Is Pat a Lam to the slaughter at Bristol Bears? Not quite October 4, 2024 It’s not an official law of rugby, but as a rule of thumb you should not score 41 points and still lose a game. And that’s exactly what Bristol Bears did against Gloucester last Friday in round two of the Premiership. Sure, defence was optional for both teams in the West Country derby that finished [...]
Cheika hit with ban over incident with doctor October 2, 2024 Leicester Tigers coach Michael Cheika has been slapped with a one-week suspension for disrespecting a match day rugby doctor. The Premiership newcomer committed the offence in his side’s opening round victory over Exeter Chiefs, with the RFU disciplinary hearing saying he challenged a call made by the doctor relating to whether centre Solomone Kata should [...]
Premiership Rugby 5 things: Bonus points more vital than ever September 30, 2024 Each Premiership side has now played a match at home and one on the road, so what have we learned from the early rounds of domestic rugby? Well Gloucester’s new attacking style started to reward them with results while Saracens and Bath remained the only unbeaten sides. Here are five talking points from round two. [...]
‘Michael Cheika suits the Premiership, he just gets stuck in’ September 27, 2024 I remember when I was a player at Stade Francais in Paris, Michael Cheika wanting to get involved with training at an authentic level. He got absolutely smashed by former French lock Pascal Papé and Italian legend Sergio Parisse, leaving the Aussie at the bottom of a ruck. “F**k yeah, f**k yeah,” the former Wallabies [...]
Bath to win Premiership rugby title, Falcons to finish bottom September 20, 2024 It feels as though Northampton Saints only just lifted the Premiership trophy but we’ve already reached the eve of this year’s campaign. We’ve got a new coach in Leicester Tigers boss Michael Cheika, who I worked with at Stade Francais, and renewed ambitions. And we’ve also got the chance of seeing a sixth different winner [...]
Saracens chief Mark Thompson: TV deals, club losses and future of rugby September 17, 2024 Saracens Rugby’s new chief executive Mark Thompson discusses TV broadcast deals, the club’s path away from their recent £5m loss and the state of rugby union and its future. Being a rugby bigwig cannot be far from the most stressful job in sporting governance; the English game is a borderline failure and clubs are churning [...]
Gallagher re-sign as Premiership Rugby sponsor in uplifted deal September 12, 2024 Insurance giant Gallagher this morning reaffirmed their commitment to English top flight sport, signing an increased value sponsorship deal with Premiership Rugby. The move will take Gallagher’s title sponsorship span with the Premiership to beyond a decade upon conclusion of the three-year extension, which begins at the start of the 2025/26 season. Gallagher – whose [...]
Exclusive: Saracens back Premiership rugby games in USA, league supportive September 10, 2024 The Gallagher Premiership could host matches overseas again after Saracens backed the idea of taking English top-flight rugby back to the United States. Premiership clubs have not played a match in the US since 2017, when just 6,000 fans watched Newcastle Falcons take on Saracens in Philadelphia. But Saracens’ new chief executive Mark Thompson has [...]
Team by team: Premiership Rugby transfer analysis August 16, 2024 It’s fair to day that I had my fair share of transfers when I was playing professional rugby across England and France. And while rumours of who is going where remains one of the most fascinating parts of the rugby off-season, the confirmed transfers – a month our from the new season – allow us [...]
Harlequins sign British and Irish Lions duo July 31, 2024 Harlequins completed the signing of British and Irish Lions duo Leigh Halfpenny and Wyn Jones on Wednesday as the Londoners continue to bolster their squad ahead of next season. Wales full-back Halfpenny most recently played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and brings experience to the back-tree at the club. Halfpenny said: “I’m excited to [...]