Thorpe steers Sale home

By TOM BULMER DMP Sharks.............. 5 Sale Sharks............34 An entertaining clash saw Sale Sharks win the battle over their northern namesakes...

Warriors laugh off Farrell switch

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Wigan Warriors have moved to put distance between themselves and a reported big-money cross-code move...

Arundell and Pearson on Bath’s radar

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Bath will waste no time this week to cherry-pick the best talent if, as expected,...

Van Vuuren keen to join Premiership

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Lions lock Pieter Jansen Van Vuuren, who is reaching the end of his deal with...

Cardiff facing battle for prop Rae

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Cardiff are keen on signing Bath tighthead prop D’arcy Rae, below, but they are facing...

Rimmer’s top job after race storm

ON THE BLINDSIDE BY NEIL FISSLER At the end of last week, Ralph Rimmer was appointed as an independent adviser by...

Helping to develop the best referees

Paul Rees talks to Chris White about the specialist programme which has trained some of the top refs in world rugby...

Time we got round to telling full story

CHRIS HEWETT GUEST COLUMNIST "No story lives unless someone wants to listen.” So said J KRowling, who knows a thing or...

Freedom of speech cuts both ways

If Steve Hansen did a million things right over the long stretch of a storied career as an All Black think-tanker,...

I love playing in ‘rugby city’, says Williams

By BEN JAYCOCK James Williams has enjoyed a breakthrough season in the top flight with Bristol Bears but is disappointed his...

Stewart steps up for Ireland squad

Ulster hooker Tom Stewart, who set the record for the most tries in a URC season with 16, is one of...

No Webb or Carre but plenty of talent

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND We have a summer of international rugby to look forward to before Wales get to...

One night in St Helens made us all feel good

SHANE WILLIAMS For all those ‘Doubting Thomases’ out there who keep thinking there is nothing good left in Welsh rugby then...

15 stars of a bonkers season

Paul Rees selects his team of the tournament from the Gallagher Premiership 2022/23 The most emotionally charged Premiership campaign finished as...

Shock for England as Georgia take it

England U20s tour to Georgia By BEN JAYCOCK Georgia...............40pts Tries: Tsirekidze 11, Khutsishvili 14, Tohamiashvili 38, Ohumburidze 49, Dvali 67, 74...

Bracken strikes to give Mapletoft winning start

Georgia.............36 England............41 CHARLIE Bracken scored a 78th minute winner to hand new boss Mark Mapletoft a debut win over Georgia last...

McCaw tips Wales to cause carnage

THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW When it comes to talking about ‘carnage’ at the World Cup, nobody is more impeccably...

Keyboard warriors target Carre case

The Welsh Rugby Union has been bombarded from all directions all year that it seems almost unfair to point out that...

Eddie is putting his mind to it

PETER JACKSON Australia scrum-half Nic White came up with an interesting observation on Eddie Jones finding room for three psychologists in...

My Life in Rugby with Allan Jacobsen: ‘Simple Minds? No, I put up posters of David Sole’

The former Scotland prop and all-time appearance record holder for Edinburgh  When I was a boy growing up in the 80s...

Stunning Munster are the best of the bunch

RUGBY MATTERS - A weekly look at the game’s other talking points What with an epic Champions Cup final and a very...

Bastareaud deserves his cheering send-off, too

Sergio Parisse’s long farewell has taken centre stage recently but let’s hear it also for Mathieu Bastareaud who also took his...

After 96 years, Kent get to wear a county crown again

Bill Beaumont County Cup Division One By BEN JAYCOCK Kent are seen as an ‘unfashionable county’ with zero of their clubs...

Lancashire woe as Smith’s last-gasp kick goes wide

KENT secured their first Bill Beaumont Men’s County Championship in 96 years with an incredible 39- 37 comeback win over Lancashire,...

Ireland on fire as Oxfordshire too strong for Essex ESS

By MO SHER Division Three Essex......................................................7 Oxfordshire....................................... 42 nBy THE defending champions showed their class in Ealing to eventually overpower a...

Division Two

Dorset & Wilts.37 Durham..............15 A BRUISING contest went the way of the men from the south, who combined brutal power, intricate...

