Rugby Union

England have dropped Jack Nowell from their squad for the Six Nations as one of 10 absentees from last autumn’s World Cup. The Lions wing is highly rated by head coach Eddie Jones and played for Exeter in Saturday’s Champions Cup victory over La Rochelle, but is excluded from the …

England could well be without Billy Vunipola for the entirety of the Six Nations after he suffered a broken arm. The Saracens Number 8 landed awkwardly during a tackle in Sunday’s Champions Cup defeat of Racing 92 at Allianz Park. Getty Images – Getty 3 Saracens No.8 Billy Vunipola injures …

Saracens have ‘unreservedly’ apologised for their salary cap breaches while accepting their imposed relegation from the Premiership. Sarries were on Saturday told they would be relegated from the top-flight at the end of the season for the salary cap breaches which have already cost them 35 points and a £5.36million …

Canterbury Bulldogs captain Josh Jackson has re-signed with the NRL club for a further three years. Jackson, 28, has played 181 games for the Bulldogs since making his NRL debut for Canterbury in 2012. The former Australia and New South Wales representative extended his stay with the Bulldogs on Sunday. …

Guilhem Guirado will miss the Six Nations after the France captain was ruled out for five months with a ruptured bicep. Guirado suffered the injury just before the hour-mark on his Montpellier debut in a 19-19 Top 14 draw against his former club Toulon at Stade Mayol on Saturday. Montpellier revealed …

The Springboks’ victory was built on a colossal display by their powerhouse pack that allowed fly-half Handre Pollard to kick six penalties before Makazole Mapimpi’s 66th-minute try — the first the Springboks had scored in a World Cup final — and another from fit-again fellow flyer Cheslin Kolbe put the …

Ben Smith marked his swansong with a double as New Zealand ended the Steve Hansen era by hammering Wales 40-17 in an entertaining Rugby World Cup third-place play-off. The All Blacks had been licking their wounds since England shattered their bid to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for an unprecedented third …

Eddie Jones says England cannot give South Africa the opportunity to play their own game if his side are to triumph in the Rugby World Cup final. England put in a dominant performance against two-time defending champions New Zealand in the semi-finals, claiming a 19-7 win in Yokohama and progressing to their …

England were stunning winners against New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, destroying the title ambitions of the mighty defending champions. A 19-7 triumph last Saturday sets up Eddie Jones’ side for a shot at South Africa in the final, and already England are being tagged as firm favourites. But …

Rassie Erasmus believes the hard lessons of defeat South Africa learned against Wales were central to their gruelling Rugby World Cup semi-final triumph. Handre Pollard’s perfect goalkicking performance inspired the Springboks to a tense 19-16 victory on Saturday, ending a run of four consecutive losses to Warren Gatland’s men. Far …