Wasps chief denies administration fears

Premiership clubs were phoning the agents of some of Wasps’ top talent this week amid rumours that the club had filed...

Dream team with Greg Goodfellow

The Chinnor player/coach and former Scotland U21, Cornish Pirates & Redruth scrum-half chooses the best XV he has played with or...

Jones blaming others for his own failings

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Eddie Jones pressed the class-war button this week with a blanket criticism of...

We need the figures on schools

NICK CAIN Before the 2015 World Cup, when most aspects of English rugby union looked rosy, the RFU launched a scheme...

Best packs dominate

NICK CAIN The pick of the forwards on show over the course of the season has underlined the primacy of the...

Stortford show they are a class above

■ By DAVID HAIGH Canterbury ....21 Bishop’s S ......38 BISHOP Stortford’s pace and accuracy proved key as they kick started their...

Exeter Uni…………..36 Plymouth …………..42

■ By HARRY SCOTT-MUNRO IT was Plymouth Albion who came out on top in a 12-try thriller against Exeter University at...

Broadstreet …………5 North Walsham….45

■ By SIMON SKENE NORTH Walsham began their pre-season campaign with a dominant away victory over a toothless Broadstreet. Broadstreet asserted...

Rochford H …………10 Tring……………………17

■ By BEN JAMES TRING began their preseason fixtures with a hard-earned victory over East Anglian rivals Rochford Hundred in a...

Richmond too strong in battle of old foes

■ By DARA KANE Blackheath ......12pts Richmond ........45pts CHAMPIONSHIP side Richmond scored nine tries as they eased past London rivals Blackheath...

Wilson stars as Clifton show their ruthless streak

■ By MICK NICHOLSON Clifton ..................38 Taunton ................19 NATIONAL 2 West side Clifton made a victorious start to their pre-season campaign...

RGC get past tier two new boys Caldy

■ By JORDAN WILLIS Caldy ................21 RGC....................36 CALDY’S first preseason outing as a newly promoted Championship side ended in defeat at...

Tynedale…………….21 Luctonians …………29

■ By BRIAN TILLEY THE long trip from Hereford proved worthwhile for Luctonians as they outgunned Tynedale in a pre-season encounter...

Thompson’s late intercept swings it Merthyr’s way

■ By SAMUEL JACOBS Coventry................29 Merthyr ..................36 GARETH Thompson scored a 77th minute interception winner as Welsh Premiership side Merthyr secured...

Henley ………………….0 Camberley …………14

■ By NIGEL DUDDING CAMBERLEY kicked off their preseason campaign with an emphatic victory over National 2 East side Henley courtesy...

Blood & Sand prove too good for rivals

■ By STEVE JACKSON Cambridge......37 Bury St Eds ....21 CAMBRIDGE served notice that they’ll be looking to improve upon last season’s...

PRE-SEASON FIXTURES

August 18 Caldy v Birkenhead Park Biarritz v Ealing Trailfinders (8pm) Cinderford v Matson (7.30pm) August 19 Caldy v Sale Sharks...

Foster-Smith’s intercept seals cross-border win

■ By PETER RILEY Dings......................33 Newport................40 WELSH Premiership side Newport secured an away victory over National Two West’s Dings Crusaders courtesy...

Superior fitness tells as Park cruise home

■ By RHYS STRATTON Rosslyn Park ......84 Worthing ..............33 ROSSLYN Park’s preseason opener against Worthing delivered on all fronts with the...

Fylde’s potent attack clicks to bring up half ton

■ By ELLIOT BURROW Fylde......................50 Blackburn ............29 FYLDE ramped up their pre-season preparations with a comfortable win over Blackburn. The home...

Hooper deserves support from us all

CHRIS HEWETT We are not sure how many of the New Zealand starting line-up actually read the anonymous fax sent to...

Why Bash Street kids are left at the gates

EDDIE Jones? What a bounder. Anyone who thinks he can waltz in from the colonies and criticise our private school system...

Eddie taking fire from all sides after his call to ‘blow things up’

Under fire: ‘I felt the culture was working against us when I arrived’, says England coach Eddie Jones PICTURE: Getty Images...

