Prem needs stars on show

I CAN’T wait for the Premiership to return - I just hope the league is competitive throughout. I wouldn’t blame Saracens...

No issue with Chiefs identity

I’M A Sandy Park regular and would be a season ticket holder if I didn’t spent five months of each normal...

‘Heartland’ has chance of success but boost to 14 teams

AS Jeff Probyn wrote last week, if Ed Griffiths' comprehensive proposals for the future of England’s second tier are to have...

Will Eddie be able to pick Exeter players for Rome?

OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK JEREMY GUSCOTT IT will be great when Rugby Union gets going again in England on August...

DREAMTEAM

OWEN FRANKS, NORTHAMPTON SAINTS AND FORMER NEW ZEALAND, CRUSADERS AND CANTERBURY PROP, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR...

Can Gatland survive the storm to lead the Lions?

COLIN BOAG Under fire: Warren Gatland with the Chiefs From hero to zero in just a few short months has been...

Booth will be a big asset for Ospreys says James

By ALEX BYWATER All-rounder: Toby Booth coaching at Bath “CLASS ACT” Toby Booth has been backed to bring the good times...

World 7s cancel winter legs

THEDubai and Cape Town rounds of the 2021 Rugby World Sevens - due to take place in November and December this...

Wray stays at Sarries to build for the future

By NEALE HARVEY JACKSONWray wants to become a leading figure in Saracens’ revival after extending his contract until 2023. Along with...

Playing with no crowds will be disastrous say Ponty

By ALEX BYWATER THE WRU have been warned playing Premiership matches behind closed doors would lead to financial ruin for the...

Tigers will be fierce again under Borthwick

By NEALE HARVEY Getting up to speed: Luke Wallace training with Leicester this week BACK row warrior Luke Wallace has shone...

RFU must stop being transfixed on top level says Lewis

By JACK ZORAB BOURNVILLE director of rugby Dean Lewis has labelled the RFU ‘diabolical’ in their selection process for the women’s...

Hero Isi wins it for Rebels in extra time thriller

By SAM JACKSON ISI Naisarani scored a try in ‘super time’ as the Melbourne Rebels sealed a 25-20 win over the...

Battle lines drawn in star player release row

JAMES HARRINGTON “A form of squad rotation could be agreed limiting the number of internationals for which a player can be...

Tough act trying to be Leeds’ next Maradona

MY LIFEIN RUGBY ALBERTO DI BERNARDO THE FORMER ITALY, CORNISH PIRATES, LEEDS CARNEGIE, BOURGOIN & TREVISO FLY-HALF Special day: Alberto di...

Llanelli is breeding ground for Wales – Fisher

By ROB COLE PAUL Fisher has lost count of the number of caps won by the players who have come through...

Welsh regions trying to fast-track wage cuts

By ALEX BYWATER WELSH rugby has been plunged into an even deeper crisis with all four regions desperately trying to negotiate...

Sharks can smell blood now Manu’s on board

By NEALE HARVEY Top signing: Manu Tuilagi enjoys a joke with his new Sale teammates PICTURES: Getty Images Enforcer: Lood de...

Rocky ride at times, but rugby is the best team game in the world

Brendan Gallagher concludes his expert and authoritative look at the history of Rugby Union The History of Rugby: PART 20 STORY...

RFU should get grassroots playing again, not the Prem

A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME JEFF PROBYN Scrum is danger area: Sixteen players in a tiny space breathng the...

Premier 15s could expand into a British league

AS clubs in the top flight of women’s rugby return to ‘stage one training’ RFU’s head of women’s performance Nicky Ponsford...

Dream job has been nightmare for Susie!

By NEALE HARVEY Experienced head: Susie Appleby won 65 caps for England PICTURES: Getty Images Assistant: Amy Garnett EXETER women’s head...

YOUNGGUNS

MORGANMACREA NEALE HARVEY Oxfordshire-bred hooker Morgan MacRae has his heart set on representing Wales after pinning his flag to the Scarlets’...

Twickenham hoodoo but Kings of the North at 7s

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools AT most schools the Covid pandemic brought an abrupt and downbeat...