Lancashire find it pays to talk

Gill Burns Cup By BEN JAYCOCK Before the County Cup season started, Lancashire women’s head coach Chris Hall encouraged his side...

Wallace keeps Bucks at bay

Champions: Lancashire celebrate at Twickenham PICTURES: RFU LANCASHIRE secured the Gill Burns County Championship with a sublime display to beat Buckinghamshire...

Young Guns: Scarlets & Wales U20 scrum-half Archie Hughes

Archie Hughes is looking to show the Scarlets and the world what he can do at the U20s World Championship later...

Harvey set for life on the other side

By RICHARD KITZINGER After 11 seasons with Taunton Titans, Brett Harvey has decided it’s time to enjoy the game from the...

Wilkins leaving Saints for France

NORTHAMPTON back rower Karl Wilkins has left to join French second-tier club US Montauban. The 27-year-old made 14 appearances over two...

Interviews set for WRU chair

INTERVIEWS for a new independent chair are set to start after the WRU finalised a shortlist of candidates as part of...

Sleeping giant that is struggling to wake up

Peter Jackson consults his stats book to see which teams are the best-supported in Europe’s big leagues Crowd pleasers: Leicester Tigers...

Luctonians, Lions share spoils

THE BEST XV FROM THE 2022-23 SEASON Ben Jaycock canvassed the views of our National Two West reporters to compile The...

Oosthuizen goes home to be a Shark again

NEWS EXTRA SPRINGBOK prop Coenie Oosthuizen will leave Premiership finalists Sale to return to South Africa and re-join URC side the...

Exeter’s Simmonds signs for Pau

TOP 14 side Pau have signed Exeter Chiefs fly-half Joe Simmonds on a twoyear deal. The 26-year-old, who captained Exeter to...

Scarlets make van den Berg forwards coach

FORMER South Africa lock Albert van den Berg, 49, is the Scarlets new forwards coach, replacing Ben Franks who has returned...

Burnfield quits Quins to join newcomers

ENGLAND second row Rowena Burnfield will leave Harlequins to join Premier 15s newcomers Ealing next season. Ealing director of rugby Giselle...

Williams heads out of Cardiff for Trailfinders

LLOYD Williams will join Ealing Trailfinders before the 2023-24 season following his exit from Cardiff. The scrum-half was one of seven...

Haouas jailed for one year after hitting wife

FRANCE prop Mohamed Haouas has been sentenced to one year in jail for domestic abuse. Haouas, 29, was arrested on Friday...

We want Worcester to play at Sixways again

Q&A Ben Jaycock speaks to Worcester Warriors Supporters Trust founder Marcus Mulcahy about the group’s plans to revitalise the club Following...

Good to see Prem stars in Baa-Baa shirts

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME What a show Eddie Jones staged on his return to Twickenham in...

WR has made mess of how game is played

JEFF PROBYN With the season over and the Premiership finally decided, it would be good to look back and see what...

Kremer’s red gives Racing easy ride

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Argentinian back-row Marcos Kremer’s last act for Stade Francais was to get sent off - for the...

Fijians on a roll as they race past Reds

Super Rugby Pacific round-up By CAMERON STEPHENS Fijian Drua created history as they booked their spot in the Super Rugby play-offs...

Bulls unfazed by power cut in 10-try rout of struggling Griffons

Currie Cup round-up By CAMERON STEPHENS The Bulls were unfazed by a three-hour mid-game delay due to a power outage as...

Georgia youngsters celebrate landmark win against England

Georgia U20s…………………..40 Tries: Tsirekidze 11, Khutsishvili 14, Tohamiashvili 38, Ohumburidze 49, Dvali 67, 74 Conversions: Khutsishvili 12, 15, 39, 50, Kheladze...

Series 2 Episode 21: Sarries back on top, London Irish discussion and Premiership season review

A memorable Gallagher Premiership season (for many of the wrong reasons) is done and dusted as Saracens have reclaimed their throne...

Leinster defeat in final a “body blow” – O’Driscoll

Leinster and Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll expressed immense sympathy for his former club’s defeat in the Champions Cup Final, and feels...

France-bound Fearns turns down Nat 1 offer

Carl Fearns, who is leaving Newcastle this summer, is set to return to France for the third time after previous spells...