Author: THEJOHNANTONIOBLOG
Premiership clubs hope for billion pound league if takeover goes ahead
Premiership rugby executives believe their league could be a billion pound business by 2025 if agreement can be reached this month to inject significant fresh capital into the club game. The owners will meet on Tuesday to debate a £275m offer from a private equity firm for a 51% stake in Premiership Rugby, with a…
Owen Farrell tips ‘brilliant’ Dylan Hartley to resume England captaincy
Owen Farrell has given Dylan Hartley a ringing endorsement to resume the England captaincy after the Saracens fly-half assumed the role on the summer tour of South Africa. Eddie Jones gave no guarantees Hartley would return to the role when including the hooker in his August pre-season training camp and does not intend to confirm…
Michael Cheika will see out Wallabies contract, says Rugby Australia
Under-fire Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has the full support of the Rugby Australia board and will see out his contract, according to CEO Raelene Castle. But at the same time, Castle said the governing body “can’t just ignore” the team’s below-par performances across the first two Bledisloe Cup Tests. Castle is set to meet with…
David Strettle ensures Saracens are back to winning ways against Worcester
Saracens return to winning ways but without the emphatic response they would have wanted. A failure to claim a bonus point means they stay in second place behind Exeter going into the new year and, truth be told, they deserved little more. David Strettle’s try eventually made the match safe but this will not be…
England left with plenty to work on after Wales rise to the occasion
Click:3D printing services Some rugby days are hard to beat. Saturday was one of them, particularly for those with Welsh blood pulsing through their veins. In terms of gladiatorial combat, passion, fellowship and emotion, it is hard to imagine a more vivid piece of Six Nations theatre. The Welsh Rugby Union’s pre-match entertainment would impress…
Dai Young calls for overhaul after ‘ridiculous’ ban for Nathan Hughes
The Wasps director of rugby, Dai Young, has described Nathan Hughes’s six-week ban – which rules him out of three of England’s four autumn internationals – as “ridiculous” and called for an overhaul of the Rugby Football Union’s disciplinary process. Hughes was initially set to be banned for four weeks for punching Gloucester’s Lewis Ludlow…
Sale’s Steve Diamond embroiled in media fracas after win at Gloucester
No sooner had he exhorted his charges to their first away win in the Premiership this season than Steve Diamond became involved in a fracas with a member of the press outside the media centre. Diamond had just completed his media duties when he approached Sam Peters and asked the journalist why he had not…
Cipriani’s off night proves costly but coach’s ambition may yet save him
The dishevelled look on Danny Cipriani’s face said it all. Arguably the most gifted England rugby union player of his generation was ushered away from Jersey magistrates court shortly after 10am facing the reality that reputations can take years to restore, minutes to rip apart. All the hard work to win his first England start for…
Eddie Jones challenges England to rewrite history against All Blacks
On the list of rare black and white occurrences, England beat the All Blacks only slightly more often than giant pandas give birth in British zoos. Eddie Jones is determined to address this below-par strike rate (the rugby, not the pandas) and is urging his reshuffled squad to “rewrite history” when they meet New Zealand…