Premiership rugby is back with a bang after false start September 12, 2022 Having been delayed by a day, Premiership rugby finally got going on Saturday as 12 of the 13 teams began their campaigns on a weekend dominated by events outside of sport. The reigning champions lost on the road, the finalists enjoyed a week off and one club overturned a record half-time deficit. Here are four [...]
Danny Care on Harlequins, England and Premiership derby days September 9, 2022 England and Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care is already looking beyond his team’s first Premiership match against Newcastle tomorrow and towards the second-round London derby against Saracens. A major criticism of last year’s otherwise competitive season was the placement of the biggest derbies in the league – Northampton Saints versus Leicester Tigers, Quins versus Saracens and [...]
Cricket, golf, horse racing and rugby union suspended following Queen’s passing September 9, 2022 Friday’s second day of play in the deciding Test between England and South Africa at the Oval has been postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. It is among several sporting fixtures to be called off following the monarch’s passing, including in golf, horse racing and rugby union. Other sports could follow suit. The [...]
Sport tribute: Her Majesty was a fan of sport like the rest of us September 8, 2022 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, like so many of us, had a fondness for the adrenaline rush, the highs and lows and unrivalled joy that sport can provide. Whether her influence on sport is remembered in the famous scenes as she handed England’s Sir Bobby Moore the World Cup trophy in 1966, or her humorous [...]
Ed Warner: Kicked off, tipped off, switched off September 8, 2022 One of the joys of writing Sport inc. is the flow of suggestions from readers of subjects to cover. In the past week alone: the highly leveraged balance sheets of Premiership rugby clubs ahead of the new season, the continuing scandal of the lack of financial support for Britain’s international basketball teams, the prohibitive cost [...]
Phil Dowson: ‘Academy players will always be key to Northampton Saints’ September 7, 2022 Northampton Saints’ incoming director of rugby Phil Dowson has stressed the importance of his club continuing to be a side with a core of local players as the former back row gets set for his first season in charge of the east midlands club. Dowson takes over the top spot from Chris Boyd, who is [...]
Agustin Creevy: ‘I love London Irish. Why can’t we be champions?’ September 6, 2022 Veteran Argentina and London Irish hooker Agustin Creevy is heading into his third year with Premiership club London Irish and there’s little sign of the front rower wanting to turn his back on the Exiles just yet. Joining ahead of the 2020-21 season, Creevy arrived in time for the transition from Reading to Brentford and [...]
Premiership Rugby chief says Worcester aren’t out of the woods yet September 1, 2022 Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor insists troubled club Worcester Warriors will take their place alongside the other 12 teams in this year’s league next week but warned that doubts remain over their future. Speaking at the launch of the season at Twickenham Stadium, Massie-Taylor said that the West Midlands club had enough funds for [...]
Worcester future unclear despite owners saying player wages paid September 1, 2022 The close of play yesterday, the last day of the month, was the deadline for troubled Premiership rugby club Worcester Warriors to pay their players and staff. But as we reach September, just a week out from the new Premiership season, it’s still not certain as to whether Worcester will take the field against London [...]
Private equity influx in rugby will not save entire club game August 31, 2022 It’s no new phenomenon to see sports clubs, which tend to be at the heart of the community they serve, face financial challenges and ultimately go under. But why is this happening in rugby when the sport has benefited from a flurry of private equity investment which is shaping the future of the oval-balled game? [...]
