All Blacks and Highlanders flyhalf Lima Sopoaga is reportedly heading to England at the end of the year. According to The Times, the 26-year-old has signed a two-year deal with the English Premiership club, effectively ruling him out of next year’s World Cup in Japan. Sopoaga has played 16 Tests for the All Blacks since making his Test against the… Read more →
Harlequins prop Joe Marler will miss England’s first two Six Nations matches after being suspended for six weeks. Marler was sent off in the 58th minute of his side’s 30-29 loss to the Sale Sharks over the weekend when referee Matthew Carley adjudged him to have struck TJ Ioane in the head with his shoulder. He pleaded guilty to the charge… Read more →
All Blacks flyhalf Lima Sopoaga says the decision to take up a contract with Wasps in England was ‘one of the hardest decisions’ of his life.
Schalk Burger scored a try as Saracens thrashed hosts Wasps 38-15, while there were also wins for Newcastle, Bath, Leicester, Northampton and Sale in the English Premiership. Saracens led 18-13 at half-time thanks to tries to wing Chris Wyles, fullback Alex Goode and Burger, who started at openside flank. But Burger was yellow-carded late in the first half when he came in from an… Read more →
Former Springboks Piet van Zyl and Arno Botha have signed for English club London Irish. Both players will be heading to England from the Bulls, with Van Zyl set to add to the scrumhalf options at London Irish, while Botha will bolster their back-row ranks. Super Rugby player transfers ‘I’ve heard a lot of good things about London Irish and… Read more →
A serious knee injury will sideline Springbok and Bath flanker Francois Louw for three months. Louw tore medial ligaments in the defeat to the Sale Sharks on 23 December, and while he is set to be out of action for an extended period, the good news is that he won’t require an operation. ‘We’re looking at three months, so that’s on… Read more →
Marcus Smith inspired Harlequins to a 50-21 win over Northampton, while there were also English Premiership victories for Newcastle, Gloucester, Saracens, Wasps and Exeter. It was one-way traffic in front of a 77,825 crowd at Twickenham, as Northampton suffered their 11th consecutive loss in all competitions. The 18-year-old Smith had a hand in five of Harlequins’ seven tries, while kicking five conversions… Read more →
Juan de Jongh scored a try as Wasps beat Bath 31-26 at The Rec to move to second on the English Premiership log. Wasps raced into a 19-0 lead after 20 minutes. Fullback Willie le Roux’s offload in the tackle put left wing Marcus Watson away for the opening try. Scrumhalf Dan Robson then dotted down, before Watson grabbed his second. Watson… Read more →
Former Sharks lock Anton Bresler has joined the Worcester Warriors from Edinburgh. The 29-year-old played 61 matches for Edinburgh and attended Scotland’s 41-man training camp in August. However, he did not play for the national side, who he had qualified for on residential grounds, in November. ‘I’m genuinely excited at the prospect of playing Premiership rugby and can’t wait to get out on the field… Read more →
Wasps defeated Gloucester 49-24, while there were also victories in the English Premiership for Worcester, Newcastle, Exeter, Sale and Saracens. It was the most anticipated contest of round 11, but Wasps looked a class above Johan Ackermann’s Gloucester at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry as they surged to a bonus-point win. In doing so, Wasps ended Gloucester’s five-match winning streak… Read more →
