All posts tagged "Top 14"
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Club Rugby
/ 2 years agoCarbonel winner ensures last-gasp Montpellier survival
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN THE English Football League’s Championship play-off final is sometimes referred to as ‘the richest game in football’,...
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Premiership
/ 2 years agoNorthampton’s brilliant trio are leaving the club in the best hands
BRENDAN GALLAGHER You don’t always get what you deserve in sport, not least when it comes to the send-off you dream...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoSaints stars give credit to Vesty
By PAUL REES On the run: Alex Mitchell breaks through against Saracens during the semi-final PICTURES: Getty Images Alex Mitchell and...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoBorthwick needs a clear direction
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK The fog around England’s take-off as an attacking force in the latter stages...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoQuins cashing in on Twickenham factor
Peter Jackson looks at how attendances have changed in the last 20 years and sees good news in the capital cities...
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Features
/ 2 years agoI want to improve and be best 9 in the world
Matthew Luddington talks to Gloucester and Italy scrum-half Stephen Varney following his eye-catching campaign Stephen Varney has truly had a breakthrough...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoIt’s close but Dupont edges out Edwards
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Your columnist fell in love with rugby watching...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoTime for Borthwick to stamp his mark
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME It's been well worth waiting until the end of the season to...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoHogg has eyes set on Top 14 surprise
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Stuart Hogg’s reported surprise reverse-ferret back into the professional game after his retirement last year – and...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 2 years agoTime to let Borthwick pick from the best
PAUL REES SAYS THE ENGLAND COACH SHOULD NOT BE LIMITED TO ONLY SELECTING PLAYERS WHO PLAY IN THE PREMIERSHIP England's preliminary...
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Top 14
/ 2 years agoCholley has cast his fearsome shadow over Castres
Castres have reinforced their position as the most red-carded of clubs, a fact unlikely to surprise those who remember their most...
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Brendan Gallagher
/ 2 years agoPink city deserves its place at the top
RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER - A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Anybody watching the crowd scenes in front...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoDowson’s right, let’s be more like French
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME In agreement: Mark McCall and, right, Phil Dowson PICTURES: Getty Images IT...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoGopperth misses out on top flight
FRENCH COLUMN By JAMES HARRINGTON Jimmy Gopperth won’t be the oldest-ever player to feature in the Top 14 next season after...
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Paul Rees
/ 2 years agoOnce again, the French wizard calls the shots
PAUL REES Is there anything Antoine Dupont cannot do? Drop a goal with his left foot from his own half, perhaps?...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 2 years agoTry tsunami sends a mixed message
Peter Jackson looks at an increase in points scored but suggests the figures may be hiding a problem for the Premiership....
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Blindside - rugby transfers
/ 2 years agoHurricanes fly-half to replace Burns at Ulster
Ulster are set to make their second signing for next season with Hurricanes’ fly-half Aidan Morgan to join the province. The...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoTV deal hits the €700m jackpot
By JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Jeroboams of champagne all round at Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) headquarters earlier this week, after...
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Premiership
/ 2 years agoDanny hails departing ‘Quins legend’ Collier
By BEN JAYCOCK Harlequins’ household names are nearing the end of their careers but scrum-half Danny Care believes their new coaching...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoEx-Wasps buzzing for European glory
By BEN JAYCOCK Thibaud Flament has risen from Loughborough University’s fifth team to become a French international with the intention of...
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Features
/ 2 years ago‘We have to manage load’
PAUL REES EXAMINES THE FALLOUT FROM GLOUCESTER’S 90-0 HIDING BY NORTHAMPTON SAINTS George Skivington has had better weeks. He knew his...
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Features
/ 2 years agoCup final is genuine clash of the giants
By PAUL REES Nearly half of the Champions Cup finals have involved Toulouse or Leinster, the two most successful sides in...
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English Gallagher Premiership
/ 2 years agoSlade extends his stay at the Chiefs
ENGLAND centre Henry Slade has agreed a new contract with Exeter. The 31-year-old has won 62 caps for England and started...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoDramatic finale puts Brive into play-offs
By JAMES HARRINGTON The ProD2 supplied a final glorious regular-season round for the ages in a perfectly timed reminder to broadcasters...
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Blindside - rugby transfers
/ 2 years agoVunipola trio to depart Saracens
Saracens players Billy, Mako and Manu Vunipola are to leave the North London club at the end of the current campaign....
