Every now and again comes a reminder of why the Six Nations still exerts a powerful hold on the imagination. Out of a clear blue Edinburgh sky has also come a scoreline which has transformed this season’s championship and given England a lot to contemplate. It is now entirely possible the visitors’ dreams of a…
Author: THEJOHNANTONIOBLOG
Michael Hooper sweats on Wallabies win as Australia face Ireland
Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper has underlined the importance of Australia reversing their recent mid-year fortunes with a season-opening Test victory over Ireland. Australia’s past two years of international rugby have been blighted by poor starts in June, losing 3-0 to England in 2016 and falling to Scotland in a one-off clash last year. They led…
Brad Barritt back from injury in time to lead Saracens against Leinster
Brad Barritt will lead Saracens in their Champions Cup quarter-final against Leinster after displaying miraculous powers of recovery from a broken cheekbone, but the defending champions remain concerned about the fitness of Owen Farrell and will be without Billy Vunipola on Sunday. Barritt played on after sustaining the injury against Harlequins last Saturday but the…
Leinster into European Champions Cup final after Sexton smites Scarlets
When the venue for the semi-final was announced there were mutterings of discontent in Wales that Leinster had been given an unfair advantage, playing home and away, but this game could have been staged anywhere in the world and the outcome would have been the same given the pace, precision, purpose and power of the…
Warren Gatland admits James Davies adds to Wales selection predicament
Deep inside San Juan’s Estadio del Bicentenario the Wales head coach could not help but raise a smile. Warren Gatland had just been asked about his plethora of back-row options leading up to the World Cup next year, barely minutes after watching James Davies produce a man-of-the-match display in his team’s 23-10 victory against Argentina…
Sam Simmonds in England squad for Six Nations game against France
Sam Simmonds has been named in England’s squad to prepare for Saturday’s Six Nations match against France. It was initially thought he would not be available until the final weekend of the tournament due to a shoulder injury but he will join the squad on Sunday and will be assessed by England before it is…
France drop players for ‘inappropriate behaviour’ after Scotland defeat
Several players have been left out of the France squad to face Italy in their next Six Nations game after the French Rugby Federation said it had sanctioned those who went on a night out following the defeat by Scotland. “Jacques Brunel has decided to exclude from that list the players who went out after…
Eddie Jones: ‘Defeat to South Africa was like a horror movie’
Eddie Jones has compared England’s latest loss to “a horror movie” after watching South Africa condemn his side to a premature series defeat. The head coach has acknowledged his squad are enduring a “bloody tough period” and says their composure under pressure has to improve if they are to resurrect their fortunes. For the second…
Eddie Jones’s England training methods to come under scrutiny
Eddie Jones’s training methods will be at the top of the agenda at the board meeting between the powerbrokers of the English game amid an escalating row over the number of injuries suffered at his England camps, Premiership Rugby has revealed. Premiership Rugby on Thursday expressed its concern at the number of injuries sustained in…
Alex Lozowski inspires nine-try Saracens to huge win over Northampton
For all that the scoreboard makes for desperate reading yet again for Northampton, perhaps the most miserable aspect of this latest hammering is that Saracens hit top gear only intermittently in reaching their fourth half-century against the Saints this season. Alex Lozowski was masterful at outside-centre and Maro Itoje commanding but the ease with which…