Premiership talking points: Top four, cancellations and London’s showpiece March 27, 2022 Round 21 of England’s premiership rugby competition saw the battle for the semi-finals intensify as Leicester secured the first of the four spots, while we saw yet another draw – this time not involving London Irish. Here are the talking points as internationals returned to their clubs from Six Nations duty. One down The league [...]
Ollie Phillips: England rugby chiefs stuck between rock and hard place over Eddie Jones March 25, 2022 It has been a challenging week for the Rugby Football Union (RFU) following the conclusion of another disappointing Six Nations for England and Eddie Jones. The expectation, which the RFU have helped to foster, is that England should be the best team in the world. But the reality, as winning just two games at the [...]
Women’s Six Nations: New dates, new sponsor, same old winners? March 24, 2022 Change is in the air at this year’s Women’s Six Nations, which now has its own slot in the calendar and a first title sponsor in TikTok – but that looks unlikely to extend to the outcome. Champions England start as hot favourites this weekend – no surprise given their 18-game winning run, which includes [...]
London Irish: Exiles desperate to seal return to play-offs, says captain Matt Rogerson March 22, 2022 “As a group we want to leave a mark on the club,” says London Irish captain Matt Rogerson as his side look to clinch a Premiership play-off place for the first time since 2009. “We don’t want to leave here – whether through retirement or whatever – having said we could have done more. “We [...]
Six Nations 2022: Free-flowing France leave static England with questions to answer March 20, 2022 Le tournoi est bleu. The words of a nation that has waited more than a decade to taste Six Nations glory. The tournament is indeed blue after they clinched the Grand Slam against England on Saturday night, and how happy so many were to see the day come. France play some of the most attractive [...]
England must treat French game like World Cup final, says Dallaglio March 18, 2022 Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio has urged Eddie Jones’s team to treat tomorrow’s Super Saturday Six Nations match with France as a World Cup final. England cannot win the title in Paris but do have a chance to end a disappointing championship on a high and deny one of the in-form international sides their first [...]
Ollie Phillips: England need to target French emotion in Six Nations March 18, 2022 France face the ultimate challenge tomorrow. Winning a Six Nations Championship is hard enough, but to win one when there’s just the English between you and a Grand Slam is even harder. Super Saturday is one of the great days of international rugby outside of the World Cup. Three games, five of the six highest [...]
Dallaglio: Eddie must stay with England until end of World Cup March 15, 2022 Former England No8 Lawrence Dallaglio has insisted that England must stick with head coach Eddie Jones until his contract expires at the end of next year’s World Cup in France. “I would say that Eddie Jones is our coach until the World Cup, that’s the reality of it,” 85-cap Dallaglio told City PM “I don’t [...]
Six Nations: A look at when France won the Slam in 2010 March 15, 2022 It’s been just the 4,378 days since France last won a Grand Slam in the Six Nations, and on that day in 2010 the Super Saturday replicated the one we will see in just four days’ time. It was the year the Burj Khalifa opened in the UAE marking new heights for architecture. It was [...]
Six Nations: England must learn from card despite spirited performance March 14, 2022 Eddie Jones cited England’s spirit and others will cite their determination to succeed against the odds. But in Ireland’s record 15-32 away Six Nations win yesterday, the hosts can only point to themselves to understand where it all went wrong. In what was effectively a knockout match to keep pace with France, the anticipation was [...]