Former Blues star Down helps Lokomotiv derail Enisei

By ROB COLE Winner: James Down JAMES Down became the first Welsh player to get back into action since rugby went...

Thomas aims to get ‘home’ club Warriors’ pack on track

By NEALE HARVEY Impressive: Worcester’s new captain Ted Hill PICTURE: Getty Images FORMER Wales back row Jonathan Thomas believes lessons in...

Walker: I’m back to help Blues be the best

By SAM JACKSON FORMER Wales wing Nigel Walker has been appointed to the Cardiff Blues board with immediate effect. Walker, 57,...

Value for money must work both ways

THEWales squad’s squabble over pay cuts has deteriorated to the point where some felt strongly enough to discuss taking industrial action....

Survivor Sonny Bill finds a new payday

THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW PETER JACKSON “Williams’ career earnings are close to $30m Australian (£15m, give or take a...

Germans show growing strength with French win

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

Richard’s eye for detail can help us blaze in all weathers

JOE LAUNCHBURY Q&A Leading the charge: Joe Launchbury has been a key man for club and country for almost a decade...

Ieuan joins race to be the next WRU chairman

By ALEX BYWATER Rivals: Gareth Davies, Nigel Davies and Ieuan Evans WELSH Rugby Union chairman Gareth Davies faces a threeway fight...

Putin puts his might behind RWC2027

THE ‘news’ that Russia is to launch a bid to host RWC2027 seems to have caught some by surprise although it...

Warrior Haden was a serial loser in Britain!

LET’S sidestep Cardiff 1978 just for once and admit that Andy Haden, who died this week, was an absolute beast of...

Barrett boys face split in North-South divide

BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Brothers in arms: Jordie Barrett, Scott Barrett and Beauden Barrett...

Ring-fence and cash flow are the big issues

Gloucester owner Martin St Quinton tells Colin Boag why change is needed Every rugby fan will have dreamt at one time...

Tigers success would propel Borthwick into the realms of super coaches

NICK CAIN TALKS TO NEW LEICESTER BOSS STEVE BORTHWICK AND SECOND ROW CALUM GREEN STEVE Borthwick is more about hard graft...

Big Chief gets chop just like Custer

WE WILL see no more of Big Chief, pensioned off in his prime by an Exeter hierarchy so acutely aware of...

Refs’ zero tolerance makes for a spectacle

CHRIS HEWETT If there is a growing feeling across the northern rugby landscape that too many New Zealanders hold professorships in...

Saint Francois pushing for England honours

By NEALE HARVEY Feeling Test ready: Francois van Wyk RENAISSANCE prop Francois van Wyk has put Joe Marler, Mako Vunipola and...

Irish sign Wallaby Simmons

AUSTRALIA lock Rob Simmons will join London Irish when he completes the Super Rugby season with NSW Waratahs, as revealed in...

Mr Motivator Telfer scales the peaks of rugby rhetoric

Brendan Gallagher continues his enthralling series by looking at rugby’s ‘goosebump’ moments 1: Jim Telfer’s Everest speech (1997) Like many games...

Pay row must be sorted out quickly

WE ALWAYS seem to be lurching from one crisis to another in a Welsh drama. As a nation we never seem...

James is speaking language of success in Russia

I WAS delighted to see that James Down got his new career in Russia off to a flying start last week....

What a joy it will be to see Wales in action

So close to victory: Justin Tipuric goes past Henry Slade of England to score for Wales’ in the Six Nations’ 33-30...

Quins boost prop options

HARLEQUINS have signed Scotland U20 tight-head prop Mak Wilson. The 20-year-old moves to London from Scottish Super 6 side Southern Knights...

Chiefs decision labeled ‘tone deaf’

EXETER Chiefs have decided to retain their name and logo following calls from some fans to lose their Native American branding....

Boffelli could be a target for Bath

Versatile: Boffelli BATH are still looking to sign a fullback which could mean they are taking a look at Argentina international...

Irish want Puma Creevy to beef up front row

Experienced: Pumas veteran Agustin Creevy LONDON IRISH are set to add to their ever-expanding foreign legion ahead of the return to...

Abendanon rejects Prem to stay in France

FORMER England fullback Nick Abendanon has rejected the chance of moving back to the Premiership to stay in France next season....