12:01 PM BST The Gallagher Premiership’s clubs and London Irish will meet on Tuesday to discuss the multi-million pound takeover offer tabled by a private equity firm. CVC Capital Partners — the former owners of Formula One — have offered £275m for a 51 per cent holding stake in the English top flight but it

10:37 AM BST KweséESPN Staff Transformation is a priority for the Springboks’ coaching staff, says South African forwards coach Matt Proudfoot. Despite successive losses to Argentina and Australia, Proudfoot says he and the rest of the coaching staff are taking a long-term approach to the national team ahead of their crucial match against New Zealand

8:49 AM BST New Zealand could have a timely injection of fresh legs for Saturday’s Rugby Championship match against South Africa with midfielders Sonny Bill Williams and Ryan Crotty cleared to play after recovering from injuries. Williams, who missed the opening three matches, was available after having a scan on his injured shoulder, said All

4:40 PM BST The biggest concern when Rassie Erasmus was appointed Springbok coach was whether he will be able to handle the pressure that goes hand in hand with the toughest job in South African sport. And, at the moment, it seems like he is about to crack. Erasmus was a wonderfully skillful loose forward,

12:18 PM BST KweséESPN Staff Rassie Erasmus’ future as Springbok coach hinges on his team getting a result against New Zealand in Wellington, he said. After being appointed as Director of Rugby as well as on an unprecedented six-year contract, the coach said that will mean very little if South Africa are unable to beat

It was a tale of two totally different encounters during Round 3 of the Rugby Championship. In Nelson, the Pumas again demonstrated their improvement under Mario Ledesma in pushing the All Blacks right through to the final minutes of an entertaining nine-try Test. But it was anything but entertainment in Brisbane a couple of hours

12:26 AM BST Greg GrowdenESPN Rugby Close After more than 30 years with The Sydney Morning Herald and Fairfax Media in Australia, Greg Growden now writes exclusively online for ESPN. Never afraid to step on toes, you can expect plenty of compelling insight from one of Australia’s most renowned writers. A shaky step, but an

12:04 PM BST With the 2019 Rugby World Cup a little over a year away, England head coach Eddie Jones has revealed he is making his staff prepare for the tournament by learning Japanese. England’s backroom staff have just returned from the country after a 10-day familiarisation trip. “Everything we do now is about preparing

4:51 AM BST The All Blacks look set to be without injured star forward Brodie Retallick for the rest of the Rugby Championship. World-class lock Retallick limped off holding his shoulder 10 minutes into the 46-24 win over Argentina at Trafalgar Park on Saturday. He suffered damage to rotator cuff cartilage after 90 seconds and

6:26 PM BST KweseESPN Staff Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says hooker Bongi Mbonambi was substituted in their first half of their Rugby Championship match against Wallabies because he was ‘struggling’. Mbonambi was replaced by Malcolm Marx shortly after a botched lineout close to the Springboks’ tryline lead to a try for the home side, who