Epic sporting weekend proves sport can be cog in any government agenda May 28, 2024 With a General Election in full swing across the nation sports fans were treated to an epic weekend of action. So with so many events pencilled in across the next five years and numerous more beyond that, our politicians should promote sport to a priority talking point. City A.M. Deputy Sports Editor Matt Hardy writes. [...]
South African involvement in European rugby has given competition lease of life May 27, 2024 “It was international rugby versus club rugby,” said one person at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the South African Hollywoodbets Sharks beat Gloucester Rugby 36-22 in the EPCR Challenge Cup. That’s not entirely true, both sides had their international representatives, but the point is a good one. The addition of the Sharks into the European [...]
Investec Champions Cup: The final of a generation May 27, 2024 It was billed as the final we deserved, between two powerhouses of the Investec Champions Cup meeting in a showpiece for the first time ever. And what a match fans were served up. At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, seen by many as one of the world’s greatest arenas, Leinster and Toulouse went toe-to-toe; the Dublinners [...]
Intensity at centre of Investec Champions Cup final between Toulouse and Leinster May 24, 2024 Without getting you all too excited, I do believe this weekend’s Investec Champions Cup could be one of the few finals that matches last year’s epic comeback by La Rochelle, who rallied from 17-0 down inside the opening quarter. Because Leinster versus Toulouse isn’t just Leinster versus Toulouse; it’s four-time winners against five-time winners, Ireland [...]
Challenge Cup can be cure to desperate seasons for Gloucester and Sharks May 23, 2024 Before the start of the current rugby season both Gloucester and the Sharks, from Durban, would have been full of hope for their domestic campaigns. But soon into their Premiership and United Rugby Championship campaigns, things began to unravel and any hopes of winning a league title disappeared over a cliff. It left the two [...]
What lessons can business learn from the Investec Champions Cup? May 22, 2024 As Leinster and Toulouse get set for their Investec Champions Cup showdown this weekend, what lessons can business learn from rugby? Tim Burnell, Chief Marketing Officer of UK & International at Investec Bank takes a look. Success in business and sport is much more than a numbers game. Profit figures and points tallies are important, [...]
Investec Champions Cup finalists Leinster and Toulouse have varied preparations May 19, 2024 The four clubs set to contest this weekend’s Investec Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup had mixed fortunes in their domestic leagues at the weekend as each side prepares for the showpiece finale at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday and Saturday night. The English team Gloucester will face South African franchise the Sharks on Friday [...]
English teams in Champions Cup showed Premiership still has aura May 6, 2024 For the fourth consecutive Investec Champions Cup final there will be no Premiership side, and for the fourth consecutive final there will instead be representatives from both the multi-national United Rugby Championship and the French Top 14. But is that reason to be gloomy about the English top flight? Not at all. Because in the [...]
Champions Cup: Leinster vs Toulouse is the final we deserve, and want May 6, 2024 So there we have it; seven weekends of Investec Champions Cup action has delivered the final many wanted, and expected. When the final concludes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 25 May, it’ll either see French giants Toulouse extend their record of European trophies from five to six, or see Irish stalwarts Leinster move level [...]
Fans vote with feet as Champions Cup semi-final weekend set for bumper attendance May 4, 2024 When Dublin’s Croke Park and Toulouse’s Le Stadium play hosts to this weekend’s Investec Champions Cup semi-finals, it’ll mark a bumper weekend of attendance figures for European rugby’s governing body EPCR. Because the sell-outs across the Irish Sea – for Leinster’s clash with Northampton Saints – and the English Channel – for Toulouse’s tie against [...]