10:36 AM BST Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg will captain the British & Irish Lions in the opening match of their South African tour, when they take on the Gauteng Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday. Welsh winger Josh Adams is the only player retained in the starting lineup from the side that beat Japan 28-10

2:14 PM BST South Africa named a strong team to take on Georgia on Friday in their first test in 20 months since winning the World Cup in Japan in 2019. The test is one of two warm-ups for the Springboks ahead of their three-test series against the British & Irish Lions and new coach

2:00 PM BST Full-back Leigh Halfpenny will make his 100th test appearance when Wales host Canada at the Principality Stadium on Saturday and there could be as many as five debuts for the home side in the international friendly. Coach Wayne Pivac has been forced to make a number of changes from the side that

10:35 AM BST South African Rugby President Mark Alexander has accepted there will be no fans at stadiums for the British & Irish Lions series but is confident the COVID-19 protocols in place will allow all the scheduled games to go ahead. The Lions, who will face the Springboks in three tests from July 24,

12:30 PM BST Premiership Rugby will be expanded to 14 teams in the 2022-23 season after a Rugby Football Union (RFU) Council voted to temporarily pause relegation in a bid to improve the financial situation of clubs hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The vote was conducted to improve the financial stability and sustainability of professional

5:25 PM BST Scotland’s rugby team have broken camp ahead of next month’s tests against Romania and Georgia to self-isolate following consultation with Scottish Government medical advisers, a statement said on Monday. A planned international between Scotland A and England A on Sunday was called off because of COVID-19 cases in the Scotland squad. Three

3:24 PM BST South Africa will resume training activities on Monday afternoon after a COVID-19 scare in the squad as they build up to their first test in 20 months against Georgia on Friday, officials have confirmed. Initially three players tested positive for the virus over the weekend, but scrum-half Herschel Jantjies has since been

9:21 AM BST Olympic men’s rugby sevens champions Fiji and silver medallists Britain have been grouped with hosts Japan and debutants Canada for the men’s tournament at the Tokyo Games, World Rugby said on Monday. Rugby World Cup Sevens and World Series champions New Zealand face neighbours Australia in Pool A, which also features Argentina

5:12 AM BST Referee Romain Poite has admitted he got a late call wrong that denied New Zealand a chance of a series victory against the British & Irish Lions in 2017 and that he trashed his Eden Park changing room in anger at his mistake. The three-Test series ended 1-1 following a 15-15 draw

1:27 PM BST South Africa cancelled a Sunday training session after three unnamed Springbok players tested positive for COVID-19 on the eve on the British & Irish Lions’ departure to the country for a three-test series next month. The players had been put into isolation and a decision on further team activities would be taken