Alun Wyn: Give Wayne a break, he’s not to blame

■By ALEX BYWATER Pressure: Wayne Pivac ALUN Wyn Jones has told the critics to lay off Wales head coach Wayne Pivac...

Taufete’e set for move to Top 14

WORCESTER hooker Joe Taufete’e will join Lyon at the end of the season. USA international Taufete’e, 27, has made 46 appearances...

Saints’ All Blacks ace Franks set to call time

TWO-TIMEWorld Cup winner Ben Franks is to retire at the end of the 2019-20 season. The Northampton front row, 35, won...

Piutau extends his stay at Bristol

CENTRE Siale Piutau has signed a one-year extension with Bristol. The 34-year-old former Tonga fly-half ‘s deal comes three months after...

Protheroe puts faith in Booth’s Ospreys

OSPREYS have signed versatile back Mat Protheroe from Bristol for the 2020-21 season. The 23-year-old fullback or fly-half was born in...

No hesitation for new Tiger Henry

LEICESTER have signed goal-kicking flyhalf Zack Henry for next season. The 25-year-old Harlequins academy graduate will join from French Pro D2...

Webb signs for Bath ahead of Wales move

RUGBY SHORTS BATH have signed Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb until the end of the season. The 31-year-old left Toulon last month...

Gatland would never have whinged like Pivac

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME Never grounded: Dan Biggar had a French arm under the ball when...

Race for second heating up in South

South West Premier OKEHAMPTON threw their hat into the fight for second in the South West Premier by moving above their...

Sandal win to take a great leap forward

Northern Premier WITH four matches falling victim to the weather in the Northern Premier Division, there were just three played on...

Bournville get back to business at top

Midlands Premier IT WAS a quiet week in the Midlands Premier that saw four cancellations due to the weather. But there...

Rochford and Guernsey level pegging

London & South East Premier GUERNSEYmaintained their place at the top of the table following a bonus try 43-3 win at...

YOUNG GUNS

WILL HAYDON-WOOD NEWCASTLE FLY-HALF For many aspiring young players, news of a veteran clubmate in their position extending his contract by...

Flood victims struggling to keep afloat

■By JON NEWCOMBE Water, water everywhere: The scene at Hereford RUGBY clubs in England and Wales have been up to their...

Taunton in full flow after early dismissal

■By TOM HOLMES Barnes ……………10 Taunton T ………45 AN excellent second half performance allowed Taunton to take apart 14- man Barnes...

Westcliff celebrate spirited display and bonus point

■By NICK CROWE Westcliff ………12 Tonbridge J …19 WESTCLIFF’S grit and determination won them a potentially crucial bonus point, while at...

Albanian pride as dogged show so nearly halts Reds

■By BILL HOOPER Redruth ……………21pts Old Albanian ….12pts On the run: Jack Oulton of Redruth makes a break Fraser Honey kicks...

Clifton’s brave 13 grind it out

■By ROGER OPIE Clifton …………………20 Henley Hawks ……10 CLIFTONduly completed the double over the league leaders with a convincing display. Storm...

Bury click with own route 66

■By SIMON LORD Bury St Edmunds…66 Old Redcliffians …22 THESE two sides finally met at the third time of asking, but...

Crusaders in cruise control in final quarter

■By JOHN WHITE Dings …………….51 Bournemouth…14 A SUPERB second-half performance paved the way for Dings’ bonus-point victory over Bournemouth at Shaftesbury...

MATT SMITH

MY LIFE IN RUGBY THE FORMER LEICESTER AND NOTTINGHAM CENTRE/WINGER I REMEMBER Martin Corry saying to me during my first few...

Joe leaves Field with a Stour taste

■By NICK PULLEN Stourbridge………14 Huddersfield………14 HUDDERSFIELD eased their relegation fears after a dogged draw with Stourbridge at Stourton Park. With a...

Foden removes Hoppers’ spring

■By STEVE SMITH Chester ………………27 Preston GH …………14 CHESTER came from 11 points down to claim a bonus-point victory on the...

Defiant Lucs give Tigers shock mauling

■By GEOFF VICKRESS Luctonians ….22 Sedgley Park 13 LUCTONIANS edged past high-flying Sedgley Park with an impressive performance at Mortimer Park....

Zebras toppled by Johnson’s crossing

■By RICHARD GORE Hull ………………….20pts Otley ………………14pts HULL coach Gary Pearce believes his side’s narrow victory over Otley now has them...

Right-Royle showing has Ravers rocking on

■By JOHN LYON Caldy …………103 Scunthorpe ……0 NICK Royle scored four times as Caldy ran in a scintillating 17 tries against...

