Captain Fran rides atop the sea of happy faces

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

Stimpson: He looks the real deal to me

LEICESTER have a trackrecord for producing England full-backs, but the most notable in the post-war era are Dusty Hare (25 caps,...

‘Rock’ Freddie is the full-back England are looking for

NICK CAIN TALKS TO DUSTY HARE ABOUT THE MAN EDDIE JONES SHOULD PLAY AT N0.15 FREDDIE Steward is in the foothills...

No one messed with this mighty Max

PETER JACKSON SOME famous players had to make do with bearing the name of one place in England’s green and pleasant...

Why Clive Griffiths will dodge All Blacks showdown | Peter Jackson

On the last Saturday of this month, Clive Griffiths could have been watching Wales-New Zealand in Cardiff free of charge. He...

Sorry seems to be the easiest word

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW RYNO Pieterse’s horizontal hit on Bordeaux scrum-half Maxime Lucu demanded a long sentence....

Five-star Saracens secure another bonus

By PAUL BROWNING Worcester ........5 Saracens ........34 WORCESTER were unable to stop a clinical Saracens outfit littered with England stars from...

Sharks slaughter gets Loughborough off mark

By NATHAN ROCHE DMP Sharks ......0 Loughboro L....59 LOUGHBOROUGH notched their first win of the Premier 15s season with a thumping...

Brown hammers over to clinch Quins’ victory

By MATT MERRITT Gloucester-H ..18 Harlequins ......21 WITH a grey sky overhead and greasy, wet grass underfoot, to the credit of...

Bristol 27-17 Sale: Sharks show fight but Bears just too strong

BRISTOL made it four consecutive wins to the start the season with a bonuspoint victory over Sale. They began at lightning...

Chiefs find their groove to go three from three

By HARRY SCOTT-MUNRO Exeter Chiefs..23 Wasps ..............13 EXETER Chiefs made it three wins on the spin as they recovered from a...

Ace Davies desperate to break his Irish duck

By STEFFAN THOMAS PREVIEW... Dragons v Leinster Today. Kick-off 2pm, Rodney Parade SAM Davies has never beaten an Irish side while...

Timoney double finishes the rout

By JOHN MULDOON Zebre ..................3 Ulster ..............36 SCRUM-HALF Nathan Doak, starting his first match for Ulster, said they were pleased to...

One-handed Snyman gets drop on his fellow Saffers

By JOHN FALLON Munster ............34pts Tries: O’Donoghue 40, 56; Kleyn 47, N Scannell 51, Snyman 68 Conversions: Carbery 40, 48; Healy...

Marin drops in to deny Scots

By ADAM ELLIS Benetton ........28 Edinburgh ......27 LEONARDO Marin’s dropgoal denied Edinburgh victory at the death as the Benetton replacement ensured...

Costelow takes chance to shine for Scarlets

By STEFFAN THOMAS Scarlets ............36pts Tries: R Evans 5, Rogers 19, 70, S Evans 79 Conversions: Costelow 6, 20 Penalties: Costelow...

Anscombe keeps the Ospreys flying high

By STEFFAN THOMAS Ospreys ..............18pts Penalties: Anscombe 2, 15, 9, 38, 52, 64 Cardiff ................14pts Tries: Adams 19, Lane 44 Conversions:...

Sharks crash to another defeat

By SAM JACKSON Glasgow ................35 Sharks ....................24 THE Sharks showed their bite in the second half but still came up short...

Bulls suffer second slaughter in Ireland

By JOHN FALLON Connacht ..............34 Bulls ..........................7 CONNACHT coach Andy Friend wants his men to build on their impressive first home...

Battle on for Welsh students’ bragging rights

NEWS EXTRA By ROB COLE CARDIFF Arms Park will be the scene of a Welsh capital derby on Wednesday night when...

‘Desperate’ Boks back on top of world rankings

THE Springboks are back on top of the World Rugby rankings after their shock win over the All Blacks. Their 31-29...

London Irish aim to break into Eddie’s England clique

LONDON Irish were the only one of the Premiership 13 who were not called on by England for last week’s training...

Women’s team needs increased funding to compete

SHANE WILLIAMS I REALLY hope this autumn can represent a clean slate for Wales women’s side. The team has had an...

Wayne Pivac has to nail key combos for World Cup | Shane Williams

I WAS sat down watching Scrum V with a cup of tea last Sunday when Wayne Pivac made a surprise appearance...

My fortunes changed under Alec’s tutelage

MY LIFE IN RUGBY JON HUMPHREYS THE FORMER WALES, CARDIFF AND BATH HOOKER AND CURRENT WALES FORWARDS COACH GROWING up watching...

