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Great Britain have claimed a second gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics after Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Bankes won the mixed team snowboard cross event.
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Tag: rugby
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Champions Cup: Two-time winners Munster dumped out at pool stage; Leicester Tigers on verge of exit
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Saturday’s Champions Cup action sees two-time winners Munster dumped out at pool stage after shock home defeat to Castres at Thomond Park; Leicester Tigers on verge of pool stage exit too; Gloucester knocked out after home loss to Toulon; Leinster, Toulouse, Sale Sharks through
Last Updated: 17/01/26 10:06pm
Craig Casey’s Munster suffered a shock Champions Cup pool-stage elimination at home on Saturday
Two-time European winners Munster were dumped out of the Champions Cup at the pool stage for just the fourth time since 1999 as they were stunned by Castres at Thomond Park 31-29.
Castres – who had also lost two of their opening three games in Pool 2 – got on the board early through a penalty from Jeremy Fernandez before Vuate Karawalevu went over from close range. Munster responded in the 17th minute through a converted try from Craig Casey after a flowing team move.
Munster completed the turnaround in the 35th minute when Casey went over again, coming off the back of a rolling maul following a lineout, but Castres regrouped with a try from full-back Theo Chabouni to go into half-time with a 17-12 lead.
The home side got themselves back on level terms soon after the restart when Thaakir Abrhams dived over in the corner, but Jack Crowley could not land the extras from out on the right. Edwin Edogbo then added a bonus-point try just before the hour to move Munster ahead 22-17 – but again Crowley was off target with the conversion.
After Tom Farrell was shown a pivotal yellow card for an illegal clearout, Castres produced a strong finish with tries from Geoffrey Palis and then Christian Ambadiang.
With five minutes left, Castres lock Leone Nakarawa was sent to the sin-bin, and Munster got another try as Edogbo barged over to close within two points, but came up just short.
Leicester Tigers on verge of exit after defeat to South Africa’s Stormers
Leicester’s last-16 hopes were left in tatters after a 39-26 defeat by Stormers in Cape Town.
Early tries from Evan Roos and Andre-Hugo Venter put the hosts in control before George Pearson pulled one back.
Some Will Wand magic hauled the Tigers back into the match at half-time and they led by six when Jamie Blamire went over early in the second half.
However, tries from Leolin Zas and JD Schickerling edged the Stormers back in front before Tom Manz scored for Leicester.
But Imad Khan denied the Tigers a losing bonus point when his late try sent Stormers through.
Instead, a losing bonus point against Harlequins on Sunday will be enough for La Rochelle to qualify and knock out Leicester.
Gloucester knocked out after home defeat to Toulon
Gloucester’s Champions Cup hopes suffered a knockout blow as Toulon dumped them from the tournament by winning 31-14 at Kingsholm.
The French side did not look back following early tries by wings Gael Drean and Mathis Ferte, with Gloucester never seriously threatening a meaningful fightback.
Flanker Lewis Ludlam also crossed for the visitors during a one-sided opening half as they guaranteed themselves a home tie in the round of 16, before Drean added an 80th-minute bonus-point clincher.
Gloucester, despite touchdowns from Jack Clement and Tomos Williams, with George Barton converting both, were largely shut out, and Toulon full-back Marius Domon’s goalkicking – four conversions and a penalty – kept his side in the driving seat.
Gloucester’s defeat meant that Edinburgh progressed from Pool Two alongside Toulon, Bath and Castres, with George Skivington’s team having now lost 11 of their 13 Gallagher Prem and Champions Cup games this season as even a Challenge Cup consolation place eluded them.
Leinster eventually see off Bayonne to secure home advantage
Leinster battled to a 22-13 win at Bayonne which secured home advantage in the last 16 of the Champions Cup.
Bayonne – who had lost their opening three games, including to both Leicester and Harlequins – took an early lead at Stade Jean Dauger through a breakaway try from Sireli Maqala in the 14th minute before Harry Byrne’s penalty got Leinster, already qualified from Pool 3, on the board.
