New club in salary breach probe

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER ENGLISH rugby is bracing itself for another salary cap scandal after Premier Rugby launched...

Now lock Lonsdale is set to leave Chiefs

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Follow me on Twitter: @neilfissler Off to Draons: Lonsdale THE DRAGONS have lined up...

JACK METCALF

ROOM 101 THE SALE SHARKS CENTRE TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FROM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND 1. Noisy eaters...

A great year for Dupont but Marcus was not far behind

PAUL REES REFLECTS ON THE STAND-OUT EVENTS AND PLAYERS OF 2021 World Player of the Year: Antoine Dupont of France PICTURE:...

Griffiths brings fun and games to The Rec

CHRIS HEWETT IT IS not yet a mathematical certainty that Bruce Craig will end his long spell of chairmanship at Bath...

Suddenly, stability is in fashion for coaches

CHRIS HEWETT GUEST COLUMNIST It would be stretching things just a little to describe rugby’s pre-World Cup era as an age...

New lockdown would be catastrophe warns Thomas

By PAUL REES JONATHAN Thomas has warned of the dire financial consequences if England follow Wales and ban fans from attending...

Earle: Warriors can wind you up

Saracens v Worcester Warriors Boxing Day. Kick-off 3pm, StoneX Stadium Flank offensive: Ben Earl on the break against Exeter PICTURE: Getty...

Twickenham will be different for us this time vows Dowson

By PAUL REES Harlequins v Northampton Saints Monday, December 27. Kick-off 5pm, Twickenham THE last time Northampton faced Harlequins at Twickenham...

‘Deccy’ is a visionary, no wonder other clubs like him – Rogerson

By PAUL REES Target: Declan Kidney DECLAN Kidney has been linked with a return to Munster but says he has unfinished...

Angry young man Alfie just wants to play

By GARY FITZGERALD Wasps v London Irish Boxing Day. Kick-off 3pm, Coventry Building Society Arena LEE Blackett expects a much less...

Griffiths offers Bath fans better future

NICK CAIN THE decision by Bath owner Bruce Craig to pick Ed Griffiths as his successor as chairman is the most...

Macron’s pique opens way for national cup

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK THE chances of a new variation of Covid coming through was as predictable...

Deano: I made Pig’s Nose of big match!

BIG Boxing Day games bring back special memories for Dean Richards who used to embrace the spirit of Christmas in every...

Curry’s back where his troubles began

By JON NEWCOMBE Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks Boxing Day. Kick-off 3pm, Kingston Park WITH injuries and the impact of Covid...

Lynagh’s out to catch eye of Eddie

By GARY FITZGERALD Better times: Steve Thompson wins the World Cup with England in 2003 PICTURE: Getty Images LOUIS Lynagh hopes...

O’Driscoll slams the dementia ‘insults’

By PETER JACKSON WORLD Rugby’s claim that early dementia can be caused by smoking, drinking and other lifestyle choices has been...

France fancied as 2022 Six Nations favourites, but England Grand Slam odds bring the value

More than a decade removed from their last Six Nations championship, France are once again back in the saddle as early...

2022 Under-20 Six Nations: England’s fixtures confirmed

England’s 2022 Under-20 Six Nations home fixtures will be played at Castle Park and StoneX Stadium with tickets now on sale.  In...

Pat Lam: Decision by Premier League to keep going important for rugby

Bristol boss Pat Lam has voiced concerns for the Gallagher Premiership if another national lockdown happens. Lam described the Premier League’s...

Why is this season considered a failure for All Blacks, and is there a reason to be optimistic?

All-Black’s finished one of the worst seasons with a 15-point defeat to France last month. New Zealand Boss has called the...

Bath Rugby appoint Edward Griffiths as new Chairman

Bath Rugby has announced Edward Griffiths will take the role as Chairman from 1st January 2022. Owner, Bruce Craig has decided...

Holiday Bonuses in Australian Casinos

Australians are considered one of the most passionate players in the world. This is proved by statistics, according to which about...

Late Leicester Tigers try downs spirited Connacht

Leicester Tigers continued their flawless campaign with a European win over Connacht. The fixture at Welford Road was the only game...

Baxter: Scary how we lost ball

EXETER boss Rob Baxter said: “The amount of ball we gave up was scary really. “Credit to Glasgow, a lot of...

