Tom Wood polished and poised for England return against South Africa November 8, 2016 Exiled Northampton flanker Tom Wood is poised to make his first international appearance for more than a year when England begin their autumn programme against South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday. Wood is set to start at openside flanker, alongside former skipper Chris Robshaw and No8 Billy Vunipola in the back-row, after working his way into [...]
Portugal training camp straight out of old school manual November 7, 2016 Boarding school dorms A training camp in Portugal might be mistaken to be the product of a modern approach to rugby coaching. It is not. Eddie Jones is as old school as they come and, coupled with the Warren Gatland-Shaun Edwards bone-on-bone methodology, at least two of the home nations are now fully compliant with [...]
England rugby ace Billy Vunipola wants to try the NFL: You watch it and think, ‘I can do that’ November 5, 2016 England rugby star Billy Vunipola wants to try on the pads and helmet of American Football after he's finished with rugby. The giant back row believes he has all the attributes in the NFL someday but insists he is currently committed to seeing out the remaining three years of his contract at Saracens. Read more: All [...]
Rugby week in review: England injury glut could have silver lining; Shervington shelves farming and acting ambitions; Bath make their Exeter schlep worthwhile; and Gloucester face tough times October 31, 2016 England widening the net Not so long ago if England lost their first-choice hooker, both locks and an established international open-side, the resultant pack might have come up second best against Richmond’s third XV. With Courtney Lawes, Dave Attwood and Joe Launchbury able to plug the gaps at No4 and No5, Nathan Hughes a real [...]
Dai Young admits scoreline flattered Wasps after Midlands side win to keep up pressure on Premiership leaders Saracens October 30, 2016 Wasps director of rugby Dai Young admitted his side were far from their sparkling best despite keeping the pressure on Premiership leaders Saracens with a 31-6 victory over Newcastle Falcons at the Ricoh Arena. While victory was tarnished by prop Marty Moore being stretchered off with a neck injury, Wasps recorded their sixth win in [...]
Teimana Harrison in pole position to solve England’s problem position in autumn opener against South Africa October 26, 2016 England head coach Eddie Jones has installed Northampton’s Teimana Harrison as the frontrunner to fill his side’s troublesome openside flanker position in their maiden clash of the autumn against South Africa. Jones has been hit by a succession of injuries in the back row with James Haskell, Sam Jones, Jack Clifford and Mike Williams all [...]
Alibaba’s sports arm invests $100m into rugby in China and sets ambitious targets for growth October 26, 2016 Alibaba will invest $100m (£82m) into Chinese rugby over the next 10 years as part of a joint initiative with World Rugby to grow the game in the world's most populous country. Alisports, the sporting arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba, says it wants to bring 1m new players into the " great Olympic team sport" within the next [...]
Saracens winger Chris Ashton agrees Toulon transfer that will rule him out of England selection October 25, 2016 Saracens winger Chris Ashton looks to have called time on his England career after agreeing to join Toulon next season. The 29-year-old international will join the French heavyweights following five successful seasons with Saracens, a move that will likely rule him out of future consideration for the Red Rose. Ashton, who has scored 19 tries in 44 [...]
A week in rugby: Anthony Foley super-charges Munster, Danny Cipriani suffers from lack of kicking duties, and Leicester Tigers rediscover their bite October 24, 2016 Thomond Tribute Glasgow had no chance of winning against Munster on Saturday; the men in red could never have allowed it. The electricity of Thomond Park flowed with a current even more vigorous than has come to be expected from one of the sport's most iconic venues in Munster’s 38-17 win, a week after the [...]