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Premiership
/ 2 years agoGame in England is good, says Ford
By PAUL REES George Ford feels English rugby is on the up after a testing couple of years on and off...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoPower of the four musketeers
A common theme of last weekend’s Champions Cup semi-finals was the influence of the four scrum-halves, the catalysts of teams that...
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Peter Jackson
/ 2 years agoDavies the leading light in Welsh quartet
PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Four international fly-halves took flight from Wales last year, understandably so given the...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoI may sell Toulon for €1 – Lemaitre
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN A matter of weeks after ProD2 strugglers Biarritz were sold for €1, Toulon owner Bernard Lemaitre suggested...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoKinghorn: Move to Toulouse has given me fresh impetus
By BEN JAYCOCK BLAIR Kinghorn feels his move to European giants Toulouse has been a career revitalisation after ‘becoming stagnant at...
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Challenge Cup
/ 2 years agoMasuku hits the target for Sharks
By BEN JAYCOCK Sharks .................32pts Tries: Koch 61, Mapimpi 71 Conversions: Masuku 62, 72 Penalties: Masuku 4, 9, 14, 19, 26,...
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Letters
/ 2 years agoHarsh reality is that PRL costs must be cut
CAN we afford a PGP? The short answer, unfortunately, has to be a “yes” since, with the Premiership clubs controlling the...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoThe ringfence which is encouraging open play
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME THERE have been a few articles written about how the Premiership has...
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Challenge Cup
/ 2 years agoEPCR Challenge Cup semi-final preview
For the second year in a row each of the four Challenge Cup semi-finalists come from a different country, but it’s...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoVunipola arrested and tasered twice in Majorca incident
Saracens and former England number eight Billy Vunipola has been arrested following a violent incident in a bar in Majorca. According...
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Premiership
/ 2 years agoFalcons face battle to break their duck
By PAUL REES Time is running out for Newcastle as they seek to avoid joining Rotherham and London Welsh as clubs...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoScotland lock Gray heads for Exeter exit
SCOTLAND lock Jonny Gray has left Exeter with immediate effect to “explore other playing opportunities”. The 30-year-old joined the Chiefs in...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoLeinster’s workload merits little sympathy
NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK LEINSTER are worried about the pressure that could prevent them from winning a...
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Jeff Probyn
/ 2 years agoPGP deal is nothing but a waste of time
JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME I can't help thinking that the new Professional Game Partnership (PGP) is...
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Premiership
/ 2 years agoYoung Guns: Harlequins & England U20 centre Sean Kerr
By BEN JAYCOCK Sean Kerr revealed kicking in front of a vibrant, hostile crowd in France during England U20s Six Nations...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoRecord crowds flock to matches
JAMES HARRINGTON - FRENCH COLUMN More people than ever are flocking through the turnstiles of Top 14 and ProD2 matches, according...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoBan teams who pick reserves for knock-out stages
The Bulls are not the first outfit to undermine the European Cup by picking an understrength team, with some French clubs...
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Top 14
/ 2 years agoI’m loving every single minute
Mark Stevens finds former Exeter Chiefs playmaker Joe Simmonds enjoying his new life in France In the picturesque town of Pau...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoOutsiders aiming for a place in the final
Paul Rees looks ahead to the Champions Cup semi-finals where Quins and Saints are facing an uphill battle BEFORE this season’s...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoCrane: Sinckler’s an emotional guy
By NICK POWELL Hard to handle: Kyle Sinckler in action for England against South Africa PICTURE: Getty Images JORDAN Crane feels...
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James Harrington
/ 2 years agoJIFF looks likely to play a vital role
JAMES HARRINGTON - FRENCH COLUMN It's logical – as the final stop-start sprint in a hard-fought Top 14 season begins –...
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Latest News
/ 2 years agoEngland didn’t understand Sinckler – Crane
Jordan Crane feels England have failed to get the best out of Kyle Sinckler during his international career, with the tighthead...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoGreen seizes day for dazzling Quins
By PAUL REES Bordeaux-Begles ...........41pts Tries: Lucu 19, Buros 24, Depoortere 42, Bielle-Biarrey 59, Tambwe 64, 75 Conversions: Lucu 25, 43,...
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Letters
/ 2 years agoEasy to spot the fairer competition
BRENDAN Gallagher reports on Leinster’s convincing win over Leicester Tigers in the European Champions Cup last 16. The Leinster side is...
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Champions Cup
/ 2 years agoAnother barmy idea from the men in suits
The Ministry of Silly Walks was a Monty Python sketch which lampooned bureaucratic inefficiency. Rugby Union requires something similar to shame...













