Let’s pour cold water over this Rassie Erasmus ruse | Nick Cain

A head coach as a waterboy? The incursion of non-playing staff on the pitch has been a problem brewing for years

Ludlow gets 4-match ban

LEWIS Ludlow has been banned for four matches for kneeing Canada prop Jake Ilnicki in the head during England’s win over...

Mrs gets a fine for Owens

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER KEN Owens has revealed that the Lions players’ committee has already fined him for...

Harlequins and Falcons in pay-cut concern

Are Premiership clubs all back to paying their players their pre-pandemic salaries?

Something’s brewing for Jamie George and Elliot Daly

ENGLAND stars Jamie George and Elliot Daly have become the go-to guys for their barista service in the Lions camp. The...

Jordaan off to Vannes, not Falcons

ON THE BLIND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER VANNES have agreed a deal with experienced South African lock Jeremy Jordaan who was...

Richard Hill stays in France with CAPD

FORMER England scrum-half Richard Hill will be staying in France despite leaving Rouen in May because he wanted to be nearer...

Room 101: New Blackheath captain Ed Taylor

Blackheath flanker Ed Taylor takes us through his pet hates from the rugby world and beyond

Daly must start at 13 if we want to beat the Boks | Shane Williams

The Saracens & England back has shown himself to still be as adroit at outside centre as at his time at...

Marcus continues to live the dream as joker in the Lions pack

BRENDAN GALLAGHER VERDICT Fast tempo: Scrum-half Ali Price OK, it was ‘only’ a seriously under-strength Stormers, shorn of all their South...

Warren Gatland must stretch Boks to exhaustion | Jeremy Guscott

There is just one week to go until the first Test, Jeremy Guscott looks at how the Lions are shaping up...

Stormers 3-49 Lions: Yes, signs are positive but Lions had it easy again

How the Lions performed against the Stormers and Nick Cain's team for the first Test

Ibitoye on the move again after relegation | James Harrington

A relatively quiet transfer circus this year round in the Top 14, writes James Harrington

Players lost their kit in a daze every week

MY LIFEIN RUGBY THE FORMER RICHMOND AND ESHER FLY-HALF ROB KIRBY My time at Christchurch Boys High in New Zealand was...

Walker wings in to drive Wales success

NEWS EXTRA By SAM JACKSON FORMER Wales winger and Olympic hurdler Nigel Walker has been named performance director at the Welsh...

Smit: ‘Gigantic’ series will leave its legacy

The victorious Springboks captain 12 years ago says he is just glad this year's tour is going ahead

Samoa secure their spot in France

SAMOA booked their place in England’s 2023 World Cup pool with a 79-28 aggregate win over Tonga. Samoa won yesterday’s second...

Blamire: I grew up in Rugby League country so scrummaging was new to me

Jon Newcombe talks to the new England cap who gave Newcastle Falcons cause for celebration this summer along with Adam Radwan

Women’s Game in Focus: Saracens and England fly-half Zoe Harrison

Sarah Rendell talks to the Saracens fly-half about Premier 15s final defeat and her difficult past facing up to bullies who...

Leicester set to launch women’s programme

LEICESTER Tigers are to form a women and girls' rugby programme to begin later this year with former England full-back Vicky...

Emily Scarratt joins call for women’s British & Irish Lions team

The England vice-captain believes a women's Lions tour is the ideal way of growing the game beyond the World Cup and...

Crawford helped redefine the role of full-back

OF all Methody’s notable rugby alumni none have been more accomplished than Ernie Crawford, a maverick trailblazer with a Charlie Chaplin...

Rugby’s Great Schools: Methody have led way from the start

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby‘s great schools We recently featured the considerable rugby achievements of Royal Belfast Academical...

Rowe: RFU must help clubs bridge gap to Prem

By PAUL REES TONY Rowe believes there should be a route into the Premiership for aspiring Championship clubs when the suspension...

Laurie Dalrymple interview – Champions Harlequins aiming for repeat glory

Paul Rees talks to chief executive Laurie Dalrymple about building sustained success at Harlequins

Young Gun: Cornish Pirates flanker Will Gibson

Will Gibson was involved with the academy at Exeter Chiefs before heading to Cardiff Met, signing a one-year deal at Pirates...

