Islanders showcase stars of the future

Talent: Filimoni Botitu THE lack of any involvement from the three major Pacific nations at this year’s best ever Junior World...

Hats off to Goneva, the game needs clever plays

ALL power to Niki Goneva, below, for trying his little dummy touchdown for Newcastle against Saracens last week, the game will...

Ex-Bear Molloy inspires five-star Wasps

By BEN ADAMS Bristol Bears …17 Wasps……………32 CLAIRE Molloy went over twice as five-try Wasps got their campaign off to a...

Forward power order of the day for Lightning

By MAX CARTER Loughboro’ ….22 Richmond………19 LOUGHBOROUGH Lightning got their second Premier 15s season off to a stirring start with a...

Quins lay down early marker in Gloucester

By DANIEL BRABHAM Glo’cester-Har …24pts Harlequins ……….38pts Dancing feet: Rachael Burford scored for Harlequins HARLEQUINS Ladies matched reigning champions Saracens in...

Sharks show their bite to break Valkyrie hearts

By ROBERT FORSTER DMP Sharks….27 Worcester V …24 IN A see-saw encounter in the north east, Darlington Mowden Park Sharks battled...

Champs make an ominous start to defence

By PHILIP TAYLOR Firwood Wat ….5 Saracens ………38 SARACENS made the perfect start to the defence of their Premier 15s title...

Jake finds Leeds as good as advertised

By JON NEWCOMBE CANADIAN international Jake Ilnicki is delighted to be following in the footsteps of his international coach Mike Shelley...

Ealing hold on in face of fierce Exiles fight-back

By LUKE JARMYN FIVE tries and a man-of the- match display from flanker Andrew Durutalo got Ealing back on track after...

Eight-try Exiles bring in the bonus by half-time

By RAY CHILD LONDON Irish forwards coach George Skivington was delighted with his side’s resounding eight-try bonus-point victory at the Madejski....

Knights go riding high with late power play

By GUY WILLIAMS A STRONG second half performance by Doncaster at Castle Park in their first home match of the campaign...

Dickson has no complaints with ‘boring’ winning rugby

By MATT WRIGHT A LAST-GASP penalty try gave Bedford a dramatic victory over Jersey and ensured their forward dominance did not...

Strong gets nod to do battle with Bulumakau

Cornish Pirates v Coventry Preview Today. Kick-off 2.30pm CORNISH Pirates co-coach Gavin Cattle has made just one change to the side...

LEICESTER’S LAST EIGHT COACHES

Dean Richards (England) Feb 1998-2004 The legendary Leicester, England and Lions No.8 became the most successful Tigers coach of the professional...

Reasons why O’Connor was booted out of Welford Road

NICK CAIN ASSESSES THE TROUBLED TIMES AT LEICESTER TIGERS LEICESTER, for so long the powerhouse club in England, are slipping. By...

Rodrigo still locked in at age of 38

WHEN it comes to winning titles in Europe at an age when most players have run out of stamina, nobody does...

Hamilton scales the peaks in 24 hours

PLAYERS of all football codes are never slow to spout about having mountains to climb without ever bothering to buy a...

Tomos the anthem

EVEN Horatio Nelson would have thought twice about navigating his way from Pwllehli to the seaport named after him half a...

Ruddock’s family double

THE head honchos of the Robinson and Ruddock families go back a fair way, to a time when one had charge...

Pay-per-view silence

NO viewing figures have been divulged for the PRO14’s opening plunge into the often shallow pool of pay-per-view television. Whatever Premier...

NZ reserves also contain six appeal

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW The All Blacks duly delivered another average performance yesterday, average that is as...

Hooper delight as Aussies break duck

By GARY FITGERALD Relief: Will Genia, Tom Robertson and try-scorer Matt Toomua celebrate their tight win PICTURE: Getty Images MICHAEL Hooper...

All change but Kiwis still pound the Pumas

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER NEW Zealand ruthlessly took their chances to outscore the Pumas six tries to three in a match that...

…And a dozen who need to be inducted asap

Captain fantastic: Will Carling led England to three Grand Slams PICTURE: Getty Images World Rugby Hall of Fame Inductees 2006: William...