Slater finishes gruelling 350-mile bike ride

NEWS EXTRA GLOUCESTER star Ed Slater and his teammates completed a 350-mile bike ride this week in front of crowds at...

“I just ran around and smashed everything” – My Life in Rugby with Martin Purdy

The former Wasps, Bath, Gran Parma, L’Aquila, London Welsh, Massy and Grasse lock discusses his career As a professional sportsman you...

Ikey fights to save life of his only daughter

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW In his line of duty for Wales and the Lions, Ian ‘Ikey’ Stephens...

Sullivan, the soccer player …

PETER JACKSON THIS column’s plaintive cry for the city 0 Cardiff to recognise Jim Sullivan has prompted admirers to delve into...

One day,two defeats for All Blacks

PETER JACKSON THAT New Zealand once lost six international matches in a row is a fact but there is more to...

Talent everywhere you look in URC

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND With the United Rugby Championship season fast approaching I’ve been having a good look at...

Omanyala enjoys golden finale after leaving Sevens

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Triumph: Ferdinand Omanyala celebrates after winning the gold...

Take time to polish leaders, Eddie

RUGBY MATTERS I HAVE absolutely no problem with Eddie Jones having his less than complementary say on the influence of our...

We need to get more alternative opportunities

Former Hartpury College DoR Alan Martinovic joins the debate EDDIE Jones has had opprobrium heaped on him after his claims that...

Edgerley to run for friend’s cancer charity

NEWS EXTRA FORMER England Sevens star Sam Edgerley is set to run 100 miles in 24 hours down the Thames Path...

Charity matches will show strong links between rugby and the police

Jon Newcombe talks to Dean Richards before the Matt Ratana memorial games Strong links have existed between the police and rugby...

Met Police out to mark centenary in fine style

ONE year out from its centenary, Metropolitan Police RFC and police rugby in general is enjoying something of a revival. Back...

Tonita connects with his new ‘Taswegian’ friends

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful Iconic Rugby...

Private schools vital to the survival of the game

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME EDDIE Jones drew a sharp rebuke from the RFU following his comments...

Old Boys who enjoy touch of Shakespeare

OLD Alleynians are one of those clubs with a particularly distinguished past which might have haunted them a little, but they...

Days when Flatman, Sheridan, Easter and Obano all enjoyed their time at the club

BRIEFLY after World War 2, the club combined with Old Whitfigitians but as numbers boomed it regained its individual identity and...

Young Guns: Ospreys back row Morgan Morse

Schoolboy Morgan Morse was handed a first Wales U20s start at the age of just 17 earlier this year and the...

‘China is still decades behind leading nations’

Duncan Hooper talks to Zhang Zhiqiang on learning to play rugby with Leicester’s finest Zhang Zhiqiang’s introduction to the UK was...

Tide has turned on overseas galacticos

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN IT is a truth long universally accepted that the Top 14 is a pension-liner for big-name overseas...

Town hall looking to find buyer for Beziers

FALLEN French rugby giant Beziers – subject of a protracted takeover tale two years ago – is still officially on the...

It’s time for northern success in the World Cup – Dallaglio

By GARY FITZGERALD Lawrence Dallaglio is convinced a Northern Hemisphere team can reign supreme in France next year and that the...

Greenwood points finger at academies

WILL Greenwood claims Eddie Jones is wrong to blame a “closeted” private education culture for a lack of backbone and resolve...

Rennie rings changes as O’Connor comes in

Test match veteran James O’Connor features in a much-changed Australian line-up as they prepare for their second match against Argentina in...

Experienced Imhoff in as Pumas re-shuffle backline

Experienced winger Juan Imhoff is one of four players to come in for Argentina, as they look to bounce back from...

Foster makes four changes for must-win game against Springboks

Ian Foster has made four changes to his All Black starting XV, as he prepares his team for a match which...

‘University of Worcester Warriors’ announced as new club name for 2022/23 season

Worcester Warriors Women have become the third club in the Allianz Premier 15s to form a partnership with a university, with...

IRFU follows RFU into ban on transgender women

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) have become the latest governing body to ban transgender women from playing women’s rugby at...