A Sports Law Rugby Blog
With the Rugby Championship underway in the Southern Hemisphere, and the English Premiership now restarted in the north, the club vs. country battle is fiercer than ever. Leicester’s Matt Toomua and Tatafu Polota-Nau, Saracens’ Juan Figallo, and Bath’s Francois Louw…
On the same day last month, it was announced that two rugby players from opposite ends of the playing spectrum had received four-year doping bans. August 13 saw US Eagle Aaron Davis and Clevedon RFC’s Dean Ashfield both sanctioned by…
Chris Ashton was yesterday handed a seven-week suspension by the RFU. It came as a result of the red card he received in a pre-season friendly match between Castres Olympique and his new club, Sale Sharks, on Friday 17 August,…
This summer, rugby has hit the headlines for many reasons – not all of them good. There have been a trio of incidents which have seen players charged with criminal offences, leaving something of a shadow hanging over the sport…
Jared Payne, Reggie Goodes, James Broadhurst, Mouritz Botha, Nathan White, Kevin McLaughlin, Jonathan Thomas, and Alistair Hargreaves – all have retired due to concussion. Dylan Hartley, George North, Mike Brown, Francis Saili, Dane Coles, Ben Smith, and Ryan Crotty –…
In what is merely the latest drama surrounding World Rugby’s eligibility rules, former Niue international sevens player, Toni Pulu, has been declared eligible for Australia. The new Brumbies signing hit the headlines this week after rumours circulated that he had…
On 23rd July 2018, the National Anti-Doping Panel (“the Panel”) handed down their decision in the case of Wasps RFC’s Ashley Johnson. After failing a drugs test earlier this year, the flanker-cum-hooker was given a six-month ban backdated to the…
Pacific Rugby Players Welfare (PRPW) has announced its intention to petition World Rugby for drastic changes to its international eligibility rules. The desired amendment would allow players who have already represented a ‘Tier 1’ nation, such as New Zealand, to…
Spanish Rugby in the Dock Part III: The End of the Line? | Keep Calm Talk Law An appeal committee upheld a first-instance decision that blocks the Spanish rugby team from qualifying for the Rugby World Cup 2019. Both decisions…
Spanish Rugby in the Dock Pt II: Mitigating Ineligibility | Keep Calm Talk Law The Spanish rugby team will miss out on qualifying for the Rugby World Cup 2019 after fielding ineligible players. An independent committee confirmed they had breached…