Joe joyful with clinical kicking

■By STEVE SMITH Hinckley …………….17 Wharfedale …………7 JOE Wilson kicked the crucial points as Hinckley held on for an important home...

Students in no need of lesson

■By RYAN STEVENS Loughborough S …32 Fylde ………………….30 LOUGHBOROUGH Students won a thriller against high-flying Fylde to close the gap at...

Booth to take the reins at struggling Ospreys

NEWS EXTRA OSPREYS have named Toby Booth as the new head coach on a three-year deal, starting this summer. Booth, 50,...

Club come out on top in battle of elements

■By GRAHAM COX Blackheath ……12 Cambridge…………3 THE conditions ranged from difficult to almost impossible in this contest as Blackheath edged out...

Albion increase Moseley fears

■By PAUL SMITH Moseley………………14 Plymouth Albion…26 THREE tries from their powerful pack, in which veteran back-rower Herbie Stupple put in an...

Fearsome pack power OEs win

■By MALLY KNOWLES Hull Ionions …………6 Old Elthamians ….26 OLD Elthamians claimed a bonus-point victory at Brantingham Park by dint of...

Darlington ensure that the ship Sales away

■By KEVIN ROBINSON Darlington MP34 Sale FC………………15 DARLINGTON Mowden Park emphatically registered their first win over visitors Sale FC on an...

Leaders survive a scare to secure key bonus point

■By TIM FORRESTER Richmond……27 Canterbury……10 LOWLY Canterbury briefly held a two-point lead against Richmond but the league leaders were stung into...

Villagers Nick it to keep up the chase at the top

■By JACK JOHNSON Diving in: Jason Worrall scores Chinnor’s first try PICTURES: Simon Cooper MATT Williams hailed his Chinnor side as...

It’s Crame game as Rams edge the Titans

■By RICHARD ASHTON Rams ………………25 Rotherham ……20 RAMS put a testing week behind them to secure a bonus-point home victory against...

London Irish aiming to exit Madejski with flourish

■By GARY FITZGERALD All about effort: Declan Danaher DECLAN Danaher denies Saracens’ nightmare Premiership predicament has had anything to do with...

Genge sits there bottled up with anger says Youngs

BEN YOUNGS believes his Leicester teammate Ellis Genge can be a powerhouse prop for England in the coming years. Scrum-half Youngs,...

Young Exiles wings are on fire warns Naholo

■By NEALE HARVEY Desperate measures: Gloucester can’t stop Ollie Hassell-Collins scoring the second of his four tries for London Irish PICTURE:...

Korczyk shows his class for Trailfinders

■By NEALE HARVEY DYNAMIC flanker Adam Korczyk shone as Trailfinders survived rotten conditions and a furious second half fightback from Coventry...

Fowkes adds fresh blood for trip down to Pirates

■By ADAM ELLIS Back: Nick De Battista NOTTINGHAMhead coach Neil Fowkes is not underestimating the challenge of facing Cornish Pirates at...

Reliable boot of Grimoldby secures Amps win

■By ANDREW BEACHAM AMPTHILLwere good value for this victory on a dismal Gloucestershire evening. Neither side produced much on a saturated...

Five-try Falcons produce best yet

■By TOM INNES Ruck time: Falcons and Reds contest the ball Star turn: Brett Connon on the attack for Falcons, tackled...

Resurgent Blues make it four wins on the bounce

■By RYAN ROBINSON BEDFORD Blues produced their most complete performance of the season to secure a commanding bonus point victory over...

Holsey in to bolster Scottish front row

Preview Y Carnegie v L Scottish Today, Kick-off 3pm WORCESTER loanee Lewis Holsey goes straight into a London Scottish front row...

A third Ntamack beat Boks for France

THERE has rightly been much comment this season about young French tyro Romain Ntamack and his father Emile, France’s elegant wing...

End this deadly licence to maim at ruck time

Errors: Jaco Peyper I HAVE no idea what game TMO Marius Jonker was watching at Twickenham last week, nor indeed, at...

Greatest teams have all had special joy of six

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Coal-face hero: Richard Hill helped England win the...

Jennings gunning for another crack at top-flight

■By NEALE HARVEY Aiming high: Rory Jennings COVENTRY fly-half Rory Jennings says the RFU cutbacks in Championship funding are a “kick...

Spittle: Late developers may be lost to the game

■By JON NEWCOMBE Record man: Nottingham winger Jack Spittle NOTTINGHAM’s history- making winger Jack Spittle fears more late bloomers like himself...