Latest news with #ChandlerCunninghamSouth
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
World Rugby 'regrets' that racist abusers of England stars in Argentina cannot be identified after Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Chandler Cunningham-South were targeted by fans
World Rugby has said it regrets they cannot identify the individuals who targeted England stars Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Chandler Cunningham-South with sickening racist abuse during the national side's 22-17 win over Argentina in San Juan on July 12. England reported the incidents to the game's governing body last week and a 'thorough investigation' took place – one which included player evidence. Mail Sport understands forwards Opoku-Fordjour and Cunningham-South were targeted by Argentinian fans while they warmed up behind the posts as replacements during the match. On Monday, World Rugby said in a statement: 'While it is clear an incident took place, we regret the individuals responsible could not be identified.' As such, no arrests or specific punishments have been handed out. In response, Argentina has 'developed an action plan to enhance their operations, educate fans and better prevent such unacceptable incidents from occurring again.' It is understood it has been impossible to identify which fans were responsible for the racism because the stadium in San Juan had unrestricted seating, thus allowing supporters to roam freely within the arena. RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said: 'There is absolutely no place for racism in our sport and these incidents must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. 'Every player, regardless of their background, has the right to represent their country with pride and dignity, free from discrimination and abuse. We are in close contact with the players affected and have offered them our full support. 'We're pleased World Rugby was able to act swiftly to investigate and thank Argentina for their full co-operation and support. We trust they will take the necessary steps to prevent any recurrence of such unacceptable behaviour.' Without 13 of their key players who were selected for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, England had a fine summer – winning 2-0 in Argentina and beating the USA. Gabriel Travaglini, president of Argentina Rugby, stated: 'We strongly condemn all acts of racism and stand in solidarity with the England players who felt aggrieved. 'Upon learning of the incidents, intense efforts were made to identify the small group of five or seven individuals responsible within a crowd of over 20,000 spectators. 'Unfortunately, despite an exhaustive search, it was not possible to identify the perpetrators. We will continue to work with World Rugby to educate fans and eradicate any similar manifestations in the future, ensuring our events are spaces of respect and inclusion for everyone.'
Telegraph
a day ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
England players suffered racist abuse from Argentina fans, who escape punishment
England players were the target of racist abuse from between 'five and seven' Argentina fans during the second Test victory over Los Pumas in San Juan. The incident, which took place as the visitors' bench warmed up behind the posts during the first half, was highlighted by England's players and management after the match, with an official complaint raised with World Rugby. Among England's replacements that day were prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour and back-rower Chandler Cunningham-South. It is understood the incident was a verbal, racist assault. The sport's global governing body said in a statement that it undertook 'an immediate and thorough investigation, involving witness statements, video analysis, and other lines of enquiry'. Working alongside the Unión Argentina de Rugby, World Rugby concluded that it was 'clear' an incident took place but regretted that the individuals responsible could not be identified. There will be no punishment for the UAR, but a stipulation to develop an fan education plan to prevent future occurrence. 'There is no place in rugby or society for discrimination, abuse or hate speech, and any complaint of discrimination is taken extremely seriously by World Rugby,' added the statement from the governing body. 'Working with World Rugby, the [UAR] has developed an action plan to enhance their operations, educate fans and better prevent such unacceptable incidents from occurring again.' Brett Robinson, World Rugby's chair, outlined his thanks to the UAR 'for [its] cooperation both in attempting to identify the individuals involved and for swiftly developing a comprehensive plan which we believe will make such incidents less likely in future'. Identifying the small number of abusers involved was made all the more difficult by the fact that seating in San Juan, just as in La Plata a week earlier, was unreserved. Tickets were valid for a specific stand only and, therefore, fans were able to move freely during the match. Therefore, it has proved impossible to identify the abusers via ticketing information and without video footage of the stands at the exact moment that the incident took place. Gabriel Travaglini, UAR president, stated: 'We strongly condemn all acts of racism and stand in solidarity with the England Rugby players who felt aggrieved. Upon learning of the incidents, intense efforts were made to identify the small group of five or seven individuals responsible within a crowd of over 20,000 spectators. 