Scarlets power up

SCARLETS have secured the signings of former Cardiff Met captain Iwan Shenton and second row Griff Evans ahead of the 2022/23...

Kendra to call time

NEW Zealand‘s all-time most-capped women’s player Kendra Cocksedge will retire in November after her home World Cup. The 34-year-old No.9 made...

Essex Uni investigate head injury effects in grassroots

NEWS EXTRA RESEARCHERS at the University of Essex have launched an investigation into the effects of concussion in grassroots rugby with...

Premiership expansion confirmed

THE Welsh Premiership will be expanded to 14 teams for 2023-24 with no relegation in 2022-23. Two teams will be promoted...

BRITISH RUGBY RESULTS AND FIXTURES

Family affair as Brecon win big

Welsh National One round-up By ROB COLE DALE McIntosh saw his Brecon side got off to a winning start in Admiral...

Toulouse will take title, say coaches

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Toulouse will win the Top 14 title at the end of another tight season – according to...

Forthcoming fixtures

It is advisable to check matches and kick-off times with the clubs

Walder sets his sights on playing entertaining rugby

By PAUL REES Dave Walder spent 10 years working under Dean Richards but is now in charge at Newcastle and determined...

Globe-trotter Hanrahan out to put drive back into Dragons

Determined: JJ Hanrahan in action for Clermont last season There have been several false dawns at Rodney Parade over the past...

Jon Callard – ‘The dream would be to get a Premiership club back in Leeds’

National League Rugby gets underway in England this Saturday, and head coach of Leeds Tykes Jon Callard set his expectations high...

Mercer to join Gloucester for 2023/24 season

Gloucester have sealed the signing of Zach Mercer, who will join the Cherry and Whites at the beginning of next season....

England & Wales set for £20m bonanza

By PETER JACKSON England and Wales are planning a pre-World Cup double next summer expected to generate about £20m in ticket...

England’s double blow as Springboks eye title

ENGLAND made a disastrous start to the grand finale of the men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 in Los Angeles...

Christian wades in with a dream return

By MATT BADCOCK Christian Wade marked his return to rugby after four years away with two tries. The 31-year-old former England...

Women may turn pro with £220m investment

Women’s rugby in England is set to transform over the next decade, thanks to a £220 million RFU investment programme to...

Iyogun so proud to be a Saint

EMMANUEL Iyogun says he is desperate to repay the faith in him shown by his Northampton Saints coaches after signing a...

Dream Team with Billy McBryde

Billy McBryde, The Doncaster Knights fly-half/full-back and former Wales U20s, Scarlets & RGC player chooses the best XV he has played...

Lawes gets my nod but Eddie has a tough call – Dean Richards

FORMER ENGLAND No.8 ‘Big boys don’t cry’ sang Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons (I know it’s girls really but just...

We can yet do more to help our clubs be sustainable

DEAN RICHARDS THE state of the game at the moment is very worrying. It is a tough time with all the...

Bath turn sights on du Preez brothers

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Follow me on Twitter: @neilfissler Bath are the latest club to run the rule over...

Racing 92 still keen on flyer Wade

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER RACING 92 are set to decide on the future of former England winger Christian Wade,...

Buyers will have to prove they have the money

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Prospective Worcester Warriors buyers could be asked to produce proof of funds for between £30...

Saracens may tempt Kruis out of retirement

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Saracens are understood to have sounded out former England and Lions lock George Kruis about...

Return to Japan on the list for Goode

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Alex Goode is being lined up for another stint in Japan when his contract with...

Financial grief puts sport in a sorry state

CHRIS HEWETT A few days ago, the proposed transfer of the Senegalese footballer Ismaila Sarr from Watford to Aston Villa disappeared...

Minnows still thrown to sharp shooters

CHRIS HEWETT Many of the most gruesome blood sports have been legislated out of existence. It’s called progress. You don’t see...

Expect Pivac to pick his best side from here on

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND With the Rugby World Cup just over a year away, Wayne Pivac will likely have...

England will relish American challenge

ROCKY CLARK England‘s most capped player and World Cup winner A Summer full of high-profile women’s sport is followed by an...

Fans need to buckle up for a bumpy ride

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER It feels like the Gallagher Premiership is tottering...

French go from strength to strength

AFTER a difficult week for English club rugby, it is both instructive and a little chastening to look over La Manche...

France set to rock with the best league in the world

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW French flair: La Rochelle may be champions of Europe but they finished fifth...

Remembering DK, the speedster who made a name for himself

PETER JACKSON KEN Jones died last Wednesday, barely a fortnight after his 82nd birthday and some 60 years after becoming the...

Glad to see Rennie has loyalty top of his list

NO word in the rugby lexicon has been battered from pillar to post more often than loyalty, once a priceless virtue...

The game paying too much for its players

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Top gun: Semi Radradra is a marquee player for Bristol PICTURE: Getty...

BRITISH RUGBY FIXTURES

SATURDAY SEP 3 WELSH LEAGUES PREMIERSHIP: Aberavon v Bridgend, Carmarthen v Llandovery, Llanelli v Swansea, Merthyr RFC v RGC, Newport v...

Support for 7s ace after rare cancer diagnosis

NEWS EXTRA By NEIL HARVEY FORMER Wales Sevens player Ethan Davies has announced he has a rare form of cancer. The...

Forthcoming fixtures

Weekend beginning Friday, September 2, 2022 It is advisable to check matches and kick-off times with the clubs

Concern as refs switch to other side

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Another of French rugby’s leading gamekeepers turned coach this week, as Top 14 referee Maxime Chalon put...

My sacking by England was bizarre, says Ashton

By NICK POWELL Brian Ashton was not bitter when he reflected on his removal as England coach, although he did describe...

Wasps put their faith in Dodson

WASPS head coach Lee Blackett believes new signing Cam Dodson could become the gem the cashstrapped club are looking for. Dodson,...

Cattigan family call for inquiry following her death

THE family of Scotland international Siobhan Cattigan have called for an independent inquiry into her death, saying undetected rugby-related brain damage...

In this week’s Rugby Paper – available on Sunday

Two huge upsets have thrown the Rugby Championship wide open, and you can find reports and analysis from both of those...

Top clubs face major cash crisis

By NEIL FISSLER The Premiership season kicks off in three weeks with growing fears that almost a quarter of the clubs...

Davies brings curtain down on his 30-year service with Wales

By PETER JACKSON Mark Davies is to end one of the longest careers in Test rugby – 30 years unbroken service...

Five-year deal will give Cup boost – Grainger

By JON NEWCOMBE Steve Grainger, RFU director of rugby development, is confident the new five-year partnership between England Rugby and Papa...

Proud Pendlebury expects England U18s to hit back

England U18s head coach Jonathan Pendlebury was proud of team’s effort despite losing the first game of their three match tour...

Stronge aims to be the top scrum-half in his division

By BEN JAYCOCK Ambition: Nottingham‘s Michael Stronge Michael Stronge has set a clear goal to become the best scrum-half in the...

Ludlow: Three ops and I’m good to go

By PAUL REES Lewis Ludlow feels like a new man. The Gloucester captain had three operations in as many weeks after...

Johnson glad to be a Wasp

Ashley Johnson has left his role as player-coach at Birmingham Moseley to take forward his coaching career with his former side...