If you don’t like scrums, watch Rugby League!

COLIN BOAG With the new Aviva Premiership just five days away, it’s good to hear directors of rugby fighting back against...

I can’t wait for the Premiership season

THE Premiership is back next week and I can’t wait. Last season was brilliant and the play-offs were full of drama...

Kings will be the whipping boys in the new PRO 14

EVERY PRO14 coach will be taking a look at the South Africas Kings and revelling at the chance of increasing their...

Basic catch and pass wins it for ABs

THAT try from Beauden Barrett yesterday morning to help New Zealand snatch victory over Australia was outstanding and just shows how...

End of the road for Will Fraser

WILL Fraser has announced his retirement from professional rugby after failing to recover from a neck injury. The Saracens openside has...

Bristol pay differentials won’t cause disharmony says Lam

By NEALE HARVEY Probyn: Marler shows value of old-fashioned drinking! BRISTOL supremo Pat Lam insists that motivation will prove no issue...

High tempo rugby was just too much for our girls to handle

CATHERINE SPENCER Former England captain Fine tournament: Sarah Bern hands off the Black Ferns I am so gutted for England but...

Red Roses wilt against Black Ferns onslaught

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER NEW ZEALAND, shocked at their failure to reach the 2014 final, finally erased that stain from their memories...

France find they are shut out by great white wall

SEMI-FINAL England…20 France…3 THE Red Roses put in huge defensive shift to beat France on Tuesday and book their place in...

YOUNG GUNS

ADAM RADWAN NEWCASTLE WING Adam Radwan has been a revelation for Newcastle this summer, so it is hard to imagine the...

Howley the star as Neath swamp their old rivals

By SAM JACKSON Neath. 39 Swansea.16 A BLISTERING first-half got the season off to a flying start for these two rivals,...

Conbeer shows his skills as Llanelli back-three sparkle

By JAMES LLOYD Llanelli.24 Carmarthen Q.8 LLANELLI kicked off their season with a thumping victory over West Wales rivals Carmarthen Quins....

Warren into Llandovery record books with a try

By TIM LEWIS Llandovery … 31 RGC 1404 … 10 LLANDOVERY began their campaign with a storming triumph over RGC 1404...

Wizards continue where they left off with try-scoring fun

By ROB COLE Aberavon. 40 Bridgend.15 ABERAVON scored more tries than any other team in the league last season, and they...

Bedwas open season in fine style with five tries

By JAMES CANDY Pontypridd.27 Bedwas. 39 BEDWAS sent out a statement of intent to their league rivals after they overcame Pontypridd...

Reigning champions given a scare as Jarvis holds nerve

By CALLUM EVANS Merthyr.31 Cross Keys.29 TWO tries in the final five minutes grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat for...

Bargoed. 20 Ebbw Vale. 24

By DARREN DAVIDSON LEWIS Dennett stepped off the Ebbw Vale replacements bench and became an instant hit as he kicked eight...

Ace Cruden in control as Montpellier make mark

DAVID BARNES FRENCH COLUMN Montpellier, under the new control of former Clermont and Scotland boss Vern Cotter, are generally considered to...

New captains in West Country

WORCESTER and Gloucester were the latest clubs to announce their captains for the upcoming season this week with Donncha O’Callaghan and...

Deano’s winning strategy? Buys, banter and barbies

Stewart McCullough charts the rise of Newcastle under their owner and coach Eye-catching: Toby Flood is returning to the North-east PICTURES:...

Cockerill: Quit your comfort zone or move on

By ALEX BYWATER NEWS EXTRA RICHARD Cockerill has challenged his Edinburgh players to step out of their comfort zone or risk...

Marler shows the value of ‘old-fashioned’ drinking

JEFF PROBYN Having just read Joe Marler’s take on the British and Irish Lions and what it taught him about rugby,...

Old boy Oakley relishing the opening shot from Bristol

HARTPURY captain Rhys Oakley reckons the club have the right foundations to ensure a successful first year in the Championship. The...

Charteris: Ewels here to stay for England

By NEALE HARVEY EXPERIENCED Bath lock Luke Charteris expects second row partner Charlie Ewels to be a mainstay of England’s forward...

Springok star Franco joins Irish as Blues count costs

By ALEX BYWATER FRANCO van der Merwe will this week complete a move to Aviva Premiership newcomers London Irish after failing...

