Ford: Clubs must stick together when bullets fly

ENGLAND and Leicester fly-half George Ford has warned against the sacking culture which is prevalent in football being replicated in rugby...

Bulldozer Bothma here to put Quins in title mix

By NEALE HARVEY HARD-HITTINGNamibian back rower Renaldo Bothma aims to follow compatriot Jacques Burger into the pantheon of alltime Premiership greats...

Lions review shows touring live and well

BRENDAN GALLAGHER picks his best bits from this year’s behind-thescenes look at the Lions BRENDAN GALLAGHER The British and Irish Lions...

Moving tribute to the legend that was Clem

BRENDAN GALLAGHER picks his must-read books of the year and remembers the great Clem Thomas BRENDAN GALLAGHER Clem by Chris Thomas...

Damant returns to lead Richmond

Preview Connacht A v Richmond Today, Kick-off 2pm FLY-HALF and captain Rory Damant returns to the Richmond line-up for the first...

Four-try McBurney hammers Hartpury

By JEFF RYAN Ulster A…………27 Hartpury ……….19 HOOKER Adam McBurney scored four tries as Ulster A defeated a youthful Hartpury to...

Knight Clark helps put Blues to sword

Cardiff Blues PS.27 Doncaster ……42 By IOAN DYER DONCASTER completed an emphatic double over Cardiff Blues to stay on course for...

Carnegie in charge after blast from boss Lowes

Dragons PS……17 York Carnegie.20 By TOM MOODY FOUR second-half tries after a half-time talking-to allowed Carnegie to complete the double over...

Cool Jersey claw back against Exiles

By JONATHAN LANDI L Scottish ….18 Jersey…………45 HARVEYBiljon lauded his Jersey Reds troops who remain firmly in control of Pool 3...

We’ve got to improve for derby say Ealing

By OLI SHAPLEY Ealing ……………….35pts Rotherham ……….19pts Trailblazer: Kieran Murphy scores for Ealing while, right, William Thomas makes a break for...

Ferocious start sees perfect Leinster march on

By LEE JONES Leinster A…….50 Bristol ………….15 LEINSTER took a huge step toward the quarterfinals with a fourth straight bonus point...

Dead-eye Johnston keeps Irish in hunt

By MATT WRIGHT Bedford …………12 Munster A…….16 THREE penalties by Bill Johnston helped Munster A put themselves back in contention in...

Eden’s late strike saves Nottingham

By TIFFANY JONES Ospreys PS……15 Nottingham ….17 NOTTINGHAM head coach Ian Costello believes his side got out of jail as they...

Paver calls for reaction at home

Preview Cornish Pirates v Scarlets PS Today, Kick-off 2.30pm PIRATES still top Pool 5 on points difference despite their 18-10 away...

Gatland on Saints wish-list as they start from the top

Nick Cain talks to Keith Barwell about the search for Mallinder’s successor Keith Barwell says that Northampton will scour the elite...

Nice-guy Mallinder too loyal to his coaches

NICK CAIN LOOKS AT THE REASONS BEHIND THE SACKING OF JIM MALLINDER AT NORTHAMPTON If you want to know what has...

Authorities must clamp down on thugs ruining game

I WAS delighted to see Glasgow hooker George Turner cop a four-week ban for his ridiculous off the ball shoulder into...

RUGBY MATTERS

Barritt’s leading candidate to do a Botia-style switch BRENDAN GALLAGHER A new weekly look at the game’s other talking points THE...

Controversy over SAS founder Mayne

Hero: Blair Mayne BLAIR Mayne could famously start a fight in a phone box and kicked up a storm all over...

When Irish paid price for having a genius like Hogan

RUGBY’S long-running fascination with military techniques continues apace with the Crusaders, the reigning Super Rugby champions, sending assistant coach Brad Mooar...

Twelvetrees can do great job for England says Taylor

ENGLAND’S coaches should begin taking notice of Gloucester, according to Kingsholm backs guru Tim Taylor, who reckons a number of the...

Reid playing catch-up after concussion woe

By NEALE HARVEY FIT-AGAIN London Irish prop Gordon Reid has vowed to put his concussion strife behind him as he bids...

Solomons’ attacking philosophy rubbing off on Warriors

By TOM BRADSHAW WORCESTER will attack their way to Premiership survival says Gary Gold. Director of rugby Gold says the arrival...

