Category Sports News

Ireland vs. New Zealand in the Nations Series in the autumn

Soldier Field, Chicago, Saturday, November

Beauden Barrett and Caleb Clarke will miss Saturday’s Test match against Ireland in Chicago, according to New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson.

Barrett, 34, who was injured in the All Blacks’ final rugby championship game against Australia and who has won two titles, returns at fly-half.

Barrett joins his brothers Scott and Jordie, who helped Leinster win the United Rugby Championship last year alongside his brothers Scott and Jordie.

Winger Clarke missed the Wallabies’ victory after making his only previous appearance in the rugby championship against Australia the previous week.

Leicester Fainga’anuku and Damian McKenzie both start on the bench, while Leinster-bound center Rieko Ioane is not available for the matchday squad.

When asked about Ioane, Robertson responded, “He trained really hard and he understands it’s a difficult team to join.”

It’s a difficult decision, so it’s a daily job. You must arrive on time each day.

Robertson and his predecessor Ian Foster oversaw the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final victory in Paris last year while Robertson led New Zealand to a 23-13 victory over Ireland in Dublin last year.

The 51-year-old insists that his country does not “have the edge” over Ireland, which has defeated the southern hemisphere giants four times since winning in Chicago in 2016 and twice on New Zealand soil.

“There are more opportunities. He said there was a referee’s call, a second effort, or a ball bounce that had either direction.

“We anticipate that this weekend will be a really physical match, won on skill-set, effort, or something similar.” You can expect the best from them, and we’ve got to do it on time, like I said before.

Administrators at Sheffield Wednesday announced that players and staff members had received full pay a day early, breaking a long-standing pattern of monthly payment delays.

Following months of unrest under Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership, the Championship club was placed in administration and given a 12-point penalty last week.

Fans have begun a club boycott in the days following, and Begbies Traynor’s manager, Kris Wigfield, claimed on Monday that supporters had already spent more than £500,000 on tickets and in the club shop.

Prior to administrators taking over the club and putting an end to Chansiri’s 10-year ownership tenure, wage payments had been delayed in five of the seven months.

The Owls said in a statement that “this represents a significant step forward in stabilizing the club’s operations and rebuilding trust with our supporters.”

Without your incredible support, Wednesdayites, we couldn’t have accomplished this.

Your return to Hillsborough, the increase in sales of merchandise and tickets, and your unwavering support for the club have all contributed.

Scotland v. USA: Autumn Nations Series

Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium Kick-off time: Saturday, November 1:40 GMT

Liam McConnell received his first Scotland cap against the United States on Saturday because of the aggression in his game, which he has known about for a while.

McConnell has recently participated in the Scotland Under-20 squad, which regularly trains against the entire national team.

McConnell fought off the impressive names, even going up against Pierre Schoeman, a massive prop.

The young Edinburgh back-rower sneeringly described his teammate as “a pretty big man, so I don’t know how that would go.”

Townsend, who has started McConnell out in the first match of the Autumn Nations Series, has a strong impression of that fiery competitive spirit.

According to Townsend, “we chose him based on both his potential and what he’s been doing with Edinburgh.”

“This season, we’ve already seen an all-around game from him.” His ability to carry balls, his quick passes, offloads, and his confidence to demonstrate his abilities under pressure.

“Those are the really additional elements that we’ve seen,” he said, “because Liam’s aggression and effort are what he really impressed us with when he was with us in the under-20s.”

McConnell has long been touted as the star of the future, but he had to sacrifice his time to make it happen in a back-row full of internationals in Edinburgh.

Jamie Ritchie left Perpignan in the summer, opening the door for McConnell, who has started three of Edinburgh’s four matches in the United Rugby Championship this year. He acknowledges Ritchie’s significant impact on his game.

In some ways, both of us are roughly comparable, McConnell said. He probably taught me a lot, I suppose. And then, since he’s left, I’ve tried to sort of do things that he used to do at the club.

The matchday 23 features two uncapped players: McConnell and Harri Morris, the Edinburgh hooker who starts off the bench.

Only Scottish-based players are available for the match against the USA, so Townsend has looked to experiment, with six players in the squad having six caps or fewer than that.

Townsend, who recently extended his contract to include the 2027 World Cup in Australia, said, “There’s a balance of players that are experienced, which will raise the level of performance and help those coming into the squad for the first time.”

