Premiership - Page 16 of 168 - News, interviews, reports, analysis and opinion

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Charlie Ewels believes Bath are ready to claim first Gallagher Premiership crown

5 June 2024 0 comments

Charlie Ewels says Bath are “embracing the pressure” ahead of their quest for a first Gallagher Premiership title. Bath and west country rivals Gloucester are […]

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 […]

Rugby union and league unite to pay tribute to Rob Burrow

4 June 2024 0 comments

English rugby union will unite with the Rugby Football League and pay tribute to Rob Burrow with a round of applause in the seventh minute […]

‘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 […]

Boyd got me back on track – Ludlam

2 June 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Lewis Ludlam left the Franklin’s Gardens turf in a Northampton jersey for perhaps the last time on Friday night, six years after […]

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 […]

Chessum ‘gutted’ to miss out on England

2 June 2024 0 comments

By GARY FITZGERALD Ollie Chessum admits he is “gutted” to be missing out on a busy summer with England in the southern hemisphere. However, the […]

Dream Team – George Hammond

2 June 2024 0 comments

George Hammond, the Harlequins lock, chooses the best XV he has played with or against… 1. Joe Marler – Has been doing it for years […]

Finally! Bath hold nerve to see off Sharks

2 June 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Bath ………………………………. 31pts Tries: Hill 11, Obano 21, Annett 72 Conversions: Russell 22, 73 Penalties: Russell 2, 26, 47, 65 Sale Sharks […]

Van Graan’s attitude just right for us, says Spencer

2 June 2024 0 comments

By JON NEWCOMBE Bath captain Ben Spencer says one of the most impressive things about Johann van Graan is how quickly he got buy-in from […]

Smith has final say for Saints

2 June 2024 0 comments

By BRENDAN GALLAGHER Northampton Saints….. 22pts Tries: Odendaal 19 Conversions: Smith 20 Penalties: Smith 28, 31, 40, 62, 70 Saracens ………………………20pts Tries: Lewington 54, Cinti […]

We’ve just been too inconsistent, admits Farrell

2 June 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Owen Farrell succinctly summed up Saracens’ season in two words before what turned out to be his final match for the club […]

Gloucester put faith in ‘some old heads’

2 June 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES It was typical of Gloucester’s season – make that the last couple – that when they came up against a front five […]

Exeter’s Harris has to retire

2 June 2024 0 comments

Exeter hooker Iestyn Harris has been forced to retire from rugby on medical grounds aged 25. The Welshman, who joined from Cardiff Blues in 2022, […]

McCaw’s vision for harmony

2 June 2024 0 comments

NICK CAIN READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK If the current power struggle in New Zealand rugby intensifies, with the NZRPA and the provincial unions […]

Only one full house in ‘greatest season’ finale

2 June 2024 0 comments

NICK CAIN Here’s something for the RFU mandarins and Premiership owners who are hell-bent on keeping England’s top league ring-fenced to ponder. The greatest Premiership […]

Armand calls for volunteers to help trust

2 June 2024 0 comments

By MARK STEVENS Former Exeter Chiefs and England star Don Armand is inviting rugby fans to join him on a unique experience back to his […]

Lavin leads Loughborough to their first BUCS title

2 June 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Henri Lavin put his injury woes behind him last month to captain Loughborough University to their first BUCS Super Rugby title in […]

France & Japan are showing the way

2 June 2024 0 comments

Rugby’s governing class might explain it this way: “We’re making the game leaner and meaner by cutting off the excess fat.” Or alternatively: “There’s too […]

Time to let Borthwick pick from the best

2 June 2024 0 comments

PAUL REES SAYS THE ENGLAND COACH SHOULD NOT BE LIMITED TO ONLY SELECTING PLAYERS WHO PLAY IN THE PREMIERSHIP England’s preliminary training squad for the […]

Quins want to throw fitting farewell party

2 June 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Harlequins stars Shaunagh Brown, Rachael Burford and Emily Scott start their final game for the club today. Brown will retire for the […]

Jones centre stage for Tigers

2 June 2024 0 comments

Fresh from being named the RPA’s women’s player of the year, Meg Jones starts in the centres for Leicester’s final match in their inaugural Premiership […]

