Major League Rugby kicks off its second season this weekend with two new teams to watch. The Toronto Arrows will join Rugby United New York in taking on the Seattle Seawolves, Glendale Raptors, Austin Elite, Houston SaberCats, San Diego Legion, NOLA Gold and the Utah Warriors. Major League Rugby crowns Seattle champions – and looks…
Month: March 2019
Geordan Murphy appointment is Leicester sticking to an old routine
As Leicester lurch from one mess to another, one head coach to the next, England’s best supported and most successful club is faced with a familiar conundrum: to stick or to twist. Since Richard Cockerill was shown the door a little less than two years ago, Aaron Mauger has been promoted from within, then Matt…
Rhys Priestland’s kick snatches victory for Bath from Wasps’ grasp
Neither side had anything to play for here and it showed. An amusing first half deteriorated into a mind-numbing second, where two of English rugby’s fallen giants attempted to outdo each other in contriving ways not to win. And at the end the old inquest into where it has all gone wrong was given an…
Prop crisis may force Newcastle to play Champions Cup tie with 14 men
Newcastle are facing the possibility of having to play the majority of Friday night’s European Champions Cup tie against Edinburgh with only 14 men, because of an injury crisis at tighthead prop. They have named their squad to face Edinburgh with David Wilson picked to start at tighthead, despite fitness concerns over the former England…
Leicester hope Manu Tuilagi will put passion for club before cash
Geordan Murphy is hoping Manu Tuilagi’s passion for Leicester will keep the England centre at Welford Road next season. The 27-year-old, who made his Leicester debut in 2010, is out of contract in the summer and the club’s interim director of rugby admitted that, if it came down solely to money, the Tigers would lose…
Bath resist late Quins pressure after rising star Joe Cokanasiga runs riot
New season, new regime, but it all felt more than a little familiar at the Stoop. Harlequins will point to an early lead and very definitely to a remarkable comeback with two tries in the last five minutes, which would have qualified as sensational had they managed another with the last play of the game…
Danny Cipriani determined to stay focused on keeping England place
Danny Cipriani is hoping a summer surfing trip to Malibu will help him to retain his place in the England side through to the Rugby World Cup in Japan next year, after spending the best part of a decade trying to win it back. Cipriani is the man in possession of the England No 10…
Wasps’ Dai Young speaks out as pressure builds on Premiership coaches
At last month’s Premiership launch the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, remarked on the number of new faces among his contemporaries. “You keep worrying that when the 12 of you line up for the photograph, how many of you are still going to be there at the end? I’ve got a funny feeling that…
Chris Ashton to play full-back at Sale despite England wanting him as wing
Chris Ashton has revealed he is set to play at full-back for Sale following his move back to the Premiership, less than a week after Eddie Jones handed him an England recall and claimed that being on the wing was his best position. Ashton does not believe swapping between the two positions will be a…
Sam Burgess: ‘Egos and selfish players’ behind England’s 2015 World Cup exit
The controversy over Sam Burgess’s selection in England’s World Cup squad is still raging three years on. The former Bath player, who returned to rugby league a few weeks after the host country were knocked out of the tournament at the group stage, sparked a Twitter tirade when he claimed “egos and selfish” teammates caused…