MY LIFEIN RUGBY

STUART GRIMES THE FORMER SCOTLAND, NEWCASTLE AND WATSONIANS LOCK I celebrated the highlight of my Scotland playing career with Gregor Townsend...

Springboks maintain their revival to cage Pumas hit by Lavanini’s red card

By NICK VERDIER SOUTH Africa made it five from five in Salta as Argentina saw red in the second round of...

Brilliance of Barrett settles epic as Australia find pride

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER NEW Zealand and a rejuvenated Australia said farewell to Colin Meads by serving up one of the great...

20 QUESTIONS

ROSS MORIARTY GLOUCESTER BACK ROW How was your summer? It was great to go on tour with the Lions but saying...

Herr Thorburn awaits the call

SOToby Flood, surplus to England requirements, wants to play for Germany. He can do so because his grandfather came from Berlin....

Barnes bins the card calls

WAYNE Barnes struck an overdue blow on behalf of referees subjected to unsolicited advice from players urging the use of cards...

Honesty is best policy for Trimble

NEWseason launches tend to be tedious exercises: a stream of coaches and players trotting out a stream of banalities, clichés and...

Sir Colin will be sent on way to the march of a Dambuster

THE funeral of the ‘Pinetree’ takes place tomorrow at a venue named in memory of Les Munro, a New Zealander whose...

The green, green grass of home is down to Max

PETER JACKSON Max Boyce casts his mind back to the early Sixties and runs through his playing career at Glynneath. It...

Tom goes toe to toe against his old pals

By GUY WILLIAMS A WEEK today, when Rotherham launch their Championship campaign at home against Nottingham, will be an emotional experience...

Sarries to face Saints in European opener

Two in a row: Saracens win the Europen Champions Cup last season CHAMPIONS CUP ROUND 1 FIXTURES Friday October 13 Ulster...

ROOM 101

RORY DAMANT THE RICHMOND FLY-HALF TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FROM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND 1. Train delays I...

I need to play to keep my shirt, Watson tells Eddie

By GARY FITZGERALD ANTHONY Watson has begged Eddie Jones to ditch plans he has to give him an autumn break. The...

I’m still improving, Kruis warns rivals

By NEALE HARVEY GEORGE Kruis admits being dropped by the Lions was hard to take but insists lessons from the three-Test...

The Bok who gave Meads his toughest challenge

THROUGHOUT his career Colin Meads was frequently asked who his toughest and most feared opponent was and although the likes of...

It’s Munster for the title with Scarlets chasing them

AFTER a long summer of negotiations, the Guinness PRO14 begins on Friday and I’ve nailed my colours to the mast with...

Wallabies fire out a warning to Wales

SHANE WILLIAMS WALES AND LIONS LEGEND I WROTE last week how Wales must look at this year’s Rugby Championship and take...

Squad depth holds the key for Chinnor

NATIONAL LEAGUE 2 SOUTH PREVIEW Chinnor boss Matt Williams is fully aware logic makes his side favourites to go up this...

Samoan Test star Leo buys into Stortford’s low-budget values

By ANDY LINES THEY will have the smallest budget of any club in National League Division One, but newly-promoted Bishop’s Stortford...

It won’t be a cakewark for Cov’s cash warns Brightwell

NICK VERDIER previews the battle for promotion from National One where big-spending Coventry start as favourites Birmingham Moseley back-rower Chris Brightwell...

Heald hopes his Lions can roar louder

NATIONAL LEAGUE 2 NORTH PREVIEW Leicester Lions are hoping to challenge for promotion after finishing on the podium last season but...

Richmond set for the drop. Sorry!

Former England scrum-half and London Scottish coach Pete Richards looks ahead to the Greene King Championship season Super talent: Bristol signing...

Leinster can edge out Scarlets

Alex Bywater discovers a Wales legend is looking across to Dublin for this season’s champions Martyn Williams believes the signing of...

Agony of final loss will help us next time says Haskell

Nick Verdier talks to a Wasps player eager to help end the club’s trophy drought Lessons learned: James Haskell believes Wasps...

It’s Saracens for me if they can avoid distractions

JEREMY GUSCOTT’S VERDICT The competitiveness of the Premiership is what gets me excited every year and this season is no different....