Scarlets left red-faced after mauling from their old rivals

■By PAUL HOPKINS Swansea …38 Llanelli …7 SWANSEA put their local rivals Llanelli to the sword in an entertaining West Wales...

Merthyr made to battle before stretching clear

■By IAN GOLDEN Merthyr …33 Bargoed …23 MERTHYR took the East Wales Premiership honours after a hard-fought battle at home to...

Vale get lift after Woods confirmed as their new head coach

■By GEOFF CHAMPION Ebbw Vale…33 Bedwas …17 STRUGGLING Ebbw Vale have been boosted by the news that experienced Cross Keys head...

Stander signs on for another three years

LIONS and Ireland back-row CJ Stander has signed a new three-year IRFU deal to keep him at Munster until 2021 The...

Evans joins Cross Keys as coach

FORMER British and Irish Lions lock Ian Evans, 33, has joined the coaching team at Welsh Premiership side Cross Keys. Evans,...

Campagnaro could be back for 6 Nations

EXETER centre Michele Campagnaro could return to action within the next month. The Italy international, 24, has missed the entire season...

Healy gets to rest over Christmas

CIAN Healy will miss Leinster’s festive PRO14 inter-provincial derbies after being banned for three matches for the reckless use of a...

Williams will stay at the Rec until summer

BATH winger Jeff Williams has signed a contract extension until the end of the season with the Premiership club. The former...

Pivac: I’d say yes to following Gat

RUGBY SHORTS SCARLETS head coach Wayne Pivac would consider the chance to succeed fellow New Zealander Warren Gatland as Wales head...

BIG GAME – THE STORY SO FAR

BIG GAME 1 (December 27, 2008) Harlequins 26 Leicester Tigers 26 Nobody knew quite what to expect first off, but on...

Big Game will loom larger than ever for two strugglers

Brendan Gallagher looks at the history of the Big Game and says this year Quins and Saints will be desperate to...

YOUNG GUNS

JAMES DUN BRISTOL FLANKER When your dad played in the back row for Bristol, Wasps and England, Chris Robshaw attended the...

Taunton build on their early surge

By KEITH BROOKING Taunton T 36 Old Redcliff’ 17 THE Titans started the game well here and never looked back. A...

Rams toast their first half-century

By CAMERON TEMPLE London IWG 12 Redingens’ 52 THE Rams topped 50 points for the first time in the division with...

Clinical Chinnor lead way in Oxfordshire

By NICK PITSON Henley 28 Chinnor 33 CHINNOR kept their unbeaten record and claimed the Oxfordshire bragging rights with a bonus-point...

Shut-out is a bonus as Redruth go rampaging

By BILL HOOPER Redruth 41pts Barnstaple 0pts Pointing the way: Connor Swann of Redruth celebrates as he dives over to score...

TJs hold on after giftthrow provides winner

By GARETH WITHERS Canterbury 19 Tonbridge J 22 ANenthralling local derby delighted the bumper Christmas crowd at Merton Lane, but it...

Bury late flourish masks the faults

By SIMON LORD Bury St Ed 44 Broadstreet 15 THREElate tries flattered a strangely below-par Bury side. League standings suggested a...

Clifton splinter as pressure mounts

By ROGER OPIE Clifton 20 Cinderford 33 CLIFTONled by 15 points until just before the interval when Cinderford scored and went...

Stubborn Dons are edged out by Richards

By JAMES HAMILTON KIBA Richards scored two tries as Worthing saw off a stubborn Wimbledon side, thanks to a first-half blitz...

Visser flies in from maternity ward

By NEALE HARVEY TIM Visser has revealed how Harlequins’ crippling injury list forced him to make an emergency trip to Belfast...

O’Connell answers call

PAUL O’Connell is to take up a new coaching role with Ireland U20s. The former Ireland and Munster lock, 38, will...

Wasps pair out for two months

ENGLANDwill be without wing Elliot Daly and No.8 Nathan Hughes for at least half of the Six Nations. Both Daly, 25,...

Nottingham ace looks for love at Christmas

By JON NEWCOMBE Match made: Oli Evans and his date Kat, with Evans in action for Nottingham, right ONE rugby player...

MY LIFEIN RUGBY

THE FORMER ABERTILLERY, LLANELLI AND WALES SCRUM-HALF RUPERT MOON In my youth I’d sit in the clubhouse of Walsall RFC and...

Gadd starts new reign with victory

By MATT COLERIDGE Macclesfield 24 Chester 14 MACCLESFIELD secured a winning start to Marshall Gadd’s reign as head coach with a...

Top at Christmas for flying Hinckley

By ROSS ARMSTRONG Hinckley 41 Huddersfield 18 HINCKLEY will be top of the table at Christmas after a comprehensive bonus-point win...

