Ollie Phillips: England may have won but France were the real stars of the Autumn Nations Cup December 7, 2020 It was brilliant to see England claim the Autumn Nations Cup in such dramatic fashion on Sunday. Rugby fans have been missing that kind of competitive tension, so it was awesome that the competition was decided by a golden penalty. But while England took the silverware, much of the plaudits will rightfully go to the [...]
Lawrence Dallaglio: Auction part of drive to give kids better prospects December 7, 2020 Watching the Autumn Nations Cup over the past few weeks has brought some much-needed entertainment to our lives but it has also provided a funding lifeline for the sport in a time where it was nervously looking into a challenging future. Whilst the sport will have to navigate some tricky decisions in relation to the [...]
Trevor Steven: Born again Tottenham are genuine Premier League title contenders December 4, 2020 As Tottenham prepare to host Arsenal this weekend, the north London rivals could hardly be in more contrasting form. Spurs sit top of the Premier League after 10 games, 13 places above their neigbhbours, so the momentum is firmly with them. And I put that down to three main factors: Harry Kane, Gareth Bale and [...]
The City A.M. Punter Podcast Sandown, Aintree & Hong Kong December 4, 2020 It’s Tingle Creek Day at Sandown on Saturday and the Becher Chase at Aintree, both classy looking races this weekend. Trainer David Pipe knows what it takes to win the Becher Chase, having been successful in 2016 with Vieux Lion Rouge, who is back again for this year’s renewal, alongside stable companion Ramses De Teillee. [...]
Cameron van der Burgh on ‘winning the swimming game’, his new life at a London hedge fund and his mental health struggles December 4, 2020 It was at the afterparty for the Rio 2016 Olympics that the seeds of Cameron van der Burgh’s move to a London hedge fund were sown. Days earlier, the South African had been beaten into second place in the men’s 100m breaststroke final by his great rival, Britain’s Adam Peaty. Van der Burgh was not [...]
Successful Indian Premier League 2020 underlines that competition remains king December 3, 2020 Cricket’s Indian Premier League ended with the Mumbai Indians beating the Delhi Capitals in a rather one-sided and lacklustre final last month. Yet while the showpiece event failed to deliver, it couldn’t take the gloss off a remarkably successful tournament in the UAE. Uday Shankar, president of Disney Asia Pacific, which owns broadcaster Star Sports, [...]
Premier League agrees £250m bailout package to help EFL clubs survive pandemic December 3, 2020 The Premier League has agreed a £250m bailout for struggling clubs outside the top division. The aid package for the English Football League (EFL) includes £50m in grants for teams in Leagues One and Two. A further £200m in interest-free loans will be made available to clubs in the Championship. The long-awaited deal to mitigate [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Yashenkov makes fan pledge ahead of election; global golf tour moves step closer; and Cazoo trumpets Hundred deal December 3, 2020 It’s a big weekend for rugby in Europe, and not just because of the final round of Autumn Nations Cup fixtures. On Friday, Russian challenger Kirill Yashenkov is hoping to topple incumbent Octavian Morariu and be named president of Rugby Europe. Yashenkov has vowed to double the organisation’s budget and create more opportunities for elite [...]
Chris Tremlett: England and Dawid Malan soar to new heights in T20 series whitewash of South Africa December 2, 2020 England, inspired by Dawid Malan in phenomenal form, overpowered South Africa in the Twenty20 series that finished yesterday. As expected, they looked a class above the hosts and used all of their experience to overpower them with their batting. South Africa weren’t bad at all and showed fight, but it was a comprehensive 3-0 victory [...]
NFL poaches World Rugby boss Brett Gosper as it aims to increase its presence in UK and Europe December 2, 2020 World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper will leave the governing body next year to run the NFL in Europe and the UK. Gosper has been in his current role for eight years, during which time he has overseen the staging of two successful World Cups. The Australian has agreed to become head of Europe and [...]