After Joshua Kenny just failed to take the ball and go over in the corner, a long-range penalty from Joris Segonds put the French side further ahead. Thomas Clarkson then saw his 33rd-minute try disallowed for a double movement as Bayonne went into half-time 10-3 in front.
Bayonne’s Herschel Jantjies was shown a yellow card in the 49th minute for a deliberate knock on. Leinster made the most of their advantage when Dan Sheehan slid over in the 56th minute and Byrne nailed the conversion to bring the visitors level at 10-10.
Segonds kicked another penalty on the hour to swiftly restore Bayonne’s lead, which looked to have been wiped out when Jimmy O’Brien charged onto a kick from Sam Prendergast and went down in the corner – only for his try to be ruled out by the TMO for failing to ground the ball as he was tackled over the line.
Leinster produced a strong finish as Prendergast latched onto Byrne’s chipped pass under the posts and then Max Deegan crossed in the corner to make sure of another hard-earned win to maintain their 100 per cent record at the top of the group.
Sale suffer record defeat to Toulouse but progress anyway
Sale suffered a record defeat as six-time winners Toulouse avoided a shock Champions Cup exit by scoring 11 tries en route to a crushing 77-7 victory.
Sharks’ 70-point hammering in the Pool One fixture at Stade Toulousain easily surpassed the club’s previous biggest loss – a 58-8 reverse at the hands of Wasps in 2000.
Alex Sanderson’s side, who had already qualified for the knockout stages but have now dropped out of a home last-16 spot, would have eliminated the Top 14 leaders with victory.
Kalvin Gourgues added Toulouse’s bonus-point try in the closing stages of the first half after Emmanuel Meafou, Julien Marchand and Antoine Dupont all crossed.
Sale’s Tom Curtis converted his own consolation score early in the second period before tries from Dimitri Delibes, Matthis Lebel, Thomas Ramos and Paul Graou stretched the hosts’ advantage.
After France star Dupont crossed for his second try of the game, Joshua Brennan and Lebel completed the scoring, with Ramos landing all 11 conversions.
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Zanetti: Serving Inter and my mission to help the next generation
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Javier Zanetti lived out his dreams as a player, lifting 16 trophies in an Inter Milan career that spanned a record 858 appearances, winning 145 caps for Argentina, and earning a reputation as one of the best defensive players of his generation.
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Exeter Chiefs 24-10 Leicester Tigers: England hopeful Greg Fisilau stars as hosts win but miss out on Gallagher Premiership top spot
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Greg Fisilau was named man of the match for his role in Exeter’s victory over Leicester Tigers; Exeter head into 2026 one point behind Gallagher Premiership league leaders Northampton Saints after missing out on a bonus point in their win
Last Updated: 28/12/25 7:06pm
Greg Fisilau (L) celebrates with team mate Stephen Varney during Exeter’s win over Leicester
Greg Fisilau inspired a resurgent Exeter to a 24-10 Gallagher Premiership win over Leicester Tigers at Sandy Park, moving them within a point of league leaders Northampton Saints.
England A No 8 Fisilau ran in the opening try and also played a key role in Stephen Varney’s 72nd-minute score that finally swung an absorbing contest out of the Tigers’ reach, winning him the man-of-the-match award.
Outstanding wing Campbell Ridl also crossed but Exeter finished one try short of claiming the bonus point that would have sent them into 2026 as Premiership leaders.
It nonetheless represents a remarkable transformation by Rob Baxter’s side, who finished bottom of last season’s table after a disappointing campaign and were playing in front of a thinned out home crowd.
Exeter miss out on top spot despite home win
A packed house witnessed the battle between fourth and fifth place and while Leicester return home empty-handed, they were competitive until Varney struck.
Leicester were forced to deal with early pressure, with Andrea Zambonin scragging scrum-half Tom Whiteley and initiating waves of attacks that ended with Fisilau racing over from the 22.
Exeter were in control and regularly finding space in the wide channels, with Ridl released down the left wing in the 25th minute and chipping into space before benefiting from a kind bounce to finish a fine solo score.
