The Wasps fly-half Lima Sopoaga believes the player drain from New Zealand to Europe will increase because the lure of the All Blacks jersey no longer outweighs the financial incentives on offer in the northern hemisphere. Sopoaga has 16 New Zealand caps – two of which are starts – and signed a lucrative two-year deal…
Alex Goode leads the charge for irrepressible Saracens against Bath
For all that Saracens’ swashbuckling style, led by the irrepressible Alex Goode, caught the eye in a record-breaking fifth consecutive bonus point win, it is Todd Blackadder’s post-match revelation – that the sum total of Bath’s ambitions was a losing bonus point – which resonates most. Blackadder made 13 changes to his side, resting his…
Duncan Weir: ‘An opponent’s size doesn’t bother me. I love tackling’
Duncan Weir is not a fly-half who illuminates matches with eye‑catching moments but he is what Worcester have long needed. Apart from Andy Goode at the start of the decade Worcester have lacked a No 10 who could play off the back foot, put his forwards in the right areas and minimise mistakes. Last season, they…
Danny Cipriani: ‘It’s been the same story for six years, hasn’t it?’
If Danny Cipriani feels messed around by England he hides it well. You might expect confusion, resentment, even betrayal at how he again finds himself on the outside looking in after the briefest of comebacks over the summer but on a chilly afternoon in Gloucestershire there is nothing but positivity from the exiled fly-half. To…
Wales’s 1969 wing wizard Maurice Richards: ‘I scored the tries but forwards won it’
They used to say the wind blew hardest at Cardiff Arms Park when it was trying to catch Maurice Richards. It had no more success than the England team that arrived in the Welsh capital 50 years ago chasing a share of the Five Nations title but left resembling the rubble where the north stand…
Black Ferns rout Wallaroos in women’s rugby union Test
New Zealand women’s rugby domination over arch rivals Australia continued with the all-conquering Black Ferns overwhelming the Wallaroos 31-11 in the Bledisloe Cup curtain raiser in Sydney. The five tries-to-one rout at ANZ Stadium extended the Kiwis’ winning streak to 16 over their trans-Tasman foes, with Australia yet to savour victory in 14 years of…
England’s dilemma: undermine Eddie Jones or risk scramble for a top coach
The start of the World Cup is nine months away but countries are already thinking about their next coach. Wales are sorted, appointing Wayne Pivac in the summer knowing Warren Gatland would be off after his side’s final match in Japan, as are Ireland, with Andy Farrell to take over from Joe Schmidt. In New…
Wales’ Ellis Jenkins heads for knee surgery and may miss rest of season
Ellis Jenkins will require surgery after being hurt in the dying seconds of Wales’ victory over South Africa and the flanker may miss the rest of the season. Cardiff Blues confirmed he suffered “a significant knee injury” during last Saturday’s 20-11 win over the Springboks. Rugby union power rankings: Ireland overtake New Zealand to be…
Jamie George’s late try seals victory for Saracens over Cardiff Blues
Click:Poly bag making machine A year ago this weekend, Saracens slumped to their seventh successive defeat, a run so out of kilter with the norm it was like going back in time to find Henry VIII supping with the Pope. The Premiership champions arrived here nursing a 21-match unbeaten record stretching back to April Fool’s…
Rugby union: talking points from the European Champions Cup
Pool 1: Robson offers Wasps some consolation Dan Robson’s performance for Wasps was one of the few shining lights on what was a difficult day for the home side, even if they avoided the thrashing they received in Dublin. He looks back to the kind of form he began the season in before the injury…