New Zealand centre Rieko Ioane will join United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup frontrunners Leinster for the 2025-26 season. Ioane is contracted to the Blues in New Zealand until 2027 but will take a “sabbatical” to join the Irish province on a one-season contract. The 28-year-old, who can also play on the wing, made his...
Modric will be involved at a Championship club which posted a pre-tax loss of £15.2m in the latest financial year. That was a drop of £2.7m compared to the pre-tax loss of £17.9m posted for the previous financial year. Swansea posted a turnover of £21.5m for the year ending 30 June, 2024. In a statement...
TV presenters Ant and Dec joined the Newcastle team on their open double-decker bus as they brandished the Carabao Cup trophy as its 2025 winners. The lifelong Newcastle fans remembered the team’s victory at Wembley and said they would “probably” cry like they did two weeks ago. “It’s been a long wait, but I’ll tell...
X-Men stars Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart are reprising their roles by joining the cast of Marvel’s forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday. The film is set for release in May 2026, with Robert Downey Jr already announced as playing villain Doctor Doom. Sir Ian has not appeared as Magneto since 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future...
Ireland forward coach Paul O’Connell – a former Lions captain and three-times a tourist as a player – had been widely expected to take charge of the Lions pack. But with O’Connell out of the running, Farrell has turned to Dalziel. The former Glasgow coach will share forwards duties with Fogarty, with Easterby likely to...
Family handout Sarah Everard was was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 2021 by a Met Police officer Sarah Everard’s parents are campaigning for tougher sentencing for serious violent and sexual criminals as part of a new campaign group being launched in Parliament. Ms Everard, 33, was abducted, raped and murdered by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne...
Rushdi Aboualouf Gaza correspondent AFP Hundreds of people took to the streets of Beit Lahia, with many chanting anti-Hamas slogans Hundreds of people have taken part in the largest anti-Hamas protest in Gaza since the war with Israel began, taking to the streets to demand the group step down from power. Masked Hamas militants, some...
England senior coach Richard Wigglesworth is set to join the British and Irish Lions coaching staff for this summer’s tour of Australia. Lions boss Andy Farrell has recruited the former England scrum-half, 41, as part of an Ireland-influenced coaching group. Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby is also expected to join Farrell’s team, while the...
“He’s been absolutely awesome to watch representing Wales Under-20s and we’re looking forward to getting him in our environment and helping him reach his potential in the seasons to come.” Beddall shone at Rodney Parade in February as his total of 34 tackles helped Wales’ young guns beat their Irish rivals in the junior Six...
Ulster have said scrum-half John Cooney will leave the Irish province at the end of the season. Cooney, 34, will move to Brive in France after an eight-year stint at the Kingspan Stadium club. The Dublin-born player, who had spells at Leinster and Connacht, won his 11 Ireland caps during his time at Ulster. Cooney...