Latest news with #rugbyunion
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
BBC expand Premiership Women's Rugby coverage
BBC Sport will expand its women's rugby union coverage with a new deal to broadcast Premiership Women's Rugby matches for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.A match will be streamed every week, with the semi-finals and final being shown live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and May, Gloucester-Hartpury beat Saracens at StoneX Stadium to win their third PWR title in a month England host the Women's Rugby World Cup, with John Mitchell's side the favourites to win the Sport have confirmed exclusive rights to broadcast every game of the matches will be shown on the BBC's linear channels, while every game will be available to watch live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra will also broadcast radio commentary on the Stadium of Light will host the opening game 22 August, while Twickenham will stage the final on 27 September."This deal is another big step in BBC Sport's commitment to women's sport," said BBC head of sport Alex Kay-Jelski."Premiership Women's Rugby is fast, physical and full of elite talent, and we're proud to bring that to audiences across the UK on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app."With the Women's Rugby World Cup exclusively on the BBC this summer, 2025 is a landmark year for women's sport, and we're right at the heart of it." In 2023, English rugby union's top-tier women's domestic league was rebranded as Premiership Women's Rugby and it has continued to nine-team league includes some of the sport's biggest stars, including World Rugby's women's player of the year Ellie Kildunne, who plays at full-back for Harlequins and league contains all of Mitchell's Red Roses, but also includes oversea stars such as Canada and Saracens number eight Sophie de Goede, with social media sensation Ilona Maher featuring last season on a short-term deal with Bristol Bears. "Today marks another important step forward for Premiership Women's Rugby," PWR executive chair Genevieve Shore added."In partnership with the BBC we intend to give our incredible athletes the biggest platform possible, to show off the elite rugby talent that exists in this country."The Rugby World Cup later this year will be a breakthrough moment in our sport, but the story won't end there."The world's best players play their rugby every week in the PWR, and I am excited to say that now they'll also be shown every week on the BBC."
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside Finn Russell's incredible transformation: how unorthodox star who rallied against drinking rules became the Lions' game changing genius
Everything good that the Lions do today in the first Test against Australia will go through Finn Russell. He's the lynchpin, the man who can create something from nothing, and in the form of his life.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
NZ Warriors star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck considers switch to Saudi-backed Rugby 360
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is a key part of the Warriors' top-four run during the 2025 NRL season. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ NZ Warriors star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck admits a return to rugby union is not off the table, once his current contract with the Auckland league club ends in 2026. The double international logged three tests for the All Blacks in a brief dalliance with the 15-man code, before returning to league last year and has been linked with a possible switch to a new Saudi-financed Rugby 360 competition to launch in two years. Other NRL stars in the mix appear to be Newcastle Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga and Melbourne Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen. "It's something that my manager is aware of and he's put in front of me, but it's something in the future," Tuivasa-Sheck said. "I don't know what's happening - I'm just taking it game by game. "My contract ends in 2026 and he's doing his job just keeping my future open, but at the moment, I'm enjoying playing my footy here and hopefully I can be here for a long time." The former Dally M Medal winner left the Warriors in 2021 to chase All Blacks selection for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but never really adapted to requirements of rugby union and rejoined the Warriors for the 2024 season. The Sydney Morning Herald reports his commitment to the LIV Golf-type rebel outfit is imminent, although the competition doesn't begin until 2027. Tuivasa-Sheck has not discounted a switch back to rugby, but insists an extension with the Warriors is still an option. "That's what the manager is doing right now," he said. "He's putting options in front of me, so we'll see what happens after 2026." Tuivasa-Sheck spent last season in the centres, but is back on the wing and hitting his straps, as his team consolidates their position in the top four on the competition table. "This is home," he said. "I came back for a reason and just want to keep playing footy. "You don't get those contract chats if you're not playing good footy, so I've got to focus on that." Warriors chief executive Cam George alerted other NRL CEOs to the threat at a conference last week. "I'm aware of players that have been interviewed and engaged with," he told Sydney Morning Herald . "I'm aware of the significant financial opportunities that it could bring, particularly around the branding of the players as individuals. "I needed to alert everyone, so that they are across this and what it could bring in the next few years, because it's a real and genuine concept that is growing momentum and could be quite attractive to any number of players. "My understanding is that the financial windfalls are real and they're significant. I'm sure that the financial windfalls are far greater than anything we've ever seen before in rugby." At 32, Tuivasa-Sheck has a reputation for his professional approach to the game - whichever code - and he's nowhere near a decline in his powers. His 2025 campaign was hampered by an early hamstring injury, which sidelined him for six games, but he scored seven tries in 10 appearances, including a double against South Sydney Rabbitohs in June. "I haven't spoken to him about it [Rugby 360]," Warriors coach Andrew Webster said. "I just asked him if he was OK today with the story and he said, 'Yep', so we left it at that. "I think there might be six players that come off contract on 1 November, so we've got plenty of time to sort that out and we haven't spoken to any of them. "I don't know if Roger wants to keep playing or what his dreams are, so we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it, but we've got plenty of time at the back end of the season, before 1 November, to have those conversations." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
ABC News
17-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Kalyn Ponga committed to Newcastle Knights through 2027 NRL season
Kalyn Ponga insists he will remain at Newcastle until the end of his contract amid uncertainty over his future at the Knights. Midway through a tough eighth season at the club, Ponga was this week linked with an early move to rugby union, with reports claiming he had engaged the services of an agent in New Zealand. Ponga's father was born in New Zealand and Ponga has played for the Māori All Stars multiple times in recent years. It came as speculation mounted that coach Adam O'Brien could be shown the door at the end of the season as Newcastle appears destined to miss the top eight, sitting 13th after 19 rounds. But Ponga took to social media to insist he would be with the Knights through to the end of his current deal. "Committed to the end of 2027. Excited about the vision of the club. Appreciate those that support me!" Ponga posted on Instagram. The news is a boost to a Knights side that would likely have needed to move Fletcher Sharpe out of the halves to replace Ponga at fullback had he left for the 15-man code next year. That would have left Newcastle without a clear front-runner to partner big-money recruit Dylan Brown in the halves when he arrived from Parramatta in 2026. Ponga has struggled for form on an individual level this year and is currently sidelined with a season-ending foot injury, but is still considered the heart of the team. Joining the Knights on a lucrative contract after just a handful of NRL games as a teenager in North Queensland, Ponga left the 2017 grand finalists and joined a club coming off three-straight wooden spoons in 2018. He re-signed for five years in 2022. Club legend Andrew Johns said on Channel Nine on the weekend the club and city should be grateful to the 27-year-old star. "I give him a big thank you for coming to the club and, if he wants to move on, I say, 'Thank you for what you've done for the club,'" Johns said. "He's carried the club. He signed after three wooden spoons in a row and the year the Cowboys got to a grand final. "And he got signed for big money, but struggling clubs have to pay overs for a marquee player. "He's attracted players to the club, he's attracted sponsors, I'd imagine his social media reach would be huge. So I'd say thank you to Kalyn for what you've delivered for the club and, if you wanna move on, then so be it. "No animosity whatsoever. None." AAP/ABC
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Andrew Johns makes staggering call on Kalyn Ponga leaving the Newcastle Knights
League Immortal Andrew Johns has rejected comments from his brother Matty after giving his blessing for Kalyn Ponga to leave Newcastle, amid reports he's considering a switch to rugby union. The Knights have been rocked by bombshell reports this week that a New Zealand-based rugby union agent has been acting on Ponga's behalf to shop him around to clubs in the rival code. Newcastle bosses are also reportedly preparing to part ways with coach Adam O'Brien at season's end, and are willing to pay him out $1.2 million. But it's the future of Ponga that has been the biggest talking point, amid suggestions the Knights marquee man could walk out on the club with two years still to run on a deal worth $1.4 million per season. While Ponga's management hasn't approached the Knights about the potential of an early release, there's believed to be some openness at the club to letting him go if he doesn't want to be there. And Newcastle's greatest player and two-time premiership-winning halfback says Ponga should be able to leave if he wants to, considering what he's done for the club since arriving in 2018. 'I give him a big thank you for coming to the club and if he wants to move on, I say thank you for what you have done for the club,' Johns told the Freddy and the Eighth podcast. 'He has carried the club. He signed after the three wooden spoons in a row and that year, the Cowboys got to a grand final. Andrew Johns gives Kalyn Ponga his blessing to leave the Newcastle Knights(9) — NRLCentral (@centralNRL) July 16, 2025 'Look, he got signed for big money but struggling clubs have to pay overs for a marquee player. He has attracted players to the club, he has attracted sponsors, I would imagine his social media reach would be huge. 'So I would say thank you to Kalyn for what you have delivered to the club. Thank you very much. If you want to move on, so be it. No animosity whatsoever.' Ponga has so far remained tight-lipped on the reports about his future but is expected to address the issue later this week. The situation comes as a Saudi-backed rebel rugby competition, headed by former England Test star Mike Tindall, is reportedly chasing Ponga and a number of NRL stars as some of its first major signings. It emerged on Wednesday that Warriors star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was believed to be on the verge of joining the R360 competition, with Storm stars Ryan Papenhuyzen and Nelson Asofa-Solomona linked as other potential targets. RELATED: QLD legend piles pressure on Cleary with big call on Tom Dearden Roosters playmaker tipped to exit after being overlooked for veteran Fury over Panthers star's ban after Parra rival cops season-ending injury Matty Johns warns Knights against releasing Kalyn Ponga Ponga would undoubtedly be the biggest coup if rugby were able poach the Maroons star and he has been linked with the rival code in the past. But Johns' brother Matty says the Knights can't afford to let Ponga go, and has rejected suggestions from the likes of Penrith premiership great Scott Sattler that Newcastle would be better off releasing the injury-plagued Ponga and freeing up a massive chunk of salary cap space to rebuild their squad. "With Kalyn it's not just what he brings on the field, it's what he brings to the club as far as profile, marketing but also being able to attract other players," Matty Johns told SEN radio. He says the Knights are in 'a precarious situation' because of the two new teams entering the NRL - Perth in 2027 and PNG in 2028 - and their likelihood to chase marquee superstars such as Ponga. "So if you start losing guys like Kalyn Ponga, you can't replace them. That's the problem," he added. "There's a school of thought saying 'he's getting injured all the time, it's probably a good thing and the Knights should take advantage of it' (but) I completely disagree."
