Australia is considering an ambitious sporting diplomacy mission to deepen engagement in the South Pacific region, amid increasing competition with Beijing’s encroaching hegemony. “Team AusPac” is an initiative being recommended to the federal government following an extensive inquiry into improving trade and relations with Pacific Island nations. The proposal would see an expansion of existing…

A photograph of a rugby player breastfeeding her 13-week-old daughter on the sidelines in the middle of a game has garnered an enthusiastic response. Emily Brierley from Bradford in Yorkshire, England, was subbed during a Stanningley Ladies rugby league game on June 13 to feed her baby, Arabella. After a six-month break from the sport…

They moved in unison. Thousands of hands clapping, precise and crisp, augmented by the bang of drums and cadence of hollow Kung-fu bats. Arm motions well-timed, everyone together. Huge flags in the super-fan section, waved in a carefully prescribed motion, each flutter seeming to flap at the same moment. And the chants? Everybody knew them,…

The St. George Illawarra Dragons rugby league team have backflipped on signing star player Israel Folau after backlash from sponsors in response to controversy over Folau’s religious views which he expressed on social media in 2019. On Tuesday, the Dragons said they made inquiries to the National Rugby League (NRL) about pursuing the code-hopping, 31-year-old…

The St. George Illawarra Dragons rugby league team have backflipped on signing star player Israel Folau after backlash from sponsors in response to controversy over Folau’s religious views which he expressed on social media in 2019. On Tuesday, the Dragons said they made inquiries to the National Rugby League (NRL) about pursuing the code-hopping, 31-year-old…