The latest rugby headlines from Wales and around the world

07:52, 09 Nov 2025

These are your latest rugby headlines on Sunday, November 9.

Welsh rugby’s new era begins

Wales will kick off their autumn international campaign against Argentina this afternoon as the Steve Tandy era officially gets under way. The former Ospreys boss, who was appointed as Warren Gatland’s permanent successor in July, faces a tough test in his first match as an international head coach, with today’s visitors to the Principality Stadium currently sixth in the world – six places ahead of his side – after recent wins over Australia and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Wales endured an utterly humiliating run of 18 successive Test match defeats under Gatland and latterly interim boss Matt Sherratt. Stretching back to their Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of the Argentinians in 2023, the losing streak only came to an end in their last match against Japan over the summer.

Having worked hard to instil his philosophy and put his own stamp on things in camp, Tandy is determined to restore pride in the Welsh jersey and has made a positive impact amongst his players and coaching staff both in the lead-up to and the aftermath of naming his first squad.

“It’s exciting,” said the Wales boss ahead of his first game in charge. “I’m excited to see the boys go out and play.

“From a personal perspective, having my first time in the Principality here wearing three feathers, leading the team, it’s amazing. I can’t wait to see the boys get out there on Sunday and put a performance in.”

Having missed out on representing his country as a player, Tandy added: “International rugby passed me by. But I loved every minute of my career and I think hopefully that has helped me become a coach, because you want to give everything you can to these players to fulfil their dreams and ultimately become better players.

“I think my enthusiasm has always been to try and help people and to make them better. As a coach it’s probably passed down to me from some of the coaches I’ve had as well. I think you want to be the best you can be and represent the highest honours. It’s a massive privilege for me as a coach to have the opportunity to do that.”

‘Gutted’ star fights back tears

By Anthony Brown, PA

Emotional Sione Tuipulotu lamented Scotland’s failure to convert an exhilarating second-half display into a famous Murrayfield victory as they went down to an agonising 25-17 defeat against New Zealand.

The Scots – chasing a first-ever win over the All Blacks – trailed 17-0 at the break after tries from Cam Roigard and Will Jordan, with the hosts twice held up over the line in the first half. But Gregor Townsend’s side produced what captain Tuipulotu described as some of the best rugby he has ever been involved in as they roared back to make it 17-17 by the hour mark.

The skipper felt Murrayfield was “hovering” as Scotland’s supporters sensed glory after tries from Ewan Ashman and Kyle Steyn and a Finn Russell penalty levelled the match going into the final quarter.

But the All Blacks – who had three players yellow-carded – regained their composure in the closing stages, with a magnificent try and a long-range penalty from substitute Damian McKenzie taking the game away from the hosts, who have now failed to win this fixture in 33 attempts over 120 years.

“I’m gutted,” said Tuipulotu. “I know how much goes into a performance like that so I’m proud of the group. I don’t want to get up here and say ‘I’m proud of the group’ and ‘we played well’ because I think we’re a better team than that now.”

Tuipulotu felt the Scots were in prime position to deliver their first-ever win over the All Blacks before McKenzie’s heroics settled the match in the closing stages.

“At 17-all, when Finn kicked the penalty, I could truly say it felt like the stadium was hovering there,” said the Glasgow centre, who appeared to be holding back tears. “I felt like the momentum shift that happened around 45-50 minutes was probably one of the biggest that I’ve ever seen in a game I’ve played.

“The rugby we were playing there in that block of 20 minutes, it felt pretty close to inevitable (that Scotland were going to win). The way we were moving the ball and getting to contacts and wide breakdowns, and putting them under pressure and forcing their discipline, dragging a few yellow cards.

“I felt like that period there was some of the best rugby that I’ve been a part of when I’ve been playing for Scotland. When the scoreline was 17-all, I thought maybe we could have stayed a little bit more aggressive.

“That was what was working but we’ll have to look back at that now. It’s tough to talk about the game now, the emotions are so high, but we’ll have a look over that over the next couple of days.”

Arundell return lifts England to victory

By Duncan Bech, PA

Henry Arundell produced a stunning finish to propel England to a 38-18 victory over Fiji at Allianz Stadium that keeps alive their pursuit of an unbeaten autumn.

The Islanders are the lowest-ranked opposition to visit Twickenham this month but they presented a far greater threat than Australia seven days earlier as they chased a repeat of their seismic 2023 upset at the same venue. Their ability to strike from anywhere on the field meant England could not breathe easy until the 69th minute when Arundell showed his searing pace after being presented with a half-chance by Marcus Smith’s grubber.

Steve Borthwick introduced his ‘bomb squad’ of five replacement forwards in the 54th minute and while they made a difference, it was the athleticism of Arundell that sealed Fiji’s fate The Bath wing was making his first appearance since the 2023 World Cup, his time at French club Racing 92 having made him unavailable for selection, and his brief cameo against Fiji underlined his star quality.

England lost their way at times yet were able to close out a ninth successive victory, their best run since the early days of the Eddie Jones era when they amassed a world record-equalling 18 successive wins. Fiji were targeting a national record sixth consecutive triumph and in an evenly-matched first half they caused the hosts problems across the field.

Luke Cowan-Dickie’s seventh-minute try capped off an impressive start by England, rewarding their accurate build-up play, but they soon came unstuck. Fiji’s set-piece was the unexpected source of their first try as they mauled their way over with hooker Tevita Ikanivere providing the finishing touch as the home defence melted away.

But Caleb Muntz’s 22nd-minute try was the Islanders at their exhilarating best as Josua Tuisova made yards before Simione Kuruvoli chipped ahead for Muntz to gather and score with an outstretched hand.

England’s troubles were evident in a hesitant counter-attack by Marcus Smith, whose play lacked conviction, that ended in a moment of confusion between Ollie Lawrence and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. Muntz kicked a penalty to build a 13-7 lead but the tide turned quickly, first when wing Selesitino Ravutaumada was yellow-carded for taking Feyi-Waboso out in the air and then when Fin Smith kicked to space for the Exeter star to gather and score.

ngland’s beautifully-worked try nudged them back in front and after the second half had opened with a chaotic end-to-end spell they struck again through Ellis Genge, profiting after Lawrence had played the starring role in a thrilling counter-attack. Ikanivere hit back for Fiji, scampering down the blindside from a line-out, but they immediately came under heavy pressure that saw Tuisova sent to the sin-bin for offside.

England’s maul was taking charge with Jamie George going over and once they had survived the scare of Kuruvoli losing control of the ball as he slid over the line, they delivered the moment of the match when Arundell beat two blue shirts to Marcus Smith’s kick to score. Maro Itoje went over to give the final score a lopsided appearance Fiji did not deserve.

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