CHRIS HEWETT
GUEST COLUMNIST

The best we can say for the United Rugby Championship is that the revamped tournament is having a near-life experience: eyes blinking and muscles twitching, its breath weak but just about audible.
Whether it survives the acid test of early spring, when the Celts find themselves schlepping all the way to South Africa for a weekend’s thud and blunder, is by no means clear.
Meanwhile, the English Premiership churns along in its half-fat state after sacrificing all forms of competitive jeopardy on the altar of pounds, shillings and pence. What slogans might ou...