Eddie Jones was convinced Chris Ashton still has an international future by the “glint in his eye” only minutes before he ran England ragged with a hat-trick for the Barbarians at Twickenham in May. RFU warns England’s Eddie Jones: ‘We expect success in the autumn’ Jones on Thursday handed Ashton an immediate return to the…
Month: March 2019
Foley defends kicking record after crucial Super Rugby miss denies Tahs
NSW Waratahs five-eighth Bernard Foley will back himself to make the next kick he takes that’s identical to the crucial one he missed in his side’s opening round Super Rugby home loss to the Hurricanes. Crucial World Cup year set to make or break Australian rugby | Bret Harris With NSW trailing 20-19 and just…
Brad Shields hands England injury blow as Wasps fall to Exeter
Click:wps下载 Brad Shields is a doubt for the start of England’s autumn internationals campaign after suffering a broken cheekbone during his debut for Wasps. Shields was taken to hospital on Saturday night after sustaining the injury early in the second half of Exeter’s thrilling victory and Wasps confirmed he could be out of action for…
England’s Marlie Packer: ‘I thought it was all over. I’d lose my job, lose my rugby’
Marlie Packer remembers it as a gorgeous August Saturday. Saracens had a pre-season friendly. She was still recovering from an operation, so didn’t play, but spent the day running out the water bottles. They won handily, and afterwards everyone went to the pub. It was the first time the whole squad had been back together…
Wales name uncapped Jonah Holmes and Luke Morgan in autumn squad
Wales will be able to call on Holmes and Moriarty next month as they wrestle with the conundrum of how to beat Australia, their World Cup pool rivals in Japan next year, who have won the past 13 Tests between the countries. Australia are the second of Wales’s four opponents at the Millennium Stadium in…
Premiership clubs turn on academy tap in bid to cut wage bills
Premiership clubs are promoting a record number of academy graduates to first-team squads as part of a drive to cut wage levels and end the persistent losses of the professional era. Exeter, the 2016-17 champions, recruited only one player from outside for the coming season, the Wales wing Alex Cuthbert, while signing 14 of their…
England’s Eddie Jones defends dropping ‘superman’ Danny Cipriani
Eddie Jones has defended his controversial decision to axe Danny Cipriani from the England squad on Thursday on the basis the fly-half has been overhyped as “Superman” by armchair critics who have been seduced by his showreels. Cipriani’s shock omission casts into doubt his World Cup chances precisely 12 months before the tournament begins and…
Sale’s Steve Diamond ‘moves on’ and underlines his record with players
Steve Diamond has launched a vehement defence of his managerial style at Sale as he pointed to a number of high-profile players to commit themselves to a club he claims has the “lowest injury count in the Premiership”. Sale’s uncompromising director of rugby has come under scrutiny after he confronted a journalist following Saturday’s victory…
2019, World Cup fever No 3: rugby union hits Japan amid uncertainty
World Cups always feel like watersheds. Eddie Jones has reminded us often enough that everything else is just sparring; that all that matters is the date of the final – 2 November – and ensuring England are at their peak when the latest four-year cycle comes to an end. Except 2019 seems different, not least…
Plans to revamp English rugby union’s top flight under discussion, says Ritchie
The Premiership clubs have moved to play down reports of a breakaway league and “a war” with the Rugby Football Union over ringfencing but relegation from the top flight remains a thorny issue for both parties. It emerged on Sunday that last April the club owners discussed the possibility of an “unregulated competition” if the…