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Tag: Champions Cup

It’s close but Dupont edges out Edwards

9 June 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Your columnist fell in love with rugby watching Gareth Edwards in the […]

Johann van Graan: Bath exactly where they should be after years of hard graft

7 June 2024 0 comments

Bath will face Northampton at Twickenham on Saturday after being transformed from Gallagher Premiership no-hopers to title contenders in under two years. South African Johann […]

Tommy Freeman: Saints taking lessons from Dublin defeat into Premiership final

5 June 2024 0 comments

Northampton have been reflecting on the harsh lessons of their defeat at Croke Park to steel their bid to claim the Gallagher Premiership title on […]

‘Final will be a huge day for the club’

2 June 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Bath are in the Premiership final for the first time since 2015 after overcoming a battling Sale yesterday. They will now meet […]

Plumtree: We must sort out the logistics

2 June 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Sharks head coach John Plumtree believes the Champions Cup is the greatest club competition out there but has called for increased alignment […]

I want my England shirt back says JVP

2 June 2024 0 comments

By GARY FITZGERALD The sight of the world’s best scrum-half strutting his stuff at the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club last weekend increased the […]

Clarke confident Gloucester can put the bad times behind them

2 June 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Gloucester will have regrets for their disappointing season that saw the Cherry & Whites finish second bottom in the Premiership for a […]

Why didn’t ref stop the clock?

2 June 2024 0 comments

The Champions Cup final was as exciting as we expected, but the decision not to stop the clock in extra-time, while reviewing Josh van der […]

Then and now: It’s tough to compare

2 June 2024 0 comments

CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED Whenever the incomparable Antoine Dupont does the kind of things he did in dragging Toulouse over the line in a Champions […]

Leinster get back on right track

2 June 2024 0 comments

By JOHN FALLON Leinster ……….33 Connacht …….. 17 Leinster coach Leo Cullen praised his men for the manner in which they hammered Connacht as they […]

Pink city deserves its place at the top

2 June 2024 0 comments

RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER – A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Anybody watching the crowd scenes in front of the big screen […]

Gopperth misses out on top flight

2 June 2024 0 comments

FRENCH COLUMN By JAMES HARRINGTON Jimmy Gopperth won’t be the oldest-ever player to feature in the Top 14 next season after all, after his Provence […]

Series 3, Episode 40: Lee Dickson – Premiership semi-finals preview

29 May 2024 0 comments

What a Champions Cup final it was, and Antoine Dupont’s Toulouse ultimately condemned Leinster to a third consecutive final defeat to claim their sixth European […]

Awesome! Toulouse make it a super six

26 May 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Champions Cup final player of the match and European rugby’s biggest star Antoine Dupont revelled in captaining Toulouse […]

Ludlow: Sharks took it to Test level

26 May 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Gloucester captain Lewis Ludlow was dejected after the defeat to the Sharks in the Challenge Cup final but is proud of his […]

McCall confident stunned Saracens will bounce back

26 May 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Saracens have endured a tough campaign on and off the pitch as they head into the playoffs but director of rugby Mark […]

We can beat anyone now says stoked up Matavesi

26 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Sam Matavesi knew something had changed when he joined up with Northampton after Fiji’s World Cup quarter-final exit last autumn. “Something seemed […]

Toulouse provide a lesson in brilliance

26 May 2024 0 comments

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Leinster……………………….. 22pts Tries: van der Flier 93 Conversions: Frawley 94 Penalties: Byrne 18, 43, 46, 65; Frawley 77 Toulouse ……………………… 31pts Tries: […]

Gloucester can’t live with Sharks

26 May 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Gloucester ………………….. 22pts Tries: Tuisue 58, Socino 76, Clarke 79 Conversions: Hastings 58, 77 Penalties: Englefield 23 Sharks …………………………. 36pts Tries: Buthelezi […]

Good to see the winners party like they meant it

26 May 2024 0 comments

BRENDAN GALLAGHER Well it was good to see the Sharks celebrate on Friday night like the European Challenge Cup really meant something to them because, […]

Talk of jeopardy is wide of the mark

26 May 2024 0 comments

THINKING ALLOWED It happened during the early stages of the 2003 World Cup in Australia, when two of the union game’s leading administrators – Syd […]

Fantastic four face final tests

26 May 2024 0 comments

PAUL REES LOOKS FORWARD TO THE PREMIERSHIP PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINALS: NORTHAMPTON v SARACENS AND BATH v SALE NORTHAMPTON The Saints finished at the top of the […]

Young guns who are shining for the Chiefs

26 May 2024 0 comments

Paul Rees talks to Exeter DoR Rob Baxter to find out how his investment in homegrown talent is paying off at 9 and 10 Exeter […]

Poor defence cost us, admits Wilson

26 May 2024 0 comments

By NICK POWELL Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson has admitted poor defence cost them a place in the play-offs after a disappointing end to the […]

Zebo calls time

26 May 2024 0 comments

Munster flyer Simon Zebo will retire at the end of the season. The 34-year-old was capped 35 times by Ireland, helping his country win the […]