Big respect all round as Pirates plot response

By SAM JACKSON PREVIEW... Cornish Pirates v Ealing Trailfinders Today. Kick-off 3pm, Mennaye Field CORNISH Pirates are still ‘smarting’ from last weekend’s...

First-half blitz puts Archers clear before late fightback

By ASH WILLIS Nottingham......22pts Tries: Farnoworth 2, 11; Stronge 30 Conversions: Hollingsworth 2, 30 Penalties: Hollingsworth 28 Hartpury ............20pts Tries: Short...

Penalty-strewn scrap goes Coventry’s way

By TOM HALLAM-GRAVELLS Coventry ............10pts Tries: Stevenson 26 Conversions: Fenner 26 Penalties: Fenner 73 Richmond ............5pts Tries: Graham 36 COVENTRY edged...

Blues win pack battle to let the backs shine

By RYAN ROBINSON Bedford ..............31pts Tries: Tapley 31, Lane 43, Uru 60 Conversions: Maisey 32, 61 Penalties: Maisey 12, 16, 70,...

Stunning try by Cambriani puts Amps on victory path

By XANDER CHEVALLIER L Scottish..........13pts Tries: Fielding 79 Conversions: May 80 Penalties: May 3, 15 Ampthill ............21pts Tries: Cambriani 7 Conversions:...

Warriors reaping rewards of sand dune slog

NEWS EXTRA By ADAM HATHAWAY WORCESTER head coach Jonathan Thomas took his club to the coast during pre-season as they bid...

O’Shea hunts Eddie’s successor

THE RFU have already started their search for Eddie Jones’ successor as England coach. The Australian has said he will stand...

Lam’s chat with Ojomoh triggers transfer talk

PAT Lam was seen in a deep touchline conversation with Bath’s highly-rated inside centre Max Ojomoh after Friday’s West Country derby...

Northampton Saints emergency call for prop

NORTHAMPTON Saints last week sent out an SOS looking to bring another tighthead prop into Franklin’s Gardens as injury cover until...

The fly-half’s name is Wilkinson and his talent is blossoming!

By JON NEWCOMBE Play-maker: Kieran Wilkinson KIERAN Wilkinson is set to make his third Premiership appearance of the season for Sale...

Hogg’s back and so is the Exeter ‘edge’

Paul Rees talks to Henry Slade and Rob Baxter about Exeter’s stumbling start to the new season PREVIEW... Sale v Exeter...

Jersey good enough for Lions but not for Prem

JERSEY Reds are top of the Championship. They have outstanding training facilities, complete with altitude training chambers, at the Strive complex...

Time must be called on endless game breaks | Nick Cain

PERPETUAL stoppages have become the scourge of international rugby. The biggest culprits in this regard are South Africa. The world champions...

Stuart Hooper heartened by young Bath talent

BATH director of rugby Stuart Hooper was bemused by some decisions: “At some of the scrums, arms are being pulled before...

Bristol 25-20 Bath: Radradra blow can’t halt Bears revival

BRISTOL cushioned the hammer blow of losing their Fijian superstar, Semi Radradra, for a lengthy period by sneaking a victory over...

Deano: Gopperth made a meal of it

NEWCASTLE boss Dean Richards insisted Tom Penny was the innocent party in the eye-gouging incident. “Tom is distraught as he didn’t...

Newcastle 18-14 Wasps: Eye gouge rumpus as Falcons lay a hoodoo

FALCONS Callum Chick scored from a spectacular late burst as Newcastle ended Wasps long home over them at a rowdy Kingston...

That was rubbish says Boyd, somebody is looking after us

CHRIS Boyd had one word to describe Northampton’s performance and this disjointed match: “Rubbish.” “There’s only two good things about today;...

Northampton 23-21 London Irish: Returning Biggar is late hero for Saints

DAN Biggar picked himself up to kick a match-winning penalty to keep unbeaten Northampton on track in a tense finish at...

Collins can boost Wales in midfield

By PETER JACKSON Tigers’ roar: Leicester players celebrate after being awarded a last minute, match-winning penalty try PICTURE: Getty Images WALES...

Saracens in £32m takeover, Nigel Wray to hand over control

SARACENS have agreed a £32m takeover deal with a consortium of investors that includes South African World Cup-winning captain Francois Pienaar....

Stars look to France as fee row rumbles on

BRISTOL Bears could be facing a fight to hang onto back row Nathan Hughes who has been offered to French clubs...

Lam: We know we can bring this back

WASPS boss Lee Blackett was delighted with the win but wants his side to back it up against Newcastle next week....

Wasps 44-8 Bristol: Wasps turn on turbos to thunder into season

WASPS made up for lost time after sitting out last weekend’s opening round with a startling performance, based on an uber...

Thomas: We had belief we could win

JONATHAN Thomas admitted his Warriors were the victims of their own undoing as they came across champions in typically free-flowing and...