Rugby news

• Baxter aiming for 'continuity' in Exeter squad

  14-01-2026 12:31 via bbc.com
  Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter says he is encouraged with how his squad building for next season is going.
  
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• Holders Wigan start Women's Challenge Cup at Fev

  28-01-2026 14:58 via bbc.com
  Women's Challenge Cup holders Wigan Warriors will begin the defence of their title at Featherstone Rovers in this season's competition.
  
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• Bundee Aki start in doubt for Ireland’s Six Nations opener against France over ‘disrespect’

  28-01-2026 14:05
  Veteran dropped for alleged outburst at match officialsFrance prop Uini Atonio forced to retire after heart attackBundee Aki looks set to miss Ireland’s Six Nations opener against France after being withdrawn from Andy Farrell’s squad for disciplinary reasons.Aki is being investigated by the Irish Rugby Football Union for alleged disrespect shown to match officials in Connacht’s 34-23 United Rugby Championship defeat by Leinster on Saturday. Continue reading...
  
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• Rhinos hooker O'Connor signs new deal

  28-01-2026 10:51 via bbc.com
  Leeds Rhinos hooker Jarrod O'Connor agrees a new two-year contract with the Super League club.
  
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• From scrums to the slopes: how rugby’s life lessons have helped hone Team GB’s Winter Olympians

  28-01-2026 09:00
  Former Wasps forward Kearnan Myall is now performance director of GB Snowsport and using F1 tech and brain science to prepare for Milano Cortina 2026It is not every day that a former rugby player is pivotal to Great Britain’s Winter Olympic prospects. Until recently Kearnan Myall, who spent 15 seasons playing professionally for Leeds, Sale and Wasps, had never skied so it has been a steep learning curve. “The most humbling thing is being at the top of the run with the Paralympic team
  
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• Everton in line to host Fiji ‘home’ match against England in Nations Championship

  27-01-2026 18:22
  Fijians want neutral venue to maximise crowd receiptsRFU privately delighted to take national team on the roadEverton have been offered the chance to host England’s Nations Championship game against Fiji in July at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in what would be their first match in England held away from Twickenham since 2019.The 11 July Test against Fiji is an away fixture for England in their second game of the inaugural Nations Championship after they face South Africa in Johannesburg the
  
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• Everton in line to host Fiji ‘home’ match for England’s Nations Championship clash

  27-01-2026 17:50
  Fijians want neutral venue to maximise crowd receiptsRFU privately delighted to take national team on the roadEverton have been offered the chance to host England’s Nations Championship game against Fiji in July at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in what would be their first match in England held away from Twickenham since 2019.The 11 July Test against Fiji is an away fixture for England in their second game of the inaugural Nations Championship after they face South Africa in Johannesburg the
  
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• Long-serving Smith to leave Leeds at end of season

  27-01-2026 12:35 via bbc.com
  Cameron Smith will leave Leeds Rhinos at the end of the season when his current contract runs out.
  
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• The Breakdown | So much at stake and Six Nations just the start in ‘massive year for rugby union’

  27-01-2026 12:19
  We may know the sport’s future is bright when trendsetters worldwide are wearing Fabien Galthié-style shadesOn the surface it was business at usual at this year’s Six Nations launch in a chilly Edinburgh. Had the city’s most famous literary sleuth poked his nose into the venue at the top of the Royal Mile, Inspector Rebus would have clocked the usual suspects: head coaches trying not to divulge any secrets, captains quietly studying their opposite numbers and content cre
  
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• England lock Ward pregnant with second child

  26-01-2026 22:19 via bbc.com
  England World Cup winner Abbie Ward announces she is pregnant with her second child.
  
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• England captain Maro Itoje absent from training camp to attend mother’s funeral in Nigeria

  26-01-2026 19:34
  Borthwick: ‘We are deeply saddened for him’Itoje misses launch of 2026 Six NationsEngland will kick off their Six Nations training camp in Spain this week without their captain, Maro Itoje, who has travelled to Nigeria for his mother’s funeral. Itoje was absent from the official Six Nations ­championship launch in Edinburgh on Monday and is not expected to join his squad until Wednesday evening.With the tournament ­commencing on Thursday week every team is scrambling to
  
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• What Six Nations rivals think about struggling Wales

  26-01-2026 19:03 via bbc.com
  The coaches and captains met in Edinburgh for the official launch of the 2026 Six Nations.
  
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• Can unfancied Scots be Six Nations contenders?

  26-01-2026 16:30 via bbc.com
  Captain Sione Tuipulotu says Scotland must believe they can win the 2026 Six Nations, despite low expectations following a difficult autumn.
  
