The English game is languishing in its own inertia, apparently. Some people should watch it occasionally. This was an extraordinary encounter in a season that has had its fair share, however dispirited the national team may seem. Saracens’ problems reflect those of England with Irish shadow looming | The Breakdown How London Irish are not…
Paddy Jackson joins Perpignan after release by Ulster
Paddy Jackson, the controversial former Ulster and Ireland fly-half, has signed a two-year deal with the French side Perpignan. Jackson had been seeking employment after his contract with Ulster and the Ireland Rugby Football Union had been terminated following his acquittal on rape charges in April. He had been linked with another French club, Clermont…
Don Armand ready to turn on England power supply against Ireland
Belatedly summoned by Eddie Jones after consecutive defeats and further injuries in the back row, Don Armand has a straightforward answer to what has been identified as England’s number one problem. “If you can’t hit a breakdown, the fundamentals of rugby are things that you’ll struggle with,” he said. “Being in rugby it has to…
Warren Gatland says ‘terrible mistake’ by TMO cost Wales against England
Warren Gatland cursed what he called a “terrible mistake” by the television match official at Twickenham as Wales suffered a fifth successive Six Nations defeat by England. Wales were 12-0 down in the first half when their full-back Gareth Anscombe looked to have won a race to the ball over England’s line. The New Zealand…
Billy Vunipola’s hamstring adds to England’s injury worries
Billy Vunipola’s hopes of an injury‑free end to the season have suffered another setback after the Saracens No 8 pulled up with a hamstring problem at training on Wednesday, having only just returned to action after a broken arm ruled him out of the Six Nations. Sale deny interest in signing trial pair Paddy Jackson…
Dave Attwood: ‘Compulsory counselling for long-term injuries would remove stigma’
Dave Attwood felt like a fraud. He has given nearly seven years of service to Bath and is aware he was not thinking rationally, but day-to-day involvement without the release at weekends – and a series of aborted comebacks – left him emotionally exhausted by his chronic knee injury. “You feel like you’ve got a…
HR McMaster on rugby: ‘The warrior ethos is what a good team has’
“I didn’t get to see much of the Six Nations,” HR McMaster says with a dry laugh. “I was kinda busy.” He today that sheds his blood with me: when West Point rugby went to war Until 22 March, five days after Ireland beat England to win a grand slam, McMaster was Donald Trump’s national…
Scotland snatch Six Nations victory over Italy with late Greig Laidlaw penalty
Italy must be starting to wonder what they need to do to beat Scotland. They played most of the better rugby and were leading with less than two minutes to go but, just as they have done before against the Scots, surrendered a late kick. Greig Laidlaw’s penalty cost the Italians the game this time….
Indecision, spats and flogged players – England crumble under Eddie Jones
The Eddie Jones era has been nothing if not educational for the Rugby Football Union. The idea was to hire the world’s most experienced coach, shower him in cash and then sit back and watch him reel in the 2019 World Cup. The only thing Jones will be catching between now and Christmas, at this…
Ellis Genge: ‘I was a lot angrier when I was 18 than I am now’
Ellis Genge wants to set the record straight. The Leicester and England prop does not care for statistics but one in particular has caught his eye. Genge often treads the line between confrontational and combustible – “He’s more bark than bite,” said his head coach, Matt O’Connor, recently – but the 23-year-old feels his reputation…