Exclusive: RFU in talks over back of shirt and short sponsor deals Sport Business The question that hangs over rugby union always seems to be a financial one: how can a sport with successful World Cups, a strong women’s game and a generally affluent audience struggle so much to commercialise itself effectively? That doesn’t seem to be an issue for England and its governing body, the Rugby Football Union. [...]
Exclusive: RFU insist they will retain key role in spite of crunch votes Sport Business The RFU has insisted it will retain its key role across English rugby regardless of the outcome of two crunch votes this week which could see Prem Rugby ringfenced. On Friday the RFU Council will vote on proposals outlined in a recent Governance and Representation Review and is also set to approve plans, dubbed Project [...]
Six Nations must move match to US for sake of international game Sport Business The months of February and March really are rugby’s golden period; when the world stops to watch the Six Nations. England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy all going at it over five rounds really shows off the best of the sport. It makes money, it is attractive to private equity and fans adore the [...]
England Rugby extends deal with O2 until 2031 November 20, 2025 England Rugby this morning penned a deal with O2, extending the partnership between the two organisations to 35 years. The extension will see O2 remain the front-of-shirt sponsor for England Rugby’s men’s and women’s teams in what the Rugby Football Union describes as “one of the longest standing shirt sponsorships in the world”. It is [...]
Nations Championship will bring a tectonic shift in sport, say rugby chiefs November 17, 2025 Rugby’s new Nations Championship, which starts next year and will pit the best of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres against each other, “signals a tectonic shift in the sport” says Six Nations CEO Tom Harrison. The biennial competition will comprise three rounds apiece in July and November followed by a three-day Finals Weekend, the inaugural [...]
Six Nations should stage Ireland matches in USA, but not England ones November 7, 2025 There have been calls this week for Six Nations matches to be played in the United States, and I agree. But it should never be England crossing the Atlantic, and should almost always be Ireland. Andy Farrell’s Ireland successfully staged an epic spectacle at Soldier Field in Chicago against New Zealand. The game was pretty [...]
England Rugby should buy London Stadium and flog Twickenham land October 17, 2025 How do you solve a problem like increasing the revenues for England Rugby? Up sticks and buy the London Stadium, suggests Ollie Phillips Given the obstacles being thrown towards Allianz Stadium and England Rugby from local residents relating to the number of concerts the home of rugby wants to stage, it is no surprise that [...]
London hailed as global capital for women’s sport as 1.4m visit October 8, 2025 London has been hailed as a global epicentre for women’s sport after the Red Roses, Queen’s Club, the Lionesses and athletics all contributed to 1.4m fans attending events in the capital. Nearly 82,000 fans packed in to Allianz Stadium in Twickenham last month to watch England beat Canada to win a first Women’s Rugby World [...]
Where to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup in London September 26, 2025 The Women’s Rugby World Cup final between England’s Red Roses and Canada gets underway on Saturday afternoon. And with a third-place play-off between New Zealand and France beforehand, there’s a bumper day of rugby in the capital. Unsurprisingly it is a sell-out in south west London so we have you covered for a couple of [...]
Maro Itoje eyes politics: ‘Opportunity to effect real change is attractive’ September 23, 2025 England, Saracens and British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje has talked up his interest in a career in politics when he hangs up his rugby boots. Itoje, 30, discussed his post-playing ambitions in an appearance on the Rest Is Politics podcast with Westminster veterans Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. “It’s something that is of [...]