It’s a shame Premiership Rugby stars aren’t playing this weekend January 24, 2025 Off the back of two brilliant weeks of Champions Cup rugby and just a week away from the start of the Six Nations, it is a shame that this week’s Premiership fixtures will be devoid of all England players set to feature in the looming international championship. Having seen the league drop from 13 teams [...]
Northampton Saints England’s best hope in Investec Champions Cup January 21, 2025 It wasn’t in the 66 points that came before full-time, nor in the sledging match in the stands that decided an all-time epic between Northampton Saints and Munster in round four of the Investec Champions Cup. Instead it was the colossal mitts of one Henry Pollock, the East Mids star quickly forming a rugby reputation [...]
Investec Champions Cup: Benetton shine and Castres shock January 20, 2025 Nearly 50 matches after we began, the great and good of European rugby have been whittled down to 16 teams. The Investec Champions Cup round of 16 will see a number of firsts for the game intertwined with some classic fixtures synonymous with the competition. Because after the four rounds of pool games, South African [...]
Sale Sharks owner sells £1bn empire to Asda backer TDR Capital January 20, 2025 Simon Orange, the self-made millionaire who co-owns Premiership rugby club Sale Sharks, has sold his business empire to Asda backer TDR Capital in a deal worth more than £1bn. CorpAcq, which is based in Cheshire, counts more than 40 businesses as part of its portfolio including the likes of Cotton Traders. CorpAcq does not included [...]
Investec Champions Cup: Saints and Munster to serve up classic January 17, 2025 Though there has been some debate surrounding the format of the Investec Champions Cup, few can deny that it has led to a final weekend of fixtures with (nearly) everything on the line. Bar the Bulls, who cannot reach the round of 16, there are 23 teams fighting for a spot in the knockouts or [...]
Investec Champions Cup needs South Africa success January 16, 2025 It looks as though European Rugby has nailed its colours to the mast in supporting the inclusion of South African franchises in the Investec Champions Cup. For the competition it offers a new rugby-mad market to venture into, for clubs it aligns European Professional Club Rugby with the United Rugby Championship, and for title sponsors [...]
Steve Borthwick England squad: Three Champions Cup bolters to watch January 14, 2025 This morning England manager Steve Borthwick names his squad for the Six Nations, with a trip to Dublin up first next month. Last weekend’s Investec Champions Cup action, then, was the very last chance for players to give a good account of themselves before today’s announcement. But it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies for hopefuls [...]
Investec Champions Cup: Leinster, Glasgow and Toulon secure home ties January 13, 2025 There may be a round of Investec Champions Cup matches to go but for some clubs their future has already been decided. For South African side the Bulls, it’s done and dusted with the Pretoria-based outfit unable to reach the round of 16 in April, no matter how good or bad their result against Stade [...]
Leinster, Munster and Ulster need to end Irish Champions Cup drought January 10, 2025 Of Ireland’s four rugby provinces, the three in this year’s Investec Champions Cup share seven titles between them. Dubliners Leinster have won the competition four times and featured in eight finals, Munster have won two from four showpiece matches and Ulster are one win from two finals. But all is not well on the Emerald [...]
Champions Cup: Le Showbizz Racing 92 must rediscover je ne sais quoi January 9, 2025 For all of the pizzazz, grandeur and elegance that comes with saying you’re a Racing 92 player, there’s little to show for it in the trophy cabinet. In the professional era the Parisian powerhouse have won just one major trophy, a 2016 Top 14 final against Toulon, and have lost three Investec Champions Cup finals [...]