Boks must find right balance in back row

DANIEL GALLAN SOUTH AFRICAN COLUMN Last week Conor Murray described his appointment as British & Irish Lions captain as “unbelievable”. The...

Ireland edge home for World Cup pay-back

■By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Ireland ..............39pts Tries: Farrell 8, McCloskey 26, Bealham 40+1, Van der Flier 48, Stockdale 51 Conversions: Carberry 8,...

What carnage as All Blacks hit a century against the troubled Tongans

■By BEN JAYCOCK New Zealand..102pts Tries: McKenzie 2, Papalii 5, 37; Weber 7, 16, 50; Jordan 9, 20, 47, 55, 68;...

South Africa 40-9 Georgia: Boks unleash flyer Fassi in warm-up win

    IT TOOK a while, almost an hour in fact, for the Springbok machine to splutter into life but once...

Try-machine Josh just can’t stop scoring | Shane Williams

I GOT more and more nervous as the second half of the British & Irish Lions game went on. It was...

I fear it looks quite serious for Leigh | Shane Williams

THERE is no other way for me to start other than by wishing Leigh Halfpenny all the best. For his 100th...

Pivac: Pumas so much tougher

WAYNE Pivac was happy with the performance of his Wales side shorn of 12 front line players due to injury and...

Wales 68-12 Canada: Halfpenny injury takes the gloss off Wales’ ten-try romp

    DESPITE a ten-try thrashing of Canada, an injury to Leigh Halfpenny marred the afternoon for Wales. On his 100th...

Big Joe back after finding his confidence

By PAUL REES JOE Cokanasiga is ready to put two wasted years behind him when he resumes his Test career against...

Jet-heeled Josh Adams gives lift-off to the Lions

JOSH Adams bagged four tries as Warren Gatland’s British & Irish Lions got off to a flyer against Sigma Lions in...

TEAM: Lewis Ludlow to captain England against USA

England head coach Eddie Jones has stuck with Lewis Ludlow as his captain for this weekend’s clash against the USA. The...

Harlequins conclude six-month search for new head coach with Tabai Matson

Harlequins will have a new head coach oversee the team’s defence of their Premiership title, after confirming Tabai Matson as the...

England interim assistant coach Ed Robinson to leave Jersey Reds

Jersey Reds have confirmed backs coach Ed Robinson will be leaving the Championship this summer to join an unnamed Premiership club....

Newcastle Falcons confirm signing of ex-Harlequins wing Nathan Earle

Nathan Earle has joined Mike Brown in leaving Premiership winners Harlequins behind to move to Newcastle Falcons. As reported in The...

SouthAfricanOnlineCasinos.co.za prepare for influx as South Africa announces lockdown & closure of Land-Based Casinos

In view of South Africa going under a strict lockdown for at least two weeks, land-based casinos are forced to shut...

Ireland include several senior players for Japan clash

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has named an experienced squad to take on Japan, with captain James Ryan cleared to play....

Ex-Wasps wing Callum Sirker lands at Cornish Pirates

Cornish Pirates have announced the signing of former Wasps flyer Callum Sirker on a one-year deal. Sirker was released by Wasps...

Stuart Hogg to captain Lions in tour opener

Stuart Hogg will lead the British & Irish Lions in their first match of the tour of South Africa, as they...

England U20 name team out to deny Irish the Triple Crown

England U20 head coach Alan Dickens has made four changes to the starting line-up that will face Ireland on Thursday. For...

Wasps sign All Black back-five forward Vaea Fifita

Wasps have announced the signing of All Blacks back-five forward Vaea Fifita, who will join the club for the 2021-22 season....

Leigh Halfpenny to reach 100 Test caps against Canada

Leigh Halfpenny will make his 100th test appearance when Wales host Canada at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, Head coach Wayne...

RFU approves 14-team Premiership expansion and voids relegation for further two seasons

Relegation from the Premiership has been suspended for two further seasons after the RFU, in collaboration with Premiership Rugby, approved plans...

Nizaam Carr cuts short Bulls deal to sign for Wasps

Wasps have signed Nizaam Carr for a third time in a move designed to ease the loss of Jack Willis to...

Why do Gambling Companies Sponsor Rugby Teams?

The world of games and sports has long been in a close-quarters relationship. So much due to the fact they both...

Will Skelton will end his career in France

WILL Skelton has closed the door on a return to the Premiership after signing a four-year contract extension with La Rochelle....

