Northampton lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto has left the Premiership club to return to Australia for family reasons.The 26-year-old Australia international made 24 appearances in his solitary season at Franklin's Gardens after arriving form Super Rugby side Queensland Reds.He has been linked with a move to Melbourne Rebels.external-link"Family always has to come first, so we understand Lukhan's decision," said Northampton boss Phil…

Steve Hansen has praised the Rugby Football Union's decision to raise the Pride flag above Twickenham on Sunday.World XV coach Hansen says the stance is a "positive consequence" of his controversial selection of Israel Folau against the Barbarians.Folau, 34, was sacked by Rugby Australia (RA) in 2019 for making anti-gay social media posts."They [the RFU] wouldn't be flying the flag…

Exeter winger Jack Nowell says he will not make himself available for England's World Cup squad."No World Cup, I'm not doing the World Cup. I am just going to chill," Nowell told the RugbyPass Offload podcast."I need to get my knee sorted. Obviously, it was a bit of a hard decision not to put myself in for selection for the…

Newcastle Falcons have signed London Irish scrum-half Hugh O'Sullivan on a two-year deal.The 25-year-old Irishman becomes the Falcons' 10th signing for next season."I've watched Newcastle over the past couple of seasons and there's massive potential there," he told the club website.external-link"I know the new head coach Alex Codling from when he coached my Ireland Under-18s team, and it's an exciting…