It has been a rollercoaster of a Six Nations Championship for Scotland who have hit the highs and the lows, admitted Gregor Townsend after they wrapped up their tournament with a scrappy late win in Italy. Scotland snatch Six Nations victory over Italy with late Greig Laidlaw penalty The head coach said the group had…
Eddie Jones set to name English replacement for coach Paul Gustard
Eddie Jones has revealed that the list of candidates to be his new defence coach is exclusively English as he closes in on Paul Gustard’s successor. The Australian also confirmed it would be a like-for-like replacement rather than a quick fix and dismissed suggestions Gustard’s position on the South Africa tour next month would be…
Mallinder’s Northampton downfall has parallels with Wenger
Longevity has come up short. Last week’s announcement that Arsène Wenger would leave Arsenal meant this season was the last for the longest-serving club heads in football and rugby’s premierships. Similar to Wenger at Arsenal, Jim Mallinder at Northampton had gone from managing the champions to missing out on a place in the top four…
Nick Phipps and Lukhan Tui in for Australia’s decider with Ireland
Halfback Nick Phipps and blindside flanker Lukhan Tui have won starts for the Wallabies’ series-deciding Test against Ireland in Sydney. Phipps replaces the injured Will Genia, while Tui’s promotion has forced David Pocock to move to No 8 for Saturday night’s showdown at Allianz Stadium. Wallabies’ tactical kicking game goes missing in loss to Ireland…
Exeter ease into final as Don Armand try seals one-sided win over Newcastle
The half-time statistics did not lie. Exeter enjoyed 92% of the possession and attempted 10 tackles to their opponents’ 169. Nine-tenths of possession allowed the Chiefs to lay down the law and they did so in the patient and efficient manner that has become their hallmark, taking play through several phases while taking very few…
George North disciplined but will see out season with Northampton
The Northampton wing George North has been “disciplined internally” after missing a training session – but he will see out the season with the club. Warren Gatland says George North is welcome to ‘come home’ to Wales early North was absent for the Premiership home defeat by Sale on 3 March and afterwards Saints’ coach…
Eddie Jones must get selection right for England to avoid World Cup flop
“There’s always that question there,” Eddie Jones reflected during the January launch of the Six Nations. He was talking about Ireland, citing them as the favourites to win the tournament and describing the pressure that fertilises expectation and attention. The question was whether Joe Schmidt’s side would be able to handle it, and six weeks…
Jack Innard doubles up as Exeter beat Bath to reclaim Anglo-Welsh Cup
Jack Innard scored two tries as Exeter regained the Anglo-Welsh Cup with a convincing win in the final at Kingsholm. This was the fourth final in a row the Chiefs had contested and, after losing the last two, they claimed back the trophy they first won in 2014.(There was no competition in 2015 because of…
Israel Folau stands firm in beliefs ahead of return to rugby action
Israel Folau won’t let a month-long firestorm burn his commitment to rugby, saying backlash from his controversial comments about homosexuality will not push him out of the code. Speaking for the first time since claiming gay people were headed to “hell unless they repent their sins and turn to God”, Folau on Thursday was making…
Mako Vunipola: ‘What has pleased me most is playing so many games‘
A year ago this weekend Mako Vunipola was on the Lions’ bench for the opening match of their New Zealand tour and was pressed into action nine minutes into the second half to head off the prospect of an unthinkable defeat by a side scavenged from the lower reaches of the professional game in the…