Exclusive: Leicester Tigers and DCMS face scrutiny over £6m Covid loan renegotiation Sport Business Leicester Tigers and DCMS are facing questions after they altered the repayment terms of the club’s £6m Covid-19 loan to interest-only until 2028. The change, which only emerged in the Prem Rugby club’s most recent financial accounts, casts further doubt on DCMS’s chances of recouping its £474m lending to sporting and cultural bodies – raising [...]
Maro Itoje eyes politics: ‘Opportunity to effect real change is attractive’ Sport England, Saracens and British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje has talked up his interest in a career in politics when he hangs up his rugby boots. Itoje, 30, discussed his post-playing ambitions in an appearance on the Rest Is Politics podcast with Westminster veterans Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. “It’s something that is of [...]
Red Roses must match footballers to give Lions Women’s tour best chance Sport Business What a fantastic moment for women’s sport in the UK we’re living through right now. The Lionesses securing consecutive European Championships has created huge excitement and momentum – as well as a bit of extra pressure – for the Red Roses as they prepare to begin the campaign to win the Women’s Rugby World Cup [...]
Lions profit share gives players buy-in and shows the future of rugby July 25, 2025 British and Irish Lions players will be hoping that the MCG gets close to capacity for Saturday’s second Test against Australia – and not just for the sake of a good atmosphere. This tour is the first in which Lions players will receive a share of profits, a move expected to bump their pay up [...]
Red Roses sign up Clinique as sponsor ahead of Women’s Rugby World Cup July 23, 2025 The Rugby Football Union has added Clinique to its roster of Red Roses partners ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England. The global skincare giant has become the official beauty partner of the team, who begin their World Cup campaign next month. It expands Clinique’s presence in the women’s game, having partnered with [...]
British and Irish Lions tour boosts Aussie booze sales by a third July 22, 2025 Major Australian cities have seen a 30 per cent uplift in alcohol sales as a result of the British and Irish Lions tour, City AM can reveal. The touring side began the three-Test series with a win over Australia on Saturday having been in the country, playing provincial sides, for the previous three weeks. Thousands of fans [...]
BBC Sport signs Premiership Women’s Rugby deal July 21, 2025 The BBC is betting on the Women’s Rugby World Cup driving interest in the domestic game with a deal to show Premiership Women’s Rugby matches over the next two seasons. The contract includes the broadcast of one live Premiership Women’s match every week of the season, in addition to one semi-final and the final. “With [...]
Grenfell United welcomes Ulster decision to end Kingspan deal July 2, 2025 Grenfell survivors have welcomed Ulster Rugby’s decision to discontinue its stadium naming rights deal with Kingspan, an insulation maker criticised over the London tower block tragedy. Ulster announced this week it had begun the process of removing Kingspan branding from its home ground in Belfast after a long-term sponsorship deal with the local firm, which [...]
Ineos and New Zealand Rugby end deal after settling £27m sponsorship row April 1, 2025 Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos has formally ended its partnership with New Zealand Rugby after reaching a settlement over a £27m sponsorship deal due to run until 2027. NZR, which is responsible for the All Blacks and Black Ferns, sued Ineos in February after the chemicals giant had stopped making payments in order to “exit our [...]
Farrell draws heavily on Ireland staff for British and Irish Lions coaches March 26, 2025 Andy Farrell has drawn heavily on his Ireland staff after confirming his coaches for the British and Irish Lions’ tour to Australia this summer. Farrell’s Ireland assistant Simon Easterby, attack specialist Andrew Goodman and scrum coach John Fogarty have all been recruited from the Irish set-up, it was confirmed today. They join Aled Walters, Vinny [...]