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Lions greatest XV: Jason Leonard (1989) – tighthead

23 September 2012 0 comments

L ions tight head props are the strongest of the strong, the men with iron-girder necks, backs and legs who have to absorb and transmit […]

Nick Cain assesses some early problems for the 2013 lions

23 September 2012 0 comments

Will a Lions tour party ever leave these shores without having a ball-and-chain clapped to their ankle? This week’s coach-naming Press conference was at a […]

Jeremy Guscott: Gatland musn’t go looking for problems

22 September 2012 0 comments

I was surprised when Warren Gatland came out with the view that overseas-based players, especially those in France, could rule themselves out of contention for […]

We’re on the cuff of doing something special – Worcester Richard Hill

21 September 2012 2 comments

Worcester head-coach confessed it was hard to pick up the players’ spirit on Monday morning but he is adamant the Warriors are on the verge […]

Premiership round 4: preview and predictions

21 September 2012 1 comment

Exeter v Saracens Injuries to Craig Mitchell and Tom Johnson mean Carl Rimmer and James Phillips come into the pack while Haydn Thomas is given […]

Top 14 round 6: preview and predictions

21 September 2012 0 comments

This week the duel between Jonny Wilkinson and Frederic Michalak won’t happen as both will start for Toulon and form the half-back pairing for the […]

Nick Cain: Half-baked TMO trial needs re-focussing

21 September 2012 0 comments

It is the duty of a modern professional sport to use technology to arrive at fair rulings and eliminate errors by officials as far as […]

“Be ready put your body on the line,” Conor O’Shea tells his players

21 September 2012 0 comments

Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea is looking forward to the challenge Leicester will set but pleads his player to be ready put their body […]

Tom Youngs: “My debt to selfless George Chuter”

21 September 2012 1 comment

Leicester‘s Tom Youngs admits he is still a work in progress as a hooker and has no qualms in tapping up Tigers rival George Chuter […]

Why joining Northampton Saints was no-brainer for Luther Burrell

20 September 2012 0 comments

Powerhouse centre Luther Burrell says his desire to learn from Northampton‘s impressive array of England stars drove him to leave Sale Sharks. The ambitious 24-year-old […]

Peter Jackson: Grav’s fight with a Jag brought the roof down

20 September 2012 2 comments

Ray Gravell would have been 61 this week and the world, especially the part which revolved around Mynydd-y-Garreg, would have been all the better for […]

Stop-gap Karl Dickson wants a permanent place now

20 September 2012 1 comment

Harlequins scrum-half Karl Dickson has targeted a place in one of the England squads after tiring of having his holiday plans ruined. Twice this year […]

Jeff Probyn: Heroic defeat shows there’s still a buzz in Dai’s Wasps

19 September 2012 1 comment

A blistering start to the season with lots of points scored in some outstanding games – but it has to be said there were no […]

“I just had to cherry-pick Gloucester,” says All Black Jimmy Cowan

19 September 2012 0 comments

All Black scrum-half Jimmy Cowan revealed he has joined Gloucester because of the club’s ‘parochialism’ and argued that he heads to Kingsholm to reignite, rather […]

English will offer £100m bait to land their jackpot

18 September 2012 1 comment

England’s Premier clubs will go into Tuesday’s meeting with their Heineken Cup colleagues with a £100m cheque to place on the bargaining table. Premier Rugby […]

Premiership round 3 review

17 September 2012 0 comments

Bath (lost 14-18 to Northampton) A great start and even put the Saints on the back foot but they kept kicking the ball away as […]

Lions greatest XV: Brian Moore (1989) – hooker

16 September 2012 1 comment

When the British & Irish Lions embark on their Tour of Australia next summer, their army of fans will be ready to hail new heroes. […]

NICK CAIN finds London Welsh skipper Jonathan Mills is a Realist with an optimistic streak

16 September 2012 0 comments

Jonathan Mills is full of pioneer spirit despite the giant survival task facing him and his newly promoted band of London Welsh brothers. As the […]

Jeremy Guscott: Quick-learners Argentina exposed bish-bash Boks

15 September 2012 1 comment

Argentina have more than proved their worth in the revamped Tri-Nations, now the Rugby Championship, by drawing with South Africa when they got them at […]

Myler’s kicking boots earn Saints a gritty win at the Rec

14 September 2012 0 comments

Stephen Myler put on a impressive kicking display to help Northampton claim a 18-14 win at the Rec against Bath and climb to the top […]

“Time to get the season going,” London Irish Brian Smith tells his players

14 September 2012 1 comment

Head coach Brian Smith reckons it’s time for London Irish to get their season going but warns his players they will have to be at […]

Nick Cain: Lancaster must pick his diamonds now

14 September 2012 0 comments

Stuart Lancaster appears to have taken it as a given that he will be England head coach until his contract ends in January 2016. However, […]

Premiership round 3: preview and predictions

14 September 2012 0 comments

Bath v Saints Bath made two changes to the side that beat London Wasps last Saturday as they look to continue their winning start to […]

Top 14 round 5: preview and predictions

14 September 2012 1 comment

Frederic Michalak makes his first start at fly-half tonight when Toulon travel to Montpellier as Jonny Wilkinson is handed a rest after injuring his neck […]

Rugby Champioship round 4: preview and predictions

14 September 2012 1 comment

New Zealand v South Africa Liam Messam, Sam Whitelock and Andrew Hore have all been drafted back into the All Blacks’ starting XV for the […]

“I’ve got to oust Nick Easter to achieve my dream,” says Tom Guest

14 September 2012 1 comment

Harlequins No.8 Tom Guest admits his international aspirations will remain on hold unless he can elbow aside Nick Easter and nail down a starting spot. […]

