Jackson heads north to boost Scotland hope

TRANSFER WRAP By NICK VERDIER RUARIDHJackson will turn out for Glasgow again this season after leaving Harlequins with immediate effect. The...

Scarlets wait on Beirne decision

By ALEX BYWATER TADHG Beirne is at the centre of a tug of war between the Scarlets and Ireland. Lock Beirne,...

ROOM 101

COLIN QUIGLEY THE DONCASTER KNIGHTS PROP TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FROM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND 1. Pre-season It’s...

Bish and Ray undervalued

NOBODY can say for sure but when it comes to the one-cap wonder to beat them all, David Bishop springs to...

Sir Johnwas able to put rugby in perspective

OF THEmyriad of memories collected over so many expeditions to New Zealand, none is more treasured than of an evening spent...

Cricket lost out in battle of tortoise and Hare…

PETER JACKSON Had everything gone the way he and others planned it, Dusty Hare would never have played rugby for England....

Exiles double act with a five-year masterplan

NICK VERDIER meets the new men charged with leading London Welsh’s revival Passioante about Welsh: Sonny Parker, left, and Cai Griffiths...

This is my last chance admits returning Pirate Tom

By NEALE HARVEY NEWS EXTRA CORNISH Pirates hooker Tom Cowan-Dickie is determined to make the most of his final chance to...

Crossword

ACROSS 2. Scotland U20 lock recruited by Newcastle in 2016 from Glasgow Hawks (8) 5. All Blacks’ openside flanker in the...

2017-18 pre-season fixtures

It is advisable to check matches and kick-off times with the clubs Thursday August 17 Northampton v Nottingham Ulster v Wasps...

England tour was just what I needed after Lions setback

Q&A JOE LAUNCHBURY ON THE RECORD On the charge for Wasps: Joe Launchbury England lock and Wasps captain Joe Launchbury tells...

Clubs vote to close Jonny May contract loophole

PREMIERSHIP clubs have changed a rule involving player contracts due to recent transfer activities. The change comes into effect following the...

Regions can fly in low and then rise for prizes

THE closer it gets to the launch of the PRO14, the more I think the Welsh regions are going to go...

Quest for Autumn success starts now

Bogey team: Australia have Kurtley Beale back PICTURE: Getty Images THE Rugby Championship is a tournament I’ve always enjoyed watching. It’s...

Treat for Cheetahs with Friday night baptism at Ravenhill

ULSTER will host new boys the Cheetahs on the opening night of the Guinness PRO14 season. The new season will open...

McPhillips relishing pressure to perform

By NEALE HARVEY Celtic champions: McPhillips, right, and Lam BRISTOL’S new backs coach Conor McPhillips is ready to embrace the huge...

Coach Mills climbs aboard for Ford’s new Dallas venture

Coach: Jonathan Mills FORMER Sale lock Jonathan Mills has revealed how a chance meeting with Leicester flyhalf Joe Ford this summer...

Rocky Clark on…

WHAT JASON LEONARD SAID WHEN SHE PASSED HIS 114 CAPS He just congratulated me. I met him at Twickenham and we...

Tamara Taylor on…

BEATING NEW ZEALAND 29-21 IN ROTORUA That was really important. This has been quite a building season with girls coming back...

Jerry Edwards on…

ENGLAND’S STRUCTURE They just need consistency, and if I was the RFU I would concentrate on the Fifteens first. That’s the...

How Henley helped make England great

Teen stars: The Henley team with Rochelle Clark front row, and Tamara Taylor, back row ROCHELLE Clark and Tamara Taylor are...

Black Ferns fed off our mistakes, says Wales captain Carys

Clear: Kiwi Selica Winiata on her way to score Round-up WALES showed signs of resilience against New Zealand in the opening...

Stop judging us by the scorelines, men’s game had mismatches, too

CATHERINE SPENCER Exquisite: Katy McLean ran the show for England In front of a not-so full crowd (arguably due to tournament...

Demanding Middleton wants Roses to step it up

By NICK VERDIER England v Italy Preview Veteran: Rochelle Clark SIMON Middleton is looking for improvement in Dublin today as England...

Wilson’s four-try super show puts the pain in Spain

Prolific: Kay Wilson England 56 Spain 5 KAY Wilson scored four tries to help England begin the defence of their World...

