Taulupe Faletau Bath move vetoed by Warren Gatland as Leicester sign former South Africa skipper Jean de Villiers October 28, 2015 Wales coach Warren Gatland last night vetoed the proposed transfer of No8 Taulupe Faletau from Newport Gwent Dragons to last season’s Premiership runners-up Bath. The Dragons had sought to release the 24-year-old forward, whose contract runs out next summer, but under the funding agreement for Welsh domestic rugby, Gatland has to approve international players moving [...]
Injuries add to Arsene Wenger’s woe as Arsenal suffer Capital One Cup hammering at Sheffield Wednesday October 28, 2015 Injuries to key duo Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott compounded a miserable evening for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger as his side suffered a Capital One Cup hammering at the hands of Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday last night. Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott had to be withdrawn in the opening 17 minutes before goals from Ross Wallace, Lucas [...]
Gloom deepens as Chelsea malaise goes on with Capital One Cup spot-kick woe at Stoke October 28, 2015 Beleaguered Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho returned fire on his critics after the gloom from his side’s catastrophic season deepened with shootout heartache at Stoke in the Capital One Cup fifth round last night. Playmaker Eden Hazard missed the decisive penalty to hand Stoke victory after a last-gasp Loic Remy strike had sent the match into [...]
West Ham are bound for Europe under brilliant Slaven Bilic – if they can keep Dimitri Payet fit October 27, 2015 It's impossible not to be impressed by West Ham this season and in particular the job done by Slaven Bilic since the Croatian took charge as manager in the summer. I remember hearing defender Winston Reid speak after they beat Arsenal on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, and he was full of [...]
London Irish v Saracens to be played in New York as Aviva Premiership Rugby lands in America October 27, 2015 London Irish and Saracens will play each other in New York in the Aviva Premiership's first ever overseas fixture. The two London clubs will swap the Big Smoke for the Big Apple on Saturday 12 March, with the Exiles' home fixture set to be staged at the 25,000 capacity Red Bull Arena, home of the New York [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015 odds: Australia rugby bosses have £140,000 bet on their team to beat New Zealand in final in order to cover Wallabies bonus payments October 27, 2015 No one can accuse Australian rugby of lacking in confidence. The Wallabies may not have arrived at this year's World Cup as favourites, but the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) backed their team with a massive $AUS 300,000 (£141,891) bet with a corporate bookmaker on them lifting the Web Ellis trophy. If Michael Cheika's team beat [...]
Fans deserve greater transparency from the Aviva Premiership’s salary cap settlements October 27, 2015 With the Rugby World Cup drawing to a conclusion, English rugby fans' attention is switching to domestic matters – where they have found even more sources of frustration and confusion. Last Thursday evening, following a board meeting, Premiership Rugby released a statement setting out salary cap arrangements for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, a [...]
Clean bill of health for Australia from coach Michael Cheika as Wallabies prepare for Rugby World Cup final October 26, 2015 Australia coach Michael Cheika is confident he will have a fully-fit squad at his disposal when he plots the downfall of defending champions New Zealand in Saturday’s World Cup final at Twickenham. Full-back Israel Folau and No8 David Pocock both missed Australia’s quarter-final victory over Scotland with ankle and calf injuries respectively but came through [...]
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho charged with misconduct over West Ham referee row October 26, 2015 Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho’s miserable start to the season has worsened after he was charged with misconduct by the Football Association for his sending off in Saturday’s defeat at West Ham. Mourinho was sent to the stands at half-time for protesting to referee Jonathan Moss over his decision to dismiss midfielder Nemanja Matic and disallow a [...]
England captain Alastair Cook admits spotlight will fall on failing stars Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali and Ian Bell after defeat to Pakistan October 26, 2015 Skipper Alastair Cook admits that questions will inevitably be asked of England’s most out of form players after a defiant rearguard action failed to scupper Pakistan’s victory march in the second Test today. England’s margin of defeat was 178 runs although the tourists fell 6.3 overs short of batting out the fifth day and ensuring [...]