Rugby

The United Rugby Championship can confirm that two fixtures from the Christmas and New Year period involving Ulster have been rescheduled.Ulster’s Round 8 fixture with Connacht and their Round 9 game against Leinster were both postponed due to Covid-19 issues and are now slated to take place in February and March. Ulster versus Connacht will be played on Friday, February 4 at 20:15 (UK/IRE) and will be broadcast live on BBC Northern Ireland, TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport and URC.tv. Ulster … [Read more...] about New Dates for Postponed URC Fixtures

Gregor Townsend has named five uncapped players in his 39-man squad for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations including Saracens back-rower Andy Christie and London Irish scrum-half Ben White.Rory Darge, Ben Vellacott and Kyle Rowe are also rewarded with call-ups ahead of Scotland’s first game of the championship on Saturday, 5 February against England. Andy Christie represented Scotland at youth level, playing for the Under-16s and the 22-year-old has played with Saracens since 2018, becoming a … [Read more...] about Scotland announce 2022 Guinness Six Nations squad

Nine Wales Women players have been handed retainer contracts and joined the WRU’s performance programme.Forwards Gwen Crabb, Georgia Evans, Kat Evans, Cerys Hale, Abbie Fleming and Bethan Lewis, along with backs Kerin Lake, Caitlin Lewis and Niamh Terry, will train alongside the 12 full-time players between one and three days a week. Up to six more players on retainer contracts are set to be added in the coming weeks. Wales Women head coach Ioan Cunningham said, “These players are a vital … [Read more...] about First retainer contracts signed by Wales Women

Richie Pugh has named his first Wales squad for the next two rounds of the HSBC Sevens World Series, blending youth and experience together for the Spanish legs in Malaga and Seville.The squad will be spearheaded by Team GB triumvirate Luke Treharne, Morgan Williams and Tom Williams but Aberavon flanker Lloyd Evans, Pontypool flyer Lloyd Lewis and Dragons winger Owen Jenkins also offer plenty of experience, having played on the World Series previously. Among the 13-man squad named for the third … [Read more...] about Wales Sevens squad for World Series announced

The more things change, the more they stay the same for the Springbok Sevens squad who will play in Spain this weekend for the first time since the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series started way back in 1999.Tournaments in Malaga and Seville have been added to the World Series, in place of Hamilton and Sydney, and in addition to the excitement of playing at new venues, Springbok Sevens captain Siviwe Soyizwapi is also happy to welcome back Wales, Scotland and England to the normal ebb and flow of … [Read more...] about Fresh challenges for Blitzboks

Defending Carling Currie Cup champions, the Vodacom Bulls, started the 2022 campaign with a bonus-point victory over the Pumas at the Mbombela Stadium on Friday evening, while the Toyota Cheetahs and the DHL Western Province also made winning starts on Saturday.The Toyota Cheetahs were made hard to work for their win over Tafel Lager Griquas in in Bloemfontein, and in the late match on Saturday, DHL Western Province were too strong for the Sigma Lions in Cape Town. Thanks to their 14-point … [Read more...] about Wins for Bulls, Cheetahs and Western Province

Edinburgh Rugby centre and former Scotland age-grade international George Taylor today announced his retirement from rugby due to health reasons.Taylor, 25, hasn’t featured this season due to concussion and the centre has now made the decision to hang up his boots with his own health and wellbeing paramount in his decision-making process, while taking on a new career in the family business of veterinary pharmaceutical supplies. The centre has made 38 appearances for the capital club – scoring … [Read more...] about George Taylor to Retire

Springbok Sevens playmaker Justin Geduld will return to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series for the first time in two years after being named in the Blitzboks squad to contest the two forthcoming tournaments in Malaga and Seville in Spain later this month.Geduld’s inclusion is one of five changes made to the squad for the first World Series event at Estadio Ciudad de Malaga, where South Africa have been included in the same pool as England, Fiji and Scotland. The experienced playmaker will return … [Read more...] about Five changes to Blitzbok squad for Spain trip

The 2022-edition of the Carling Currie Cup kicks off at 19h00 on Friday, 14 January in Nelspruit when the Vodacom Bulls start the defence of their title against the New Nation Pumas at the Mbombela Stadium.The other two matches in the opening round are scheduled for Saturday in Bloemfontein at 14h30 (Toyota Cheetahs v Tafel Lager Griquas) and Cape Town at 17h00 (DHL Western Province v Sigma Lions). The Cell C Sharks have a bye. SA Rugby on Tuesday confirmed kick-off times and venues for all the … [Read more...] about Carling Currie Cup kicks off on Friday

Glasgow Warriors have secured the services of one of the most promising young front-rowers in Scottish rugby, after FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academy product Murphy Walker put pen to paper on his first professional contract with the club.The 22-year-old tight-head follows in the recent footsteps of former Scotland U20 team-mates and fellow academy graduates such as Ross Thompson, Ollie Smith, Rory Darge and Rufus McLean in committing his future to the club, after breaking into the senior setup at … [Read more...] about Walker signs first professional contract with Glasgow Warriors

A Disciplinary Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 12 to consider the red card against Simon Zebo (No 11) of Munster Rugby which occurred against Ulster Rugby on Saturday, January 8.The incident occurred in the 14th minute of the United Rugby Championship Round 10 fixture at Thomond Park. The Player received a red card for Law 9.13 – A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an … [Read more...] about Disciplinary Update – Simon Zebo (Red Card)

Scotland international hooker Dave Cherry has today penned a contract extension to remain at the capital club.Cherry, 31, joined Edinburgh from Stade Niçois in 2018 and has become a mainstay at his hometown team, scoring four tries in 44 appearances. Impressive club form saw Cherry earn international honours in 2021, with the hooker making his Scotland debut in the famous Calcutta Cup victory over England at Twickenham in last season’s Guinness Six Nations. On re-signing, Cherry – who now has … [Read more...] about Scotland international Dave Cherry pens a new deal

Springbok Sevens speedster Angelo Davids has signed a two-year contract with Western Province Professional Rugby.The 22-year-old flyer made both his DHL Stormers and DHL Western Province debut in 2020 and returns full-time, having focused more on Sevens in 2021. The signing is a significant boost to the DHL Stormers’ Vodacom United Rugby Championship squad, which also features the likes of Seabelo Senatla, Sergeal Petersen and Leolin Zas as options on the wing. Davids said that he is delighted … [Read more...] about Sevens star signs full-time with WPPR

The Round 10 United Rugby Championship fixture between Scarlets and Dragons has been postponed. The game was due to take place on Saturday, January 8 in Llanelli, however, a number of positive Covid-19 cases within the Dragons playing squad have been reported by the region. The URC Medical Advisory Group has liaised with the region and having considered all the facts have deemed that the fixture cannot go ahead as scheduled. The United Rugby Championship will now consider available dates to … [Read more...] about Postponed: Scarlets and Dragons

The new year continues with two more derby matches while the United Rugby Championship could have new leaders by the end of the weekend.With the South African teams playing derby games later in the month, there are four matches scheduled on Saturday starting with Edinburgh against Cardiff Rugby at the DAM Health Stadium. Mike Blair’s Edinburgh can leapfrog Leinster with a win and strengthen their Scottish/Italian Shield prospects in the process. Staying north of the border, Glasgow Warriors … [Read more...] about URC Round 10