Time to decide: To party or play?

For numerous reasons too complicated to detail, I haven’t attended a match in person in Cardiff for a very long while,...

Ealing’s pair make the cut but Blues and Hartpury are at the top of the bill

CHAMPIONSHIP DREAM TEAM >> THE BEST XV FROM 2024-25 AS VOTED FOR BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS Ben Jaycock canvassed the views of...

Sussex school’s growing the game

By BEN JAYCOCK KIT Claughton has enjoyed introducing rugby to a huge number of foreign students at Buckswood School and hopes...

Mike Friday: England have plenty of options at No.9

Ben Jaycock talks to Mike Friday about his son’s rise to the top and the choices Steve Borthwick has on offer...

Jeff Probyn: Another battling show by Bordeaux

What a great game last weekend’s Champions Cup final turned out to be with both of the finalists, Northampton and Bordeaux...

Cheshire work hard to subdue Cumbria

Division 2 ■By JOSH THOMAS CHESHIRE came from behind to beat Cumbria 45-28 to move into the semi-finals unbeaten after a...

Semi-finals decided

Division 3 ■By GEORGE WELLBELOVE LEICESTERSHIRE, Hertfordshire, Dorset & Wiltshire and Sussex qualified for the Division 3 semi-finals. After three weeks...

Minikin is on fire for dominant Yorkshire

Division 1 ■By LUKE JARMYN Lancashire .......22pts Tries: C Smith 15, Bowker 31, Ailes 57, Quinn 78 Conversion: Hunt 16 Yorkshire...

Herts force Leicestershire to battle to finish

Gill Burns County Championship ■ By MOSHER LEICESTERSHIRE booked a semi-final place in the third tier of the Gill Burns Cup...

Six of the best sees Cornwall end on a high

Division 1 ■By BILL HOOPER Hampshire .......32pts Tries: Dennett 2, Sargent 18, Colbourne 37, 68; Bruce 43, Meyer 80 Conversion: Dennett...

I really like the idea of Cup competitions

Coach to coach Steve Hill puts the questions to Rudi Kochanowski, below, the head coach of Hampshire Men’s County XV (Division...

from the best coaches I’ve been lucky to learn

MY LIFE IN RUGBY BARRY MADDOCKS THE FORMER ABERAVON CENTRE, WHO HAS ENJOYED A SUCCESSFUL COACHING CAREER AT HARTPURY COLLEGE, ENGLAND...

Results

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OSCAR TALBOT

YOUNG GUNS LEICESTER & ENGLAND U18 FLY-HALF Oscar Talbot says it’s a privilege to wear the England 10 shirt at U18...

Toulouse keen to get back in groove

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN SITTING out last weekend’s Champions Cup final was not in Toulouse’s plans at the start of the...

Expect Grenoble to get it right this time

GRENOBLE will go into next Saturday’s ProD2 final as strong favourites for the title, and the prize of promotion to the...

Vaa’i hat-trick puts Chiefs in command

Super Rugby Pacific round-up ■ By SAM JACKSON THE Chiefs secured top ranking for the play-offs with a 41-24 win over...

Brave Lupus promise to take the attack to Spears

Japan League One preview Ace: Richie Mo’unga BRAVE Lupus second row Warner Dearns insists the defending champions will continue their expansive,...

Exeter locks on their way

NEWS EXTRA LOCKS Franco Molina and Jack Dunne are to leave Exeter at the end of the season. Argentina’s Molina, 27,...

Forthcoming fixtures

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Premiership Round 18: Best head-to-head matchups of the weekend 

The Premiership will see a final weekend packed with action, as teams have lots still to play for.  Now that the...

URC Quarter-Finals Talking Points: Duhan van der Merwe misses out for Edinburgh

The URC play-offs are set to begin this weekend, starting off with the last eight battling it out in the quarter-finals.  Given...

Premiership Round 18 Talking Points: Rugby says goodbye to some legends 

The final round of the Premiership regular season is coming up this weekend, with everything still to play for.  Bath have...

Premiership Final Round Permutations: Play-off spot out of Saracens’ hands

The Premiership‘s last game of the regular season has arrived, with all to play for.  Bath may have secured top spot...

Pete Ryan: The ‘often overlooked’ Sam Davies still tearing up Pro D2

Arguably the most famous position on a rugby pitch, a fly-half is integral to any side at any level. Charged with...

Pete Ryan: Bridgend Athletic ready to write their next chapter in Welsh grassroots rugby

“Playing for Bridgend Ath is like being part of a big rugby family. It’s serious when it needs to be, but...

