Japan cash could force marquee men u-turn

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Fears over the future contracts of France’s internationals have raised the spectre of a marquee player system...

Wales prepare for testing Autumn

By SAM JACKSON Skipper: Siwan Lillicrap THE Wales Women coaching team have selected a squad of 36 for the Autumn Internationals...

BRITISH RUGBY RESULTS AND FIXTURES

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Opportunity knocks for Adam Beard after Hill and Ball departures from Wales scene

ADAM Beard plans on making the most of the departure of Cory Hill and Jake Ball from Welsh rugby. Ospreys second...

Billingham celebrates 21st with a hat-trick

Championship Cup round-up By ROB COLE AARON Billingham marked his 21st birthday with a hat-trick of tries as Bedwas put Tata...

Fish shows his quality to deny Pontypridd

Cardiff......................29 Pontypridd.............. 15 CARDIFF claimed victory over regional rivals Pontypridd on Friday night, but the margin wasn’t as big as expected...

Greggains sparks Newport fightback against Merthyr

Newport...................27 Merthyr.................... 16 NEWPORT celebrated their first game at Spytty Park with a comeback victory over Premiership big spenders, Merthyr. In...

Monster Lloyd punt helps see off Steelmen

RGC............................. 17 Ebbw Vale............... 13 RGC CLAIMED their first victory of the season with a narrow win over Ebbw Vale, which...

Edwards keeps Aberavon flying high

Premiership Cup By ALEX BYWATER Carmarthen Q........... 3 Aberavon.................26 ABERAVON maintained their 100 per cent Premiership Cup record with a comfortable...

Ravens soar after old-boy Jones turns it on

Premiership Cup By HUW S THOMAS Llandovery............. 19 Bridgend..................25 BRIDGEND overturned a 14-point half-time deficit to record a stunning win at...

Struggling Llanelli no match for ruthless Swansea

Swansea..........53 Llanelli.............. 15 SWANSEA secured their first victory of the season with a bonus-point demolition of rivals Llanelli. The home side...

Let Hallam Amos fill the void at 15 for Wales, says Dai Young

HALLAM Amos has been tipped to fill the full-back void left by Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny for Wales’ daunting autumn...

Rugby Matters: Pro game in this country owes Nigel Wray a huge debt

I’ve always maintained that the long lens of rugby history will view Nigel Wray as a giant amongst pygmies and see...

Clubs act to curb powers of Union hierarchy

NEWS EXTRA By PETER JACKSON WELSH rugby’s rank-andfile clubs are being asked to back a radical plan devised to prevent the...

RWC kit swap to tackle colour blindness

NEWS EXTRA WALES and Ireland may have to change their traditional shirt colours at the 2027 Rugby World Cup if facing...

Carwyn will follow cousins’ footsteps to the top

NEWS EXTRA By STEFFAN THOMAS SIONE Kalamafoni has firmly established himself as the Scarlets’ first-choice No.8 but he believes he will...

Bracken backs Sarries to push Quins hard

HARLEQUINS’ tasty mixture of young and old talent could ensure they successfully defend their title, while Kyran Bracken is also backing...

Nathan Earle eyes England lift-off at Falcons

NATHAN Earle is hoping his move to Newcastle will put him back into England contention after his time at Harlequins was...

Wife and kids helped Rory win battle with depression

RORY Sutherland this weekend started life in a Worcester jersey following his summer move from Edinburgh having been part of the...

Tigers boss hails Sinfield’s impact

RUGBY SHORTS KEVIN Sinfield has been given a ringing endorsement by Leicester coach Steve Borthwick. Sinfield, 41, who led Leeds to...

Hard work paying off for Chiefs lock Witty

RUGBY SHORTS EXETER lock Will Witty is “reaping the rewards” for his dedication with his extended run in the team, says...

Roberts ruled out after knee surgery

DRAGONS centre Jamie Roberts will miss the next six weeks after undergoing minor knee surgery. Roberts, 34, was a replacement in...

Ospreys lend a hand to injury-hit Scarlets

RUGBY SHORTS SCARLETS have signed Ospreys lock Lloyd Ashley on a three-week loan deal. Aaron Shingler (back) and Sam Lousi (knee)...

Kelly banned for ‘shoulder strike’

RUGBY SHORTS LEICESTER centre Dan Kelly, 20, has been given a three-match ban for “striking with the shoulder” in added time...

Jersey Reds lose their scrum anchor to Irish

RUGBY SHORTS LONDON Irish have signed former Munster prop Ciaran Parker from Championship leaders Jersey Reds. The 26-year-old, who began his...

