#Antoine Dupont

French Top14 league leaders Toulouse travel to Manchester England to tackle a high-flying Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium. Sale will be looking to exact revenge on their visitors following a rather humbling 45 - 19 loss in round two at the Stade Ernest-Wallon. Having open their campaign with a 39 - 0 drubbing of Irish side Ulster, Sale's loss in…

South Africa and France have almost always enjoyed a cordial rugby relationship, but that friendship was tested over the acrimony of the Rugby World Cup 2023 (RWC 2023) vote. Long story short, South Africa's was the preferred bid, but the French delegation lobbied behind the scenes and "won" the right to host RWC 2023. It led to rancour and…

The Women's Six Nations returns today, reverting back to its normal round-robin format following a truncated 2021 edition because of the pandemic. In a World Cup year for the women's game, this year's championship takes on added significance, with video-sharing app TikTok coming on board as its first title sponsor. Below you can read our…

Of the 26 titles handed out over the course of the Heineken Champions Cup, 13 of them sit in the bottom half of this season's quarter-final draw. The last eight of this years competition is interestingly split. One one side of the draw you have Racing 92, Sale Sharks, La Rochelle and Montpellier - new money and new challengers. On the bottom half…

Leinster reached their first Heineken Champions Cup final in three years after dethroning Toulouse in a sure-footed 40-17 win at the Aviva Stadium. The defending champions struggled to cope with the pace of the hosts' attack, with James Lowe, the tournament's top-scorer this season, claiming two of their four tries. Leinster recovered from Antoine…

It is 67 years since a Wales team travelled to Colombes on the north-west edge of Paris and denied the hosts a Grand Slam. Since then, on four occasions when the Grand Slam has been on the line on home turf, France have converted their chance to win the clean sweep. England will have to overturn recent form as well as decades-old history to win on…

Once he returns to full fitness, the center is set for a big year in 2023. Am is the linchpin of that South African defense and will be crucial to their Rugby World Cup defense, despite the fact that Jesse Kriel has done an admirable job in his absence. He was amazing during their run at the global tournament in 2019; in the final, he turned it on…

The official men's World Rugby rankings have, for some time now, been widely dismissed. Too often the prescriptive modelling does not accurately reflect the true balance of power. At present World Rugby's top fivereads: 1. South Africa (90.61) 2. France (88.88) 3. All Blacks (88.75) 4. Ireland (88.22) 5. England (84.50) This week, following the…

With the Rugby World Cup under nine months away, we thought it was worth picking seven players to watch out for in 2023. There are plenty of established figures here who have their own individual stories and targets over the next 12 months so without further ado, here's our selection. The centre is set for a big 2023 after getting back to full…

After succumbing to a highly disappointing opening day defeat to France in their Six Nations opener last year, Eddie Jones' England bounced back to claim the prestigious championships in an all-action final day consumed by drama. It marked an end to a tournament like no other, which lasted over nine months after the outbreak of the coronavirus…

They have been called the best team in the world after beating New Zealand and Ireland in recent months and they were completely untroubled in putting away Scotland last time out. For France's class of 2022, a Six Nations Grand Slam is very much on as they head into round four. It's an interesting one, though. In a straight man-for-man comparison…

You normally come away from an opening Six Nations weekend with a pretty good idea what teams you want to keep on side, from a handicap point of view at least, for the rest of the tournament. But, with the exception of England, the performance of the other five countries sent out some very mixed messages indeed. And it would appear that the coaches…

Harlequins captain Alex Dombrandt Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Sunday's European Champions Cup games Northampton+5 2pts 8-11 Boyles Sale+14 1pt 10-11 Boyles Alex Dombrandt to score a try 1pt 10-3 Coral, Ladbrokes Paddy Power are giving away free bets to new and existing customers, and all you need is an account. . Sky Bet are…

We have fully entered award season, with World Rugby announcing the 15s Player of the Year and a host of other awards for both the men's and the women's game. Jonny Sexton, Josh Van Der Flier, Lukhanyo Am, and Antoine Dupont were nominated for the men's Player of the Year award. Sexton won the award back in 2018 at the very top of his game, whilst…