Saracens boss Mark McCall declines to comment as Owen Farrell linked to Premiership return

Saracens boss Mark McCall declined to comment on reports that former club captain and England fly-half Owen Farrell could be eyeing...

Sam Underhill handed four-match ban for dangerous tackle in Challenge Cup final

England flanker Sam Underhill is set to miss Bath‘s bid for the Gallagher Premiership title after receiving a four-week ban. Underhill...

Rugby Superstitions: How Fans and Players Try To Affect The Game

As is the case with many sports, rugby is full of interesting and sometimes strange superstitions. Whether it’s fans who are...

Super Rugby Americas Round 13 Review: Peñarol move top ahead of Warren Gatland addition

Selknam 20-17 Yacare Selknam produced a stirring performance to keep their playoff hopes alive by defeating Yacare 20-17 just six days after their historic...

Charlie Elliott: The Best Moments of the 2024/25 Champions Cup

The Champions Cup has concluded, and European rugby’s premier competition delivered some great moments.  We saw plenty of drama in the pool stages, a lot of shocks...

Charlie Elliott: My England XV for the Summer Tour to Argentina

England‘s summer tour to Argentina will provide a lot of new faces with some experience of Test rugby.  A large contingent of England...

Rugby’s Social Media Moments of the Week: Matthieu Jalibert gives it back to Henry Pollock 

Rugby saw the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals take place this weekend, with Bordeaux-Begles beating Northampton Saints and Bath beating...

Champions Cup Team of the Season: Bordeaux Begles dominate after earning their first star

The Champions Cup concluded with Bordeaux Begles winning the competition for the first time in their history, with a 28-20 win...

Bordeaux Begles accused of Henry Pollock vendetta

Fin Smith accused Bordeaux Begles of having a vendetta against Henry Pollock as Northampton Saints’ 28-20 Champions Cup final defeat ended...

Ryan Lamb support for Championship changes

Plymouth Albion boss Ryan Lamb has welcomed the revised Champ Rugby format, which gives ambitious National 1 clubs potentially two opportunities...

Great Britain to cut its sevens project

Great Britain will cease to run full-time sevens programmes at the end of July. Players will still meet up to train...

Doctor calls for concussion protocols to be revised

Doctor Ben Jones, a former scrum-half with Northampton, Worcester and England 7s, has called for concussion guidelines to be revised to...

I’m happy to stick at No.7 – Sam Underhill

Despite the presence of multiple hybrid back-rowers in the Lions’ squad, England international Sam Underhill is happy to remain one of...

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso ‘raring to get stuck in’, says Steve Borthwick

Steve Borthwick says Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is ‘raring to get stuck in’ and hopes the ‘world-class’ Exeter winger will feature in England’s...

Date for Rugby World Club Cup revealed

The first Rugby World Club Cup will be held in 2028 after “unanimous” agreement from the relevant leagues and unions. The...

Northampton Saints 20-28 Bordeaux Begles: Saints’ warriors battle to the very end

Fraser Dingwall’s Northampton Saints saw their European adventure end in acrimony and heroism in equal measure as they went out on...

Bath pair Finn Russell and Thomas du Toit lead Premiership awards shortlist

Bath duo Finn Russell and Thomas du Toit are among five nominations for this season’s Premiership player of the season award....

Brave Northampton Saints didn’t have enough in reserve

Injuries have cursed Northampton Saints’ season and there was no relief on their biggest day of the decade.

Nick Cain: Time for Steve Borthwick to ignore the easy options

The main challenge facing Steve Borthwick this summer is to maintain England’s momentum by winning a two-Test tour of Argentina with...

Nick Cain: Ben Spencer steps up to prove his worth for Bath

It's been a long time between drinks for Bath’s faithful fans when it comes to winning worthwhile silverware, so no one...

Bath 37-12 Lyon: Ben Spencer sparkles as Bath put Lyon to sword

Bath won their first major trophy for 17 years with the biggest margin of victory in a Challenge Cup Final since...

Finn Russell: We’ve worked hard and we are not finished yet

Bath remain in the running for a treble this season with them favourites to clinch the Premiership title and the Premiership...

Brendan Gallagher: The flowering of Johann van Graan’s plan at Bath

Surely the most encouraging, or ominous, aspect of Bath’s commanding win over a lacklustre Lyon on Friday night was that it...

Sione Tuipulotu: I’ll be glad to see my old mates on the British and Irish Lions Tour

Sione Tuipulotu spent last weekend making friends with his new British & Irish Lions team-mates – then turned his attention to...