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 – [...]
Red Roses remain favourites for World Cup, insists former winner Burford October 28, 2022 Former England centre and World Cup winner Rachael Burford has insisted the Red Roses remain favourites to win the showpiece rugby tournament in New Zealand despite being ranked third seeds for the quarter-finals. Though unbeaten in the pool stages, England sit behind hosts New Zealand and Canada in the ranked table and will face Australia [...]
Former Worcester Warriors coach leading consortium to buy club October 27, 2022 Former Worcester Warriors coach Steve Diamond has announced plans to lead a consortium with the aim of buying the financially stricken club who are in the hands of administrators and have been expelled from Premiership Rugby. Under his plans, announced yesterday with an early afternoon visual presentation, Diamond would become chief executive of a project [...]
Ed Warner: My advice to aspiring youngsters is to do your homework October 27, 2022 I never imagined I’d end up spending half my working week immersed in the world of sport. I stumbled into it via a serendipitous alignment of the stars in my mid 30s and have been privileged to parlay my enthusiasm for sport and my business knowledge into emotionally rewarding experiences for the past fifteen years. [...]
BUCS the trend? Why Uni rugby should be at the core of English reformation October 25, 2022 University rugby (BUCS) has all the capabilities to be the next generator of internationals should the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Premiership Rugby restructure its pathways. A week ago, the RFU’s chief executive Bill Sweeney stated that the “once nuclear” option of central contracts for England internationals was on the table in order to solve [...]
Red Roses ranked third in Rugby World Cup last eight October 24, 2022 England’s rugby union women have, unsurprisingly, reached the last eight of the Rugby World Cup. They were, and remain, overwhelming favourites for the tournament – yet they’re only ranked third out of the eight quarter-finalists. Ahead of them are New Zealand and Canada, who topped their respective pools, with the rankings handing Simon Middleton’s Red [...]