And although Ireland finished second behind Grand Slam winners France, this campaign only reaffirmed that they are moving in the right direction under head coach Andy Farrell. TALE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP Ireland demonstrated their title credentials in Round 1 with a comprehensive 29-7 victory over Wales at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. Bundee Aki strolled…

The wait is almost over as this Saturday, the Six Nations returns to our screens and with fan-filled stadiums to boot. After last year's tournament was played behind closed doors, players, coaches and fans will be thrilled that all matches are set to feature no such restrictions after the Welsh government dropped relevant Covid-19 rules in…

One of these sides' hopes of a Grand Slam will come to an end on Saturday, as the two bookies' favourites to win the Six Nations go head-to-head in Paris Arguably the two best sides in the Six Nations go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon, as France welcome Ireland to Paris for their second match of the tournament. Both sides harbour hopes not just…

All the latest odds ahead of this weekend's quarter-final The countdown to the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup is underway. All eight teams will have optimism filling the air around them as some hope to upset the odds while others will be looking to prove why they are the favourites. England, Wales and Ireland will be representing the Home…

Next weekend, the 2022 edition of European rugby's treasured showpiece begins and there is huge expectation of a classic Six Nations campaign. Sportsmail's panel of experts - columnists Sir Clive Woodward, Danny Cipriani and Andy Nicol, along with former Wales coach and captain Rob Howley and former Ireland full back Geordan Murphy - debate the…

The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy will be contested on Sunday when Italy travel to France for their Six Nations opener, hoping to beat Les Bleus on their own soil for the first time since 1997 Six Nations favourites France get their campaign up and running with what should be their easiest fixture of the tournament when they host Italy on Sunday. While…

Rugby's Greatest Championship returns this Saturday and the action kicks off at Murrayfield as the title favourites head to Edinburgh. The visitors are the only team still on track for a Grand Slam victory following their 30-24 win over Ireland in Round Two while Scotland are looking to bounce back from a 20-17 defeat to Wales. It's the first of…

The Six Nations is the jewel in the crown of European rugby, and the upcoming tournament looks as wide open as ever. Ireland are coming off the back of one of their greatest-ever wins, a 2-1 series victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand. England are also heading into the tournament with an impressive series of their own under their belt after…

The port city of Marseille is no stranger to debate. Each election cycle this ancient place is used by the governing and the challenger to prove a point. Ask a hundred French what they think of Marseille and at least seventy will mention crime, with a generous dose of'code words.' To critique Marseille as a seething hotbed of vice, contraband, turf…

It's never too early to look ahead to the Six Nations. Year in, year out the tournament delivers and 2023 is set to be no different. But with next year's edition coming only a few months before the Rugby World Cup, the competition is set to be more interesting than ever. Can France repeat last year's Grand Slam? Or will the world's number-one…

France will be out for an improved performance from their narrow win over the Wallabies when they host the Springboks. Join The Roar for live scores and rolling coverage from 7am (AEDT). South Africa have recalled the experienced duo of fullback Willie le Roux and scrumhalf Faf de Klerk while adding goal-kicking insurance on the bench. Le Roux…

France continue their end-of-year internationals with another supreme test of their mettle and quality, as the world champion Springboks head to Marseille's Stade Velodrome. Les Bleus needed a last-gasp try from Damian Penaud to edge Australia in a 30-29 victory in Saint-Denis, overcoming the Wallabies in a match that saw both teams edge in front…

With each of the 15 players that make up a rugby team playing a vital part, we take a look at the roles they all play during a match ahead of Rugby's Greatest Championship getting underway. Loosehead prop Wears the No.1 jersey, stands to the left of the hooker at the scrum Plays a key role in helping a team get on top at scrum time Often involved…

It's a mouth-watering prospect, despite the very real chance that it may never see the light of day. The best of the Wallabies and All Blacks, playing in a combined ANZAC team, in a one-off match against the British & Irish Lions at the MCG? To borrow a line from recent KFC, "shut up and take my money!" It appears, however, that Rugby Australia…

