Australia and New Zealand's rugby union teams are set to play each other in a historic one-off Test in Hong Kong, the first on neutral turf outside a World Cup, a report said yesterday.
The match has been slated for October following approval from the International Rugby Board (IRB), the sport's governing body, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said.
Details of the Test will be hammered out by officials from the countries' rugby unions when they pay a three-day visit to the city on today, the daily said.
"We have got approval from the IRB, who have no objection to Australia and New Zealand playing here," Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) executive director Allan Payne told the paper. "This is a huge step forward."
The officials will visit Hong Kong Stadium and discuss issues including television rights and how revenue will be shared between the Australian, New Zealand and Hong Kong rugby unions, the paper said.
■ Uncapped Duo Make Cut
England coach Brian Ashton has retained uncapped duo Paul Hodgson and Luke Narraway in a 33-man squad for next week's Six Nations opener against Wales.
London Irish scrum-half Hodgson and Gloucester back-row forward Narraway, together with Bath flanker Michael Lipman, were called up for training at Twickenham last Monday.
And the trio will be among the group that assembles in Bath tonight ahead of the Wales clash.
England have lost scrum-half Peter Richards for the entire tournament because of an arm injury while flanker Joe Worsley will miss at least the Wales match and the trip to Italy on Feb. 10.
Ashton has retained a large squad because of the risk of injuries with most of his squad involved in matches this weekend.
■ New Faces For Irish
Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has included four new faces in his 22-man squad for the Six Nations opener against Italy on Feb. 2.
Leinster's Bernard Jackman, Jamie Heaslip and Robert Kearney are in line to make their tournament debuts, as is Munster prop Tony Buckley.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS