Red Roses needed win to silence naysayers, but hope remains November 14, 2022 Sport is cut-throat, and England’s Red Roses rugby team learned that on Saturday in their 34-31 World Cup final loss to New Zealand in Auckland. Down a player for 60 minutes, after winger Lydia Thompson was red carded for making contact with the head of Portia Woodman, Simon Middleton’s England were put on the back [...]
Ollie Phillips: Pace on the menu as Eddie Jones tweaks England recipe against Japan November 11, 2022 England’s team selection for tomorrow’s match against Japan tells you that Eddie Jones wants much more pace in his side. They looked lacklustre when losing 30-29 to Argentina in their opening Autumn Nations Series fixture last weekend but the inclusion of Jack van Poortvliet and Sam Simmons in the starting XV should add much-needed tempo. [...]
Ruck and maul stars: Rugby clubs bank on behind-the-scenes content to attract fans November 8, 2022 Matt Hardy on the rise of rugby clubs producing their own content as they look to attract new fans to the sport outside of the international arena. Gone are the days of sending season tickets out via carrier pigeon and releasing fixture lists through smoke signals, and here are the days of holograms, on-demand video [...]
Compelling Rugby World Cup shows the women’s game is entering golden era November 7, 2022 This Rugby World Cup has set new standards for women’s rugby. Two exceptional and competitive semi-finals, which set up this weekend’s final between England and New Zealand, reflected a tournament that has proven the women’s game is a tremendous spectacle of fantastic players. Matches are compelling and fluid. Scrums and lineouts are completed quickly, there [...]
England 29-30 Argentina: Pumas pounce for first win at Twickenham since 2006 November 6, 2022 England head coach Eddie Jones bemoaned an error-strewn performance after his side handed Argentina a first win at Twickenham for 16 years on Sunday. The match turned on two Pumas tries in the space of four minutes early in the second half, first from Emiliano Boffelli and then Santiago Carreras. Joe Cokanasiga and Jack van [...]
England finally have their axis, but Ireland and France the ones to watch November 4, 2022 Here it is – the day has finally arrived: England are set to field a 10,12,13 axis against Argentina on Sunday of Marcus Smith, Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi. This is the kind of backline team sheet we thought we’d see early on in Jones’ tenure – albeit a different No10 would have been in [...]
Can Argentina announce decisive arrival and pounce on England? November 3, 2022 They’ve always been the fourth team in the southern hemisphere behind the World Cup winning trio of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, but Argentina – boosted by a significant number of players playing in Europe – are primed to embark on a 12-month period that could shock the rugby establishment. When Los Pumas reached [...]
Ed Warner: English football of all levels penetrating hyper-commercial US sport November 3, 2022 Does anyone in England call the Premier League the EPL? I ask because I had a random encounter at Heathrow last week with one of a group of five Crystal Palace fans headed to Selhurst Park for their “first EPL game”. The Ted Lasso effect maybe? I only hope they made it to the Clifton [...]
Autumn Nations Series offers glimpse into future of global calendar November 2, 2022 In rugby circles, the month of November is synonymous with international action. It’s when some of the world’s best teams travel to Europe to play other top-level sides in what has now become the Autumn Nations Series. Broadcast via Amazon Prime Video, it is hoped the series could be a stepping stone towards a new [...]
Premiership rugby: Saracens on top as Gloucester close in October 30, 2022 The weekend’s Premiership action saw a battle at the top, a dominant West Country performance and major controversy. Here are four takeaways from the four matches in round eight. Master versus apprentice Yesterday’s match between Saracens and Sale Sharks had a multitude of storylines running through it. It was first versus second, the master – [...]