Now the Lions know just what they are up against | Jeff Probyn

A step up from the rest of their tour matches on Wednesday night for the Lions

Sam Simmonds is on a high with Lions after Twickenham pain

The Exeter Chiefs star has channelled Premiership final defeat into positivity on tour with the British & Irish Lions

The Springboks are a beacon of hope in a tormented country

South African writer Daniel Gallan offers a personal view of what the Springboks mean to an economic and politically unstable country

Murray must put muzzle on De Klerk

KYRAN BRACKEN THE Lions must wrap up Faf de Klerk and cut off the supply line of his dangerous aerial bombs...

Lions given wake-up call as Boks light get heavy

By NICK CAIN South Africa A..17pts Tries: Nkosi 12, Am 31 Conversions: Steyn 13, 33 Penalties: Steyn 5 Lions ..................13pts Tries:...

Georgia coach in hospital with Covid

GEORGIA head coach Levan Maisashvili is in a Johannesburg hospital with “serious lung damage” after testing positive for Covid-19. Maisashvili’s side...

Smiler Smith ‘sums up Harlequins right now’

Harlequins skills and kicking coach Charlie Mulchrone says Marcus Smith has gotten to where he is by being a great applier...

Jack van Poortvliet has got the world at his feet | Brendan Gallagher

NO Junior World Cup this year, or last, and therefore no junior world player of the year for either season but...

Rugby Matters: First Test success vital for a winning series

There is always a special feel to the first Test of any Lions series in South Africa, a step into the...

Bielle-Barrey spins in to quell Irish uprising

Ireland ............28 France..............34 FRANCE recorded their fourth-straight win against Ireland to secure second place in the table, with a well-executed try...

Gritty England grind way to Grand Slam

By ADAM ELLIS England ............27pts Tries: O Bailey 5, Bates 15, Relton 43, 70 Conversions: Mathews 6, 16 Penalties: Mathews 10...

Welsh show their warrior spirit after Deaves’ red

By SAM JACKSON Scotland ..........24pts Tries: Harrison 10, Gray 18, Muncaster 49 Conversions: Scott 11, 19, 50 Penalties: Scott 3 Wales...

Eddie Jones unholsters young guns with England

Paul Rees considers the newcomers who could force their way into international reckoning with England

Hardest job was getting ‘Dommers’ off cakes! | Peter Jackson

Cardiff Met director of rugby Danny Milton talks to Peter Jackson about Alex Dombrandt's time in BUCS Super Rugby

Dream Team: Biarritz and ex-Harlequins fly-half Brett Herron

Brett Herron, the new Biarritz signing and former Harlequins, Jersey, Ulster fly-half, chooses the best XV he has played with or...

Pent-up demand could see fans back in droves

COLI BOAG The Premiership fixtures for next season have been released, and the expectation level for club rugby fans has just...

Farrell at fly-half yells ‘whitewash’

AS much as I want the Lions to do well on their tour of South Africa, I just cannot see it...

Radwan’s on fast track to World Cup

IT’S fascinating how small margins make such a difference at the very highest level. Take Adam Radwan for example. The Newcastle...

Lions need Joe’s prowess up front

HEADING into first Test week, the big question remains: Can the Lions pack get parity at the set-piece. Warren Gatland has...

Ref Peyper was too soft on South Africa

IF the Lions tour is of such a huge boost to the economy of the host nation why are we putting...

Italy’s aged craftsmen show art of defence | Chris Hewett

LEAVING to one side the more reprehensible followers of Ing-er-land’s footballing fortunes – but for the danger of offending countless colonies...

All Blacks bucked the trend of decline | Chris Hewett

For the fifth time since 1997, the Lions face a series against the reigning world champions but have they all been...

New Zealand 60-13 Fiji: Reece hat-trick as All Blacks run riot

SEVU REECE scored a hattrick as the All Blacks thrashed Fiji at FMG Stadium before turning their attention to next month’s...

Australia 33-30 France: Wallabies ride out early red to clinch series

Dave Rennie's Wallabies wrapped up a 2-1 series victory despite Marika Koroibete's early red card in Brisbane