. Hansen was responding to an article in the New Zealand media claiming the world champions struggled against northern hemisphere sides this year due to a one-sided Bledisloe Cup

10:09 PM GMT Manu Tuilagi’s injury strife has been well documented and to control his boredom away from the field, he has become an accomplished barista and established himself as king of the pool table. But finally on Saturday, his inclusion on the bench against the Wallabies offers him the chance to park injury-enforced hobbies

4:27 PM GMT David Pocock will start at No.8 for Australia against England at Twickenham on Saturday after overcoming a neck injury. Pocock is a key member of the loose trio and his ability to turn over possession at the ruck is a major weapon for Australia as they seek to end a run of

2:49 PM GMT ESPN staff South Africa will be unchanged for their last test of the year against Wales on Saturday in a rarity for international rugby as coach Rassie Erasmus looks for a positive finish to his first year in charge. The Springboks will start with the same team that edged past Scotland 26-20

11:30 AM GMT Manu Tuilagi and Dylan Hartley are both on the bench for England’s final November international against Australia with Joe Cokanasiga named on the wing. Tuilagi was originally named on the bench for England’s opener against South Africa but was a late withdrawal with a groin injury. He then missed out on England’s

12:28 PM GMT Stuart Hogg has shaken off injury concerns to be named in Scotland’s team to face Argentina at Murrayfield on Saturday. The Glasgow full-back sparked fears he might have aggravated an old ankle injury when he limped off in the narrow defeat to South Africa at the weekend. But Hogg has since been

10:33 AM GMT England coach Eddie Jones believes Australia are playing mind games over David Pocock’s fitness ahead of Saturday’s Test and fully expects the talismanic flanker to play at Twickenham. Pocock was forced off the field in the second-half of the win over Italy last weekend with a sore neck after suffering a relapse

10:30 PM GMT Blaming the Wallabies for some recent lacklustre All Blacks performances, and two defeats in 2018, may be drawing a bow longer than Pinocchio’s nose, but it does shine a light on why Michael Cheika’s outfit are well adrift of rugby’s top dogs. Ireland’s victory over New Zealand in Dublin at the weekend

1:42 AM GMT ESPN staff In a show of support for former Wales captain Gareth Thomas, who was the victim of a hate crime, the France rugby team will wear rainbow shoelaces for their game against Fiji on Sunday night (AEDT). Vice-President of France Rugby Federation, Serge Simon, announced the news with a tweet on

11:18 PM GMT 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