Oyonnax coaching job for Alex Codling

ALEX Codling is set to return to the game with a move across the Channel in time for next season. The...

Bok star Marcel agrees a deal with the Exiles

ON THE BILND SIDE BY NEIL FISSLER Free agent: Marcel van der Merwe playing for Toulon LONDON Irish have agreed a...

Dorian West could leave as Sale Sharks plan changes

SALE Sharks boss Alex Sanderson is looking to re-shuffle his coaching staff this summer, and whispers are that Dorian West could...

Harlequins will name Tabai Matson as new head coach this week

BILLY Millard says Harlequins will unveil their new coaching setup later this week, with former London Irish and Fiji centre Tabai...

MARTIN GILLINGHAM

ROOM 101 THE EXPERIENCED RUGBY COMMENTATOR TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FORM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND 1. Ref abusers...

DREAM TEAM

RUSSELL EARNSHAW, THE MAGIC ACADEMY COACH AND FORMER ENG- LAND 7S, BATH, WEST HARTLEPOOL, ROTHERHAM, DONCASTER & PERTEMPS BEES FLANKER, CHOOSES...

No doubt Sarries will get some abuse next season | Colin Boag

The totally unsurprising news that Saracens slaughtered Ealing Trailfinders in the two-leg Championship final doesn’t seem to have provoked the strong...

Cameras don’t lie on forward passes

QUESTION: When is a forward pass not a forward pass? Answer: Almost never, it seems. How many times this season have...

Where’s the justice?

CAN someone tell me how Manu Tuallagi got only ten minutes in the bin and no post match citing for poleaxing...

Wrong for table toppers to wind up with nothing

WE’RE at the end of the rugby season and once again, the complete travesty of justice that is the Premiership playoffs...

Bok stars will inject new life into PRO14

WITH the final game of the Rainbow Cup over and Benetton seizing the trophy, it’ fair to say the tourniment and...

Grounds will be used to ring-fence

A DAMAGING and potentially divisive suspension of promotion-relegation in the English league structure for up to three or four seasons is...

High ball doubt may cost Stuart Hogg Lions slot | Nick Cain

STUART Hogg’s high points this season in leading Scotland to away victories over France and England in the Six Nations, as...

Verdict: Quins have taught Eddie Jones a lesson in how to attack

SO a season that started with Eddie Jones arguing it was almost impossible to play attractive attacking rugby under the current...

Exeter 38-40 Harlequins: Underdogs? Quins roar like big dogs in a classic

WHEN it comes to long runs from the back there is nothing in the annals of English club rugby to match...

Hawkins aims to be like Sonny Bill

TEENAGE Ospreys centre Joe Hawkins is modelling his game on Sonny Bill Williams and Jonathan Davies as he looks to make...

Basham can be best No.7 of lot says his ex-coach Jackman

By STEFFAN THOMAS Fan: Bernard Jackman BERNARD Jackman has tipped Taine Basham to become Wales’ first choice openside by the 2023...

Bryce Hegarty tipped to be a star for Tigers

QUEENSLAND Reds attack coach Jim McKay says Bryce Hegarty’s signing for Leicester is a “win-win” for the player and the club....

Double delight for pragmatic Toulouse | James Harrington

  Toulouse were crowned champions of France for the 21st time on Friday night, some 13 months after the players had...

Dream stay at Pirates delivered big break

MY LIFEIN RUGBY BRISTOL BEARS WOMEN’S HEAD COACH AND FORMER BATH, NORTHAMPTON, SALE, CORNISH PIRATES, HARLEQUINS AND AMPTHILL HOOKER/FLANKER DAVE WARD...

Carmichael calls time

SCOTLAND and Edinburgh second row Lewis Carmichael has retired from playing aged 26 after “a number of concussions over a short...

Vegas date for Ireland

IRELAND will take on the US Eagles at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday, October 30. The fixture is...

Youngs set for ref duty

TOM Youngs has accepted a charge of disrespecting a match official during Leicester’s game with Bristol. The 34-year-old hooker has been...

Falcons go for Dalton

NEWCASTLE have signed former Ulster forward Matthew Dalton on a twoyear deal. The 22-year-old former Ireland U20 international made ten PRO14...

Tiger White joins Exiles

LONDON Irish have signed former Leicester scrum-half Ben White. The 23-year-old left Tigers earlier this month having been around the first...