Rugby

England warm up for their three-Test tour of Australia by hosting the Barbarians at Twickenham. Join Luke McLaughlin.

With the Barbarians down to 14 men for the rest of the match, you’d expect England to win, but you never know. Smith gathers for England and tries to sidestep his way out of trouble but a penalty comes for the Barbarians at the breakdown. A lovely step, dart and classy offload by Smith to Freeman sends the Northampton man into space on the right. The Barbarians get the scrum put-in. But it’s a try, perhaps in the spirit of the occasion. That is taking the Michael. This is a hammering and a humiliation for England, there is no two ways about it. England build momentum towards the try-line and Jack Nowell, just introduced to the action, nearly goes over ... George Kruis takes his place in the human tunnel to applaud the England players off the park. This is exactly what the Barbarians is about and I’m very grateful to be part of it.” Kruis has a chat with Amazon Prime: “This is what BaaBaas is about, spending a bit of time with a different culture, different people ... and we get a good result at the end. There were moments where we didn’t play really well ... and I don’t think we were there for the full 80 ... to be honest it’s not down to work rate or intent, it’s down to us being switched on for the full 80. The England captain Curry has understandably tried to put a positive spin on that.

England began their summer of rugby in disappointing fashion, losing 21-52 to the Barbarians at Twickenham....

He was replaced by Jack Singleton in the 56th minute. He recovered, speeding up the England attacking phase play, transforming the look of Jones’ side. Danny Care made his long-overdue return to international rugby on the 44th minute to jubilated applause. Although he looked imperious over the ball, with the Barbarians struggling to string together attacking phases, Underhill was unable to showcase his phenomenal tackle technique. Came into the starting lineup as a late notice replacement for Alex Dombrandt. Chick carried powerfully but did little to put his name above the man who he replaced. At times Curry looked off the pace and made a few handling errors on his way, leading England in rather subdued fashion. Collier’s third England cap was largely uneventful, with the Harlequins prop struggling to impose himself against a large Barbarians pack. Jack Nowell replaced Marchant in the 56th minute. While he didn’t make the same mistakes as his centre partner, he failed to shine brightly and stake a claim in the England midfield. Midway through the second half he then got a try of his own. After spending time sidelined by injury, May’s return to test rugby started badly, as the winger received a yellow and conceded a penalty try for intentionally knocking on a pass. Minutes later he streamed down the right wing, ball grasped in one hand, eating up space in the Barbarians half.

England suffered the setback for their non-cap international against the Barbarians after Dombrandt was ruled out of the Twickenham clash with a knee problem.

It’s not a Test match, it’s a different situation. “We’ll see whether they’re ready for the next jump. “Last-minute impressions are always important.

World Rugby today has launched its Rugby World Cup 2021 campaign 'Family Reunion' with just over 100 days to go until the pinnacle tournament in women's ...

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Australia has once again sought to stir the pot ahead of England's three Test series against the Wallabies in July - with Stan Sport...

England will travel to Australia for their three Test series after playing the Barbarians today in Twickenham. They will play Australia in Perth (2 July), Brisbane (9 July) and Sydney (16 July). Nor is it the first time a broadcaster has tried to poke the bear ahead of a tour, with Fox Sport’s releasing brave forecast for the series in which the Australian rugby pundits mocked England and their chances againsst the Wallabies. it’s too weak!”

As former rugby players and their families come to terms with their diagnoses of neurological conditions, Irene Gottlieb-Old can say she has been there and ...