'Unfortunately, despite an exhaustive search, it was not possible to identify the perpetrators. We will continue to work collaboratively with World Rugby to educate the fans and eradicate any similar manifestations in the future, ensuring that our events are spaces of respect and inclusion for everyone.' Bill Sweeney, the Rugby Football Union's chief executive, said: 'There is absolutely no place for racism in our sport – or in any society – and these incidents must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. 'Every player, regardless of their background, has the right to represent their country with pride and dignity, free from discrimination and abuse. We are in close contact with the players affected and have offered them our full support.' England have just returned from a three-Test trip to Argentina and the US, winning the series 2-0 against Los Pumas before defeating the US Eagles in Washington DC last Saturday. This is not the first time that Argentinian sport has been at the centre of a racism storm of late. In July 2024, following Argentina's Copa América triumph, a video surfaced of Enzo Fernández and other Argentinian players on the team bus allegedly chanting in a racist manner about the origin of France's players. The French Football Federation lodged a complaint to Fifa and Fernández privately apologised to his Chelsea team-mates, one of whom was the French player Wesley Fofana, and donated to an anti-discrimination charity.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
England storm past USA after long lightning delays to conclude summer tour in style
England shrugged off two lengthy delays caused by lightning in Washington DC to end their summer tour with a comprehensive 40-5 victory over the United States. After beating Argentina 2-0 in South America, the third game of England's tour at Audi Field kicked off an hour late due to an electrical storm in the American capital. Play was then halted near the half-hour mark, with both sets of players spending 40 minutes in the dressing room before the action resumed. England eventually ran out comfortable winners with six tries shared by Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley, Jack van Poortvliet, Harry Randall and Gabriel Oghre. George Ford added four conversions and debutant Charlie Atkinson one in a dominant display in which Harlequins flanker Chandler Cunningham-South was outstanding. The US had never beaten England in seven previous attempts, but began on the front foot and engineered some promising field positions. But the Eagles were reduced to 14 by a deliberate knock-on from outside-half Chris Hilsenbeck and England took instant advantage of their extra numbers with an 11th-minute try. Ford kicked to the corner and Langdon was the beneficiary of a driving line-out that the fly-half, winning his 102nd cap, converted. England soon worked another opening and new boy Max Ojomoh slipped in fellow centre Northmore for a simple score with Ford again adding the extras. Alex Dombrandt thought he had extended the lead from the back of a maul, but his effort was ruled out for obstruction and the players were then taken off the field after 29 minutes due to further lightning concerns. When they returned, lightning – this time in the metaphorical sense – struck twice for England as full-back Jack Carpenter was denied a debut try by a Murley knock-on. But England's patience was rewarded in the final play of the first half as Murley spotted a gap to race over. Van Poortvliet, showing his sound positional sense, went over straight after the restart for Ford to convert, and England were camped in the Americans' 22 for most of the second period. The hosts held out until Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, making his first full international appearance after six months out with a shoulder injury and a two-match ban for a high tackle that saw him miss the Argentina games, sliced through. The Exeter wing showed fine awareness to send Randall over, and Ford's final act before making way for Atkinson was to add another two points. England turned heavily to their bench in the final quarter, but there was no easing off and Bristol hooker Oghre celebrated his first cap with a burst to the line that Atkinson added to. The US were finally on the scoreboard in the final seconds as a well-worked ploy at the front of a line-out saw Chris Poidevin put Shilo Klein over for a consolation score.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
England storm past USA after lightning delays
