Ollie Phillips: My 2022 awards from year of incredible rugby drama December 23, 2022 The time has come to dish out a couple of gongs. My awards will take a look at the year that was and take into consideration all things 2022. We’ve seen records broken, world firsts take place and witnessed brilliantly encapsulating moments. Next week you’ll see my Premiership team of the calendar year but this [...]
Christmas schedule 2022: What’s on the TV for sports fans? December 22, 2022 If the Christmas drinks are already starting to run out and you’re beginning to scroll through the TV guide to see what’s worth watching, have a read of our Christmas sporting schedule to get yourself in the mood for a stellar week of action. 23 December Rugby: London Irish and Saracens clash in the London [...]
Ed Warner on the sporting year that was December 22, 2022 And so we reach the end of a year of sporting excess, or at least an excess of sport. Sunday’s FIFA World Cup Final was the calorific dessert that may well have caused you to come over all Mr Creosote, exploding under the temptation of just one more dish of must-see sporting competition. While we [...]
Eddie Jones eyes next role after England sacking December 21, 2022 Former England Rugby head coach Eddie Jones has said he’s eying his next role following his sacking as head honcho of the Twickenham-based international side. “I want to continue coaching,” he said to Radio 4 today. “It’s not about coaching England’s rivals, it’s about adding to the game. I love the game and I love [...]
Steve Borthwick: The man with a plan for England’s World Cup hopes? December 20, 2022 It’s been one of rugby’s worst kept secrets for a couple of weeks now but the appointment of Steve Borthwick to the head job at Twickenham couldn’t have come soon enough. While the Rugby Football Union planned their transition from the era of Eddie Jones to a new period under the former Leicester Tigers boss [...]
Steve Borthwick announced as England Rugby’s new head coach December 19, 2022 The Rugby Football Union (RFU) have announced Steve Borthwick as the next coach of England Rugby. The 43-year-old will succeed Eddie Jones, who was sacked in early December following a poor year where his England side won just five of their 12 Test matches. Former England captain Borthwick is heading to Twickenham from Leicester Tigers [...]
Quins postpone showpiece Big Game over rail strike chaos December 16, 2022 Premiership rugby club Harlequins’ cash cow showpiece event of the season – Big Game – has been cancelled due to the fall out from South Western Rail’s strikes over the Christmas Period, as reported first by City A.M. yesterday. The game – which regularly attracts over 70,000 fans to Twickenham Stadium across the winter festive [...]
Ollie Phillips: European rugby, McGuigan and Laporte December 16, 2022 The opening round of European Champions Cup action left me slightly confused; there were some cracking matches but also some really disappointing results. The SA Sharks’ win over Harlequins down in South Africa was proper entertainment, as was Lyon’s loss to the Bulls on the African continent. But Leinster’s demolition of Racing 92 was disappointing [...]
It’s all change at the Rugby Players Association come the new year December 15, 2022 It’s due to be all change at the Rugby Players Association come the new year with a raft of new non-executive directors and a new general secretary of the union coming in. Having dealt with the impact of the pandemic on its members, the RPA has recently had to spring into action following the downfall [...]
Harlequins’ Big Game in doubt over train strikes December 14, 2022 Premiership rugby club Harlequins’ showpiece annual game, Big Game, has been thrown into doubt over rail strikes on 27 December. In an alleged email seen by City A.M. and posted into a fan forum, fans were told that the club had taken the “extremely difficult decision to postpone the Big Game 14 fixture at Twickenham”. [...]