In 2009, she was introduced by Cathy Carpenter, daughter of the former NFL player Lew, to a private Facebook group of about 40 members called CTE Caregivers. Now their membership is nearly 800. Old went public with his tribulations in 2016, just as the New Zealand Herald ran a feature on former opponents of his, a few years older, from Taranaki, who were suffering from dementia. One report described the former All Black and stalwart of the Ranfurly Shield and National Provincial Championship-winning Manawatu team of the 70s and 80s as having had a “short spell playing rugby”. I can’t wait till they find CTE in the brain of an All Black. Then the shit will hit the fan.” One of them is to go along with the delusion of the moment. Gottlieb-Old hints at familiar daily trials, from the low-level hum of executive tasks that are beyond him, such as using credit cards or paying bills, to the more dangerous outbursts of rage and irrationality. Such is the price of preserving a loved one’s dignity. The Olds think Geoff is one and they have diagnoses from the US to back that up, not to mention the long, lived experience of these past 18 years or so. “Sometimes I feel as if we’re from the future,” says Gottlieb-Old with a rueful laugh. “I’ve worked so hard to keep us together, safe and somewhat sane,” says the 62-year-old Gottlieb-Old. “I could just cry through 15 years. He had been technical director of USA Rugby but he had just stepped away, aware of a decline in his executive functioning – and a concomitant spike in his frustration and, inevitably, aggression. These are desperate times for an increasing number of rugby union families, but a businesswoman from New York offers herself as a reference point and champion.

The lock kicked six points in Barbarians' 52-21 win over England XV, including a back-heeled conversion. Watch the cheeky George Kruis conversion here.

“The state of my legs, I thought I was going to pull a hammy! It was about creating a decent memory on the field.” The third of his three conversions came in the last minute after Hastoy had scored the eighth and final Baa-Baas try.

Wallaby Will Skelton became the first player in the Barbarians' 132-year history to be sent off, after his shoulder to the head of England prop Patrick ...

“I obviously played in November and I haven’t had much contact after that. “We brought them [Skelton and Rory Arnold] in last year, and he fitted in well. I’m not looking to bring him back for the England series but maybe beyond that.” But the Herald has learned that Skelton and once-regular second row pick, Rory Arnold, are in the frame for the next series, The Rugby Championship, which starts with back-to-back Tests away against Argentina. Force lock Izack Rodda, who partnered regularly with Arnold under former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, is out for three months with a foot injury. “There’s a contextual situation here. Skelton became the first player in the Baa-Baas’ 132-year history to get his marching orders, after his shoulder to the head of Patrick Schickerling in the 37th minute forced the Exeter prop out of the match over a failed head injury assessment.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie is urging Australian officials not to abandon Super Rugby Pacific, saying it's important for the development of his players that ...

“They’ve got some of the best players In the world. So I understand his thinking,” Rennie said. I think it’s good for them, it’s good for us. “I understand Hamish is an innovative thinker. “I think the competition has been excellent this year, and our sides have been more competitive. Rennie is adamant the model that will benefit the Wallabies the most is the current one, in which Australian sides battle the might of New Zealand’s best.

Reaction from NZR's board and top administrators was a mix of frustration and surprise, but they're yet to show their hand after the latest outburst.

The question, if RA does decide to cut NZ Rugby adrift, is what sort of competition it could form. If quality local sport journalism is important to you, become a Stuff supporter today. A beautiful mind crunching all the player stats. You need journalists close enough to smell the liniment. Now McLennan says RA wants more. McLennan did a good job of diverting that.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie urged Rugby Australia not to walk away from Super Rugby Pacific and launch its own domestic competition in 2024.

"I think the competition has been excellent this year and our sides have certainly been more competitive. "I'm not going to crystal ball gaze this situation. "All bets are off from '24 onwards with NZ."

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has thrown his support behind a continued Super Rugby Pacific and admitted surprise at Hamish McLennan's trans-Tasman threat to ...

They walked away from the trans-Tasman competition with New Zealand, and they have been worse off financially. That is just crap." He's the only one who thinks it's going to happen. they've got some of the best players in the world, as we've seen, so you want to be playing the best players. I think it's good for them, it's good for us. "We've just got to make sure that financially it's beneficial as well.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie is urging Australian officials not to abandon Super Rugby Pacific, saying it's important for...

"They've got some of the best players In the world. So I understand his thinking," Rennie said. "I understand Hamish is an innovative thinker. I think it's good for them, it's good for us. You want to be playing the best players. "I think the competition has been excellent this year, and our sides have been more competitive.