Rugby

11:21 PM BST Crusaders coach Scott Robertson laments the undeniable gulf while Michael Cheika says Australian rugby has been “welcomed to first grade” after New Zealand sides again dominated Super Rugby Trans-Tasman. The Queensland Reds’ record 63-28 loss to the Crusaders in Saturday’s battle of the respective Super Rugby champions made it two perfect rounds

7:31 PM BST Toulouse broke fellow French club La Rochelle’s resilience to claim a record-extending fifth Champions Cup title with a 22-17 victory after their opponents played more than half of the game with 14 men at Twickenham on Saturday. Juan Cruz Mallia, standing in at centre for the injured Zack Holmes, scored the decisive

14-man La Rochelle beaten 22-17 in the 2021 final at Twickenham Toulouse lift the Heineken Champions Cup after beating La Rochelle (Getty Images) Toulouse win record fifth European Champions Cup May sunshine interspersed with showers more synonymous with April. Two French teams playing at Twickenham with Irish fans belting out The Fields of Athenry in

La Rochelle: (12) 17 Tries: Kerr-Barlow Pens: West (4) Toulouse: (9) 22 Tries: Mallia Pens: Ntamack (5) Cons: Ntamack Toulouse claimed the European Champions Cup for a record fifth time with a narrow win against 14-man La Rochelle in front of 10,000 fans at Twickenham. La Rochelle centre Levani Botia was sent off for a

Saracens (21) 28 Tries: P Cleall (2), B Cleall (2) Cons: Harrison (4) Loughborough: (19) 24 Tries: Davies (2), Lloyd, Field Cons: Scarratt (2) Twin sisters Bryony and Poppy Cleall scored two tries each to help Saracens beat Loughborough Lightning 28-24 in a pulsating Premier 15s semi-final. Fellow England international Lark Davies crossed twice for

The La Rochelle centre saw red for a high shot on Maxime Medard Referee Luke Pearce shows a red card to Levani Botia (Getty Images) It was a horrible record to break, as the Levani Botia red card in the first half was the first ever in a Heineken Cup final. In the all-French affair

2:50 AM BST LONDON — Montpellier centre Johan Goosen finished off an excellent team try as the French side overcame a forward pounding to edge Leicester Tigers from England 18-17 in the European Challenge Cup final at Twickenham on Friday. Wet conditions ensured the final would be a forward-based tactical battle with the boot, but

Date: Saturday 22 May Venue: Twickenham Kick-off: 16:45 BST Coverage: Live BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and text commentary via the BBC Sport website and app Toulouse’s Cheslin Kolbe says he feels more nervous for Saturday’s Champions Cup final than he did before South Africa’s 2019 Rugby World Cup final. Toulouse, aiming for their

ITV and BBC agree four-year deal to show men’s, women’s and U20 championships in the UK Matches in the men’s Six Nations would be shared between ITV and BBC (AFP/Getty Images) Six Nations staying on free-to-air TV The Six Nations is set to stay on free-to-air TV in the UK until at least 2025. It

Venue: Twickenham Stoop Date: Saturday, 22 May Kick-off: 12:30 BST At 19 years old, Wasps prop Maud Muir is looking at a possible future as a full-time professional England rugby player. At the same age, her director of rugby Giselle Mather had international ambitions too, but getting paid for them was far from her mind.

6:16 AM BST Rugby Australia has put a “stake in the ground” for the game Down Under as it attempts to put years of factional infighting, poor governance and negative headlines – both on and off the field – behind it by wooing World Rugby executives for the right to host the 2027 Rugby World

2:25 PM BST Former New Zealand international Kieran Crowley has replaced Franco Smith as Italy’s rugby coach, the country’s rugby federation said on Wednesday. A former full-back who was part of the All Blacks’ World Cup-winning squad in 1987, Crowley has spent the last five seasons coaching Italian club Benetton. 1 Related The 59-year-old previously

12:42 PM BST Murrayfield will allow in 16,500 spectators when the British & Irish Lions face Japan on June 26 ahead of their tour to South Africa this year, the Lions said on Wednesday. The move to let fans attend amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was made after consultations with the Scottish government. 1 Related

The top five scores from European rugby’s showpiece game, featuring French flair and Irish wit Peter Stringer dives over to score for Munster against Biarritz in 2006 (Getty Images) Greatest Champions Cup Final Tries The European Champions Cup final is often thought of as a tight and tense affair, filled with penalties, scrums and muddy

A crowd of 16,500 is set to watch the British and Irish Lions’ warm-up match against Japan at Murrayfield. The game in Edinburgh on 26 June (15:00 BST) will be the Lions’ first warm-up for the tour to South Africa. The last international rugby match attended by fans in Scotland was during the Six Nations

Midweek Premiership rugby returns as Chiefs take on Exiles Exeter Chiefs’ Alex Cuthbert breaks against London Irish (CameraSport/Getty Images) London Irish v Exeter live stream: How to watch the Premiership match online from anywhere Exeter Chiefs are aiming to reclaim second spot in the Gallagher Premiership table with a win over London Irish tonight. Supporters

Bristol (13) 39 Tries: Malins, C Piutau, Earl, Hughes, Radradra Cons: Sheedy 4 Pens: Sheedy 2 Gloucester (7) 7 Try: Carreras Con: Twelvetrees Red card: Alemanno Premiership leaders Bristol Bears comfortably beat 14-man Gloucester, despite having eight tries ruled out. After Matias Alemanno was sent off, Max Malins’ try helped the Bears to a 13-7

Fans are back at Ashton Gate for this West Country derby Bristol’s Andy Uren passes during February’s win over Gloucester (Getty Images) Bristol v Gloucester live stream: How to watch the Premiership match online from anywhere Fans return to Ashton Gate for the first time in over a year for tonight’s Gallagher Premiership West Country