Leeds Rhinos hooker Andy Ackers has been ruled out for three months with a hamstring tear. Ackers picked up the injury in Leeds’ Challenge Cup defeat by St Helens on Friday. The 31-year-old does not require surgery but recuperation from the injury will take up to 12 weeks. Ackers joins co-captain Cameron Smith and Maika...
Forward Harry Thacker and scrum-half Kieron Marmion have both signed new contracts with Bristol Bears. The Premiership club have not confirmed the lengths of either contract. Thacker, 31, joined Bristol in 2018 and has scored 60 tries in 127 matches – more than any other forward for the club. Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam...
Cardiff have signed Wales international back row Taine Basham from Dragons for the 2025-26 season. The 25-year-old has won 17 caps since making his international debut against Canada in June 2021. Basham has spent his entire career to date with the Dragons, where has has made 106 appearances and scored 51 tries. “Taine is someone...
Exeter Chiefs have signed South African front row Joseph Dweba for the upcoming 2025-26 season. The 29-year-old who plays as hooker most recently played for South African side DHL Stormers where he has been since 2022. “I’m looking forward to becoming an Exeter Chief,” Dweba said. “I signed for the club because I believe it...
Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has defended Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts, saying that “too much emotion makes you do crazy things”. Mateta needed 25 stitches to his left ear after being kicked in the head by Roberts during Palace’s FA Cup win on 1 March. Roberts was sent off, while the French striker, 27, was...
The BBC will show live coverage of two of the quarter-finals in next month’s Challenge Cup. On Saturday, 5 April, the Hull derby between Hull FC and Hull KR will be broadcast on BBC One with a 14:30 BST kick-off, the first time the rivals have met in this competition for 39 years. The following...
Tuesday marked exactly 12 months since Nottingham Forest were deducted four points for a breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR). That dropped them into the relegation zone, but they ultimately finished 17th, one place and six points above the bottom three. Now they are just four points behind second-placed Arsenal and...
Over the course of a well-travelled career, Lawrence has played for the likes of Leicester City, Cardiff City and Derby County. He joined Rangers in 2022 and has scored five goals in 24 appearances across all competitions this season, while he converted his penalty in a shootout win over Fenerbahce earlier this month to help...
Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie review Chelsea’s win in the League Cup final Source link...
Jamie Donley’s expected addition to the Northern Ireland squad for the friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden has been confirmed. However, defender Eoin Toal will miss the games because of injury and has been replaced by Kofi Balmer while striker Dion Charles withdrew later on Tuesday with a a hamstring injury. Twenty-year-old Tottenham forward Donley, who...
St Helens winger Kyle Feldt faces up to three months out to undergo surgery on a hand injury. The Australian, who joined Saints from North Queensland Cowboys ahead of this season, has scored four tries in five appearances. Scans on his hand revealed that he had ruptured a ligament with head coach Paul Wellens deciding...
Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois says he hopes “fans can accept me” after ending his exile from international football this week. The Real Madrid player, 32, is back in his country’s squad for the first time since falling out with former Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco in June 2023, leading to him leaving a Euro 2024 qualifying...
Evie Lake BBC News, North East and Cumbria Daniel Holland Local Democracy Reporting Service Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images Eddie Howe managed Newcastle United to victory against Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday Eddie Howe will be awarded the freedom of the city following Newcastle United’s historic Carabao Cup win. The manager led Newcastle to a...
France hooker Peato Mauvaka has been cited for foul play following his off-the-ball challenge on Scotland’s Ben White in Paris on Saturday. The hosts ran out 35-16 victors at Stade de France to clinch their first Six Nations championship since 2022. But many were bemused as Mauvaka escaped with a yellow card following an apparent...
Former Liverpool defender and long-time BBC Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen has received his MBE for services to football and broadcasting. The ex-Scotland international, 69, was honoured at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. Hansen was seriously ill in hospital last summer but was discharged after two weeks to recover at...
