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. [...]
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 [...]
Louis Rees-Zammit makes debut for NFL champions Kansas City Chiefs August 11, 2024 Former rugby player Louis Rees-Zammit said he “loved” his debut for the Kansas City Chiefs after his move to the NFL. The 23-year-old Welshman moved to the States earlier this year to chase his dream of playing in the NFL, swapping scrums for scrimmage. After being part of the International Pathway, Rees-Zammit ended up signing [...]
EPCR Investec Champions Cup and Challenge Cup pool draw in full July 2, 2024 This morning in Cardiff the draws were completed for the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup. The European competitions will see 42 teams battle it out for two trophies, with this year’s finals taking place in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Teams will play two teams in their pool at home and two teams away. Teams [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
‘Premiership run-in is great. It is a shame about Gloucester and Newcastle’ May 17, 2024 It’s incredible – there are only 80 minutes left of the regular Premiership season and barely anything is decided. We know Northampton Saints are guaranteed a home semi-final, but they’re not yet confirmed as regular season champions. Saracens are definitely in the play-offs but aren’t sure of whether they’ll be home or away in the [...]