Resting players for big games isn’t on

26 May 2024 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN – A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME It was just a couple of weeks ago that certain people were up in arms […]

Champions Cup Final Preview – Europe’s best set to provide fireworks

24 May 2024 0 comments

European rugby‘s two most successful sides battle it out for Champions Cup glory as Leinster face Toulouse in the final on Saturday afternoon at Tottenham […]

Series 3, Episode 39: Gordon D’Arcy – Champions Cup Final Preview

23 May 2024 0 comments

The highly-anticipated Champions Cup final takes place on Saturday afternoon with two European heavyweights, Leinster and Toulouse, set to provide a mouthwatering end to the […]

Challenge Cup Final Preview – More than just a trophy on the line

23 May 2024 0 comments

The final fixture of the EPCR Challenge Cup takes place on Friday night, with Gloucester and the Sharks both desperate to put a shine on […]

Williams is still the centre of attention

19 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES When Bristol signed Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Virimi Vakatawa last year to boost their midfield, few would have picked James Williams […]

Fighting back from hip injury was my biggest success – Devoto

19 May 2024 0 comments

By MARK STEVENS Centre stage: Ollie Devoto playing for Exeter Ollie Devoto has enjoyed many a triumph with Exeter over the years, but he insists […]

Hendy: We want special send off for top Saints

19 May 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Northampton flyer George Hendy has enjoyed a breakthrough year with the table toppers and while the likes of Saracens insist they won’t […]

Ex-Wasps buzzing for European glory

19 May 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Thibaud Flament has risen from Loughborough University’s fifth team to become a French international with the intention of next weekend becoming a […]

Iceman Cooney lands late killer blow for Ulster

19 May 2024 0 comments

By JIM SHORT Ulster …………… 23 Leinster……….. 21 John Cooney was the hero when his last-minute penalty secured victory for Ulster in a cracking Irish […]

Libbok books spot in play-offs

19 May 2024 0 comments

By JOHN FALLON Connacht …….. 12 Stormers………. 16 Connacht coach Pete Wilkins lamented his side’s failure to fire a shot in a must-win clash against […]

Too many coaches taking liberties in selection

19 May 2024 0 comments

It should not be difficult to distinguish between a Premiership rugby match and a game of county cricket: one, full of nuance and subtlety, lasts […]

‘We have to manage load’

19 May 2024 0 comments

PAUL REES EXAMINES THE FALLOUT FROM GLOUCESTER’S 90-0 HIDING BY NORTHAMPTON SAINTS George Skivington has had better weeks. He knew his decision to field a […]

Cup final is genuine clash of the giants

19 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Nearly half of the Champions Cup finals have involved Toulouse or Leinster, the two most successful sides in the competition, but Saturday […]

Dramatic finale puts Brive into play-offs

19 May 2024 0 comments

By JAMES HARRINGTON The ProD2 supplied a final glorious regular-season round for the ages in a perfectly timed reminder to broadcasters interested in bidding for […]

Vunipola trio to depart Saracens

14 May 2024 0 comments

Saracens players Billy, Mako and Manu Vunipola are to leave the North London club at the end of the current campaign. The trio have amassed […]

‘Play big matches at neutral venues’

12 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Danny Wilson’s has backed calls to play Champions Cup semi-finals at a neutral venue after Toulouse and Leinster enjoyed home city advantage […]

New-boy Roots has his eye on NZ return

12 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES One of England’s Test debutants this year has a big incentive to make the summer tour to New Zealand – he would […]

Game in England is good, says Ford

12 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES George Ford feels English rugby is on the up after a testing couple of years on and off the field and has […]

Graham: Guys were in tears after that defeat but we’ll fight back

12 May 2024 0 comments

Sam Graham believes Northampton can turn the heartache of losing last weekend’s Champions Cup semi-final to their advantage as they set their sights on the […]

Warning for Vunipola but Sarries carry on as usual

12 May 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK BILLY Vunipola put his club Saracens through a PR disaster when he was arrested in Mallorca but director of rugby Mark McCall […]

Courtney is so good, both on and off the pitch

12 May 2024 0 comments

CREDIT where it’s due for the Saints’ own Courtney Lawes. For such a big fella he consistently tackles low, plays a strong game and holds […]

Superior Saints go on 14-try rampage

12 May 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Northampton………………..90pts Tries: Furbank 1, Dingwall 12, Sleightholme 21, 56, 66; Langdon 27, 35; Mitchell 39, Waller 47, Matavesi 50, 78; Iyogun 53, […]

Russell masterclass has Bath in top gear

12 May 2024 0 comments

By LUKE JARMYN Newcastle……………………. 17pts Tries: Blamire 30, 40+2, Stuart 63 Conversions: Connon 64 Bath ……………………………… 28pts Tries: du Toit 4, Spencer 13, Cokanasiga 27, […]

Leinster get in the mood for a double triumph

12 May 2024 0 comments

Leinster ……….. 61 Ospreys…………14 By SAM JACKSON JORDAN Larmour scored a hat-trick as Leinster showcased their credentials of a possible Champions Cup and URC double […]