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Adam Jones joins Wales coaching team for Six Nations on secondment from Harlequins

22 January 2025 0 comments

Scrum specialist Adam Jones will join Wales’ coaching team for this season’s Guinness Six Nations. Jones will link up with Warren Gatland’s support staff on […]

Warren Gatland warns Six Nations rivals to ‘write Wales off at your peril’

21 January 2025 0 comments

Warren Gatland believes that people will write Wales off at their peril in this season’s Guinness Six Nations. The form guide suggests another difficult campaign […]

Five players who have scored five or more tries in a single game

20 January 2025 0 comments

By Charlie Elliott After Damian Penaud’s heroics for Bordeaux Begles against Sharks over the weekend, having broken the Champions Cup record for tries in a single game […]

Steve Borthwick: It’s time to put our foot down

19 January 2025 0 comments

By Adam Hathaway Steve Borthwick insists he has come up with a solution to England’s problem in closing out matches – be even quicker out […]

Antoine Dupont returns to Six Nations stage

19 January 2025 0 comments

Scrum-half Antoine Dupont will take part in his first Six Nations since 2023 after missing last year’s competition to prepare for the Paris Olympics, where […]

‘Life at Sale Sharks without my brother is weird’ – Luke James

19 January 2025 0 comments

By Jon Newcombe Sale stalwart Luke James admits his first season apart from older brother Sam has been “very weird”. Before the Curry twins and […]

Jeremy Guscott – Steve Borthwick must put faith in his players during Six Nations

19 January 2025 0 comments

By Jeremy Guscot – Outspoken and unmissable every week… The change of England captaincy that was discussed in last week’s column has become reality with […]

Beno Obano red ends Bath hope of an upset win against Leinster

19 January 2025 0 comments

By Brendan Gallagher Leinster ……………………….. 47pts Tries: Henshaw 9, 15; Conan 37, Snyman 51, 76; Ringrose 60, Gibson-Park 67 Conversions: Prendergast 16, 38, 52, 61; […]

Battling Bristol Bears suffer injury-time heartache against Clermont

19 January 2025 0 comments

By Gary Fitzgerald Clermont ……………………… 33pts Tries: Newsome 17, Raka 40, 54; Penalty 76, Ceyte 80+6 Bristol ………………………….. 26pts Conversions: Belleau 40, 55, 80+6 Tries: […]

Match Preview – Leicester Tigers gunning to take down Antoine Dupont and Toulouse

19 January 2025 0 comments

By Adam Hathaway Today. Kick-off 3.15pm, Stade Ernest Wallon Michael Cheika is aiming to take down a French icon as his Tigers attempt their Champions […]

Good news on Maro Itoje, but England’s problems persist

19 January 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week Having been a long-time advocate of Maro Itoje as England captain, my first reaction to […]

Beefing up club rugby may start a trend

19 January 2025 0 comments

HERE’S a novel idea: a fresh European tournament specifically aimed at clubs based on the continent of Europe, as opposed to a European tournament featuring […]

Ospreys snatch it in stunning finale against Pau

19 January 2025 0 comments

By Simon Thomas Pau ………………..28 Ospreys ……….. 31 Ospreys booked a home tie in the last 16 with a superb five-try bonus point victory in […]

South America aiming for four teams at Rugby World Cup 2027

19 January 2025 0 comments

By Joe Santamaria After a historic 2024 for rugby in South America, former Argentina head coach Daniel Hourcade is turning his attention to the future. […]

Scotland’s class of 1925 fired by legends

19 January 2025 0 comments

Rugby Matters – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points, by Brendan Gallagher Scotland only have three Grand Slams to lovingly remember but […]

I was astonished when Leicester got in touch

19 January 2025 0 comments

MY LIFEIN RUGBY MICHAEL VAN VUUREN THE FORMER JUNIOR SPRINGBOK, CHEETAHS, STADE FRANCAIS, KINGS, LEICESTER, BATH, LONDON SCOTTISH, LONDON IRISH, NORTHAMPTON, BEDFORD, AMPTHILL, EALING, WASPS, […]

