Saracens and Harlequins embracing athletics and hockey smart move for rugby Sport Business Despite this weekend appearing to be the first in an eternity without top-flight rugby, the reality is that across England we have never had so little of it. Take Harlequins or Saracens, the two Prem Rugby clubs in London, and recent fixture announcements lay bare the underlying reason as to why so many teams make [...]
Exclusive: Bordeaux Begles to compete in London rugby sevens tournament Sport Business Investec Champions Cup winners Bordeaux Begles will send a team to the London City 7s in a major coup for the Square Mile tournament. The showstopping French Top 14 outfit, who in May won their second consecutive European title, will participate in the second edition of the London sevens tournament, which takes place in September [...]
Exclusive: Rugby World Champions Cup set to be mothballed Sport Business Plans for a rugby World Champions Cup are this week expected to be mothballed over calendar constraints and costs, City AM can reveal. Plans for a World Champions Cup – akin to the Fifa Club World Cup – were announced in 2025 with an inaugural competition set to be held in 2028. But a board [...]
What can the Rugby World Cup learn from US nailing of Fifa World Cup? July 17, 2026 With a United States Rugby World Cup just five years away, Ollie Phillips asks what can the sport learn from the Fifa World Cup. Sitting here in the UK looking across the Atlantic to a World Cup mainly staged in the United States, it is difficult not to get just a little bit excited about [...]
Politicians call for easing of private school stranglehold on elite rugby July 14, 2026 Politicians have called for an easing of the stranglehold private schools have on providing England with elite rugby players. Nearly two thirds of the matchday 23 that played Fiji at the weekend had some form of private or independent education, underlining concerns about the shortage of state-school pupils making it in the sport. Just last [...]
SailGP, rugby and PJL: Inside the new £50m budget sporting asset class July 14, 2026 With big money tickets ever harder to find, investors are looking far and wide for their next affordable investment. Big-money takeovers will always catch the eye; whether that be the multi-billion-pound purchase of Chelsea by a Todd Boehly-fronted consortium from Roman Abramovich, the £1.3bn takeover of Indian Premier League team Royal Challengers Bengaluru by a [...]
Will the Nations Championship financially underdeliver for in-need Fiji? July 11, 2026 With Fiji set to sell out Everton’s stadium this weekend why isn’t it rosy for the island nation, Ollie Phillips asks. In theory this month should have been a dream one for Fiji’s rugby team, despite losing to Wales in their opening Nations Championship match. They’ve upped sticks from Suva in the Pacific and chosen [...]
Brentford FC stadium to host rugby union franchise sevens finals July 8, 2026 Brentford will host another sporting event this year with the finals of the inaugural Ultimate Sevens rugby union competition set for a west London debut this September. The sevens tournament will conclude a four-leg series on Thursday 24 September at the Premier League club’s Gtech Community Stadium after events in three successive weeks in Madrid, [...]
Reality is rugby’s Nations Championship is botched July 3, 2026 With the inaugural Nations Championship around the corner, Ollie Phillips looks at why the sport’s bosses missed a trick. The Nations Championship kicks off this weekend, but when you look at what is the star match of round one based on the players involved – South Africa’s home fixture against England on Saturday – it [...]
Gloucester Rugby warn of risk to future as losses jump 450 per cent July 1, 2026 Gloucester Rugby’s accounts warn they face a “material uncertainty” after the Prem Rugby club saw losses spiral by more than 450 per cent last year. The Gloucester Rugby Limited accounts, filed this week with Companies House, posted a loss of £2.9m for last season, up from £500,000 the year prior – an increase of 464 [...]