England shrugged off two lengthy delays caused by lightning in Washington DC to end their summer tour with a comprehensive 40-5 victory over the United States. After beating Argentina 2-0 in South America, the third game of England's tour at Audi Field kicked off an hour late due to an electrical storm in the American capital. Play was then halted near the half-hour mark, with both sets of players spending 40 minutes in the dressing room before the action resumed. England eventually ran out comfortable winners with six tries shared by Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley, Jack van Poortvliet, Harry Randall and Gabriel Oghre. George Ford added four conversions and Charlie Atkinson one in a dominant display in which Harlequins flanker Chandler Cunningham-South was outstanding. The US had never beaten England in seven previous attempts, but began on the front foot and engineered some promising field positions. But the Eagles were reduced to 14 by a deliberate knock-on from outside-half Chris Hilsenbeck and England took instant advantage of their extra numbers with an 11th-minute try. Ford kicked to the corner and Langdon was the beneficiary of a driving line-out that the fly-half, winning his 102nd cap, converted. England soon worked another opening and new boy Max Ojomoh slipped in fellow centre Northmore for a simple score with Ford again adding the extras. Alex Dombrandt thought he had extended the lead from the back of a maul, but his effort was ruled out for obstruction and the players were then taken off the field after 29 minutes due to further lightning concerns. When they returned, lightning – this time in the metaphorical sense – struck twice for England as full-back Jack Carpenter was denied a debut try by a Murley knock-on. But England's patience was rewarded in the final play of the first half as Murley spotted a gap to race over. Van Poortvliet, showing his sound positional sense, went over straight after the restart for Ford to convert, and England were camped in the Americans' 22 for most of the second period. The hosts held out until Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, making his first appearance after six months out with a shoulder injury and a two-match ban for a high tackle that saw him miss the Argentina games, sliced through. The Exeter wing showed fine awareness to send Randall over, and Ford's final act before making way for Atkinson was to add another two points. England turned heavily to their bench in the final quarter, but there was no easing off and Bristol hooker Oghre celebrated his first cap with a burst to the line that Atkinson added to. The US were finally on the scoreboard in the final seconds as a well-worked ploy at the front of a line-out saw Chris Poidevin put Shilo Klein over for a consolation score.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
England storm past USA after lightning delays
England shrugged off two lengthy delays caused by lightning in Washington DC to end their summer tour with a comprehensive 40-5 victory over the United States. After beating Argentina 2-0 in South America, the third game of England's tour at Audi Field kicked off an hour late due to an electrical storm in the American capital. Play was then halted near the half-hour mark, with both sets of players spending 40 minutes in the dressing room before the action resumed. England eventually ran out comfortable winners with six tries shared by Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley, Jack van Poortvliet, Harry Randall and Gabriel Oghre. George Ford added four conversions and Charlie Atkinson one in a dominant display in which Harlequins flanker Chandler Cunningham-South was outstanding. The US had never beaten England in seven previous attempts, but began on the front foot and engineered some promising field positions. But the Eagles were reduced to 14 by a deliberate knock-on from outside-half Chris Hilsenbeck and England took instant advantage of their extra numbers with an 11th-minute try. Ford kicked to the corner and Langdon was the beneficiary of a driving line-out that the fly-half, winning his 102nd cap, converted. England soon worked another opening and new boy Max Ojomoh slipped in fellow centre Northmore for a simple score with Ford again adding the extras. Alex Dombrandt thought he had extended the lead from the back of a maul, but his effort was ruled out for obstruction and the players were then taken off the field after 29 minutes due to further lightning concerns. When they returned, lightning – this time in the metaphorical sense – struck twice for England as full-back Jack Carpenter was denied a debut try by a Murley knock-on. But England's patience was rewarded in the final play of the first half as Murley spotted a gap to race over. Van Poortvliet, showing his sound positional sense, went over straight after the restart for Ford to convert, and England were camped in the Americans' 22 for most of the second period. The hosts held out until Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, making his first appearance after six months out with a shoulder injury and a two-match ban for a high tackle that saw him miss the Argentina games, sliced through. The Exeter wing showed fine awareness to send Randall over, and Ford's final act before making way for Atkinson was to add another two points. England turned heavily to their bench in the final quarter, but there was no easing off and Bristol hooker Oghre celebrated his first cap with a burst to the line that Atkinson added to. The US were finally on the scoreboard in the final seconds as a well-worked ploy at the front of a line-out saw Chris Poidevin put Shilo Klein over for a consolation score.
