Statement: BBC Slashes Rugby Coverage as They Lose More Rights
04/17/2025 03:56 PM
BBC Wales has lost the broadcast rights for the United Rugby Championship, following Premier Sports' announcement on Thursday of a new deal to cover the league until 2029.
Competition: Get a Chance to Watch the Lions in Australia
Premier Sports, which has shown every URC game live since 2018, will continue its coverage of the competition, including the Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, and France’s Top 14.
The subscription channel will broadcast all 151 URC matches each season, with 131 of those games being made available exclusively to free-to-air broadcasters in Wales and Northern Ireland.
In contrast to previous years, these games will not be shown on BBC Wales. However, S4C is expected but not guaranteed to secure the Welsh language TV rights as negotiations continue.
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Duhan van der Merwe Among Four Major Doubts for Lions Tour in Devastating Blow
The British & Irish Lions tour is the pinnacle of rugby for players from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales—but for some big names, injury could spell disaster.
With Andy Farrell set to name his squad on May 8, time is running out for these four stars to prove their fitness and book their ticket to Australia.
Duhan van der Merwe – A Race Against Time
Scotland's record-breaking winger Duhan van der Merwe is facing a race against time to be fit for the British & Irish Lions tour – and things aren’t looking great.
The 29-year-old powerhouse, who has crossed the whitewash an incredible 32 times in just 49 Tests, picked up an ankle injury early in Edinburgh's recent United Rugby Championship win over the Dragons.
While the club has stayed coy about the full extent of the damage, they revealed on Tuesday night that Van der Merwe is "expected to return during May" following MRI scan results earlier in the week.
That timeline means the big man is almost certain to miss the rest of Edinburgh's run-in – somewhere between three and five matches depending on their European Challenge Cup fate – just as Lions boss Andy Farrell prepares to finalise his touring squad.
Having started all three Tests on the 2021 Lions tour of South Africa, Van der Merwe looked a near-certainty once upon a time. But with Ireland's deadly duo James Lowe and Mack Hansen, England flyer Tommy Freeman, and his Edinburgh teammate Darcy Graham all in electric form, his chances are slipping fast.
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