Madness – but is it not always between these two? Or, at the very least, when France play. Still there is no knowing who or where they are. Les Bleus tore Wales apart in the first half – as much as any side can be torn apart in rain like this. The visitors did not…
Author: THEJOHNANTONIOBLOG
Rugby union: talking points from the European Champions Cup
Pool 1: Leinster in control as they head to Wasps The pool of champions has polarised. Leinster, for all Toulouse’s attempts to recapture past glories, are the team in control, even if they trail the French club by two points. Their victory over Bath was imperious, and Toulouse, who rode their luck anyway in round…
Record-breaker Beauden Barrett scores four as All Blacks thump Wallabies again
Beauden Barrett was chief executioner as the All Blacks sliced the Wallabies apart 40-12 at Eden Park to extend their Bledisloe Cup reign into a 16th year. Barrett scored four tries and 30 points in a dazzling performance, heaping more trans-Tasman agony on a gritty but outclassed Australia at a venue where they haven’t won…
No threat seen as Rugby Australia gives blessing to rival competition
“A house divided against itself cannot stand” is a warning Rugby Australia seems to be heeding as the national governing body grapples with the advent of mining billionaire Andrew Forrest’s new venture, Rapid Rugby. Already hailed as an alternative to the established Super Rugby tournament, Rapid Rugby has the potential to tear the game asunder…
England joint-captains Hartley and Farrell ‘on the same page for a long time’
Owen Farrell says he will run out holding hands with his fellow England co-captain Dylan Hartley if required and insists there is no risk of mixed messages when the pair start their new job-sharing arrangement at Twickenham next week. Eddie Jones’ England to prepare for World Cup in heat of Italy With Hartley having missed…
Steve Hansen decision could lead to Ireland’s Joe Schmidt joining All Blacks
Steve Hansen will reveal a decision on his future before Christmas that could yet see Joe Schmidt join New Zealand’s coaching ranks after the 2019 World Cup. The All Blacks coach said he already knows his plans and will make them public before the turn of the year. Schmidt is out of contract with Ireland…
Eric Dunning obituary
Eric Dunning, who has died aged 82, was a distinguished sociologist and founding father of the sociology of sport, who wrote about aggression and excitement in games, and about football hooliganism. Seeking an area for postgraduate research at the University of Leicester in the 1950s, Eric considered football, but found that it was regarded as…
Jonny May hat-trick spearheads England’s crushing win over France
Those wanting to know if England’s opening win in Dublin was a one-off now have their answer. Once again there was no stopping Eddie Jones’s rampant team from securing a convincing bonus-point victory, an outcome that sets up a tasty Six Nations grand slam eliminator with a similarly unbeaten Wales in Cardiff on Saturday week….
Exeter keep hopes alive with bonus-point victory over Gloucester
A week in Europe can be a very long time in both politics and rugby. Last Saturday Exeter were desperately disappointed to lose at home to Gloucester in a result which appeared to have scuppered their European hopes. This time it was the Cherry and Whites who experienced a similar sinking feeling as Chiefs finally…
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