Encore for exiled prop star Rabah Slimani

19 January 2025 0 comments

French Column by James Harrington Last Wednesday, Fabien Galthie named six uncapped players in his 42-strong list for the first match of the senior men’s […]

Max Llewellyn snub from Six Nations sums up everything wrong with Welsh Rugby

17 January 2025 0 comments

By Peter Ryan – @PeterRyanSports The Wales squad has officially been announced, and Welsh fans will likely have mixed emotions when looking over Gatland’s choices. […]

Levani Botia – My wife didn’t know I played rugby until she saw me on TV

16 January 2025 0 comments

By Brendan McGilligan Flicking between the channels on the television, Emele Veivuke landed on a rugby match. Not being a rugby fan, she took no […]

Simon Easterby welcomes return of Leinster quartet for Ireland’s Six Nations title defence

15 January 2025 0 comments

Interim head coach Simon Easterby believes the availability of Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Jack Conan and Jimmy O’Brien “massively increases” Ireland’s competitiveness ahead of their […]

Gregor Townsend hoping Kyle Steyn can still feature for Scotland in Six Nations

15 January 2025 0 comments

Gregor Townsend is hopeful that Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn can still play a big part in the Six Nations despite being omitted from Scotland’s initial […]

George Skivington surprised by Gloucester duo’s absence from Wales’ Six Nations squad

15 January 2025 0 comments

Gloucester rugby director George Skivington has admitted his surprise at the omission of Gareth Anscombe and Max Llewellyn from Wales’ Six Nations squad. Both Gloucester […]

Maro Itoje replaces Jamie George as England captain for Six Nations

14 January 2025 0 comments

Maro Itoje will lead England into the upcoming Guinness Six Nations after replacing Jamie George as captain. George has been in charge since the 2023 […]

Teddy Thomas reflects on career success, fatherhood

12 January 2025 0 comments

Lifting the most prestigious European competitions within rugby is only achieved by a small percentage despite the countless number of children who dream of this when they first step out on the pitch.

Philippe Saint-Andre challenges Sale Sharks to win something

12 January 2025 0 comments

Philippe Saint-Andre has assessed Sale’s title prospects and declared: “It’s about time they won something again.”

‘Je ne regrette rien’: Lewis Ludlam loving life at Toulon

12 January 2025 0 comments

Lewis Ludlam insists he will return to Northampton one day but has no regrets about leaving the town or England behind for now.

Sorry, Nick, but it’s different in France

12 January 2025 0 comments

NICK Cain has spent several issues arguing the case for promotion from the Championship and made an unfavourable comparison with French rugby. Unfortunately, it is […]

Jeremy Guscott: Four changes to fire up England

12 January 2025 0 comments

Whoever makes the England Six Nations squad, to be announced on Tuesday by Steve Borthwick, I cannot imagine much in the way of change.

Sharks 8-20 Toulouse: Toulouse on easy street as the sun beats down

12 January 2025 0 comments

This match proved more of a damp squib rather than a tournament classic as reigning champions Toulouse showcased their class by navigating difficult conditions to get past a toothless Sharks.

We don’t need platitudes, we need to see change

12 January 2025 0 comments

The RFU’s U-turn on Friday in agreeing to an SGM, just 24-hour’s after rejecting the Thursday’s submission representing 152 clubs across the length and breadth […]

Toulon v Harlequins: We’re expecting a brutal clash, admits Chisholm

12 January 2025 0 comments

James Chisholm admits he is not one of the flashier players who wear the Harlequins’ multi-coloured jersey, but the back rower proved his worth at a bitterly cold Newcastle in the last round of the Premiership.

