Interview: Premiership Rugby chairman Phillips insists on high standards April 12, 2022 Ealing Trailfinders were last weekend confirmed as the winners of English rugby’s second tier, the RFU Championship. So why haven’t they been confirmed as the 14th Premiership side? Well, because they have been deemed to have failed to meet certain criteria relating to infrastructure, the London-based club have been denied their chance to join the [...]
Ollie Phillips: England rugby chiefs stuck between rock and hard place over Eddie Jones March 25, 2022 It has been a challenging week for the Rugby Football Union (RFU) following the conclusion of another disappointing Six Nations for England and Eddie Jones. The expectation, which the RFU have helped to foster, is that England should be the best team in the world. But the reality, as winning just two games at the [...]
Women’s Six Nations: New dates, new sponsor, same old winners? March 24, 2022 Change is in the air at this year’s Women’s Six Nations, which now has its own slot in the calendar and a first title sponsor in TikTok – but that looks unlikely to extend to the outcome. Champions England start as hot favourites this weekend – no surprise given their 18-game winning run, which includes [...]
Explainer: Why have Championship rugby clubs been denied promotion? March 4, 2022 “Disappointed, dismayed and disheartened,” is how Championship rugby leaders Doncaster Knights reacted to news this week that they will not be promoted even if they win the league. The Knights were joined by Ealing Trailfinders in being denied entry to the Premiership, English rugby’s top division, for failing to meet a series of off-field criteria. [...]
Championship Rugby’s deal with Premier Sports falls through February 24, 2022 Rugby fans should be witnessing one of the closest battles for promotion to the Premiership, with just five points currently separating four Championship teams in the tussle to go up. But in this most exciting of run-ins in the English second tier, they have been shut out of the action by a complete absence of [...]
Premiership Rugby CEO Simon Massie-Taylor on chasing audience reach February 23, 2022 When US presidents are sworn into office, they are often assessed on their first 100 days in charge. But less than 60 days into his new role as chief executive of Premiership Rugby, Simon Massie-Taylor is already judging himself against his own checklist of objectives. “My purpose in my first 100 days is to be [...]
Why sport is taking over terrestrial TV airwaves again February 21, 2022 If you’ve turned on your subscription-free, Nadine Dorries-unfriendly, terrestrial TV recently you may have been transported back to a time when moustachioed behemoths like Dickie Davies and Des Lynam ruled the afternoon airwaves – for we again live in an era of live, free-to-air sport. Of course, you may not have noticed. Sky and BT [...]
Premiership Rugby to return to terrestrial on ITV with live games and highlights January 20, 2022 Premiership Rugby has agreed a deal to show live matches and highlights on ITV in a move that ends the English top division’s exile from free-to-air television. BT Sport will remain the primary broadcast partner but ITV will simulcast a handful of live games each season, including the Premiership final, and air a weekly highlights [...]
Championship rugby club chairman: ‘Increase funding to clubs’ January 18, 2022 Richmond’s chairman has called on the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to solve the Championship’s increasingly insurmountable financial barriers to promotion to the top division. The RFU has cut funding for already cash-strapped second-tier clubs from around £550,000 each per year to less than half that this season. It is another hurdle to promotion for Championship [...]
Premiership Rugby: Cap changes hint at continued silly signing season January 11, 2022 Not often will you find a top quality rugby player moving from one club to another mid-season, even less frequently will you find them doing it at any point for anywhere near the value of a football transfer. That said, every few years there’s a seemingly silly season of signings where some of the best [...]