Twenty-three years after men’s rugby union was made professional, New Zealand’s national women’s team – the Black Ferns – will be offered paid contracts for the first time, valued at up to NZ$45,000 inclusive of allowances and other payments. England had previously funded a professional women’s XV ahead of last year’s Rugby World Cup, however…
Category: Rugby
England’s misery in Paris underlines home truths facing Eddie Jones
This time 12 months ago England were sitting where Ireland are now. They had just stuck 61 points on Scotland to retain their Six Nations title with a week to spare and were looking forward to a grand slam tilt on the final Saturday. They had won their previous 18 Tests and their captain was…
Wallabies prove ‘tactically inept’ against smarter Ireland
The third and deciding Test between the Wallabies and Ireland in Sydney was billed as a grand final, the sense of occasion heightened by a record crowd for the last rugby international to be played at Allianz Stadium before it is torn down. But the occasion proved too much for the Wallabies, losing 20-16 to…
Jonny May’s early tries take England over the line against battling Wales
England’s latest victory lacked the spikiness of the verbal exchanges in the buildup but the action was more telling than the words. The champions again showed the awareness and durability they have developed under Eddie Jones, defending a lead for once rather than coming from behind, but they are also profiting from an element they…
Eddie Jones puts heat on England in search for World Cup game changers
The heat is on Eddie Jones, after three successive defeats in the Six Nations ended his long honeymoon, and it will be turned on his England squad when they prepare for next month’s three-Test tour of South Africa with a machine humidifying the indoor training facility at their base in Bagshot. The head coach has…
Calcutta Cup crucible can reveal real England and test Scotland resurgence
Several lively debates are raging around English rugby. Some reckon the national team are starting to plateau and, despite a striking win-loss ratio under Eddie Jones, could be vulnerable to a chilly blast of reality at Murrayfield on Saturday. Others argue that is nonsense and insist world domination is imminent. By Saturday evening the truth…
Joe Launchbury backs Danny Cipriani to make a big impact for England
The series may be lost but England’s final tour stop in South Africa has particular resonance for Eddie Jones. It was here, in the shadow of Table Mountain, that the Rugby Football Union approached him to become England’s coach at the end of 2015, making his return to the Cape with a squad battling to…
Washington DC team to enter Major League Rugby ‘no later’ than 2020
Washington DC will host a team in Major League Rugby “no later” than 2020, it was announced on Tuesday. The city has previously been linked to plans for a US-based Pro14 team. ‘A very monumental occasion’: NOLA down Houston in Major League Rugby MLR features seven professional rugby union teams from western and southern states…
Jones’s new attack coach charged with increasing England’s try count
Having cast his eye over England’s Six Nations woes, the new attack coach, Scott Wisemantel, is in no doubt as to the task that awaits under Eddie Jones. In Wisemantel’s words, to go from fifth in the Six Nations to a first series win in South Africa would be a “Cinderella story”. Rags to riches…
Firefighters and cops face off as New York’s pro rugby team debuts
On Saturday night at Gaelic Park in the Bronx, New York’s first professional rugby union team played its first game in the city. Houston? No problem – SaberCats bullish about latest US rugby venture Rugby United New York [RUNY] draws players from two senior clubs, New York Athletic Club and Old Blue, and others throughout…