News Archive

IRB World Rankings: provisional update

Following the conclusion of the six matches involving the 12 seeded teams for the RWC 2015 Pool Allocation Draw, the top four seeds for the draw will be confirmed as New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and France, when the latest IRB World Rankings are published on Monday 26 November.  more ...

Cruden's effort wins praise from Hansen

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was delighted with the way in which first five-eighths Aaron Cruden stepped up in Dan Carter's absence to guide New Zealand to a 33-10 win over Wales at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.   more ...

England defeat Black Ferns in first Test

England Women came from 13-3 down to come back and beat world champions New Zealand 16-13 at Esher RFC.   more ...

2015 Rugby World Cup seeding scrap continues

This Saturday shapes as D-Day for several sides battling to stay in contention for a top eight place in the IRB World Rankings.   more ...

Super Saturday for the world’s top 12 nations

This Saturday shapes as D-Day for several sides battling to stay in contention for a top eight place in the IRB World Rankings.   more ...

Tietjens targets "very special" Dubai win

After falling to Fiji in the final of the HSBC Sevens World Series opener on the Gold Coast, New Zealand's coach Gordon Tietjens made a little pledge.  more ...

RWC 2015 Draw Spotlight - Tonga

With only two weeks to go until the Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool Allocation Draw takes place in London, we begin a series of articles looking at the record of each of the 12 directly qualified teams at previous tournaments, starting with Tonga.   more ...

2013 JWC : Baby Blacks begin campaign to reclaim title

New Zealand’s bid to reclaim the IRB Junior World Championship crown in 2013 began in earnest on Monday with 48 players called into a week-long camp in Palmerston North by new head coach Chris Boyd.   more ...

Samoa upset sees rankings race hot up

With only two weeks to go until the Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool Allocation Draw is held in London, the battle to secure the best possible IRB World Ranking could go right down to the wire after Samoa upset Wales again in Cardiff.  more ...

French on alert for Samoan giant killers

Les Bleus coach Philippe Saint-Andre has told his troops that this month’s greatest challenge lies ahead of them, with a confident Samoa heading to Paris with the scalp of the Six Nations champions in hand.   more ...

Wallabies hold out England at Twickenham

Full back Berrick Barnes kicked 15 points as clinical Australia defeated England 20-14 in the second international at Twickenham Stadium.   more ...

Lam: Don't write off Wales

Pat Lam is warning against Wales being dismissed as no-hopers against the All Blacks next weekend.   more ...

Italy packed a surprise for All Blacks

All Blacks man of the match Conrad Smith said Italy had surprised New Zealand with their intensity before going down 10-42 at Stade Olimpico in Rome on Sunday (NZT).  more ...

Strong finish sees All Blacks home

Superior fitness and combination yielded a five tries to one 42-10 victory for New Zealand over Italy in front of 75,000 fans at Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Sunday (NZT).   more ...

Wales lose to Samoa to go winless so far in the autumn

A late try from replacement Johnny Leota saw Samoa record their first win over Wales since 1999. In a see-saw second-half, the lead changed hands several times but Leota capitalised on Leigh Halfpenny's failure to collect a David Lemi kick and dotted down to clinch a 26-19 win.  more ...

Provisional rankings update

Following the conclusion of matches this weekend involving seeded teams for the Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool Allocation Draw, the top 12 in the provisional IRB World Rankings table can be found below.   more ...

JWC graduates leave their mark in Test arena

Only days after the pools, match schedule and venues for IRB Junior World Championship 2013 in France were announced, a whole host of players who have graced this stage were in action in the first weekend of November internationals in Europe and South America.   more ...

Baker and Stowers in frame for NZ Sevens

Kurt Baker and Sherwin Stowers have both been named in Gordon Tietjens' All Black Sevens training squad after missing out on Super Rugby contracts.   more ...

Former captain returns for Australia women

A late injury to Cheyenne Campbell has opened the door for 2009 Women’s Rugby World Cup Sevens-winning captain Cheryl McAfee (nee Soon).  more ...

Maori All Blacks go down in tour opener

The Maori All Blacks lost their UK tour opener against England club side Leicester today. The Tigers won 32-24 in a match played at their Welford Road ground in front of a crowd of 17,206.   more ...