Wilson: We have a good record and won’t be overawed

12 January 2025 0 comments

■ By PAUL REES DANNY Wilson says Harlequins will not be overawed when they face Toulon at Stade Mayol today having won in France twice […]

Cardiff still in running after taking bonus point

12 January 2025 0 comments

■ By SIMON THOMAS Perpignan ………23pts Tries: Allan 40, Veredamu 50, Velarte 61 Conversion: Allan 40 Penalties: Allan 4, 48 Cardiff …………… 20pts Tries: Lee-Lo […]

Fit-again Harri in line for debut

12 January 2025 0 comments

■ By BEN JAYCOCK Preview Dragons v Pau Today. 3.15pm PROMISING youngster Harri Ackerman will make his first Dragons start today against Pau after recovering […]

We need to watch rugby in the raw

12 January 2025 0 comments

By Chris Hewett – Thinking Allowed According to Inkoo Kang, a leading critic at The New Yorker magazine and, almost by definition, a writer whose words […]

A spirit of adventure comes at high price

12 January 2025 0 comments

Crowd pleaser: Cadan Murley scores for Quins against Leicester in front of nearly 80,000 at Twickenham PICTURES: Getty Images NO matter what the Premiership serves […]

Chris Farrell sacked by Oyonnax

12 January 2025 0 comments

Former Ireland international Chris Farrell has been sacked by French club Oyonnax following his conviction last month. Farrell, 31, received a four-year sentence, with two […]

When brute force saved day for the Baa-Baas

12 January 2025 0 comments

MEIRION Roberts would have been highly amused had someone told him that his death last week would resurrect probably the most controversial tackle in Anglo-Springbok […]

Heroes deserve highest accolade

12 January 2025 0 comments

Rugby Matters by Brendan Gallagher – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points The second series of BBC’s SAS Rogue Heroesis well underway […]

We can learn a lot from French

12 January 2025 0 comments

By Jeff Probyn – A front row view on the game There is so much that is wrong with the game in England, could it […]

Busby to quit after Hansen spat

12 January 2025 0 comments

FOLLOWING the aftermath of critical comments made by Mack Hansen which have seen the Ireland winger handed a three-match ban, Chris Busby is set to […]

Fabien Galthie’s Six Nations dilemma: Who gets the vote at 10?

12 January 2025 0 comments

French Column – By James Harrington There are bigger rugby weeks to come in 2025, but the Wednesday between January’s twin Champions and Challenge Cup […]

Top Seven Rugby Rivalries That Defined the Sport

9 January 2025 0 comments

There are only a few sports that can match Rugby in terms of intensity, passion, and rivalry. Over the years, there have been some matchups […]

Leicester Tigers chasing dream double

5 January 2025 0 comments

By Gary Fitzgerald Nicky Smith insists Leicester Tigers will not be content unless they complete a “dream double” as Michael Cheika’s men target domestic and […]

Jack Walker’s eager to build on last year’s success with Harlequins

5 January 2025 0 comments

By Paul Rees Jack Walker has warm memories of last season when he was part of England’s World Cup squad, his daughter was born […]

Tom Willis on a rampage to ignite Saracens

5 January 2025 0 comments

By Brendan Gallagher Saracens …………………….. 35pts Tries: Willis 7, 39; Cinti 47, Burke 16, 77 Conversions: Lozowksi 8, 17 Penalties: Daly 33; Lozowksi 70 Bristol […]

Hybrid Hash will tie Steve Borthwick in knots

5 January 2025 0 comments

By Nick Cain – Read his expert opinion every week The description ‘Hybrid Central Contracts’ does not inspire confidence. Hybrid usually means a bit of […]

When the Pontypool front row became a hit

5 January 2025 0 comments

It’s pretty much 50 years ago to the day that the Pontypool front row became a thing, well sort of. Before January 4, 1975 […]

My office at home is like a shrine to rugby

5 January 2025 0 comments

MY LIFEIN RUGBY THE FORMER MET POLICE, WASPS AND SARACENS NO.8, WHO REPRESENTED MIDDLESEX, LONDON, BRITISH POLICE & THE BARBARIANS LEE ADAMSON Decent: Lee Adamson […]

We need to see a complete shake-up

5 January 2025 0 comments

By Jeff Probyn – A front-row view of the game A new year and change is on the way across many aspects of the game, […]

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