Exeter Chiefs’ Campbell Ridl scored a try against Leicester
A dynamic try by Harvey Skinner was ruled out for a push by Will Rigg and it proved to be a critical 14-point swing as Leicester struck straight away, with winger Adam Radwan making ground before passing interplay from the forwards ended with Cameron Henderson crossing.
TV cameras showed Tigers head coach Geoff Parling reading his players the riot act at half-time and when the game resumed they had the wind at their backs.
A promising raid into the left corner was defended with a turnover and once Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had used his power and footwork to propel Exeter downfield, Henry Slade landed a penalty.
Slade was tackled dangerously, resulting in a yellow card for Samuel Williams, but the Chiefs failed to score a point while the Leicester replacement was in the sin-bin despite producing some dangerous moments in attacks.
Upon Williams’ return, fly-half Billy Searle was sent to the sin-bin for entering from the side as Skinner fell inches short with a sprint for the line. Leicester were conceding a steady stream of penalties and were killed off when Varney raced over after Olly Woodburn had initiated the counter-attack with a towering catch.
Fisilau was also involved in the move that led to Varney touching down and, as Exeter hunted the bonus point in the closing moments, they twice dropped the ball over the line.
Walder: England can’t ignore Fisilau!
Exeter attack coach Dave Walder insists it is only a matter of time before England head coach Steve Borthwick takes a closer look at Fisilau, following his blockbusting form this season.
“I love working with Greg [Fisilau],” Walder said. “He’s got everything you’d want from a back-rower. He’s physical, he’s abrasive, very game-smart, but he’s also got lovely soft skills.
“He’s playing very well at the moment. If he keeps playing like that, I’d imagine England can’t ignore him, but you’d have to ask them that question.”
On missing out on the bonus point to move top, Walder added: “This morning if you’d offered us a win, we’d have taken it. But I think deep down we’re a little bit disappointed with our accuracy and not to score ourselves an extra bonus point.
“At the same time that’s a sign of where we’ve come from and where we are at the moment. We’re not too focused on where we are in the league, it’s about the process. The boys are working hard and have a great attitude and defence. We’re in a really positive place.”
Leicester head coach Geoff Parling said: “I thought it was the poorest we have been emotionally in turning up for a
game. It’s the first time this season that we have lacked a bit of edge, especially in that first 30 minutes.“We’re not good enough yet to have those off days. That’s the first time, and the group will admit it, that we weren’t quite on edge in terms of our collisions and how we were playing. We’re back at home against Saracens now and we’ve got to play with the right edge because that for me wasn’t our DNA today.”
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Hearts sweep aside Falkirk to move six points clear
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Claudio Braga and Stephen Kingsley were on target as resurgent Hearts won 2-0 away to misfiring Falkirk to move six points clear at the top of the William Hill Premiership.
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Santiago Pedrero ganó el premio al Try del Año de World Rugby
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El rugby chileno celebra un nuevo hito a nivel mundial. El segunda línea de Los Cóndores, Santiago Pedrero, ganó el prestigioso premio al Try del Año 2025, un reconocimiento entregado por la International Rugby Players Association y World Rugby. El nacional fue galardonado por su espectacular anotación en el duelo de ida contra Samoa por las Clasificatorias al Mundial de 2027.
La jugada premiada fue una acción colectiva que, tras varios pases, culminó con Pedrero apoyando el balón en el in-goal, consiguiendo así el primer try de su carrera con la selección. La espectacularidad del ensayo fue destacada por la propia World Rugby, que lo describió en sus redes sociales como “Una fuerza imparable”.
La elección se realizó a través de una votación popular en redes sociales, donde el ensayo del chileno consiguió una contundente mayoría. De esta manera, Pedrero se impuso a los otros nominados de clase mundial: El argentino Santiago Cordero, el fiyiano Lekima Tagitagivalu y el neozelandés Tupou Vaa’i.
Este galardón no es nuevo para el rugby chileno. En 2022, el también jugador de Los Cóndores, Rodrigo Fernández se quedó con este mismo reconocimiento, consolidando al equipo nacional como un protagonista recurrente en los premios más importantes del rugby a nivel global.
