Big Sport Quiz of 2021: How much do you remember? December 20, 2021 From teenagers sweeping to Grand Slam tennis titles to England reaching a major football final, an Olympic Games like no other and the introduction of a brand new cricket competition, it has been a hugely eventful year in sport. Off the field it has been just as transformative, with private equity and, increasingly, cryptocurrency and [...]
Leinster set to appeal fixture cancellation after widespread postponements December 19, 2021 Leinster Rugby are set to appeal the cancellation of their round two Champions Cup fixture after swathes of other matches were called off due to Covid-19. The Irish province had their fixture with Montpellier cancelled by governing body EPCR despite being able to field a match-day 23. The 23 completed four rounds of PCR testing [...]
Ollie Phillips: It’s all a bit French to me but it’s amazing to watch December 17, 2021 Sure, Leicester’s win in Bordeaux was impressive and Exeter looked comfortable against Montpellier, but I still don’t see an English team challenging for the Champions Cup. Toulouse put out a strong XV against a makeshift Cardiff and proved they weren’t there to play along with the Welsh region’s fairytale game. Racing 92, meanwhile, absolutely dominated [...]
London Irish hoping Challenge Cup run can keep confidence flowing December 17, 2021 In recent years the Challenge Cup has been more of a burden than an opportunity for Premiership clubs. This season, however, the removal of relegation allows teams like London Irish to commit more fully to a chance of European silverware – even if they might play it down. “Honestly, I don’t think relegation has anything to [...]
Gallagher CMO: ‘Let’s get a Premiership Rugby game in Singapore’ December 16, 2021 Premiership Rugby’s main sponsor, the US-headquartered insurer Gallagher, has called for the league to stage matches overseas in locations such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. English club rugby’s top competition has played two regular season games in the US, in 2016 and 2017, but the experiment has not been repeated. “Let’s get a game in [...]
Saracens’ European game with Pau off due to positive Covid-19 tests December 15, 2021 Saracens’ upcoming European Challenge Cup game against French side Pau has been called off due to a series of positive cases in the London club’s camp. Saracens, recently promoted back to the Premiership, were huge favourites for this competition before it began last weekend. In a statement, Saracens said: “Saracens can confirm that the club [...]
Danielle Waterman: ‘We’ve done it because it needed doing’ December 13, 2021 “We’ve done it because it needed doing,” says World Cup winning former England full-back Danielle Waterman of her decision to establish the Women’s Rugby Association. “During the last part of my international career, I was supported by the RPA [Rugby Players’ Association]. They stepped in with some critical advice around support and contracts. “A catalyst [...]
Champions Cup kick-off has been tainted by Covid complications December 10, 2021 Cardiff and Munster’s youngsters and fringe players may be dreaming of famous upsets this weekend in the Champions Cup but, for me, the situation has tainted European club rugby’s big kick-off slightly. It’s nobody’s fault that the two teams have dozens of players unavailable after being caught up in the omicron breakout while playing in [...]
Challenge Cup rugby gives teams the chance to hit reset December 7, 2021 A weird quirk of top flight European rugby is that in the big three leagues – England’s Premiership, France’s Top14 and Scotland, Italy, Ireland and Wales’s United Rugby Championship – every northern hemisphere team gets continental action. For the sides who finish in the bottom half of their league, except those who are relegated, are [...]
All eyes turn to Europe as rugby’s Champions Cup gets underway December 6, 2021 Come winter every season, European rugby halts its domestic competitions and looks towards the Champions Cup – the premier international club rugby competition in the world. This season, in a revised format, it’s imperative that teams get off to a flying start. Here’s what to look out for. Fast Start Last season saw a new [...]