Gareth Anscombe is adamant that he should have been awarded a first-half try but does not believe the failure of the television match official, Glenn Newman, to award it was the difference between victory and defeat for Wales. Anscombe appeared to have beaten Anthony Watson to the bounce in the 24th minute but Newman ruled…
Category: Rugby
Exeter and Saracens show pedigree to promise spectacular grand finale
Major finals featuring the competition’s two best teams peaking at precisely the right moment are surprisingly few in number. Not this year. When it really counted Saracens and Exeter performed as well as they have done all season in their respective semi-finals on Saturday, paving the way for a rip-roaring Premiership finale at Twickenham. If…
Scotland target victory in Italy and Six Nations third place
Scotland start the final day of the Six Nations in a familiar position, one place off the bottom of the table, but victory in Rome, where Italy have not won in the championship since 2013, could see them rise to third and finish in the top half for the first time since 2006. Gregor Townsend’s…
Ireland prepare for Scotland and chance to secure the Six Nations a week early
Click:martial arts uniform kungfu wushu It could be over by Saturday evening. Ireland, indeed, could all but slam the door on anyone else’s chances of the title by mid-afternoon. If they beat Scotland with a bonus point, England will have to win with a bonus point in rain-lashed Paris just to retain a mathematical interest….
‘In a way, I’m lucky’: Doddie Weir on MND, rugby and his crusade for a cure
In a famous scene from Living with Lions, the seminal documentary about the 1997 victory in South Africa, Doddie Weir is told his tour is over. “Ah well,” says the big lock, his eyes betraying a deeper pain than his grimace as the doctor flexes his knee, smashed by some Mpumalanga stormtrooper. “We’ve had a…
Munster hope to make experience count in clash of styles with Racing
Munster’s long European love affair started 18 years ago at the Stade Chaban-Delmas and it is to Bordeaux they return on Sunday for another semi-final against a French club. When they faced Toulouse in 2000 it was their first semi-final in the European Cup but they are now playing in a record 13th. Standing in…
European Challenge Cup: Anscombe boots Cardiff Blues to last-gasp victory
This was already a decent sporting week for Cardiff even before Gareth Anscombe lined up the angled 79th-minute penalty which ultimately yielded only the second Welsh triumph in the 22-year history of the European Challenge Cup. With their footballers promoted to the Premier League and their rugby players victorious on a breathless Basque evening, the…
Gloucester power past Newcastle to make European Challenge Cup final
Johan Ackermann declared a sense of satisfaction after Gloucester reached their third European Challenge Cup final in four seasons. The Gloucester head coach’s first campaign in charge also takes his team close to securing Champions Cup qualification for next season. They will now face Cardiff Blues or Pau in the Challenge Cup final at Bilbao’s…
Owen Farrell ready for England’s ‘brilliant tour’ to South Africa
Owen Farrell is relishing the prospect of England’s summer trip to South Africa. The tour captain took time out of Saracens’ preparations for Saturday’s Premiership play-off against Wasps to speak for the first time since his appointment. “South Africa is a brilliant tour, a brilliant challenge,” he said of the land that hosted his first…
USA beat Scotland in Houston for first win over major rugby nation
The USA rallied from 21-6 down in the first half and 24-13 at half-time to grab their first win over any tier-one international team, by a single point in a thriller. HR McMaster on rugby: ‘The warrior ethos is what a good team has’ The Eagles, now coached by former Worcester coach Gary Gold, took…