England captain Owen Farrell to miss start of Rugby World Cup due to four-game ban August 22, 2023 England will be deprived of captain Owen Farrell for their first two games of the Rugby World Cup after he was handed a four-match ban for his high tackle against Wales earlier this month. Farrell was initially shown a yellow card for the challenge on Taine Basham, which was then upgraded to a red on [...]
England facing D-Day over Vunipola and Farrell Rugby World Cup ban fates August 21, 2023 Under-fire England coach Steve Borthwick will learn on Tuesday whether key men Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola will be banned for the start of next month’s Rugby World Cup. Captain Farrell and No8 Vunipola are both due to attend disciplinary hearings after being sent off for dangerous tackles in England’s two most recent World Cup [...]
English rugby ‘digging its own grave’ with outdated coaching, says Danny Cipriani August 20, 2023 Former fly-half Danny Cipriani has accused English rugby of “digging its own grave” and appeared to compare coach Steve Borthwick to football manager Sam Allardyce after the national team’s Rugby World Cup plans descended further into disarray. England lost 29-10 to Ireland on Saturday in their penultimate warm-up match for the tournament and saw Billy [...]
Rugby’s disciplinary process betrays the very reason tough rules are in place August 17, 2023 Utterly ridiculous. Hugely embarrassing. Total disaster. These are some of the thoughts that have crossed my mind this week when I should instead be getting excited for the Rugby World Cup next month. Why? Because with the overturning of Owen Farrell’s red card from last Saturday, all of the sport’s decision makers have put the [...]
Sporting rivalry between England and Australia unmatchable August 16, 2023 They’re two countries with shared values and an entwined history, and that’s why any fixture, in any sport, between Australia and England just matters. Earlier this summer we saw how the Ashes, with its peaks and troughs, captured both nations – even prompting some banter between Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese – as both the [...]
England’s Owen Farrell cleared to play in Rugby World Cup after red card quashed August 15, 2023 England have received a major boost ahead of the Rugby World Cup after captain Owen Farrell avoided a potential multi-match ban for a high tackle. Farrell was sent off in Saturday’s win over Wales for a challenge on Taine Basham and was summoned to appear at a disciplinary hearing today. But the committee cleared the [...]
Farrell idiocy leaves door open for Ford to lead Bothwick’s England at 10 August 15, 2023 England’s World Cup risks being scuppered before it even gets underway in France after captain Owen Farrell was handed a red card on Saturday, but Ford could come in and save the day. It is already starting to feel like the Rugby World Cup of absentees. First it was the exclusion of the reigning champions [...]
Van Poortvliet out of World Cup as Mitchell comes in for England August 14, 2023 England will be without one of their key players in next month’s Rugby World Cup as scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet suffered an injury to his ankle in Saturday’s 19-17 win over Wales at Twickenham. The Leicester Tigers No9 was aided off the field and will undergo surgery. He has been replaced by Northampton Saints scrum-half [...]
Owen Farrell is the only world class player in England’s Rugby World Cup squad August 11, 2023 Let’s address the fact staring us in the face that there’s only one current world class player in the England World Cup squad named by Steve Borthwick on Monday. The 33-man squad is largely experienced and capable, but it’s not a side I see lifting the William Webb Ellis Trophy come the end of autumn. [...]
Rugby World Cup: Steve Borthwick’s England squad verdict August 7, 2023 And there we have it, England’s squad for next month’s Rugby World Cup in France. It has been named much earlier than any other northern hemisphere nation but it’s done and dusted, and it’s on head coach Steve Borthwick and England to make it work across the channel. It is a mixed squad; experience against [...]