Peter Jackson: “It seemed so unfair to have my dream taken away,” says Lloyd Burns

13 September 2012 1 comment

He blazed across the skies of the rugby globe like a meteor, a trans-global journey of fairytale dimension from Cardiff to Auckland. Lloyd Burns’ magical […]

Saracens Mako Vunipola is in shape to make up for lost time

13 September 2012 0 comments

On the face of it Mako Vunipola‘s life at Saracens could not have begun any better – two starts, two man-of-the-match awards – however, the […]

Jeff Probyn: Cips may shine but it’s the Sale scrum that matters

12 September 2012 1 comment

At last the season has begun, with much anticipation and excitement. For the players on international duty this summer, it must seem as if the […]

“Jonny Wilkinson remains in the frame,” says Warren Gatland

12 September 2012 0 comments

Jonny Wilkinson is not yesterday’s man as far as Lions coach Warren Gatland is concerned. Gatland opened the door to the 2003 England World Cup […]

Wallabies get set to cash in on the Lions

11 September 2012 0 comments

The Australians have drawn up plans to cash in on the Lions by charging £200 a ticket for the three-Test series. As proof that there […]

Premiership Round 2 review

10 September 2012 0 comments

Bath (beat Wasps 30-23) They arrived at the Rec on the back of an unconvincing win at Worcester facing the flying Wasps but they rolled […]

Inspirational Dylan Hartley lead Northampton to bonus-point win over Exeter

9 September 2012 0 comments

Dylan Hartley put down an early marker for a Lions selection with a superb performance to help Northampton claim a 24-21 bonus-point win over Exeter […]

Lions greatest XV: Ian Mclauchlan (1971-1974) – loosehead

9 September 2012 0 comments

The Lions have fielded some of the greatest props the game has seen, mirroring the finest scrummaging tradition within the four Home Unions. Paramount among […]

Jeremy Guscott: Watch out if Cowan makes Gloucester’s back line tick

8 September 2012 1 comment

I have a sense of huge anticipation for the upcoming Aviva Premiership mostly based on the rugby I’ve watched over the summer. It may be […]

London Wasps will have to meet fire with fire at Bath says Dai Young

7 September 2012 1 comment

London Wasps head coach Dai Young reckons his side will have to meet fire with fire if they want to comeback from the Rec with […]

Premiership Round 2: preview and predictions

7 September 2012 1 comment

Bath v London Wasps Lee Mears will make his 250th appearance tomorrow in a Bath side with two changes from the team that claimed their […]

Rugby Championship Round Three: preview and predictions

7 September 2012 0 comments

Australia v South Africa Australia have made their intention clear before their crucial clash against South Africa in Perth, they will run the ball and […]

Top 14 Round 4: preview and predictions

7 September 2012 0 comments

Mercurial fly-half Frederic Michalack will not make is starting debut for Toulon as Jonny Wilkinson retain his No.10 jersey for the reception of Bordeaux-Begles tomorrow. […]

James Hook finds it’s always time for tee in new tryless Top 14

7 September 2012 0 comments

Welsh fly-half James Hook believes that the emphasis placed on defence by French clubs has placed more responsibility on kickers. The 27-year has just started […]

Chance to have controlling interest lured Shane Geraghty back to Irish

7 September 2012 0 comments

Fly-half Shane Geraghty has relished the link-up with Brian Smith and says the opportunity to be the fulcrum in London Irish‘s new-look backline was enough […]

Peter Jackson: A spat that ended with an all-Welsh Pro12 punchline

6 September 2012 0 comments

Phil Davies and Simon Easterby go back a long way, to a Third Division scrap in West Yorkshire during the pioneering weeks of professionalism. The […]

Heart-blow Lloyd Burns set to land job with WRU

6 September 2012 0 comments

Wales World Cup hooker Lloyd Burns is in talks over a new career five months after being forced into premature retirement with a heart condition. […]

Jeff Probyn: TMOs should be allowed to single out the thugs

5 September 2012 0 comments

The Premiership has announced that it intends to increase the powers of the TMO’s at live televised games by allowing them to report foul play […]

So far so good for London Irish’s new ‘offloading machine’ Seitaimata Sa

5 September 2012 2 comments

Plenty of Rugby League converts take months if not years to adapt to the intricacies of Union, but London Irish-bound Setaimata Sa says his Kiwi […]

Top clubs may fight salary cap in court

4 September 2012 0 comments

The legality of Premiership Rugby‘s salary cap is set to be challenged under European Union competition law, according to a leading club insider. Emboldened by […]

Saint-Andre’s regime is to blame for Sale’s slump, says Pete Anglesea

3 September 2012 2 comments

Former director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre must shoulder the blame for Sale‘s slump in fortunes, according to forwards coach Pete Anglesea. But Anglesea insists the […]

Premiership preview (1 day to go): Harlequins, Leicester, Saracens

31 August 2012 0 comments

With the Aviva Premiership starting tomorrow, we take a look at what lays ahead for the last three of the 12 teams. Today, Harlequins, Leicester […]

Aviva Premiership Round 1: Team News and Predictions

31 August 2012 0 comments

Exeter v Sale Tom Johnson returns to the Exeter team after making his England debut on their summer tour to South Africa while new signing […]

Top14 Round 3: Preview and Predictions

31 August 2012 1 comment

Bottom of the table Mont-de-Marsan face the daunting prospect of unbeaten big spending Toulon with Jonny Wilkinson in fine point scoring form. The World Cup […]

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