We’ve looked at players who might require more match minutes in terms of individuals. Some of our players’ seasons have been impacted by injury.

“For someone like Scott Cummings, who played for the Lions on tour, the season started a little later. Therefore, we believe that getting a second game will be very valuable for him.

Before the big matches, which include New Zealand and Argentina back-to-back and a final game against Tonga, should provide more than enough for an experimental Scotland XV to prepare for the autumn campaign.

When asked if four wins from four is the goal, Townsend responded, “I think we have to go into every game with a focus on winning it.”

We firmly believe that players can win any team we encounter. However, it really depends on them. What’s working, what’s not working, and how do you adjust during a game? If you’re ahead, if you’re behind, what’s working, and what’s not working.

After last weekend’s win over Japan, Tane Edmed, Max Jorgensen, and Taniela Tupou, all of whom have been called back, will start for Australia at fly-half when they take on England at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

The Wallabies are still without several European-based players, including lock Will Skelton, center Len Ikitau, and fly-half James O’Connor because the game is approaching the end of the official international window.

Edmed will face a difficult test on Saturday against England’s highly skilled George Ford, who has only started three Tests for the fledgling Wallabies.

The 25-year-old’s rival flyhalf Carter Gordon is reportedly struggling with a quad strain and is not participating in the matchday 23 despite having a release from his NRL contract to resume his rugby union career.

On the bench, Hamish Stewart will provide fly-half cover.

Suaalii, a former rugby league star, made his spectacular Test debut with a score of 42-37 in the final seconds of Jorgensen’s winning try at Twickenham last year.

Hunter Paisami will continue his center partnership with Suaalii in place of Ikitau, who has been in excellent form for Prem side Exeter.

Tupou, the 23-stone tight-head prop known as the “Togan Thor,” last appeared for the Wallabies before New Zealand beat them in September.

Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight complete a strong back row, while regular captain Harry Wilson switches to the number eight. The skipper of last week’s meeting, Nick Champion de Crespigny, is one of the replacements.

Australia defeated Japan 19-15 in Tokyo on Saturday, finishing third overall in the rugby championship, and then flew to England.

This autumn, the Wallabies, who are seventh in the world, will also face Italy, Ireland, and France.

Head coach Joe Schmidt remarked, “The coaches have tried to balance this year’s challenging schedule with the demands of this year’s tough schedule in terms of Test matches and travel.”

“We hope the group will be really competitive on Saturday because it was great to get a few players up last weekend.

Kellaway, Jorgensen, Suaalii, Paisami, Potter, Edmed, Gordon, Bell, Pollard, Tupuo, Frost, Williams, Valentini, McReight, McReight, and Wilson (capt.) start XV.

Even though head coach Ruben Amorim is pleased that the combative defender has returned to training, Manchester United will continue to hold it when Lisandro Martinez recovers from knee surgery.

The Argentine center-back has been out since February after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in Crystal Palace’s home defeat.

One of the reasons Amorim won’t be giving in to the player’s desire for an immediate return for the trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, November 1 will be based on that past.

The United boss said, “He wants to go to this one.” He won’t go to this one; instead, he’ll take time.

He has begun training with us, but we had to make some changes to the exercises to make them better gradually.

However, having another member of his six-man leadership group join the main squad will be a significant boost for the United boss, after previously saying his squad was “starved” of leaders.

Amorim and Sean Dyche have their first encounter at the City Ground since the new Forest manager claimed earlier in 2025 that using a traditional 4-4-2 formation would have won more games than the former Sporting boss.

Dyche and Sam Allardyce agreed that Amorim had been fortunate to survive the miserable form that saw United finish 15th in the Premier League last year in a podcast conversation.

When United had taken 27 points out of 28 league games, Dyche claimed that the philosophy was still in use but was no longer effective.

“It’s possible that I could win more games if I kept my 4-4-2.” Because they might bring in three big hitters over the summer, I might be mistaken. However, it is Man United. Normally speaking, you wouldn’t be able to endure that circumstance.

The 40-year-old said he understood why Dyche had made those remarks when they were made during Amorim’s press conference prior to the Forest game.

He countered, “Perhaps it’s true if we play 4-4-2 we would have won more games, but I’ve always said that my style of play will take some time.”

But then, I can see how both Sean Dyche and his team operate.

I don’t want to watch you if you’re a pundit and don’t use too much force. The same applies to me.