Nerveless Aley grabs a share of points

By DANIEL SAWYER South Leics 25 Leics Lions 25 RICKIE Aley was nerveless once again as his penalty saved South Leicester’s...

Relentless Sale keep pressure on leaders

By STEVE SMITH Sale 20pts Sedgley Park 13pts SALE overcame Sedgley Park in a closely-fought encounter between two of the league’s...

Sheffield revival receives another boost

By ANDREW SMITH Sheffield …25 Sheff’ Tigers 21 SHEFFIELD’S improving mid-season was given a major boost with a welldeserved win over...

Montieri steals in to ruin Luc’s day

By GEOFF VICKRESS Luctonians …36 Stourbridge…39 A CHRISTMAS feast of entertaining rugby was served up before a large crowd at Mortimer...

Tyne back from the brink in derby

By BRIAN TILLEY Tynedale …32 Blaydon …31 A PULSATING North East derby ended in victory for Tynedale, who trailed Blaydon for...

Otley snatch the local bragging rights

By JOHN FINCH Otley …20 Wharfedale …13 IT’S never been necessary to rouse the players, or supporters, for this local derby...

Rebuilt Foresters keeping pace with Chinnor

NEWS EXTRA HIGH-FLYING Cinderford have their mojo back and are ready for another assault on National One, says rugby director Paul...

Bednall maintains cool to kick for tie

By BRIAN QUINN Old Albanian …35 Ampthill …35 OLD Albanian gave themselves an early Christmas present with a stirring performance that...

Penalties put pay to Students’ hopes

By RYAN STEVENS L’borough Stu.21 Cambridge…28 A SUCCESSION of penalty concessions was enough for Fylde to kick themselves to victory over...

Lack of discipline costs struggling Fylde

By ALLAN FOSTER Fylde …9 Caldy…34 A RED card for replacement prop Jake Pope proved crucial as Caldy secured a bonus-point...

Darling shrug off the rust to leave Ionians flailing

By KEVIN ROBINSON D’lington MP 26 Hull Ionians …0 DARLINGTON Mowden Park maintained their 100 per cent home record for the...

Coventry still peerless as bragging rights are sealed

By BEN GODDARD Moseley…17pts Tries: Hollingsworth 59, Lewis 73 Conversions: Hollingsworth 60, 74 Penalties: Dixon 11 Coventry …41pts Tries: Knox 16,...

Topsy-turvy game goes Albion’s way

By JAMIE ROBINSON Esher …29 Plymough Alb.33 PLYMOUTH Albion almost let a 14-point lead slip against Esher but a late rally...

Honours even as penalties shared

By GRAHAM COX Blackheath …17 Rosslyn Park…17 IT’S sometimes said that draws in rugby are unsatisfactory results, but this one didn’t...

Stortford dig deep to pull off festive victory

By JOHN ALLANSON Bishop’s Stor 34 O Elthamians 20 A BATTLE of attrition between two very closelymatched sides produced only three...

104 points! That’s what you call entertaining

By JONATHAN LANDI L Scottish …52pts Tries: Neal 1, Ingall 8, M Williams 10, Mosses 21, Unaivi 29, Sharp 58, Walker...

Bristol wrap up Christmas bonus within half an hour

By WILLIAM CARPENTER Bristol…56pts Tries: Vui 2, Morahan 13, Leiua 18, Pisi 28, Lam 55, Joyce 63, Protheroe 66, Jeffries 79...

Ealing blast from the blocks but run out of steam

By LUKE JARMYN Ealing T …40pts Tries: Bright 4, Maddison 6, O’Conor 12, Walker 23, 30, Stegmann 38 Conversions: Daniels 5,...

Carnegie capitalise on Everard red card

By JOHN NICHOLS York’ Carnegie …12pts Tries: Mayhew 68, Buckle 78 Conversions: Davies 68 Nottingham …10pts Tries: McConnell 4 Conversions: Eden...

Key sacked after Titans crash to 12th league defeat

By GUY WILLIAMS Rotherham …19pts Tries: Cheshire 16 Conversions: Ryan 16 Penalties: Ryan 20, 25, 31, 51 Doncaster…36pts Tries: Owen 10,...

Reds take advantage of costly yellow to Mullis

Jersey…18 Hartpury …14 HARTPURY’S dogged display pushed Jersey to the limits after Luke Eves’ late try threatened to turn the game...

Stan’s fag break kept Wallabies waiting in Mendoza

IN WHATsome remember as the good old, bad old days, many an international would go through the pre-match ritual of a...

Quins man Madigan came close to silencing The Lip in Olympics

TONY MADIGAN’S sporting life amounted to a whole lot more than a few appearances for Harlequins in the early 1950’s. He...