BYU to face Cal in rugby college championship

By NBCSports.comMay 5, 2016, 1:33 PM EDT

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For the fourth consecutive year, the Cal Golden Bears and BYU Cougars will square off in Provo, Utah, for the Penn Mutual Varsity Cup National Rugby Collegiate Championship. NBCSN will present live coverage of the Cal-BYU championship clash this Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

BYU has defeated Cal in each of the three previous iterations of the Varsity Cup dating back to 2012, including last year’s championship, when the Cougars earned a 30-27 win at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City. This year’s game will be played at BYU’s South Field, where the Cougars have never lost a game.

Cal advanced to this year’s championship match following a 14-13 win over Central Washington in the semifinals, while the top-ranked Cougars punched their ticket to the title match with a 68-20 win over Arkansas State. BYU has won 44 consecutive matches dating back to February 2014.

Cal leads the all-time series against BYU 10-4 dating back to 1972, but BYU has had the upper hand recently with three straight wins in the Varsity Cup.

World Rugby postponing July test matches

Associated PressMay 15, 2020, 4:44 PM EDT

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World Rugby has postponed July test matches involving southern and northern hemisphere nations because of ongoing restrictions on international travel during the coronavirus pandemic.

The sport’s international governing body issued a statement Friday saying the mid-year test window will be rescheduled when cross-border travel and quarantine regulations are relaxed.

New Zealand had been scheduled to play Wales and Scotland, Australia was set to play Ireland and Fiji and South Africa had planned to host Scotland and Georgia. World Rugby said the postponement is due “to ongoing government and health agency COVID-19 directives.”

Bill Beaumont re-elected as World Rugby chairman

Associated PressMay 2, 2020, 6:43 PM EDT

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Former England captain Bill Beaumont has been re-elected as World Rugby chairman on Saturday after beating Agustín Pichot, the current vice-chairman.

The sport’s governing body says the 68-year-old Beaumont achieved a first-round majority of 28 votes to 23.

Beaumont says: “I am honored to accept the mandate of the World Rugby Council to serve as the international federation’s chairman once again.”

He begins his four-year term after a council meeting on May 12.

French rugby federation president Bernard Laporte becomes Beaumont’s new vice-chairman.