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• Scarlets bring in fly-half McBryde on loan

  26-01-2026 16:02 via bbc.com
  The 29-year-old returns to Scarlets to cover at fly-half as they face a trip to Treviso to play Benetton.
  
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• Champions Wigan open new Women's Super League season against Leeds

  26-01-2026 14:50 via bbc.com
  Wigan Warriors start their Women's Super League defence against Leeds Rhinos on 16 May in a modified format for 2026.
  
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• RFU targets transport revamp and undercover police to sway Twickenham residents over concert plan

  26-01-2026 14:46
  Fresh proposals to address road issues and bad behaviourRFU needs gigs to pay for £660m Twickenham upgradeThe Rugby Football Union is hopeful a proposed overhaul of Twickenham rail station and the deployment of undercover police officers on matchdays will help sway opponents of plans to host more concerts to pay for the £660m stadium upgrade.The union is seeking to increase the number of non-sporting events held at Twickenham each year from three to 15 in order to pay for the stadium
  
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• Challenge Cup: No upsets as third-round fixtures announced

  26-01-2026 14:43 via bbc.com
  It was routine progress for the Championship clubs in the second round of the Challenge Cup despite some gutsy displays.
  
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• Ireland injury list 'larger than normal' - Farrell

  26-01-2026 14:37 via bbc.com
  Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says he hopes the Six Nations will be a "good experience" for the more untested players in his squad as he admitted his injury list is a "bit larger than normal".
  
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• 'I've never doubted mental resilience of this group'

  26-01-2026 14:24 via bbc.com
  Hooker Dewi Lake says he does not feel any more pressure as Wales captain going into the 2026 Six Nations despite uncertainty over regions.
  
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• Baxter backs Exeter after Bristol home defeat

  26-01-2026 11:22 via bbc.com
  Exeter boss Rob Baxter says his side's Prem play-off hopes are far from over despite their 8-3 loss at home to Bristol.
  
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• Cal-fouri, a lesser-spotted law & Russell v the Shed - Prem talking points

  26-01-2026 11:00 via bbc.com
  Noah Caluori's teenage kicks continue as Finn Russell asks for quiet and Tommy Freeman and Henry Pollock benefit from an obscure corner of the law book.
  
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• How family grief made Hamer-Webb pick Wales

  26-01-2026 05:27 via bbc.com
  Uncapped Gabriel Hamer-Webb reveals how his Cardiff-born mother urged him to pick Wales over England for his international future.
  
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• Brennan added to France squad for Ireland opener

  25-01-2026 18:16 via bbc.com
  Dublin-born Joshua Brennan is called into the France squad for their Six Nations opener against Ireland in Paris on 5 February.
  
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• Wolfhounds top with Glasgow victory as Clovers win

  25-01-2026 17:55 via bbc.com
  Wolfhounds move top of the Celtic Challenge with a bonus-point 52-26 victory over Glasgow Warriors at Virgin Media Park.
  
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• 'We are not in freefall', says Sale boss Sanderson

  25-01-2026 16:06 via bbc.com
  Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson accepts that hopes of a top-four Prem spot are over after defeat by Northampton Saints.
  
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• Protests, pride and late celebrations in URC

  25-01-2026 11:16 via bbc.com
  Despite the off-the-field drama, it turned out to be a decent return for Wales' four professional sides with two wins, a draw and agonising defeat.
  
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• Van Poortvliet leads way before limping off as maddening Harlequins flop again | Michael Aylwin

  25-01-2026 09:00
  Leicester cope remarkably after illness swept through their squad but Quins cannot bring Champions Cup form to the PremEnglish rugby long ago gave up trying to explain the phenomenon that is Harlequins. Quantum physicists would struggle. Two weeks ago here, we watched this same team put 60 past the hitherto unbeaten Stormers from South Africa on the way to qualifying from the Champions Cup, a competition for the best domestic sides in Europe and, as if that were not enough, South Africa, a land
  
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• Glasgow top URC after bonus-point win over Zebre

  24-01-2026 23:05 via bbc.com
  Glasgow Warriors move to the top of the URC table after a hard-fought bonus-point victory over Zebre in Parma.
  
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• Cardiff secure nervy URC win against Benetton

  24-01-2026 22:43 via bbc.com
  Cardiff climb to fourth in the United Rugby Championship table thanks to a nervy 17-8 home win against Benetton.
  
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• Northampton back on top after thrilling win at Sale

  24-01-2026 21:24 via bbc.com
  Northampton Saints score seven tries to win 43-29 at Sale Sharks to go back to the top of The Prem.
  
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