Rugby: the main stories of 27.09.2026

Newcastle Knights are through to the NRL grand final after beating Penrith Panthers in the preliminary final. Penrith won 4 straight premierships from 2021 to 2024. In a Guardian column, Nick Tedeschi writes that few clubs have spent longer stuck in mediocrity than the Knights. He credits coach Justin Holbrook with turning the club around. The reports available so far do not give the date of the decider.

In the Premiership, Saracens won 40:38 at Leicester in a match with 12 tries. They held on despite Isiekwe's 20-minute red card, and Brendan Venter was seen roaring with delight at the final whistle. In Russia, Dinamo Moscow won the Russian Cup. On 24 September Elgin said Yenisei-STM wanted to bring the cup back to Krasnoyarsk. It stays in Moscow.

• One outlet reports that Sir Kevin Sinfield has started his "Grand Finale" MND challenge, an ultra marathon every day for 7 days, with Sir Gareth Southgate running alongside him. No other outlet has confirmed it yet.
• According to a single listing, Fiji were due to play Papua New Guinea, and the Cook Islands were due to play Tahiti, in friendlies on 27 September.