“I was at Scotland’s last World Cup match,” says Gregor Townsend. “It was my stag weekend and my brother got us to collect coupons from the paper for cheap flights.” Football is a thread that has run through Townsend’s life, whether it be playing for his primary school team and the renowned Hutchison Vale boys’…
Eddie Jones’s words about Wales prove to be a warning, not a wind-up
If you ask the locals around Cardiff, there are a lot of words they might use to describe the English. Humble is not one. In fact if you are waiting for one of them to say that, you will never catch that last train out of town. The same goes for Eddie Jones. “Arrogance,” Jones…
Rugby union’s World League plans criticised as ‘under-cooked’
England have joined the global chorus of disapproval at the latest plans to reform rugby union’s international calendar. A leaked proposal to create a new 12-team World League from 2020 which excludes the Pacific Islands for economic reasons is causing uproar in both hemispheres, with Nigel Melville, the Rugby Football Union’s acting chief executive, criticising…
Premiership rugby finances: the full club-by-club breakdown and verdict
Financial figures for 2016-17, for the 12 clubs that were in the Premiership during 2016-17. All details from the most recently published annual reports at Companies House. The figures for borrowings are from banks or other significant lenders, not for all creditors. The separate categories of turnover are listed according to the wording in individual…
England look to profit from Brad Shields’ inside info against All Blacks
Brad Shields knows the messages will start arriving soon. Having left New Zealand provincial rugby last summer to chase his dream of playing for England, the 27-year-old knows the All Blacks rather better than he does his new teammates and facing the haka at Twickenham will be almost like gazing into a mirror. If anything,…
Tactics not theatrics spur Wallabies’ Salta second act reversal
It may have been long overdue, but the Wallabies finally figured out how to adapt to one of the key law changes in the game when they produced their remarkable comeback win against Argentina in Salta on Sunday. The new tackle law introduced this year favours the attacking team by making it more difficult for…
Maro Itoje aims to curb ill-discipline but not his aggression against All Blacks
The last time Maro Itoje beat the All Blacks thousands of people stood chanting his name at the final whistle. The eventful second Test in Wellington was the standout occasion of the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour but, in Eddie Jones’s opinion, Itoje’s best days are still to come. Target the lineout and slow…
Statues, All Blacks and 6am training: lifting the lid on rugby in Japan
When Eddie Jones was the coach of Japan he once cancelled a training session and gave everyone the day off. In response, he had never seen his players so upset. Japan plot fast route to ‘emotionally smash’ Eddie Jones’s England Jones had felt his players were trudging towards training as if “off to prison”, compelled…
Six Nations could be tougher to win this year than the Rugby World Cup
Even a few years ago the notion that the Six Nations might be harder to win than a World Cup would have been ridiculous. Suddenly that is how it feels: whoever lifts the Webb Ellis Cup in Japan in November will not have met more highly-ranked opponents in more hostile surroundings than they will encounter…
Liam Williams leads Wales to South Africa win and first clean sweep
We have another contender on these isles. Ireland may be blazing the trail at the moment and England recovering from their wobbles of last season but Wales are as dangerous as any. Warren Gatland thinks his team are still under the radar. If people are missing them, they are not paying attention. This is their…