Sorry, but we don’t need your cup, Wills

2 June 2024 0 comments

PETER JACKSON THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW Of all the trophies dreamt up for international matches over the last 20 years, only one bears […]

Cholley has cast his fearsome shadow over Castres

2 June 2024 0 comments

Castres have reinforced their position as the most red-carded of clubs, a fact unlikely to surprise those who remember their most famous or infamous player […]

Playing rugby ‘Bristol fashion’ suited me well

2 June 2024 0 comments

MY LIFE IN RUGBY – RALPH KNIBBS THE FORMER ENGLAND, BRISTOL & CLIFTON CENTRE I spent some of my youth in Knowle West, 30-plus years […]

Coventry half-backs the heartbeat with Ealing muscle to add power

2 June 2024 0 comments

CHAMPIONSHIP DREAM TEAM >> THE BEST XV FROM 2023-24 AS VOTED FOR BY OUR REPORTERS Now that the Championship season has run its course, Ben […]

‘Return to Rosslyn’ bid to open up new pathway

2 June 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Rosslyn Park University Sevens launches on Friday and will provide a pathway for Team GB going forward with five to seven players […]

Young Guns – Reuben Logan

2 June 2024 0 comments

YOUNG GUNS NORTHAMPTON SAINTS & ENGLAND U20 BACK ROW Being the son of a Scotland legend can be quite daunting but England U20s back row […]

Find a style of play you believe in

2 June 2024 0 comments

Steve Hill talks to Peter Evans, below, the player/head coach at Billingham RFC who have just finished their first season at Level 4 Why did […]

Dowson’s right, let’s be more like French

2 June 2024 0 comments

JEFF PROBYN A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME In agreement: Mark McCall and, right, Phil Dowson PICTURES: Getty Images IT WAS interesting to hear […]

Courtney Lawes ready to run ‘blood to water’ one last time at Franklin’s Gardens

30 May 2024 0 comments

Courtney Lawes says he will “treasure forever” his 17 years as a Northampton player as he prepares for an emotional Franklin’s Gardens farewell. Lawes’ final […]

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 […]

Concern over refereeing

26 May 2024 0 comments

By BEN JAYCOCK Chester fourth official Martin Buck was part of the elite refereeing group between 2007-12 and believes the standards of officiating outside the […]

Du Preez keeps it in family for Sale

26 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES When Sale signed George Ford two years ago, it seemed that Robert du Preez would have his time on the field rationed […]

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 […]

Slade delighted to be presented with top award

26 May 2024 0 comments

Exeter and England outside centre Henry Slade has picked up the 2023/24 Premiership Player of the Season award following a standout campaign. Slade bounced back […]

We will have a full deck of cards next season – McKellar

26 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Leicester’s dejection at finishing well short of the play-off positions was compounded by the sight of their fierce rivals Northampton sitting at […]

There’s too much dangerous play around the ruck

26 May 2024 0 comments

AS a long-standing player and supporter of local rugby I feel like tearing my hair out when I see or hear about what is being […]

I think RFU could have opinions, too

26 May 2024 0 comments

SO the Premiership name might have to go. Premiership Rugby now have a new “chief growth officer” called Rob Calder who has joined from the […]

Lam backs Ibitoye for England’s tour

26 May 2024 0 comments

By NICK POWELL Bristol boss Pat Lam says winger Gabriel Ibitoye should be selected for England’s summer tour after he topped the rankings for the […]

Bath and Saints to win – but only just

26 May 2024 0 comments

JEREMY GUSCOTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK It’s hard to see Northampton changing the way they’ve played all season when they face Saracens in the […]

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 […]

Try tsunami sends a mixed message

26 May 2024 0 comments

Peter Jackson looks at an increase in points scored but suggests the figures may be hiding a problem for the Premiership. Over the last seven […]

Collier fits the bill for NZ challenge

26 May 2024 0 comments

READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK England finished the Six Nations with a resurgence, but their next destination, New Zealand, is usually a Red Rose […]

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 […]

Time for us to see some new thinking

26 May 2024 0 comments

Remember the elderly joke about the flight from Australia to New Zealand? “There’s a time difference between the two countries,” the captain tells his passengers […]

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 […]

Diamond out to add some steel

26 May 2024 0 comments

By PAUL REES Even someone without Steve Diamond’s coaching experience would have known that taking over at Newcastle was never going to turn them into […]