Champions Cup hits attendance lows as Leinster crowds slump at Aviva Stadium April 13, 2026 The Investec Champions Cup quarter-finals at the weekend saw the lowest collective attendance figure since the current scheduling format was introduced. The four quarter-finals across England, France, Ireland and Scotland were played a week after the round of 16 phase of the continental competition and total attendances were down 11 per cent on last season. [...]
Deloitte enters rugby league as NRL Super League investment talks near April 10, 2026 Rugby League chiefs have called upon Deloitte as talks over proposed NRL investment into Super League intensify. The sport’s commercial body, RL Commercial, has appointed the global professional services provider as strategic advisors with the Big Four firm recently completing work on the sale of eight Hundred franchises to overseas investors and the ongoing search [...]
Investec Champions Cup needs two-legged quarter-finals. Here’s why April 10, 2026 It occurred to me, while watching predominantly dominant performances from home teams in the round of 16 last weekend, that the Investec Champions Cup needs two-legged quarter-finals. It was a little depressing to watch a depleted Leicester Tigers side who had won just one match in the group phase get smashed by defending champions Bordeaux [...]
Exclusive: London Broncos shelve plans for match at Twickenham Stoop April 9, 2026 London Broncos have put plans to host a rugby league game at Harlequins’ Stoop on the backburner, City AM understands. The capital’s premier rugby league team had planned to take on Featherstone Rovers at the 15,000-capacity rugby union stadium in Twickenham but their planned opponents were unable to compete in this year’s Betfred Championship due [...]
Instagram account featuring Faf de Klerk recruiting players for North Korea April 8, 2026 North Korea is looking to attract British English teachers by enticing them to the dictatorial state with the promise of elite rugby contracts. A social media account that features a similar recruitment drive for Chinese rugby has posted an advert, seeking rugby players for the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea)’s Pyongyang Reds team. [...]
Gloucester Rugby asks fans for £300k as it seeks investors at £36.5m valuation April 6, 2026 Fans of Prem Rugby club Gloucester have been asked to find £300,000 to help the team reach its investment goals. The club, eighth in the 10-team English top flight, announced an investment fund raise in October that would embolden fans to generate £500,000 to “protect the future” of the Cherry and Whites. Hosted by investment [...]
Bath sell-out bright spark as Champions Cup attendances fall April 6, 2026 Bath Rugby’s return to the top flight Investec Champions Cup saw the only sell-out for an English team across the intercontinental competition. A packed Recreation Ground saw the West Country side beat Saracens and earn a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time since the single-legged round of 16 was reintroduced in the 2022-23 [...]
Investec Champions Cup organisers should meddle with knockouts April 3, 2026 On Wednesday the amount of tickets still available for Harlequins’ Investec Champions Cup round of 16 fixture against Sale Sharks was well over 6,000. Against their registered capacity of 14,800, that could result in an attendance of less than 9,000 – or around 40 per cent empty – come Saturday night. It is a better [...]
Bedford Blues chief: Champ Rugby clubs are investment opportunities March 31, 2026 When the RFU Council approved plans that would ringfence Prem Rugby for a number of years and create what many described as a franchise league, it is fair to say there were critics. And there still are, with many of them within the second-tier Champ. But Prem Rugby may not be a closed shop forever, [...]
PWR rugby opens door to British and Irish league March 31, 2026 Top flight English rugby could become a British and Irish league after Professional Women’s Rugby launched a tender process for potential new teams. The PWR, seen as the most advanced women’s rugby competition in the world, features nine English teams but could see that number rise after inviting expressions of interest from Wales, Scotland and [...]