Hall of Famers you might be a bit hazy about

Donald and Ian Campbell (Chile): Ex-pat family long domiciled in Santiago, Donald Campbell was the founding father of Chilean Rugby before...

Star players line up for the fame game

Brendan Gallagher takes a close look at Rugby’s Hall of Fame and its latest batch of inductees Munster and Ireland legend:...

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Japan Tests will ease pressure on England stars

ENGLAND will play only two summer Test matches in Japan in 2020, edging elite players towards a total number of internationals...

Coaches need protecting like players, says Moon

By NEALE HARVEY Views: Richard Moon RUGBY’S coaches deserve greater protection and are being poorly served by comparison with players, according...

Friend’s all smiles after his first win in charge

Connacht …32 Zebre …………….13 ANDY Friend was thrilled to get his first win as Connacht coach as his men proved too...

Vital win for Jackman but much work to do

By ALEX BYWATER THIS WAS a game the Dragons had to win to relieve pressure on head coach Bernard Jackman, but...

Cockerill upbeat despite another defeat

Ulster…………….30 Edinburgh ……29 RICHARDCockerill lamented a last-gasp loss in Belfast but believes he has seen enough in Edinburgh’s opening two games...

Ioane try makes Blues pay for double yellow

By STEFFAN THOMAS CARDIFF Blues fell to an agonising last gasp 27-25 defeat to Benetton in Italy after being reduced to...

Accuracy of Halfpenny proves the difference

By ROGER PANTING Tense finish: Gareth Davies scores for Scarlets PICTURE: Huw Evans SCARLETS avenged their two convincing defeats to Leinster,...

All-action Tipuric leads rout of the Cheetahs

By STEFFAN THOMAS THE Ospreys demolished the Cheetahs with a seven try masterclass in Swansea to cap off their best start...

Rennie delighted with his big men up front

Glasgow……….25 Munster ……….10 By GARY HEATLY DAVE Rennie praised his forward pack after the Warriors made it two wins from two...

Devoto’s out of his ‘dark place’

OLLIE DEVOTO aims to put a nightmare season behind him by leading ambitious Exeter to a second Premiership title. After a...

Lozowski pumps up to build his England bid

By NEALE HARVEY Challenge: Alex Lozowski faces England competition ALEX Lozowski has revealed why he has been piling on the pounds...

Warren will mix his teams to beat fatigue

WALES’ final preparations for the 2019 World Cup will see them play four warm-up fixtures, two against Ireland and two with...

I’m making a new PRO14 debut!

I’VE REALLY enjoyed the first two weekends of the new PRO14 season and now it’s my chance to get in amongst...

We need virtuosos like Ashton and Cips

Entertainer: Chris Ashton training with England PICTURE: Getty Images ENGLAND are looking to bounce back from a season to forget and...

ROOM 101

TOM EATON THE STOCKPORT PLAYER-COACH TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FROM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND 1) Training fads Even...

Slade ready to pledge his future to the Chiefs

HENRY SLADE could become the next big name Exeter Chiefs player to pledge his future to the Premiership finalists. Last week...

Itoje rubbishes French talk and stays at Sarries

New deal: Maro Itoje MARO ITOJE is set to pledge his loyalty to Saracens by penning a new three-year contract with...

Ref Sara is on the up

SARA COX, below, is being tipped by many observers to become the first female to referee in the Premiership before the...

Gloucester prop Val eyes move to Top 14

Off? Rapava-Ruskin VAL Rapava-Ruskin could be looking to depart Gloucester when his contract runs out at the end of the season....

No CVs needed, Tigers tell would-be bosses

LEICESTER TIGERS are believed to have told agents that they are not going to be accepting applications to replace Matt O’Connor....

It’s been a difficult week – Diamond

Out: Francois Hougaard FORGOTTEN England No.8 Josh Beaumont returns to Sale’s starting XV as part of a back row shuffle, while...

Heem aims to honour Adams’ 50th game

By NEALE HARVEY Fighting talk: Bryce Heem says Warriors can flourish BRYCE HEEM insists Worcester can prove their critics wrong by...

Beaumont: Now we need a big reaction

By JON NEWCOMBE Frustrated: Josh Beaumont hopes the Sale cobwebs have blown away JOSH BEAUMONT admits this is a big year...