Eddie Jones believes his intimate knowledge of South African rugby can help England “beat history” to claim a first away series win against the Springboks. Jones expects South Africa to be highly motivated because of “cultural issues” between the countries, highlighting a “dislike of the English”, but is sticking to his stated aim of a…
Month: March 2019
Eddie Jones seeks end to losing run for weary England in Cape Town
Preparing for the third Test in the shadow of Table Mountain has merely heightened the sense of England’s rugby players being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Even Eddie Jones has been gazing out of his hotel window in the lead-up to the season’s final game and using the view as a metaphor…
Leicester’s Ben Youngs: ‘It definitely feels like I dodged a bullet’
If the enduring image of England’s opening Six Nations victory in Italy was a quartet of Exeter players deep in celebration, oblivious to the downward spiral that was to follow, then the lingering sound was unmistakably that of Ben Youngs crying out in pain. Youngs’ tournament lasted only 10 minutes before suffering a knee injury…
Danny Cipriani is unlikely to change, and why should he?
Gloucester is less a king’s home for Danny Cipriani and more a pretender’s bolthole. The fly-half is being released by Wasps at the end of the season but instead of making an expected lucrative move to France, he is taking a pay-cut to put himself in contention for next year’s World Cup after his international…
Eddie Jones given no guarantee he will be England’s World Cup coach
Eddie Jones has been told there is no absolute guarantee he will remain as England’s head coach until the 2019 Rugby World Cup despite his team’s victory in the third Test against South Africa. Rugby Football Union officials have stressed, however, that Jones retains their support after a season during which England finished fifth in…
The stats don’t lie – the breakdown has cost England the Six Nations
Click:kimi api One statistic highlights why Ireland have taken over from England as the Six Nations champions and explains why Eddie Jones invited the South African referee Marius van der Westhuizen to training this week before the match against their successors on Saturday. No team have created more rucks in this year’s Six Nations than…
Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding remain in rugby wilderness after acquittals
On Monday it will be 40 days and nights since Paddy Jackson’s solicitor was asked what the future held for his client and his fellow Ulster team-mate Stuart Olding. The pair had just been acquitted of rape charges after a high-profile court case at Belfast’s high court and, according to his legal representative, Jackson simply…
Saracens champions again as Chris Wyles leads conquest of Exeter
It was apt that Chris Wyles signed off his Saracens career with two tries after another final in which the team that had finished first came second. Exeter lacked the wiles of their opponents, sticking to the possession formula that has brought them so much reward this season without taking ownership of the game after…
George North the star of the show as Wales coast past Italy
If Northampton want George North to play for them again, they should arrange a fixture against Italy. The Lions wing, who was accused by the Saints the previous week of an unwillingness to appear against Sale, scored two tries as Wales climbed to second in the table to take his total against the Azzurri to…
Christian Wade double helps Wasps to win over struggling Worcester
The pitches are firming up, the clouds are clearing and Wasps are coming into their own. They barely moved out of third gear, certainly in the second half, but, such is the torque of their sports cars on the wide outside, third gear was quite enough. Worcester can play a bit, as two late consolation…