It is a great piece of sporting trivia: name the England rugby international who has played at Wembley but has never visited Twickenham, until now, in his life? South Africa captain Siya Kolisi strives for more after All Blacks win Brad Shields’s only previous Test caps both came in South Africa in June but exactly…
Author: THEJOHNANTONIOBLOG
Hugh McIlvanney, Ireland v England in Dublin and blindfolded boxing
1) The legendary writer Hugh McIlvanney, “a giant among journalists”, died last week at the age of 84. His finest work may have been in print, but McIlvanney was also an accomplished broadcast journalist, as seen in his documentary series ‘Busby, Stein & Shankly: The Football Men – here are parts one, two, three and…
Matt Symons: ‘I was eligible to play for New Zealand but I am English’
Rob Baxter summed up the dilemma of preparing a side to face Harlequins. “The trouble with facing teams who are patchy is that you do not know which patch you are going to hit,” Exeter’s head coach said a month ago. The Chiefs duly lost their unbeaten record at the Stoop a week after their…
‘Everyone was eating cucumber sandwiches’: an All Black’s view of Twickenham
I remember arriving at Twickenham for the first time, for a game against Barbarians in 1989, and all those childhood memories came rushing back, of growing up and watching the All Blacks in the early hours with a cup of hot chocolate. As a young boy dreaming of one day being an All Black you’d…
Hamish Watson leads Edinburgh’s easing past depleted Newcastle
Dean Richards offered a withering critique of the Champions Cup’s governing body on Friday night after his Newcastle team lost the leadership of Pool Five having played without a single recognised tighthead prop in their squad. The Falcons’ injury problems in the position – severe enough earlier in the week – worsened on Friday when…
Injuries do rugby union much more harm than negative headlines
In a summer which saw the premature retirements of the Lions captain Sam Warburton and the Newcastle prop Scott Wilson through injury, and a few months after the Northampton and Australia centre Rob Horne suffered paralysis in his right arm playing against Leicester, an article in a political magazine lamented rugby union’s deterioration as a…
Saracens go top of table and stretch unbeaten run with win over Wasps
One of the Premiership’s runaway leaders falters; the other strides out with a certain inevitability. Saracens go top, the only team unbeaten, nine from nine. Their unbeaten run in all competitions extends to 20, their last defeat being to Leinster in the quarter-finals of Europe in April. They were a long way from their best,…
Blame it on the bogey: player banned for ‘clearing contents of nose’ at opponent
Toyota Cheetahs centre Nico Lee has received a 13-week ban after he “cleared the contents of his nose” on to an opposition player’s face. Lee was cited following the incident, which happened during South Africa-based Cheetahs’ Guinness PRO14 game against Connacht in Galway last Saturday. He was reported under Law 9.27 – a player must…
Premiership rugby clubs vow to join forces to tackle losses
Leading rugby clubs in England say they need to act together to reduce wage inflation and control costs as the Guardian today reveals the most recent recorded losses of Premiership clubs total a combined £28.5m. The Guardian analysis, backed up with interviews from the majority of the Premiership’s chief executives, shows clubs are still struggling…
South Africa mix pace and power and expect ‘tasty’ battle with England
There are a few words you might choose to use about England’s pack before you land on the one Warren Whiteley settled on. “Nice” was what Whiteley said when he found out England had picked Tom Curry, Brad Shields and Mark Wilson to play in their back row at Twickenham. “Nice.” He sounded like he…