Marler retires from ‘dream bubble’ England career November 3, 2024 Loosehead prop Joe Marler has retired from international rugby with 95 England caps to his name. It comes a week after he left the England training squad for “personal reasons”. Last week he also caused a stir for stating the New Zealand cultural pre-match challenge, the Haka, was “ridiculous” and “needs binning”. “Playing for England [...]
Premiership Rugby: Chiefs winless as top four pull away October 28, 2024 That’s it. The Premiership is done and finished for a month. After six rounds the 10 teams will take a month-long break while the Autumn Nations Series takes place. So what have we learned from the final week of action in the first block of top-flight matches? Devonian drought Few would have thought Exeter Chiefs [...]
Rugby’s ‘A’ games hidden gems in Autumn Nations Cup period October 25, 2024 Rugby’s ‘A’ games are crucial for development and capture, and are the hidden gems of this year’s Autumn Nations Cup period. This weekend, when Japan and New Zealand clash in Yokohama, marks the start of the rugby’s Autumn international period. The majority of major southern hemisphere teams travel to Europe to face the best of [...]
Taxman hits Halifax Panthers with fresh winding up petition October 22, 2024 The tax authority has hit professional rugby league club Halifax Panthers with a new winding up petition on Tuesday
Rugby is staring into the abyss when it comes to Gen Z October 19, 2024 Look at rugby in Britain today and objectively try to answer the following questions. Is it appealing to you? Is it sexy enough to invest in? Would I take my kids or young relatives to watch it? These are the questions rugby chiefs will always be grappling with, and good luck to them. But rugby [...]
Derby weekend can ignite spark in Premiership October 11, 2024 This weekend Premiership Rugby has deliberately created drama with the continuation of derby weekend, where all five fixtures are focused on local rivalries. Sale Sharks play Newcastle Falcons, Gloucester host Bath, Northampton travel to Leicester, Exeter Chiefs take on Bristol Bears and unbeaten Saracens head south to Harlequins. Derby days are always special days as [...]
Arsenal are overachieving in the Premier League, but do fans appreciate it? October 10, 2024 In a parallel universe, Arsenal have already beaten Manchester City to the title. Forget Pep and Mikel’s inflamed war of words in this season’s scrap for the Premier League trophy; the Gunners have bagged the prize for outperforming their playing budget. Football, though, must ultimately be about fans’ dreams, not investors’ and bank managers’ bottom [...]
Mayor Khan bound to need to step in against NIMBYs over Twickenham plans October 8, 2024 London won against the capital’s NIMBYs when the GLA approved plans for Wimbledon’s expansion. And they’ll probably need to do the same when councils inevitably block the Rugby Football Union’s bid to host more events at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium. “London is the sporting capital of the world and this decision will not only ensure Wimbledon [...]
Is Pat a Lam to the slaughter at Bristol Bears? Not quite October 4, 2024 It’s not an official law of rugby, but as a rule of thumb you should not score 41 points and still lose a game. And that’s exactly what Bristol Bears did against Gloucester last Friday in round two of the Premiership. Sure, defence was optional for both teams in the West Country derby that finished [...]
Premiership Rugby 5 things: Bonus points more vital than ever September 30, 2024 Each Premiership side has now played a match at home and one on the road, so what have we learned from the early rounds of domestic rugby? Well Gloucester’s new attacking style started to reward them with results while Saracens and Bath remained the only unbeaten sides. Here are five talking points from round two. [...]