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South Africa’s resilience shines as red card absorbed in 32-14 win over Italy in Turin
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TURIN, Italy — South Africa absorbed a red card for a second straight test and prevailed again in beating Italy 32-14 on Saturday.
The Springboks played a man short for almost 70 minutes, and even went down to 13 briefly, but showed the adaptability and resilience that helped them beat France in Paris with 14 men a week ago.
The Boks bench was impactful yet again as they led Italy by only six points with eight minutes to go but secured the win with a try by replacement Grant Williams from a counterattack inside their own half.
They capped a stylish finish moments later when Ethan Hooker, a midfielder moved to the wing, scored his first test try from a kick-pass by replacement Manie Libbok.
Italy flyhalf Paolo Garbisi received the red-card foul but crucially missed three of his six goalkicks — worth eight points — just a week after he was 100% off the tee in a win over Australia.
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
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Ireland struggles but finishes strong to defeat Japan 41-10
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DUBLIN — Ireland labored to put away Japan by a flattering 41-10 at sun-kissed Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Coach Andy Farrell wanted a convincing show at home after losing to New Zealand 26-13 in Chicago and Japan looked to be there for the plucking after being smashed by South Africa 61-7 last weekend.
But despite perfect conditions Ireland struggled until the last quarter for rhythm, with passes awry and the set-pieces shaky again. The arrival off the bench of the Prendergast brothers, Cian and Sam, and Jack Conan, boosted Ireland’s energy against a flagging Japan and three tries in the last 14 minutes gave the scoreline an unwarranted glow.
Ireland won by six tries to one with Australia coming next weekend. But the more pertinent numbers were 19 handling errors by Ireland and 17 by Japan.
“We wanted to put in a better performance for the home crowd,” Ireland standout Tommy O’Brien told broadcaster TNT. “We brought plenty of energy and improved massively in the second half. We had a few new players out there today and tried to play a fast brand of rugby so that will come with errors.”
The Irish scored only two tries in the first half. Flyhalf Jack Crowley, with an assist from captain Caelan Doris, finished off their most fluid move but that was against 14 men. Then flanker Nick Timoney burned the Japanese defense with his fifth try in five tests across four years after Japan hesitated when Tadhg Beirne dropped a catch that James Ryan cleaned up.
Crowley’s goalkicks made it 17-0 after 30 minutes.
But Japan was doing all the entertaining, especially backs Kippei Ishida and Naoto Saito. Their positivity — forcing Ireland to make twice as many tackles — was rewarded by the crowd cheering their 10-man rolling maul carrying Kenji Sato over for a converted try near halftime.
Ireland started the second half with wing Jacob Stockdale in the sin-bin but still scored when prop Andrew Porter crashed over during a move in which another pass went to ground, through Doris.
A minute after he came out of the sin-bin, Stockdale thought he’d scored his first Ireland try in four years but it was ruled out for offside.
Ireland’s punchy reinforcements made a difference. Replacement hooker Gus McCarthy scored from a rolling maul to make the result safe at 27-10, then replacement prop Paddy McCarthy went over.
A final flourish came from a turnover on halfway; Sam Prendergast’s behind-the-back pass sent busy winger O’Brien away for a deserved try by the man of the match.
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
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Australia routs England in rugby league Ashes opener at Wembley
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LONDON — Australia outclassed England 26-6 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday to begin the first rugby league Ashes series in 22 years.
Fullback Reece Walsh, on debut, and second row Angus Crichton scored two tries each, and Nathan Cleary converted all four and nailed a penalty kick.
Daryl Clark’s converted try in the 76th minute was nothing more than a consolation for England in front of an Ashes-record crowd of 60,812.
The dominant Kangaroos picked up where they left off, having won the last series 3-0 in 2003. Australia last lost a series to England in 1970.
“Out of the blocks well,” Australia coach Kevin Walters told the BBC. “That was going to be the key to success, making sure they gelled very quickly. They’re footballers so I didn’t think it would be too big of a job to get them together.”
