World Rugby No2 Laporte and club owner Altrad guilty of corruption December 13, 2022 World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte and president of Top14 champions Montpellier Mohed Altrad have been found guilty of corruption-related charges at the Paris Criminal Court this afternoon. The duo – along with three others – went on trial in September over a number of bribery and corruption allegations and were sentenced today. Mohed Altrad was [...]
Key Laporte-Altrad court decision could send rugby into a pit of chaos December 12, 2022 The world order of rugby could descend into a pit of chaos should World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte and Top14 club Montpellier’s billionaire owner Mohed Altrad – as well as three others – be convicted of bribery and bribery-related charges in the French courts tomorrow. Rose-Marie Hunault, the president of the 32nd courtroom, is due [...]
Eddie Jones sacked: England Rugby coach axed after team’s worst year since 2008 December 6, 2022 England Rugby have sacked head coach Eddie Jones after seven years in charge following a review of the team’s dismal form. The move comes just nine months before he was due to lead England at another Rugby World Cup, having guided them to the final in 2019. England forwards coach Richard Cockerill is to take [...]
Ed Warner: Is Infantino a moonbeam or a clown? Either way, Fifa boss is here to stay December 1, 2022 Gianni Infantino. Moonbeam or clown? Flibbertigibbet? Certainly. Problem-solver, or problem to be solved? All depends on where you are coming from – quite literally. Just don’t expect Fifa’s demon/angel (delete according to taste) president to be going anywhere soon. Most likely not until 2031. Football’s Swiss-Italian head honcho has been front and centre of the [...]
England coach Eddie Jones is on the ropes but he will be at the World Cup November 27, 2022 Lacklustre. Monotonous. Embarrassing. Those were some of the non-explicit words that were uttered as thousands of England fans left Twickenham on Saturday evening – many of them before the final whistle. England’s 13-27 humiliation at the hands of a brilliant South Africa outfit condemned head coach Eddie Jones to his second loss in this month’s [...]
Premiership and English rugby bigwigs hounded at DCMS hearing November 24, 2022 Rugby bigwigs were scolded earlier today at the hands of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee at the Palace of Westminster. Premiership Rugby chief Simon Massie-Taylor was lambasted by the committee, led by the chair Julian Knight MP, while Rugby Football Union chief Bill Sweeney, too, was held to the fire over [...]
Ed Warner: If Liverpool’s owners want to sell, expect more American buyers November 17, 2022 Ed Warner addresses why American investors are the most likely purchases of any Liverpool shares on the market, why England’s Rugby World Cup defeat was good for the women’s game, and cricket song choices with a sense of humour. Forty-three days without the Premier League. Three days in and already I’m suffering withdrawal symptoms. Yes, [...]
Red Roses needed win to silence naysayers, but hope remains November 14, 2022 Sport is cut-throat, and England’s Red Roses rugby team learned that on Saturday in their 34-31 World Cup final loss to New Zealand in Auckland. Down a player for 60 minutes, after winger Lydia Thompson was red carded for making contact with the head of Portia Woodman, Simon Middleton’s England were put on the back [...]
Ruck and maul stars: Rugby clubs bank on behind-the-scenes content to attract fans November 8, 2022 Matt Hardy on the rise of rugby clubs producing their own content as they look to attract new fans to the sport outside of the international arena. Gone are the days of sending season tickets out via carrier pigeon and releasing fixture lists through smoke signals, and here are the days of holograms, on-demand video [...]
Can Argentina announce decisive arrival and pounce on England? November 3, 2022 They’ve always been the fourth team in the southern hemisphere behind the World Cup winning trio of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, but Argentina – boosted by a significant number of players playing in Europe – are primed to embark on a 12-month period that could shock the rugby establishment. When Los Pumas reached [...]