With the Autumn Nations Series resumes this week with more intriguing clashes on offer, Planet Rugby dives into five storylines ahead of the action. Pressure is once again compounding on England head coach Eddie Jones after his team fell short to Argentina 30-29 on Sunday. Jones took responsibility for the loss claiming he was experimenting ahead…

Week two went next level in the drama and force of the north-south conflict. Despite the win-loss count, the south made some ground back. North No. 1 (Ireland) struggled to put an experimental version of South Africa (south No. 2) away, their attack stymied and depending on marginal passes, looking spent in the last ten minutes and like the final…

The spring-autumn tours ignite in earnest this week as the unlucky Scots accept a different challenge from Fiji, the perpetually dinged up Welsh host presumably fired up New Zealand, the confident Irish clad in blue welcome swaggering South Africa in green, the highly touted French invite the Wallabies to a late night rugby discotheque and the…

The 2022 Six Nations Championship returns after a the first of two bye-weeks with three exciting international fixtures, two of which look very difficult to call. After a perfect start to our predictions in Round One, correctly guessing the winner of all three fixtures, things took a turn in Round Two where we got just one result correct. Only…

With the rugby world cup coming up in 2023, many punters will be looking to get their bets in for the winner. There's plenty of odds being offered by the top betting sites right now, so let's take a look at what's available, and what deals are on offer. Who's Most Likely To Win? This is the biggest question that you'll have going into the world cup…

The Champions Cup gets under way this weekend, with the competition continuing with the format it adopted last year due to Covid. In this format, there are 24 teams in the competition split into two pools. Each team plays two sides, home and away, from their side of the draw. The top 16 sides, eight from each pool, will progress into the round of…

arah Hunter's England open their World Cup campaign in the early hours of tomorrow morning as one of the hottest favourites to leave these shores in British sporting history. But the tournament is being played in New Zealand, where they take their rugby seriously - and the hosts are taking this global gathering very seriously indeed. The Red Roses…

The 2022 Six Nations looms in four weeks time. Six storylines are apparent. Five are about the rugby. Take your pick. Parity is the new rarity Five of the teams are capable of winning the tournament. Three (France, England, and Ireland) seem able to win a Grand Slam. Whilst France is the clear favourite of the bookmakers, courtesy of a dream draw…

Last year's Six Nations was the perfect illustration of just how tight the tournament is and how fine the margins are. Winners Wales were sent off 16-1 shots after a poor 2020 campaign, 6-5 favourites England finished fifth, while the three teams who finished between the pair ended up with identical records of three wins and two defeats. Of the ten…

Are you a big fan of rugby? If the answer is "yes", then we are 100% sure that you are barely waiting for the World Cup to come. In 2023, some of the best teams on the worldwide rugby scene will get the chance to confirm their quality. In most cases, you will hear sports analytics that neither of the teams has some big advantage over the others. We…

La Rochelle were of course crowned as European champions, as they defeated Leinster thanks to a last-gasp try at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. Much of the discussion after the final has been based around La Rochelle's director of rugby Ronan O'Gara, although their maiden European title certainly wouldn't have been possible without some…

When Clive Woodward coached England he tried to cover all bases to the point where his back-up team even included a visual awareness coach. Cut to Wales heading for the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. They had the visual awareness side of things covered only in the sense that head coach Tony Gray wore glasses. Woodward knew that nothing could be…

There was a lost to take in during game week one where we got plenty of questions answered but a few new ones opened up. What next for England after their defeat? Can Scotland challenge for the title? Will anybody be able to stop France this year? Here are six talking points from the opening weekend of the 2022 Six Nations Championship: Paolo…

The 2023 Six Nations Rugby Championship will be the 24th edition of the annual rugby union competition. It will be held from 4 February to 18 March, and will be contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. Although the tournament will not take place until February and March, bookmakers are already…

When is France vs Italy on and what time does it start? France vs Italy will take place on Sunday 6 February, 2022 - 15:00 (UK) Where is France vs Italy taking place? France vs Italy will take place at Stade de France in Paris, France What channel is France vs Italy on in the UK? France vs Italy will be televised live on ITV Where can I stream…