They have cracked this Premiership malarkey, but still Europe confounds Exeter. With this defeat, the Chiefs are all but out. It will feel just as painful to have been thus dismissed, within the walls of their own fortress, by Gloucester, familiar old Gloucester, against whom they know well the taste of victory. “That’s the big…
All Blacks are ‘freshest we’ve been’, says assistant coach Ian Foster
The All Blacks assistant coach, Ian Foster, believes the players selected to face England on Saturday will be the best prepared they have ever been for a northern hemisphere tour and denied that Beauden Barrett’s goalkicking at fly-half was an area of concern. Foster compared New Zealand’s well-rested first-choice squad – who arrived three days…
How beers, soap and a stepladder laid way for Eddie Jones’ Ireland triumph
Click:微信开通批量筛选 After a performance such as England’s in Dublin on Saturday there is always the temptation to look back on it in the context of history. Their best under Eddie Jones? Without doubt. The best on their travels since Clive Woodward’s days? Quite possibly. How, then, was it that England reached such high standards for…
Owen Farrell gets England nod at fly-half for South Africa showdown
Owen Farrell will start at fly-half in a reshuffled England line-up to face South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday. There are seven changes in addition to Farrell’s positional switch from inside centre from England’s last outing against the Springboks in Cape Town in June. It is only the third time Farrell has been handed the…
Lawes ruled out as George admits England fell for Wales’s wind-up tactics
England’s hopes of winning the Six Nations took a further blow on Sunday night when Courtney Lawes was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Lawes suffered a calf strain in England’s 21-13 defeat by Wales on Saturday and is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks. Lawes was among England’s most…
Australia face anxious wait on Pocock and bug strikes 10 before England Test
Amid continuing doubts over David Pocock’s fitness, Australia’s preparations for Saturday’s encounter with England have been further disrupted after it emerged a sickness bug has swept through the camp. England will not risk Tuilagi against Australia but drop Care and Lozowski Israel Folau and Bernard Foley are the latest victims of the bug which initially…
‘Growing as men’: Mike Friday on how USA rugby went top of world sevens
In the HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, the USA have reached four finals in a row. Going into their home event in Las Vegas this weekend, which they won for the first time last year, they are level with New Zealand at the top of the rankings. Danny Barrett’s brutal brilliance puts USA top…
Cardiff’s Nick Williams: ‘Going on this long must be to do with my genes’
Nick Williams turned 35 last Sunday. As he drew breath to extinguish the candles on his cake, the Cardiff Blues No 8 marvelled that he was still taking the field at a time when the physical toll on players was prompting a number of early retirements. It is not as if the former Junior All…
Ireland outmuscle Scotland and storm to precious away victory
Joe Schmidt is not a coach who is deflected by a defeat, no matter how comprehensive. Chilly gusts greeted Ireland in the Scottish capital a week after they had been blown away by England, but they were not winds of change as the champions adopted their familiar formula of establishing a lead and defending it…
Jonny May injury mars Leicester’s dismantling of Northampton
Rugby’s high casualty rate was again exposed during a match that was played here to raise money for Northampton‘s former Australia centre Rob Horne, whose career ended last season when he lost the use of his right arm after making a tackle against Leicester at Welford Road. Four players left the field during the first…