LONDON: Cardiff Blues lock Bradley Davies will captain Wales on their two-Test tour of Japan next month, interim head coach Robin McBryde announced yesterday. Davies has not played for his country since being knocked out by a punch from New Zealand’s Andrew Hore during a 33-10 loss to the All Blacks in November, having been ruled out of the Six Nations earlier this year with an ankle

SYDNEY: Maverick playmaker Quade Cooper was left out of a 25-man Wallaby squad but code-hopper Israel Folau was chosen yesterday after just 11 Super Rugby matches for next month’s series against the British and Irish Lions. Cooper was passed over for James O’Connor at fly-half when coach Robbie Deans announced his initial squad with a further six names to be added shortly before

DUBLIN: Jonny Wilkinson showed trademark nerves of steel to kick Toulon to glory over Clermont in a tense European Cup final. Ten years after kicking England to World Cup glory, the 33-year-old fly-half’s left foot did the trick once again, converting Delon Armitage’s 65th minute try to put Toulon ahead for the first time in the match. Clermont had looked favourites to be cr

ROME: Race leader Vincenzo Nibali extended his lead over Australia’s Cadel Evans as Mauro Santambrogio won a shortened 14th stage of the Giro d’Italia to claim his maiden win on the race yesterday. Italian Nibali, of the Astana team, came over the finish line in second place after giving his fellow Italian, of the Vini Farini team, the nod to take the stage win unhindered. E

DUBLIN: Munster’s former New Zealand wing Doug Howlett has retired from professional rugby, the Irish province announced yesterday. The 34-year-old, the All Blacks’ record try scorer, has been forced to quit because of a shoulder injury suffered earlier this season. Munster’s squad captain, Howlett underwent surgery in a bid to regain full fitness but has now retired o

MARCOUSSIS, France: France coach Philippe Saint-Andre yesterday called up eight uncapped players for his 35-man squad for the New Zealand tour next month. Les Bleus, who won just one game to finish last in the Six Nations, take on the All Blacks on June 8, 15 and 22, with another game against the Auckland Blues scheduled for June 11. The newcomers are Eddy Ben Arous, Alexandre Flanquart

SYDNEY: Australian Rugby Union chief Bill Pulver has warned the Wallabies they will have to accept pay cuts in the face of the sport’s worsening financial situation. Pulver issued the warning after revealing that a loss of almost Aus$19m ($19.35m) over the past two years will not be offset as much as hoped by next month’s British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. Lions tour

SYDNEY: Australian Rugby Union chief Bill Pulver has warned the Wallabies they will have to accept pay cuts in the face of the sport’s worsening financial situation. Pulver issued the warning after revealing that a loss of almost Aus$19m ($19.35m) over the past two years will not be offset as much as hoped by next month’s British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. Lions tour

LONDON: England captain Chris Robshaw has been left out of England’s 32-man squad announced yesterday for a fixture with the Barbarians and a three-match tour of Uruguay and Argentina. Other England regulars omitted were the Harlequin flanker’s teammate Danny Care, Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Brad Barritt and Chris Ashton (both Saracens).  Robshaw is being rested des

WELLINGTON: An injured shoulder means All Blacks centre Richard Kahui will miss next month’s Test series against France and his hopes of playing club rugby in Japan are in doubt, reports said yesterday. Kahui, who is due to take up a two-year contract with Japanese side Toshiba Brave Lupus in August, hurt his shoulder in training last week, the latest setback in a career plagued by in

LONDON: London’s Olympic Stadium is set to be announced as one of the venues for the 2015 Rugby World Cup when organisers unveil their list of grounds for the tournament today. England 2015 chiefs have guaranteed to deliver £80m ($125m) in revenue to the International Rugby Board (IRB) from the tournament and that means they must sell as many tickets as possible. Initially,

In a file picture taken on March 16, 2013 Wales’s flanker Sam Warburton celebrates during the presentation after winning the Six Nations international rugby union match against England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, south Wales.  LONDON: Wales star Sam Warburton was named yesterday as captain of the 2013 British and Irish squad for the tour of Australia but there was no

Paris: Heineken Cup finalists Toulon’s foreign shopping spree continued yesterday when they signed South Africa winger Bryan Habana for the next two seasons. “After Australian wing Drew Mitchell, South African Bryan Habana will garnish the ranks of the ‘Red and Black’ for the next two seasons,” Toulon said in a statement. Habana, 29, won the 2007 World Cup with

LONDON: British and Irish tour manager Andy Irvine said yesterday that there will be a social media protocol in place when the squad tour Australia in June. While there will be no outright ban on players using the likes of Facebook and Twitter, Irvine is keen to avoid creating an unwanted media firestorm as a result of a casual comment. “Social media these days you can make a mist

LONDON: Jonny Wilkinson ruled himself out of the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, coach Warren Gatland said after unveiling his squad yesterday. However, the New Zealander said fly-half Wilkinson, who a decade ago kicked the match-winning drop-goal that saw England defeat Australia in a thrilling World Cup final in Sydney, could yet be called up as a replacement. Wilkinson&rsq

London: Jonny Wilkinson spent half his career ruining French dreams at Twickenham but yesterday it was his club Toulon celebrating as he kicked all the points in a 24-12 win over Saracens to earn them a first Heineken Cup final. Wilkinson, who kicked all Toulon’s points in their 21-15 quarter-final victory over Leicester, landed seven penalties and a drop goal at Twickenham as the big

DUBLIN: Three-time European Cup winners Leinster booked their place in the final of the European Challenge yesterday with a 44-16 thumping of holders Biarritz. Leinster, who this season became the first holders of the European Cup to go out at the group stage, will play Stade Francais in the final back in Dublin on May 17. For Biarritz, who stayed in touch until the final minute of the

LONDON: England’s past, present and future will be on show when fly-halves Jonny Wilkinson and Owen Farrell face one another in a European Cup semi-final between Toulon and Saracens at Twickenham today. Farrell was only 11-years-old when Wilkinson kicked the decisive drop-goal in England’s World Cup final win against Australia in 2003. But the Saracens star now finds himself

WELLINGTON: The International Rugby Board said yesterday it has revamped the 2015 World Cup match schedule to stop giving top nations an unfair advantage by allowing them a week’s rest between games. IRB chief executive Brett Gosper also said he had moved to clamp down on clubs preventing players from smaller nations attending the tournament, although he admitted it was a difficult pr

Christchurch: All Black Julian Savea (pictured) has been charged with assault following a domestic incident and will appear in court in Wellington today, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said. The 22-year-old winger, who appeared on posters last year in support of a government-led campaign against family violence,   was charged in relation to an assault last Sunday, James Te Puni, CE