By Peter Ryan – @PeterRyanSports Rugby union has evolved by leaps and bounds since its conception in the small English town where the sport’s name originated. […]
BORDEAUX-Begles finished last season at the end of June on the receiving end of the most one-sided of all French finals, swamped on a Mediterranean […]
French Column – By James Harrington Racing 92’s veteran centre Henry Chavancy reached a remarkable career milestone on Saturday when he came on to replace […]
By Peter Ryan (@PeterRyanSports) Rugby union has evolved by leaps and bounds since its conception in the small English town where the sport’s name originated. Coaches […]
MURRAY M cCALLUM, THE NEWCASTLE AND FORMER SCOTLAND, EDINBURGH AND WORCESTER PROP, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH… 1. Rory Sutherland – One […]
15. Pierre Lacaze (Lourdes) Diminutive fullback, nicknamed Papillon (the butterfly) but counter intuitively commanding in the air. Snared by Rugby League after Les Bleus’ Five […]
Paul Rees looks ahead to New Zealand’s heavyweight matches against world champions South Africa The Rugby Championship title could be decided in the next two […]
BRENDAN GALLAGHER ON WHY FRANCE ENDED UP SPENDING 16 YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS Brendan Gallagher looks back on ‘The Rupture’ when the four Home Unions […]
James Harrington French column Last season, Stade Francais finished second in the Top 14 to qualify directly for the semi-finals – where an after-the-hooter conversion […]
ULSTER can lay justifiable claim to supplying the Lions with a trio of all-time greats: Mike Gibson, Syd Millar and Willie-John McBride. Their native province […]
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER Impressive: Joel Merkler in action for Toulouse PICTURE: Getty Images IT’S been […]
BRISTOL made headlines this week with the signing of Argentina U20 full-back Benjamin Elizalde, below, ahead of the new season. Elizalde arrives in the West […]
NICK CAIN THE 2024 Olympic Sevens was a massive showcase for Antoine Dupont’s extraordinary sporting talent, but also for rugby union, not just in France, […]
CHRIS HEWETT THINKING ALLOWED Rugby sevens – or SVNS, as a London-based team of funkily-dressed marketing executives have somehow succeeded in rebranding it – used […]
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN FRANCE international Melvyn Jaminet is to appeal against a 34- week suspension and €30,000 fine imposed by the FFR’s disciplinary committee […]
Paul Gustard believes the RFU should look at scrapping the overseas player ban and allow Steve Borthwick to pick players based outside the Gallagher Premiership.
Nine months on from their heartbreaking quarter-final loss in the World Cup to South Africa, Antoine Dupont inspired France’s Sevens side to win Olympic gold at the Stade de France.
FRANCE full-back Melvyn Jaminet has been suspended for 34 weeks and fined 30,000 euros (£25,335) by the French Rugby Federation (FFR) after he posted a […]
■By BEN JAYCOCK ANTOINE Dupont cemented himself as one of the greatest cross-code rugby players of all time as his second half performance guided France […]
BRENDAN GALLAGHER WE live in an age of superlative sports stars. Tadej Pogacar is very possibly the greatest cyclist we have ever seen, the triumvirate […]
JEREMY GUS COTT OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK MICHAEL Cheika is a high-quality coach, and Leicester did not have to do too much research before […]
RUGBY MATTERS BRENDAN GALLAGHER A weekly look at the game’s other talking points Delight: Spain U20 celebrate victory over Fiji PICTURE: World Rugby HISTORY will […]
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Promoted ProD2 winners Vannes will kick off their first-ever season in the Top 14 at home against 23-time French champions Toulouse […]
PAUL REES LOOKS AT WHY EXETER’S DOR HAS PUT PLAYER RETENTION AHEAD OF RECRUITMENT AT SANDY PARK The most eye-catching result of the Premiership season […]
BRENDAN GALLAGHER ON THE RUGBY VISIONARIES WHO, AFTER A SLOW START, CHANGED THE GAME Brendan Gallagher looks back at the first steps which saw competition […]
ANALYSIS PAUL REES WONDERS HOW THE SPORT CAN KEEP PAYING FOR ITSELF IN HARD TIMES….WHILE UNIONS BUILD FOR THE FUTURE When the professional era started […]
RUGBY MATTERS A weekly look at the game’s other talking points BRENDAN GALLAGHER There have, rightly, been acres of words written about Toulouse in recent […]
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Never mind that the words ‘Stade Toulousain’ have only just been meticulously punched into the plaque on the Bouclier de Brennus […]
Allez: Jonny Gray agrees French deal SCOTLAND second row Jonny Gray has joined Top 14 runners-up Bordeaux-Begles following his exit from Exeter Chiefs. The 30-year-old […]
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN “We didn’t just lose the arm wrestle – we had our wrists broken under the table,” Bordeaux boss Yannick Bru admitted, […]
FRANCE Three-time reigning champions France will be hoping to do what only New Zealand have done before and win four U20s World Championships on the […]
SPAIN This year’s newcomers are Spain but the Lions face a tough task in their first-ever World Championship. Spain qualified last summer with a thrilling […]