Tag Archives: world rugby

2018 has been another memorable year for rugby as all focus now switches to the 2019 World Cup in Japan.  Ireland have been the most impressive as on the international stage they secured a Grand Slam, a series win in Australia and a 100% record throughout the November internationals which included a victory over the All Blacks. Leinster, who provide a …

World Rugby have approved a closed trial revising the scope of the Television Match Official (TMO) in the November tests hosted by Tier one unions. Confirmation of the trial comes after a full review of the current global trial and the variant used in Super Rugby by a working group of match officials, coaches, players and administrators. The key objective of …

World Rugby said it is “examining models” for the annual Test windows from 2020 signalling a potential shake-up following reports of a new world league for national teams. The world body is looking at “ways to inject further significance and excitement into the July and November windows and optimise the commercial model for all”, a statement said. Currently, teams tour …

World Rugby are reportedly considering abandoning the current summer and November international test windows in favour of a world league format similar to that of the UEFA Nations League in football. French publication Midi Olympique reported the news on Sunday as World Rugby look to do away with the usual test format, introducing a tournament which would be held across five …

We’re about a year away from the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan but already, plans are being made for the 2023 and 2027 editions of the tournament.  World Rugby have stated that they are giving serious consideration to expanding the tournament from 20 to 24 teams for the 2023 edition of the tournament although this expansion first occurring in …

Ireland remain in second place in the latest World Rugby rankings, but have also hit a new milestone. Their dramatic series-clinching 20-16 victory over Australia in Sydney last Saturday has seen Joe Schmidt’s side move past the 90-point mark for the first time in the 15-year history of the rankings system. It marks the end of a stunning season for …

England’s poor form in 2018 has seen them slip out of the World Rugby rankings top three. Eddie Jones’ side began their South African tour with a 42-39 defeat to the Springboks in Johannesburg – their fourth test defeat in a row – and having fallen behind Ireland earlier in the year, England have slipped below Australia into fourth place. It is …

Wales have arrived in Argentina ahead of their two-Test series against Los Pumas in San Juan and Santa Fe over the next two weekends.  Warren Gatland’s side go into those fixtures with a win under their belt after they overcame an inexperienced Springboks side 22-20 at the RFK Stadium in Washington D.C on Saturday. However, the clashes against Argentina will …

World Rugby have unanimously approved 12 new rugby laws which will be put into effect immediately.  The 12 laws have been trialled around the world over the last year, since August in the northern hemisphere and since January in the southern hemisphere. According to World Rugby, player welfare, player experience and law simplification are the reasons for the changes. Here are …

Should Ireland beat Australia in all three matches of the June series, they only need one New Zealand loss in their next ten to potentially become world number one.

World Rugby have approved a request for a new trial which will see a major change to the number of points scored for a try in certain situations. The request was made by Rugby Australia and the new rules will apply to matches involving the Western Force this season. Of course, the Force are no longer in Super Rugby but …

Ireland's dominant Grand Slam display last weekend has further fuelled our ambitious hopes of a successful World Cup campaign in Japan 2019.

​English rugby chiefs on Monday announced an action plan alongside a report showing a rising number of concussion during matches.

​Rugby Europe board members will on Monday discuss a report from their referees' committee on Belgium's disputed 2019 World Cup qualifying win over Spain.

The fallout from Spain’s loss to Belgium in the Rugby Europe Championship and the ensuing ugly scenes which marred the end of the game look set to continue with the news that the Spanish Rugby Federation has lodged a formal complaint to World Rugby. Spain lost 18-10 to Belgium at the weekend which meant they did not qualify for the …

We’ve seen today the news emerging that World Rugby confirmed that Gareth Anscombe’s try against England on Saturday should have stood.  At that point, England were 12-0 to the good and a try at that stage could have drastically changed the complexion of the game. Instead, Rhys Patchell converted a penalty to get three points on the board due to an …

It was the major talking point of England’s 12-6 victory over Wales at Twickenham – Gareth Anscombe’s disallowed try in the first half when it appeared that he grounded the ball before Anthony Watson.  The TMO deemed that Watson had, in fact, touched the ball down first, much to the dismay of the Welsh rugby public. No one can categorically …