Silence amid the lambs is a problem for snubbed No.7 Davies

EVENin an age where Test matches are ten-a-penny, international coaches spend most of their season like shepherds watching over their flock,...

Suddenly iron men are starting to melt…

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW One by one, the supposed indestructibles have been forced to take a knee...

Warriors whittle it down to three

WORCESTER are believed to now have a threeman short list for their next director of rugby. Blindside understands that Jim Mallinder...

ON THE BLINDSIDE

BY NEILFISSLER Follow me on Twitter: @neilfissler LEICESTER TIGERS are in the running to land Worcester Warriors lock Will Spencer who...

Newcastle face fight to keep hold of Deano

DEAN RICHARDS has emerged as a potential target for Northampton with his contract at Newcastle Falcons up at the end of...

ROOM 101

THE NOTTINGHAM CENTRE TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FROM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND OLI EVANS 1. The boomerang app...

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Former England captain Day to join RFU board

ENGLAND’S record try scorer Sue Day will join the RFU board in the spring after being appointed their new chief financial...

Ward in blast at 13-team Premiership discussion

By NEALE HARVEY BEN Ward, rugby director of high-flying Ealing, has slammed Premiership proposals for a 13-team, ringfenced Premiership and claims...

Unbeaten Pau lead way with classy win over Agen

ROUND-UP BORDEAUX-BEGLES kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive on Friday evening as they claimed a 36-27 triumph over...

Thorley stars as Gloucester zap Zebre in 11-try romp

By STEFFAN THOMAS OLLIE Thorley scored four tries as the Cherry and Whites thrashed Zebre to keep the heat on Pool...

Brive have no answer to Healy’s brilliant four-timer

By DECLAN ROONEY Connacht …….55 Brive …………….10 INSPIRED Matt Healy ran in four tries to help Connacht maintain their unbeaten start...

Bonus point keeps Warriors in contention

By GEORGE LAWRENCE WORCESTER managed to earn a late bonus point against Oyonnax at a freezing Stade Charles-Mathon which could prove...

Exiles fall as Stade finish with a flourish

By NEALE HARVEY TONY Ensor’s lastgasp try ended London Irish’s Challenge Cup hopes as holders Stade Francais edged a sixtry thriller...

Referee was like Dick Turpin says Dragons boss Jackman

By ROGER PANTING NEWCASTLE virtually sealed a quarter-final spot by completing the double over Dragons but the controversial finish left the...

Kinghorn shines as Edinburgh prepare for big clash

By GARY HEATLY European Challenge Cup Edinburgh ……78 Krasny Yar …….0 AFTER thumping Krasny Yar at Murrayfield on Friday, Edinburgh captain...

I fear Wales will struggle to cope without Faletau

I WAS already concerned last week about Wales’ Six Nations chances given the huge number of injuries they’ve been sustaining, specifically...

WRU must reverse this talent drain

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND WE’VE known for a while Danny Wilson is leaving Cardiff Blues at the end of...

Davies banks on big result in front of the home faithful

Challenge Cup By ALEX BYWATER THE scoreboard may have looked bad, but Seb Davies doesn’t believe Cardiff Blues were too far...

Goode’s braced for Clermont couldron

By NEALE HARVEY European Champions Cup ALEX Goode admits injuries are killing Saracens, but insists they are still capable of bouncing...

Lydiate ready for big Saints response after Mallinder exit

By STEFFAN THOMAS DAN Lydiate has told Ospreys fans he is slowly getting back to his choptackling best. The blindside flanker...

Hughes returns to bolster pack power

By NEALE HARVEY WASPS are boosted by the return of England No.8 Nathan Hughes for a match they must win to...

Back to basics did it for us says Kiss

ULSTER coach Les Kiss said his side needed to be reminded to return to basics at half-time in order to find...

Kid Smith sparkles but Quins swamped after break

By RONAN O’BRIEN European Champions Cup JOHN Cooney scored 27 points as six-try Ulster punished Harlequins late on at Kingspan Stadium...

Rolling subs rock the boat

THE correspondence we received on rolling substitutes missed a crucial point. Namely, that those advocating them in the pro game are...

RFU must Scotch this idea of tartan Warriors

THE notion of Worcester Warriors being bought by the Scottish Rugby Union is one that the RFU, the Premiership, and European...

Oh, for the leadership of Lawrence or Johnno

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK Alack of leadership was an area that Eddie Jones identified immediately as being...