Liam Williams is in contention to face France in Cardiff on Saturday despite being substituted at the end of his period in the sin-bin during Wales’s victory against Italy on Sunday. The Saracens and Lions’ full-back was shown a yellow card for a tackle in which his shoulder hit the neck and face of his…
Month: March 2019
Newcastle move restores reputations of Dean Richards and the Falcons
It is 20 years almost to the day since Newcastle last won English rugby’s domestic league title. Coincidentally, 1998 was also the year the iconic Angel of the North sculpture, designed by Antony Gormley, was erected in Gateshead. Both were towering achievements but, for a long time, just one of them seemed to have been…
Mark McCall hails England contingent after Saracens lift title
Saracens are accustomed to consistent success but, even by their high standards, their fourth Premiership title in seven years was particularly sweet. In the bright sunshine of May it is easy to overlook their dark midwinter sequence of seven consecutive defeats and disruptive injuries to key players. To bounce back and crush a team of…
Pete Samu’s selection for Wallabies blocked by New Zealand
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has been blocked from picking Pete Samu for the upcoming three-Test series against Ireland, but says there is a spot waiting for him if the green light comes from New Zealand Rugby. Wallabies prop James Slipper banned after positive cocaine test There are five uncapped players in Cheika’s 33-man squad but…
Saracens’ South African co-owners sell 50% stake to chairman Nigel Wray
Saracens chairman Nigel Wray is to take full control of the Aviva Premiership club after its South African co-owners opted to pull out. Wray, who has shared ownership of Saracens with entrepreneur Johann Rupert’s Remgro company for the last nine years, moved to reassure supporters of the club’s future after suggestions emerged of a sell-out….
Eddie Jones enforces ‘never stand still’ credo in brutal week for England
The England squad’s reward for two victories in the opening rounds of the Six Nations was a brutal training week, starting with set-piece sessions against scrum-savouring Georgia and finishing with a high-intensity run-out at Twickenham in front of 10,000 spectators. “Never stand still” is the motto of the head coach, Eddie Jones, and while summoning…
Wasps, Bath, Toulouse and Leinster in Champions Cup pool of death
Leinster, the defending champions, have been drawn against Wasps, Bath and Toulouse in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup in a pool that boasts a collective 11 previous titles. Leinster clinched their fourth European crown in Bilbao in May and have been pitted against Toulouse, also four-times winners, as well as the Premiership duo, who have…
Danny Cipriani turned down French clubs to keep England hopes alive
Patience has not often been a virtue credited to Danny Cipriani but the Wasps fly-half’s reward for sitting on hefty financial offers from French clubs was his first call‑up to the England squad under Eddie Jones and a two-year contract with Gloucester that will make him available for the World Cup next year. When Wasps…
Wales’ Ken Owens says Warren Gatland deserves more respect
Ken Owens believes Warren Gatland’s sustained success at Test level has not always gained the respect the coach’s record merits. Gatland takes charge of Wales for the 100th time on Saturday in Ireland, where his international coaching career started in 1998, but the Lions hooker says: “I don’t think he gets the credit for what…
Wayne Pivac to rest leading Scarlets players in preparation for Leinster
The Scarlets will rest some of their leading players this weekend to keep them fresh for the following Saturday’s European Champions Cup semi-final against Leinster in Dublin. It is the first time the Scarlets have reached the last four in Europe since 2007 and they need one victory from their final two Pro 14 matches to…