2 h. ago Ireland v Australia: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – as it happened

Hansen a revelation at fullback as Ireland dismantled the Wallabies8 mins. A clumsy breakdown effort from Ireland on the restart allows the Wallabies to win the ball back. However, their attack on the 22 is in about three minds and none of them have a discernible plan, which leads to O’Connor spilling the ball after a big hit from Prendergast. Yes, Prendergast, you read that right.6 mins. Ireland work back into the 22 and the pressure coming from the pace of the recycling forces Williams to drift offside. The ball is tapped by Gibson-Park and some quick hands find Hansen free under the posts to walk in. Continue reading...

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7 h. ago Fantastic Ford steers battling England past All Blacks in Twickenham thriller

England 33-19 New ZealandBorthwick’s side clinch a perfect 10 of successive winsA perfect 10 wins in a row is a reliable indicator of a team on the rise. What England really craved, though, was a statement victory to underline just how far they have come in the past 18 months or so. And on a dull grey November afternoon they finally secured it, beating a disappointed New Zealand for the first time in south-west London for 13 long years.They deserved it, too, storming back from 12-0 down to claim the kind of result that rewards all the painstaking hard work of both the players and the management. There were four English tries in all, including two in the final half hour from Fraser Dingwall and Tom Roebuck, as Steve Borthwick’s team become only the ninth England side to cut the All Blacks down to size. Continue reading...

Events

10 h. ago England v New Zealand: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – live

Updates as All Blacks visit Twickenham (3.10pm GMT)England seek end to 13-year wait | Email Lee hereEngland Freddie Steward; Tom Roebuck, Ollie Lawrence, Fraser Dingwall, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso; George Ford, Alex Mitchell; Fin Baxter, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Maro Itoje, Alex Coles, Guy Pepper, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Spencer, Marcus Smith. Continue reading...

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7 d. ago Freewheeling England shake off the shackles to trump Fiji at their own game | Andy Bull

Steve Borthwick’s men were invited to a dance and had all the moves, reacting to a classic try with one of their ownSomething is happening in south-west London. The statistics will give you a hint of it – England have won nine Tests in a row and haven’t lost at home all year – but the sight of the way they played here in the second half against Fiji says more about what’s going on than the numbers do.England, whisper it, turned in a brilliantly entertaining 40 minutes of freewheeling rugby against a Fiji team who are a hell of a lot better than their ninth-placed standing in the world rankings suggests. The Fijians invited England to a dance, and, glory be, Steve Borthwick’s team were delighted to take them up on it. You can only wonder what Borthwick made of it from his spot up in the coaches’ row. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Damian McKenzie edges All Blacks home after scare to crush Scotland comeback

Scotland 17-25 New ZealandAll Blacks squander 17-point lead before late tryA 33rd attempt, a 31st defeat and crucially still no win for Scotland against the All Blacks. And so the search will go on. Let us not resort to that familiar lament, if Scotland could not win it here, will they ever? It is true, they had as gilt-edged a chance as they may ever have, New Zealand forced to play a total of half an hour a man down, having been shown three yellow cards. It is true, Scotland showed remarkable spirit to recover from 17-0 down at the break to level on the hour. But the All Blacks remain deadly, deadlier than Scotland.This Scotland team is deadly too, but it is a question of deadliness when it matters. That is where they continue to come up short. New Zealand wrote the manual – and did that a long time ago. Continue reading...

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7 d. ago Scotland v New Zealand: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – live

Updates from the 3.10pm GMT start at MurrayfieldSign up for The Breakdown newsletter | Email LeeIs there much optimism out there Scotland fans, or are New Zealand the one side you can never be too hopeful in the face of? And what about you Kiwis, are you less worried that some quarters suggest you should be?Send answers to these questions and any others you fancy to to me on the email. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Pollock proves the key before England cavalry seal victory over Australia

England 25-7 AustraliaEarl, Mitchell and Cowan-Dickie also cross for hostsThere will be higher octane games than this one in the coming weeks but for England the primary objective has been safely ticked off. An eighth successive Test victory is in the bag and Steve Borthwick’s team have also gone one better than the corresponding fixture last year when the Wallabies took the spoils in the dying moments.While this encounter was not nearly as thrilling, the final scoreline – shining brightly on the big screen in the gathering evening gloom – was what really counted for Borthwick and his players. Defeat to a weakened Wallaby side would have prompted some uncomfortable questions and cast a nagging shadow over the remainder of their November schedule. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago England v Australia: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – live

Updates from the 3.10pm GMT kick-off at TwickenhamSign up for The Breakdown newsletter | Email SarahRugby World Cup winner Lewis Moody is delivering the match ball, an emotional moment for the England icon after recently being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.The players will be out on the pitch soon and the anthems will follows shortly after. Are you ready for what is set to be a thriller? Strap in. It’s coming. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago No mountain too high for Itoje and England with Australia first up in autumn series

England captain stresses team must display their full power in Saturday’s first of four home internationals in NovemberJust occasionally even the world’s best rugby players are genuinely taken aback. In mid-September, Maro Itoje, recuperating from his British & Irish Lions exertions, stood and watched an England training session and could not believe the pace, intensity and all-round zip on view. “I was thinking: ‘Wow, I need to get back in the gym, I need to make sure I come back quickly,’” he admitted this week.Itoje says his former teammate Mako Vunipola was just as impressed – “He didn’t remember it being that fast” – on a visit to England’s base in Bagshot the other day. Another recent retiree, the England scrum-half Danny Care, felt similarly. All of which has been fuelling Itoje’s growing belief, with the 2027 Rugby World Cup on the horizon, that “there’s no mountain we can’t climb”. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Henry Pollock, Carter Gordon and 10 other international rugby players to watch in November

A busy schedule of action could see new Test stars emerge, with seeding for the next Rugby World Cup at stake

Sport

2 w. ago Dingwall backed to plot course through the midfield maze for England

Steve Borthwick has opted for the Northampton centre, his ‘glue’ player, over an array of talented England backsEven Steve Borthwick admits that picking his team to face Australia on Saturday was tricky. And even after he had made his mind up, there was a training ground snapshot which underlined the slim margins involved. “There was a piece of play where the skill showed by the team not starting was absolutely incredible,” said Borthwick. “I couldn’t praise them highly enough for the way they tested the team that is starting.”Which neatly sums up England’s intensifying backline debate. Ollie Lawrence, Marcus Smith, Henry Arundell, Henry Slade, Cadan Murley and Max Ojomoh are all fit and can’t even make the matchday 23. Not to mention the up-and-coming Noah Caluori. Nor Owen Farrell. Let alone the injured Elliot Daly, George Furbank, Seb Atkinson, Ollie Sleightholme and Will Muir. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Australia will target Freeman at centre in England clash, George Gregan warns

Former captain says defensive questions will be askedFreeman switching from more familiar role out wideThe former Australia captain George Gregan says they will target Tommy Freeman’s defending at outside-centre for England on Saturday.Steve Borthwick’s side kick off their autumn campaign at Twickenham against opponents who consigned them to a dramatic late defeat last year, and the head coach has made some notable selectorial calls. George Ford starts at No 10 instead of Fin Smith, Ford’s Sale Sharks colleague Tom Roebuck is on the wing and, most interestingly, Freeman will play at No 13. Continue reading...

Events