Here are the latest rugby headlines on Friday, July 29.
Ireland ward off England with new Farrell contract
Andy Farrell will not be England's next head coach after signing a two-year contract extension to stay with Ireland until 2025.
Irish chiefs have moved to tie down Farrell beyond the 2023 World Cup, with the former dual-code international's stock having shot up after the summer's historic Test series win in New Zealand.
English supremo Bill Sweeney only last week admitted Farrell remains "very highly regarded" at the RFU with the search under way for Eddie Jones' successor for after next year's World Cup. But now the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has moved swiftly to shut down any talk of Farrell returning to England by extending the 47-year-old's contract.
Performance director David Nucifora admitted the IRFU was aware that Farrell would be in demand elsewhere in hailing the Ireland boss' extended terms.
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"Andy is one of the outstanding coaches in world rugby and his work in leading the transition within the national team since the 2019 Rugby World Cup has been exceptional," said Nucifora. "Ireland are currently the number one ranked team in the world, an incredibly tough five-match tour of New Zealand was a success on several levels and a Triple Crown was secured in the 2022 Six Nations Championship.
"A coach of Andy's calibre is always going to be in high demand, and we are delighted that he has agreed to extend his contract with the IRFU. This new deal, agreed prior to the tour of New Zealand, allows us to plan beyond the 2023 Rugby World Cup with the certainty that one of the top coaching talents in the game is spearheading the national programme."
Irish bosses have built in the opportunity to extend Farrell's contract still further as part of the new deal.
"I am happy to extend my contract with Irish Rugby for a further two years," said Farrell. "As a group we have made it clear that we are building towards the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and we have taken some decent strides in that regard in recent months.
"Ahead of the tour to New Zealand myself and David Nucifora looked at the opportunities and challenges facing the national squad after the tournament in France. I am excited about continuing to work with the group and with the next generation of Irish international players."
Farrell left his assistant role with England after the 2015 World Cup, where Stuart Lancaster also paid with his job for his side becoming the worst-performing host nation in tournament history.
England ban trans women from women's rugby
England's RFU has approved a new policy preventing transgender women from playing women's contact rugby.
The governing body announced on Friday afternoon that its council had voted in favour of updating its gender participation policy from the start of the 2022/23 season, with 33 in favour, 26 against and two abstaining. The RFU had recommended its council ban trans women following a "game-wide survey", sparking anger among those who believe the game should remain open to transgender players.
The RFU said its policy "concludes the inclusion of trans people originally recorded male at birth in female contact rugby cannot be balanced against considerations of safety and fairness. The RFU council has determined that until such time as new further peer-reviewed science is available, a precautionary approach is appropriate to ensure fair competition and safety of all competitors. Therefore, the RFU Council approved a policy change to only permit players in the female category if the sex originally recorded at birth is female."
In the male category, English rugby bosses say "players whose sex recorded at birth is female may play if they provide their written consent and a risk assessment is carried out". They add that the registered trans women players who the revised policy has a direct impact on — seven — have been contacted with an offer of support "in continuing to encourage them to participate in the sport".
The vote result comes after protesters gathered at Twickenham ahead of the RFU vote. Around 30 players and supporters held a protest outside Twickenham, with Julie Curtiss, who plays for Hove and is one of seven registered trans women playing in England, among them.
Team-mate Charley Brunton told the Telegraph : “Julie is not a threat to anyone. She’s an amazing person and an amazing team-mate and she should not be excluded from sport at all, nor should any trans women who are currently playing or who want to play in the future.
“If you think about it, there are 380,000 registered rugby players in this country. Seven are trans women, so it’s complete and utter discrimination that is unacceptable.
“If you look at the plaque here, at this statue, it says: ‘Rugby union is an inclusive game for all shapes and sizes.’ If they are excluding trans women, they should remove that plaque and any use of the pride flag because it isn’t inclusive for everyone anymore.”
Wales Sevens in trouble
The Wales rugby team are facing an early exit from the Commonwealth Game Sevens competition unless they can pull off a stunning turnaround.
The Welsh team were thrashed 31-0 by Canada earlier today. They now have to beat Zambia later this evening (Friday, July 29) and Olympic champions Fiji on Saturday if they are to have any hope of making it through. The top two teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals.
It comes a week after it was announced the Wales team is being pulled from the World Series going forward and replaced by Team GB, which will also include the best players from England and Scotland.
Wales weren't the only side to suffer on the opening day of the competition as England men were stunned by a 34-0 defeat by Samoa. England will struggle to reach the last eight as they still have to play defending champions New Zealand in the group stage.]
Read next:
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Wales rugby team annihilated by Canada in disastrous start to Commonwealth Games
Nigel Owens slams rugby's new red card trial and accuses bosses of trying to 'paper over cracks'
New Zealand rugby in full blown crisis amid claim, counterclaim and 'ridiculous, hurtful' comments
Rugby Championship's tone-deaf 20 minute red card crusade only serves to widen rugby's growing chasm
