England have reacted to the unfamiliar taste of defeat by changing their routine in training to reward outstanding performances rather than highlight failure in the lead-up to the match against France in Paris on Saturday. Jonny May revealed that England’s analysts have changed the way they measure the performances of players in training, focusing on…
Month: March 2019
Danny Cipriani could make his England comeback in full-back role
Danny Cipriani could make his first England appearance under Eddie Jones in the No 15 jersey after he was named among the full-backs in the squad to face the Barbarians on Sunday. Nathan Hughes will also get the chance to stake a claim for the South Africa tour after he and Cipriani were among six losing…
Cardiff v Gloucester final throws up memories of mud and punches
Retro is in for football’s World Cup this summer. A number of kits pay homage to the past and, if rugby union is not getting nostalgic for a time when the game tended to be played on dilapidated mudflats, this Friday night will see the resumption of one of the game’s most historic fixtures. Cardiff…
Jefferson Poirot: ‘We were optimistic even before Scotland beat England’
With the surname Poirot it was perhaps inevitable that France’s loose-head prop would develop a heightened interest in using “the little grey cells”. Front-rows have definitely changed. While it is 36 years since the England prop Colin Smart was infamously tricked into swilling aftershave at the post-match banquet in Paris, the thoughtful Jefferson Poirot explains…
Israel Folau again courts controversy with anti same-sex marriage post
Australia’s highest-profile rugby union player Israel Folau has again courted controversy after posting a link on social media to a video that warns against “tolerance” of same-sex marriage. The video posted to Twitter features an 11-minute sermon by late American evangelist David Wilkerson who warns of “sexual perversions beyond description”. Israel Folau stands firm in…
Joe Simmonds’ early flurry kickstarts Exeter’s win over depleted Saracens
It has been a wintry week in the south-west but here was something to warm local hearts. As well as securing a home-and-away double over Saracens in the Premiership this season, Exeter sit seven points clear at the top of the table, a home play-off semi-final increasingly within their reach. Kyle Sinckler the bulldozer steps…
James Stannard forced to retire from rugby after punch to head
James Stannard will make a full recovery from injuries he suffered in an assault, but says there’s no way he would have been able to make his sevens rugby swansong at next month’s World Cup. Australian rugby sevens captain James Stannard’s skull fractured in alleged one-punch attack Stannard had planned to retire after that tournament,…
Don Armand called up but Eddie Jones does not expect quick England fix
Don Armand has been called up by Eddie Jones for England’s final Six Nations match against Ireland on Saturday after Courtney Lawes and Nathan Hughes were ruled out with knee injuries. Armand won his solitary cap against Argentina last summer but Jones has since resisted calls to select the Zimbabwe-born back-row and previously questioned his…
RFU stands by Eddie Jones for England until World Cup – whatever happens
Click:LOST MARY Vape It seems Eddie Jones will lead England at the 2019 World Cup regardless of the results he achieves between now and then. The Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, Steve Brown, said on Wednesday that it would take something “extraordinary” for Jones to lose his job, and that the RFU will not be…
Johnny Sexton ensures Ireland gain revenge on Australia to level series
The green machine is back up and running. Ireland head to Sydney with the series all square after a first away win against Australia for 39 years, founded on their ferocious physicality and led by the indomitable Peter O’Mahony. They were clinging on at the end but Ireland were worthy victors, winning the collisions, bossing…