“There’s always that question there,” Eddie Jones reflected during the January launch of the Six Nations. He was talking about Ireland, citing them as the favourites to win the tournament and describing the pressure that fertilises expectation and attention. The question was whether Joe Schmidt’s side would be able to handle it, and six weeks…
Month: March 2019
Jack Innard doubles up as Exeter beat Bath to reclaim Anglo-Welsh Cup
Jack Innard scored two tries as Exeter regained the Anglo-Welsh Cup with a convincing win in the final at Kingsholm. This was the fourth final in a row the Chiefs had contested and, after losing the last two, they claimed back the trophy they first won in 2014.(There was no competition in 2015 because of…
Israel Folau stands firm in beliefs ahead of return to rugby action
Israel Folau won’t let a month-long firestorm burn his commitment to rugby, saying backlash from his controversial comments about homosexuality will not push him out of the code. Speaking for the first time since claiming gay people were headed to “hell unless they repent their sins and turn to God”, Folau on Thursday was making…
Mako Vunipola: ‘What has pleased me most is playing so many games‘
A year ago this weekend Mako Vunipola was on the Lions’ bench for the opening match of their New Zealand tour and was pressed into action nine minutes into the second half to head off the prospect of an unthinkable defeat by a side scavenged from the lower reaches of the professional game in the…
Dan Carter: ‘Seeing a psychologist allowed me to confront my demons’
Dan Carter may be one of the leading rugby players of any era, a World Cup winner and the record points scorer in Test rugby, but he admits to being captured by nerves as he prepares for the end of his career in Europe before moving to Japan. The New Zealand fly-half, whose three-year stint…
Scarlets’ James Davies: ‘I’d rather have fun than be boring and have more Welsh caps’
Not since Llanelli’s fabled win over the All Blacks in 1972 has west Wales felt so much love for its local rugby heroes. At last there is modern-day competition for sepia-tinted legends such as Ray Gravell and Phil Bennett, particularly if the Scarlets become the first Welsh team or region to win Europe’s ultimate club…
Tom Youngs ‘under no illusions’ about Leicester-Newcastle showdown
Leicester have never failed to qualify for the Premiership play-offs since the current system was introduced in 2005-06, but defeat to Newcastle at Welford Road on Friday night would all but end that record. The Falcons are fourth in the table, two points above Leicester, and their director of rugby, Dean Richards, spent his playing…
Leinster’s James Ryan spearheads twin Irish assault on Champions Cup
It bears repeating that James Ryan, the Leinster and Ireland lock, is yet to lose a senior first-team match for club or country. It is now 19 and counting for the 21-year-old who began the season with more Ireland caps than Leinster appearances, and may finish it with a grand slam, Pro14 title and a…
New Zealand dominance remains a concern for Australian Super Rugby sides
It couldn’t possibly happen again, could it? Last year no Australian team won a single game against New Zealand opposition in Super Rugby. The Rebels’ 50-19 loss to the Hurricanes in Melbourne on Friday night has raised the alarming prospect of another trans-Tasman whitewash. Surely not, but the Kiwi sides are looking as strong as…
Leinster’s Dan Leavy: ‘The culture here is all about winning’
As Eddie Jones ponders his options at openside flanker for the summer tour to South Africa, England’s head coach could be excused for reflecting on Ireland, whose fourth choice in the position at the start of the season enjoyed a standout Six Nations and has spearheaded Leinster’s push to the European Champions Cup final. Dan…