Another Kangaroos debutant, Mark Nawaqanitawase, played in Walsh for the first try and England did well to limit Australia to an 8-0 halftime lead.
But the Kangaroos looked like they sealed the result five minutes into the new half when, following a 60-meter break by Walsh, Crichton scored his first try from 20 meters out.
Crichton landed his second try after a Cameron Munster show and go, and Walsh piled on with a brilliant breakaway try with eight minutes left to cap a fine man-of-the-match display.
“I’m probably happier with the two tries I stopped,” Walsh told the BBC.
The only blemish for the winners was captain Isaah Yeo failing a head injury assessment after colliding with Dom Young. He’ll miss the second test in Liverpool next weekend. They play the third test in Leeds.
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
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Australia struggles to a 19-15 win over Japan to start a demanding northern tour
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TOKYO — Nick Champion de Crespigny marked his debut as captain with a try as a misfiring Australia overcame Japan 19-15 to open its five-match Northern Hemisphere tour Saturday.
De Crespigny became Australia’s 92nd test captain after only 72 minutes of test rugby but showed his potential with a physical performance and with the first of Australia’s three tries after 13 minutes.
Center Josh Flook and Carlo Tizzano also scored as Australia struggled in wet conditions against Japan’s tight defense.
Australia led 14-3 at halftime and was only just hanging on at times as Japan scored two tries to one in the second half. Prop Shuhei Takeuchi and Ben Gunter scored for Japan, keeping the score close, while Tizzano scored for Australia from a powerful lineout drive.
The Wallabies struggled with a malfunctioning lineout after losing locks Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Josh Canham to injuries in the first half. Handling errors and close marking by Japan prevented Australia from achieving any fluency in the backline.
“It was a very disappointing game but the scoreline was close and we should take pride in that,” Japan captain Warner Dearns said. “I thought it was a good fight.”
Australia’s first test in Japan since 2017 opened a northern tour on which it will play England, Italy, Ireland and France over the next four weekends.
Head coach Joe Schmidt led the Wallabies for the first time against Eddie Jones, his predecessor and now Japan coach. During Jones’ second tenure as Australia coach, the Wallabies lost seven of nine tests and were eliminated in group play at the 2023 World Cup.
Schmidt made 13 changes to the team that played New Zealand in Perth in the Wallabies’ previous test match. Combinations at times looked brittle and under-developed.
Japan’s defense was superb, using quick line-speed to shut down the inside channels and prevent Australia moving the ball wide.
Around the 19th minute, Japan defended its goal line against 27 phases of Australian attack while conceding several penalties and the first of two yellow cards. Japan’s backline became more dangerous in the second half after critical handling errors by scrumhalf Shinobu Fujiwara before halftime.
De Crespigny’s opening try came after Fujiwara lost the ball and Australia quickly recovered possession. A kick behind the defensive line put Japan under pressure near its goal line for the first time and resulted in a penalty to Australia.
The Wallabies took a quick tap and after several pick-and-go attempts, de Crespigny crashed over. Tane Edmed converted.
Australia battered the Japan line first through 17 phases in the middle of the first half then, after a penalty, for 10 more phases before Japan’s Michael Leitch won a turnover. Japan center Charlie Lawrence was shown a yellow card after repeated team offending.
Japan flyhalf Seungsin Lee kicked a penalty to make the score 7-3 and two minutes later Australia finally managed to crack open the defense. From a scrum, Edmed looped Hunter Paisami at first receiver and linked with Andrew Kellaway, who sent Flook on a 30-meter dash to the line.
Takeuchi scored after a neat interchange at the back of Japan’s lineout in the 53rd minute. Fujiwara passed to Leitch, then held the ball up to Takeuchi who pierced the defense.
Tizzano’s try from a lineout drive gave Australia a 19-8 lead before Gunter’s try, converted by Seungsin Lee cut the lead to four points and set up a tense last 10 minutes.
Prop Aidan Ross took the field in the 58th minute to become the fifth player to play test rugby for both Australia and New Zealand after playing for the All Blacks in 2021.
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
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