Exodus of players is real threat for game

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME A few weeks ago this paper had an interview with Peter Winterbottom,...

Hill’s rigid stance led to ‘great schism’

POSSIBLY the most notable Old Blue is George Rowland Hill, an influential rugby administrator in the game’s formative years and the...

Hard to replicate those post-war halcyon days

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools RUGBY success at Christ’s Hospital School over the decades has been...

England women call up 11 debutants

NEWS EXTRA By SAM JACKSON Impressed: Middleton SIMON Middleton has included 11 uncapped players in his 40-woman England squad for the...

Pleased to have left Welsh politics behind

STEFFAN THOMAS talks to former Cardiff coach Jason Strange about his switch to Rugby League JASON Strange has always been someone...

Stockdale: I’m a better player now

By SAM JACKSON ULSTER’S Jacob Stockdale says he is a “much better” rugby player now than he was when he burst...

Exeter beat Brixham to stay on top

South West Premier EXETER University continue to sit at the summit of the South West Premier with a 27-20 win against...

Rossendale pile on the pressure

Northern Premier ROSSENDALE started where they left off after their previous abandoned encounter with a 13-41 win away at Kirkby Lonsdale,...

Suddenly, it’s home comforts for all

Midlands Premier IT WAS a clean sweep of victories for home teams in the Midlands Premier. The intriguing fixture of the...

Young Guns: Saracens centre Josh Hallett

Josh Hallett says the feel-good vibes are permeating through Saracens after their return to the Premiership as he bids to make...

Marcus wants England shirt for rest of his career – Murley

By NEIL FISSLER CADAN Murley was not surprised to see his landlord Marcus Smith return to Harlequins action in such emphatic...

Seven heaven as Lions topple Bury

By BRIAN DAVIES Leicester L .............49 Bury St Eds .............26 LEICESTER Lions ran in seven tries as they brushed aside Bury...

Raiders edge it with McClean try

By IAN HADDRELL Dings Crusaders ..33  Worthing .................35 LEADERS Worthing kept up their excellent start to the season with a narrow...

Hawks pack power past a battling Esher

By NICK PITSON Henley...................... 31 Esher......................... 21 HENLEY Hawks eased to a bonus-point victory over Esher at Dry Leas. The foundation...

Eight tries see Reds put Clifton to sword

By BILL HOOPER Redruth............. 49pts Clifton................. 12pts Why you wear a gumshield: Jack Oulton swallow dives over for a Redruth try...

Vowles is hat-trick hero for Hinckley

By CHRIS CAMPBELL Hinckley...........66  Westcliff............ 5 RORY Vowles bagged a hat-trick as Hinckley ran in ten tries to register their first...

Heads try puts seal on victory

By BOB COLLINS Barnstaple.............. 10  Canterbury..............22 CANTERBURY notched their second win of the season as they got the better of fellow...

Sam steals win in frantic finale

By NICK HALLETT Old Albanian........... 21 Rochford H..............22 A LAST-GASP penalty from Sam Cappaert snatched victory for Rochford Hundred in a...

Smith’s try double is a clincher for Guernsey

By MATTHEW BALDWIN Barnes............... 19 Guernsey..........26 TWO tries from Ethan Smith set the stage for Guernsey as they squeezed past Barnes...

WOMEN’S GAME IN FOCUS

Sarah Rendell takes a weekly look at some important women players LAURA PERRIN THIS WEEK... SALE SHARKS CENTRE Laura Perrin started...

Tynedale left to rue missed penalties

By DES HICKIE Chester .............32 Tynedale ......... 31 THIS match was tight, as the score suggests. It finished with four tries...

Second-half blitz spurs Sedgley on

By CHRIS NUNN Blaydon ................... 16 Sedgley Park ........66 BLAYDON started well with an early Nathan Horsfall penalty, but it wasn’t...

Carleton shines to see off Wharfedale

By ELLIOT BURROW Fylde ........................48  Wharfedale ............ 18 TOM CARLETON helped himself to a hattrick as Fylde stayed unbeaten at home....

Lea’s first-half hat-trick puts Stour on way to a rout

By DAVE LAWRENCE Stourbridge............ 61 Huddersfield..........22 STOURBRIDGE maintained their flawless start to the season with an emphatic nine-try victory over Huddersfield....

Titans are too strong as Ionians fall short

By BRIAN NORMAN Hull Ionians..... 24pts Rotherham........27pts IN A classic game of two halves, Hull Ionians dominated the first half to...