Saracens mark return to Premiership by announcing club record kit deal with British sportswear brand Castore June 22, 2021 Saracens have announced a kit deal with British brand Castore believed to be the most lucrative in the club’s history. The five-year agreement replaces Sarries’ contract with Nike and follows their successful promotion back to English rugby union’s top division. Saracens join a fast-growing roster of teams and athletes to partner with Castore, which includes [...]
Ollie Phillips: Why I fancy Sale and Bristol to progress in Premiership semi-finals June 18, 2021 The Premiership Rugby semi-finals this weekend are a fascinating collision of contrasts – and I can’t wait. While Exeter and Sale will look to knock 10 bells out of each other, Bristol and Harlequins promises a feast of fast, flowing rugby. And in Sale and Quins we have two teams transformed by coaching changes this [...]
United Rugby Championship: Four South African teams join northern hemisphere sides in private equity shake-up of Pro14 June 15, 2021 Club rugby union is set for a private-equity-led shake-up later this year when the United Rugby Championship replaces the Pro14. Four South African teams will join the dozen Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italian sides already part of the Pro14 to form a new 16-team tournament. The changes, which will incorporate lucrative new TV deals and [...]
Steering clear of the cliff edge: Why it makes business sense for sport to put the human first May 11, 2021 We’ve seen a seismic shift in attitudes around athlete welfare but the sentiment ‘it’s only what happens on the pitch that counts’, albeit largely unspoken, is sadly still common in professional sport. With the global sports market expected to reach $600bn by 2025, there is no doubt about the pressure clubs are facing to deliver [...]
Brawn on the fourth of July: England to take on US at Twickenham this summer May 10, 2021 England will once again play in front of fans at Twickenham as the RFU confirmed two summer test matches against the United States and Canada. Eddie Jones’ men will take on the US on July 4, with Canada a week later on July 10. Read more: Sam Simmonds and Jonny Hill named in British and [...]
Jackson Wray interview: Saracens stalwart on targeting another Champions Cup and honing his financial trading skills May 7, 2021 Sport marches to a relentless beat of training sessions and matches that can allow little time for reflection, but the forced interruption of the pandemic gave Jackson Wray pause for thought. The Saracens back-row forward has had a front-row seat for one of rugby union’s most remarkable stories: the club’s rise, fuelled by home-grown talents [...]
Sam Simmonds and Jonny Hill named in British and Irish Lions squad for South Africa tour May 6, 2021 Warren Gatland has named Sam Simmonds, Jonny Hill and Bundee Aki in his British and Irish Lions squad for the tour of South Africa this summer. But despite expanding the party to 37 players, there is no place for Billy Vunipola, Kyle Sinckler, Johnny Sexton or Manu Tuilagi. Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones will skipper [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Taxman cometh for football (again); BT Sport; Simone Biles; social media boycott; and NHS x NFL draft April 29, 2021 HMRC has cashed in by increasing scrutiny of the football industry, so perhaps it should be no surprise that the taxman has begun a new crackdown on players and clubs. Investigations into footballers almost tripled in 2019-20, while those concerning clubs more than doubled. The result was an increase from £35m to £73m in tax [...]
Ollie Phillips: Why I think Owen Farrell could be left out of the British and Irish Lions squad April 29, 2021 Picking a British and Irish Lions squad is a tough task even at the best of times. You have to condense the very best from four nations into one 36-man party, taking into account not just rugby ability and form but also which players can fuse quickly and who will be good for morale on [...]
Premiership rugby clubs issue warning to British and Irish Lions chiefs over scheduling after reaching player release agreement April 27, 2021 Premiership clubs have taken a swipe at British and Irish Lions chiefs after finally signing off the release of their players for this summer’s tour of South Africa. England’s top-flight rugby teams were unhappy at the Lions scheduling a pre-tour warm-up match against Japan at Murrayfield on 26 June – the same day as the [...]
