Someone put out the bin fire that is the Welsh Rugby Union Sport Business Every sporting body goes through its annus horribilis, when nothing seems to go right and the public demands answers as a result. But the Welsh Rugby Union and the sport more broadly across the Severn Bridge is into what feels like its fifth consecutive year of horror and a complete inability to shift the narrative. [...]
Exclusive: Brits don’t trust football and rugby team owners to run clubs properly Sport Business Less than a third of British adults trust football and rugby team owners to “run their clubs in a financially sustainable manner” amid intensifying scrutiny on those who buy sporting institutions. Exclusive Ipsos polling for City AM shows that just 32 per cent of adults trust the owner of their football or rugby club. It [...]
Prem Rugby should consider radical shake-up of player transfer market Sport Business The best thing about the football off-season is the transfer speculation, deal agreements and player announcements. Watching teams bid £100m for a player is somewhat grotesque but it is also addictive, and transfer deadline day is some of the best live sports news around. Rugby has none of this. That’s mostly because players tend to [...]
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 [...]
Rugby unions vs R360 spat is the sport’s failures in a nutshell October 10, 2025 When I look from the outside at the recent statement spat between many of the leading rugby unions and the rebel R360 start-up, I cannot help but hark back to the 2020 election for chairman of World Rugby. In the blue corner was the incumbent Sir Bill Beaumont, backing the status quo but wanting to [...]
Red Roses must match footballers to give Lions Women’s tour best chance August 1, 2025 What a fantastic moment for women’s sport in the UK we’re living through right now. The Lionesses securing consecutive European Championships has created huge excitement and momentum – as well as a bit of extra pressure – for the Red Roses as they prepare to begin the campaign to win the Women’s Rugby World Cup [...]
Lions profit share gives players buy-in and shows the future of rugby July 25, 2025 British and Irish Lions players will be hoping that the MCG gets close to capacity for Saturday’s second Test against Australia – and not just for the sake of a good atmosphere. This tour is the first in which Lions players will receive a share of profits, a move expected to bump their pay up [...]
Grenfell United welcomes Ulster decision to end Kingspan deal July 2, 2025 Grenfell survivors have welcomed Ulster Rugby’s decision to discontinue its stadium naming rights deal with Kingspan, an insulation maker criticised over the London tower block tragedy. Ulster announced this week it had begun the process of removing Kingspan branding from its home ground in Belfast after a long-term sponsorship deal with the local firm, which [...]
FA accused of stalling brain damage lawsuit from former players June 26, 2025 Football chiefs have been accused of “deliberately stalling” a landmark lawsuit brought by former players who suffered “life-altering” brain damage as the legal battle resumes today. The Football Association, English Football League and FA of Wales are the defendants in a case brought by 30 former players and their families who say the game’s authorities [...]
Six Nations look to lure Sky by bundling TV rights with Lions June 18, 2025 The Six Nations unions are in talks with the British and Irish Lions about bundling their TV rights for the next four-year cycle. European unions have already sold TV rights for the Six Nations between 2026 and 2029 in a joint deal with ITV and BBC, but have yet to go to market with their [...]