Mad, Manu

MANU Tuilagi’s decision to go on a drinking spree with Denny Solomona until 4am knowing he would be taking part in...

Piutau will be worth his £1m salary at Bristol

CHARLES Piutau’s £1 million a year deal with Bristol confirms the accelerating trend of All Blacks leaving New Zealand in mid-career...

Lack of common sense could kill Aussie rugby

THE Aussies are used to baking hot temperatures and droughts, but as sporting meltdowns go they do not come much worse...

Axed Western Australia considering legal action

FORMER Western Force skipper Nathan Sharpe says the Australian Rugby Union’s decision to axe his old club is “disgraceful” as the...

Meehan glad to be clear of ‘shocking’ Aussie mess

By NEALE HARVEY Influential: Nick Kennedy Paul Hodgson LIVEWIRE London Irish scrum-half Ben Meehan has set his heart on impressing England...

New Osprey Allen spreads wings for shot at Euro glory

By ALEX BYWATER Hungry for success: Cory Allen WALES centre Cory Allen is ready to conquer Europe with the Ospreys after...

20 QUESTIONS

EALING OPENSIDE ARTHUR ELLIS How has pre-season been going? Everyone is pretty excited to get started and play some games now...

Old Albanian 47 L Lions 31

IN what was an entertaining affair, Old Albanian came out victors against Leicester Lions in a game of three halves. OAs...

Summer signing Denton injured in opening minute

By TOM BRADSHAW Worcester 55 Hartpury 21 VICTORIOUS Worcester suffered a heavy list of casualties as debutant David Denton lasted less...

Henson gets hit out

Montpellier 40 Dragons 15 GAVIN Henson made his return to Welsh club rugby on Friday night but it was in a...

Leinster let it slip late on

Perpignan 42 Leinster 32 A LATE try in Perpignan condemned Leinster to a narrow defeat in their opening game of their...

Decision to play twice in two days backfires

By STEVE KENNY PICTURE: Andy Taylor Back with a bang: Tom Stephenson scores Saints’ first Northampton 71pts Dragons 21pts TOM Stephenson...

Scottish show boss Morris they mean business

By OLI SHAPLEY Rosslyn Park 24 L Scottish 47 NEW London Scottish director of rugby Dave Morris got his reign off...

Bristol fightback falls short after first half to forget

By ROGER PANTING Leading the charge: Bath captain Matt Garvey Bristol 31 Bath 34 BRISTOL staged a remarkable second half rally...

Surreal start for Bedford’s local boy Lane

By MARK WOOD Bedford 43 Plymouth 7 TRY-SCORER Rich Lane enjoyed a perfect homecoming as he touched down one of seven...

Filise’s still firing at 40 with the Blues

By PETER JACKSON CARDIFF Blues prop Tau Filise will set a world record next month as the first professional player to...

Give Manu new chance O’Driscoll urges Jones

By NICK VERDIER Rampant: Mitch Eadie on the attack for Northampton in their pre-season match against Dragons PICTURE: Andy Taylor BRIAN...

Mouritz Botha retires due to concussion

Mouritz Botha, former England and Newcastle Falcons second rower, has been compelled to make the unfortunate decision to retire from professional...

Young Gun: Matt Worley – Racing 92 full-back

It was a PR stunt that took Matt Worley from Hong Kong to Racing 92, but two years later the young...

Jeremy Guscott: Freddie’s coming home with a game to boost Bath

Freddie Burns has arrived at Bath as an experienced 10 who has made big improvements in terms of his professionalism during...

Brendan Gallagher looks back at 150 years of Wasps history

Wasps’ 150th anniversary season isn’t five minutes old and already they have one trophy in the Cabinet having retained their Premiership...

Charles Piutau signs for Bristol

Bristol have made a major coup on the transfer market with the signing of  All Black Charles Piutau from the start...

Pitman out to prove how good he can be after mental health issues

Rory Pitman is loving his new life in Jersey but the big Welsh No.8 has revealed he needed the help of...

Room 101: Brett Daynes – Coventry back-rower

1. Literally Using literally in the wrong context is probably one of the most annoying things around; I “literally” can’t stand...

Chris Robshaw commits to Harlequins

Chris Robshaw will remained at Harlequins until at least 2020 after putting pen to paper on a new deal. A former...