If the first match between England and New Zealand in four years needed any injection of hype then the All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, delivered it when he suggested that Saturday’s encounter is bigger than last year’s British & Irish Lions tour. Chris Ashton to start for England against All Blacks as Tuilagi misses out…
Month: March 2019
Refusal to bow shows England ready for All Black ‘benchmark’
This time next year the Rugby World Cup will have just finished and Saturday’s opening match of the Quilter autumn series will mostly be forgotten. The majority will only recall South Africa literally throwing away a game they should have won and the dubious late decision not to penalise Owen Farrell for exactly the type…
Australia disappointed as New Zealand win Women’s Rugby World Cup hosting rights
Rugby Australia’s annus horribilis has continued after New Zealand were awarded the 2021 Women’s World Cup in Dublin. New Zealand edged out Australia 25-17 despite a late pitch from head of women’s rugby Jilly Collins, CEO Raelene Castle and chairman Cameron Clyne to the 42-member Rugby World council. Rugby Australia were confident of securing the…
Chris Ashton replaces injured Manu Tuilagi on bench for England against Springboks
Manu Tuilagi’s latest England comeback has been aborted after the Leicester centre suffered a minor groin strain in training. Tuilagi has been withdrawn from the bench for Saturday’s autumn series opener against South Africa and is replaced by wing Chris Ashton, who narrowly missed the cut for the original matchday 23. It is the latest…
Lydia Thompson hat-trick spearheads England Women’s rout of Ireland
England have scored 21 tries in an autumn series that will give them grounds for optimism when they challenge France for their Six Nations title in the spring. Simon Middleton’s Red Roses crossed the Irish line seven times at Twickenham, with the wing Lydia Thompson scoring a superb second-half hat-trick. England are playing an expansive…
Lions’ 2021 tour preparations take big hit in remodelled rugby union season
Click:tapered roller bearing The future of the British & Irish Lions is under threat after they emerged as the biggest losers from the remodelled English domestic season, which confirmed the tourists will have one less week to prepare for the 2021 series against South Africa. The 2021 tour has been cut to five weeks from…
Bath’s Alex Davies misses late penalty in a 10-try draw with Wasps
Bath want to replay last week’s Champions Cup defeat to Toulouse and their owner, Bruce Craig, would doubtless love this result to be amended as well. On balance neither side deserved to lose a frenetic 10-try thriller but, for the second Saturday in a row, a late Bath penalty miss deprived them of a crucial…
England call up Charlie Ewels as cover for injured Courtney Lawes
Maro Itoje has not been deemed fit enough to take a full part in England’s training camp in Oxford this week and Charlie Ewels has been called up in place of the injured Courtney Lawes. Eddie Jones is hopeful that Itoje will recover from a knee injury in time to face Italy on Saturday week…
Gloucester out after Munster’s Joey Carbery eclipses Danny Cipriani
Gloucester did not so much bow out of Europe last night as sink without trace on another bruising evening for English self-esteem. Munster may not be quite the force of old but they were still comfortably too strong for the Cherry and Whites, this bonus-point victory all but ensuring the Irish province a place in…
Wales surprised after France mix brute force and flair in Six Nations opener
Wales have been surprised by France’s selection for the Six Nations opener in Paris on Friday. They had been expecting a beast of a pack and duly got one with an average weight heading towards 19st but were wrong-footed by an element of beauty behind, where the bulldozing centre Mathieu Bastareaud does not even make…