Rugby

England head coach Eddie Jones has warned fly-half Marcus Smith of the “flood of distractions” that may come – comparing them to the interest in Emma Raducanu since her US Open win. Smith, 22, is seen as England’s next breakout star and came off the bench to score a try against Tonga on Saturday, inspiring

6:39 PM BST As starts to the autumn programme goes, this was pretty much ideal for England and Eddie Jones. An 11-try victory over Tonga, with young faces in the squad combining seamlessly with the more experienced players in front of a packed Twickenham, is all they could have asked for. England had to navigate

Late Malcolm Marx try proves decisive in 23-18 victory South Africa captain Siya Kolisi on the attack against Wales (Getty Images) South Africa beat Wales in Cardiff for first time since 2013 A late Malcolm Marx try secured South Africa’s first win over Wales in Cardiff since 2013. It had been a tight and at

Venue: Twickenham, London Date: Saturday, 6 November Kick-off: 15:15 GMT Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app. England captain Owen Farrell has tested positive for Covid-19 on the eve of Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series opener against Tonga. Farrell will miss training on Friday but the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said he

10:14 PM BST ESPN staff While there were two games over the weekend, World Rugby’s November Test window officially begins this Saturday. And there are some mouth-watering fixtures to be played, highlighted by the weekend’s closing encounter between Scotland and Australia at Murrayfield on Sunday afternoon [BST]. Read on as we bring you all the

Plan is part of a “major investment” into the Wales Women’s performance programme Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap has welcomed the announcement (Getty Images) First professional contracts for Wales Women’s players The WRU is set to offer 25 contracts to women’s players as part of a “major investment” into the Wales Women’s performance programme. The governing

Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 6 November Kick-off: 17:30 GMT Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app. Live commentary BBC Radio Cymru, updates on BBC Radio Wales. Captain Alun Wyn Jones and back-row pair Ross Moriarty and Taulupe Faletau have been ruled out of Wales’ autumn series. Jones and Moriarty

7:31 PM BST Beauden Barrett marked his 100th test with two intercepted tries to lead New Zealand to a convincing 54-16 win over Wales in Cardiff on Saturday. The All Blacks outscored their hosts by seven tries to one at a capacity Principality Stadium in another ominous reminder of their power as they went back

In a collaborative work, the 2003 World Cup winner has put the learnings from his career into a book designed to encourage personal growth in sport or business “The book is an exploration of world-class performance,” says Will Greenwood (Visionhaus/Getty Images) Just champion! Will Greenwood’s new book It’s not just World Cup-winning coaches that have

Wales (6) 16 Tries: J Williams Cons: Priestland Pens: Anscombe 2, Priestland New Zealand (18) 54 Tries: B Barrett 2, Perenara, Jordan, Papalii, Reece, Lienert-Brown Cons: J Barrett 5 Pens: J Barrett 3 New Zealand returned to the top of the world rankings with a seven-try demolition of a depleted Wales. Two tries from Beauden

5:31 AM BST Sam Bruce Close ESPN Associate Editor Sam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPNscrum after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage. Tom Hamilton Close Senior

Scotland kick off their autumn internationals against Tonga on Saturday Co-captain Jamie Ritchie, one of four ‘Jamies’ in the Scotland squad (Getty Images) Scotland v Tonga Preview – Autumn Internationals It’s outside the official Test match window and not all of the top players are available, so this is an opportunity to see something new.

A revolutionary 12-a-side competition planned for next year appears to have been killed off by World Rugby. The World 12s was launched in September with organisers pledging to generate £250m of income to the game. After consultation with stakeholders, World Rugby “do not wish to explore the concept further at this time”. A World Rugby

1:58 PM BST Scotland captain Stuart Hogg has lost five kilograms in a bid to improve his physical and mental health after feeling “drained” following the British & Irish Lions series defeat in South Africa. The 29-year-old will not feature in Saturday’s opening test of the autumn series against Tonga as it falls outside of

Saracens (27) 56 Tries: George, Malins 4, B Vunipola, Lozowski, Earl Pens: Farrell 2 Cons: Farrell 5 Wasps (3) 15 Tries: Gopperth, Kibirige Pens: Gopperth Cons: Gopperth Saracens moved up to third in the Premiership with a 56-15 demolition of a depleted Wasps at the StoneX Stadium. Wasps lost four players to injury before half-time

As Wales prepare to face their nemesis New Zealand once again, a new book recalls the legendary day when the age-old rivalry began – and the Welsh got the upper hand Dan Biggar takes on Liam Squire during the 2017 Wales-New Zealand game in Cardiff (Getty Images) Famous Wales win over New Zealand celebrated in

The fly-half has become a standout performer for Toulouse and France, like his father Romain Ntamack rose through Toulouse’s academy (Getty Images) Who is Romain Ntamack: Ten things you should know about the France fly-half Romain Ntamack won his first cap for France in 2019 against Wales and has gone onto the become a leading

12:29 PM BST England will bid to host the women’s rugby World Cup in 2025, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Friday. England’s Red Roses, the world’s top-ranked women’s team, have twice won the World Cup — in 1994 and 2014. 1 Related They finished runners-up at the last edition in 2017 after losing