In the past few weeks there have been two team sheets that have jumped off the page. Firstly, it was Bath’s “B team” against Saracens in the Premiership, then came Leinster’s all-star cast facing Wasps in the Champions Cup curtain-raiser on Friday night. The first prompted accusations that Bath were waving the white flag, the…
Month: March 2019
Mario Ledesma has one eye on World Cup as coach bloods new Pumas
Mario Ledesma has made 10 changes to his Argentina team for their match against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Saturday. Ten months out from the World Cup the head coach is using the game as an opportunity to give some of his younger players another taste of international rugby, as he tries to increase the…
Bledisloe Cup: All Blacks wow fans in win over Wallabies
The All Blacks have turned Harlem Globetrotters in a dazzling 37-20 victory over the Wallabies in Yokohama. The rampant world champions wowed enthralled fans on Saturday at Japan’s 2019 World Cup final stadium with some breathtaking rugby to complete a 3-0 Bledisloe Cup series wipeout. The Wallabies were anything but disgraced, mounting a spirited mid-match…
Warren Gatland’s Wales in no mood for ‘festival rugby’ against Scotland
Wales and Scotland may be facing each other in Cardiff on Saturday outside the Six Nations but it will be no friendly if the words of Warren Gatland at his team announcement come true. The Wales coach has named a strong side for the visit of a team who have not won in the Welsh…
England’s Joe Cokanasiga faces battle to prove Six Nations fitness after knee injury
The England wing Joe Cokanasiga is set to be out of action until the new year and faces a battle to prove his fitness for the Six Nations after Bath confirmed he has suffered a torn medial knee ligament. Joe Cokanasiga has power and pace to add to England’s strength in depth Cokanasiga, who made…
A Peter Brackley tribute, premature celebrations and Ironman triathlon
1) RIP Peter Brackley. He worked for Sky and ITV but for many, he was the voice of the 1990s as Serie A was beamed into our living rooms with Football Italia – it is a testament to his skill that the programme never felt poorer for a lack of co-commentator and there are few…
French rugby authorities call for lower tackle height after players’ deaths
French rugby authorities have called for a major change to reduce tackles to waist height after the death of the Stade Francais academy player Nicolas Chauvin this month. Chauvin, 19, died after breaking his neck in a match in Bordeaux and his funeral was held in Paris this week. He was the third young player…
Jonny May’s two tries against his old club take Leicester past Gloucester
At this time of year, fresh starts can quickly become false dawns, so Leicester’s bonus point win must be treated with caution, but we saw the Tigers at least bare their teeth. It was their second win in 11 matches and was fully deserved, with two tries from Jonny May against his former club proving…
Eddie Jones calls on England to ‘physically smash cheeky Japan’
Eddie Jones said England will look to “physically smash” his former side Japan at Twickenham on Saturday and advised them to “go to the temple and pray”. Jones declared England have got their mojo back after an agonising one-point defeat by New Zealand and vowed to prove it against Japan. In an effort to mimic…
Blair Kinghorn hat-trick sparks Scotland’s Six Nations victory over Italy
BLAIR Kinghorn scored Scotland’s first Championship hat-trick in 30 years as the home team got their Six Nations campaign off to a competent start against a limited Italian side. Stuart Hogg and Chris Harris also touched down as Gregor Townsend’s team had the bonus point wrapped up with 25 minutes to play, but some chaos…