Saracens chairman Nigel Wray is to take full control of the Aviva Premiership club after its South African co-owners opted to pull out. Wray, who has shared ownership of Saracens with entrepreneur Johann Rupert’s Remgro company for the last nine years, moved to reassure supporters of the club’s future after suggestions emerged of a sell-out….
Eddie Jones enforces ‘never stand still’ credo in brutal week for England
The England squad’s reward for two victories in the opening rounds of the Six Nations was a brutal training week, starting with set-piece sessions against scrum-savouring Georgia and finishing with a high-intensity run-out at Twickenham in front of 10,000 spectators. “Never stand still” is the motto of the head coach, Eddie Jones, and while summoning…
Wasps, Bath, Toulouse and Leinster in Champions Cup pool of death
Leinster, the defending champions, have been drawn against Wasps, Bath and Toulouse in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup in a pool that boasts a collective 11 previous titles. Leinster clinched their fourth European crown in Bilbao in May and have been pitted against Toulouse, also four-times winners, as well as the Premiership duo, who have…
Danny Cipriani turned down French clubs to keep England hopes alive
Patience has not often been a virtue credited to Danny Cipriani but the Wasps fly-half’s reward for sitting on hefty financial offers from French clubs was his first call‑up to the England squad under Eddie Jones and a two-year contract with Gloucester that will make him available for the World Cup next year. When Wasps…
Wales’ Ken Owens says Warren Gatland deserves more respect
Ken Owens believes Warren Gatland’s sustained success at Test level has not always gained the respect the coach’s record merits. Gatland takes charge of Wales for the 100th time on Saturday in Ireland, where his international coaching career started in 1998, but the Lions hooker says: “I don’t think he gets the credit for what…
Wayne Pivac to rest leading Scarlets players in preparation for Leinster
The Scarlets will rest some of their leading players this weekend to keep them fresh for the following Saturday’s European Champions Cup semi-final against Leinster in Dublin. It is the first time the Scarlets have reached the last four in Europe since 2007 and they need one victory from their final two Pro 14 matches to…
Bath’s Tom Dunn: ‘I don’t look forward to passing or running. I look forward to hitting someone’
Ask anyone at Bath to nominate the toughest member of their squad and they all say the same name. “I wouldn’t want to be playing against him,” mutters Todd Blackadder, the former All Blacks captain now in charge at the Recreation Ground. Another colleague, Beno Obano, goes a step further: “If I had to choose…
No fizz for Wales despite securing second place in Six Nations
Like all the coaches bar Joe Schmidt, like all the teams bar Ireland, Warren Gatland and Wales finished the Six Nations Championship in subdued mood, pondering where they are and how far off the trailblazing grand slam winners they might be. Gatland wrestled manfully with the warring impulses to offer due respect to the champions…
Scotland 25-13 England: how the players rated in the Six Nations
Scotland Stuart Hogg 6 The full-back did not have the chance to make too many counterattacks but gave a steady display and was a rock in defence. Tommy Seymour 6 Always looked dangerous and made some telling breaks in the first half but worryingly had to be helped off after 64 minutes. Huw Jones 7…
Higher costs may lead to sporting events shunning Britain after Brexit
Major sporting events including rugby and cricket World Cups are less likely to be held in post-Brexit Britain, the House of Lords has been warned. It is feared increased cost of visas for athletes and less availability of staff at stadiums could force up the price of holding events in Britain. This may reduce the…