Misfiring Chiefs get lost in Glasgow fog

By BRYN PALMER Glasgow ............22pts Tries: Matthews 79 Conversions: Weir 80 Penalties: Thompson 14, 49, 53, 60, 76 Exeter ..................7pts Tries:...

We have to beware the curveballs now warns Matson

QUINS might be sitting pretty in Europe but head coach Tabai Matson has warned his team they must be ready for...

Quins aces trump the brave lads of Cardiff

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Harlequins........43pts Tries: Care 10, Smith 18, Dombrandt 57, 62, Marchant 67, Esterhuizen 78 Conversions: Smith 11, 19, 58,...

Dupont has the world at his bewitching feet

JEREMY GUSCOTT I EXPECT Antoine Dupont’s world-class credentials to last in much the same way as they did for Dan Carter...

Bristol-boy Genge can be a home town hero

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK IT’S not surprising that Ellis Genge has made a success of being captain of...

DREAM TEAM

MIKE DODDS, THE FORMER GALA, NORTHAMPTON, OTAGO AND SCOTLAND WING/FULL-BACK, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST... 1....

The salary cap cuts can only do our game good

COLIN BOAG Assuming we getthrough this one, next season is going to be very different for the Premiership. For years the...

Game needs greater terrestrial exposure

AMONG programmes shown on terrestrial TV last week were horse racing, women’s football, Formula One and Rugby Union (Cardiff v Toulouse...

Law changes are needed to make rugby field safer

SOME memorable international matches, but 2021 proved a traumatic year for rugby. While Covid disrupted sport worldwide, rugby faced its own...

Refs must blow for unsporting gestures

IN last week’s paper, Jeff Probyn congratulated Luke Pearce for penalising Saracens for their back-chat. I do wish that referees would...

England take on All Blacks and Boks next autumn

ENGLAND will play New Zealand and South Africa in next year’s Autumn Nations Series in what boss Eddie Jones is describing...

Afeaki: Tonga can shake world order

By STEFFAN THOMAS TONGA have been tipped to make a seri- ous impact at the 2023 World Cup by beating tier...

McElroy switches to Irish

LONDON Irish have completed the loan signing of former Irish U20 international Tadgh McElroy for the rest of the season. Hooker...

Pyrgos: There are different ways to bring tempo at 9

By BRYN PALMER EDINBURGH scrumhalf Henry Pyrgos won’t change his game to keep pace with younger rivals as he adapts to...

Maddocks faces big French test

By STEFFAN THOMAS BARRY Maddocks has worked at the cutting edge of professional rugby for 20 years, and now faces one...

O’Gara won’t be filling Van Graan role at Munster

FORMER Ireland fly-half Ronan O’Gara has ruled himself out of the Munster head coach job. South African Johann van Graan will...

Youngs is fired up to keep Tigers on the run

By PAUL REES LEICESTER are one match away from going into the new year with an undefeated record in the Premiership,...

Baxter: Players are still chasing big cash

By SAM JACKSON EXETER boss Rob Baxter says players have not lowered their wage expectations in line with the Premiership’s lower...

Coly looks destined to be rival for Dupont

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Depending on your point of view, the fact that France’s so-called ‘golden generation’ shows no sign of...

BRITISH RUGBY RESULTS AND FIXTURES

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Ashton departure from Worcester confirmed

WORCESTER Warriors have confirmed that former England winger Chris Ashton has left the club “by mutual consent”. The ex-Wigan rugby league...

Evans remains the Pirates main funder

BENEFACTOR Dicky Evans will continue to help finance Cornish Pirates, despite selling his stake. Documents lodged at Companies House earlier this...

Superior fitness is bedrock of Irish bid for glory

By GARY- FITZGERALD JAMES Stokes claims London Irish’s bid for domestic and European glory is based on the Exiles being “super...

Rumney keeping St Peter’s at bay

Welsh National One round-up ALED BISON and JACK NAISBITT RUMNEY solidified their position at the top of Division One East Central...

Griffiths cuts loose for Quins

By STEFFAN THOMAS Carmarthan Q ........ 30 Llanelli .................... 13 CARMARTHEN Quins earnt the west Wales bragging rights as they comprehensively...