Ollie Phillips: Saracens have the ability to defeat champions Harlequins June 10, 2022 Should Saracens beat defending champions Harlequins in their Premiership semi-final this weekend, they’ll be the first team to reach the showpiece Twickenham final at the first attempt following promotion from the Championship. Mark McCall’s men have come back into the top flight with a vengeance this season. And while they’ll be disappointed to have missed [...]
Leicester legend Moody backs former club to win East Midlands semi-final June 9, 2022 Premiership rugby semi-finals come around twice a year, but an East Midlands knockout match comes around far fewer than that. The last time Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints faced off in an end-of-season top-four clash nearly a decade ago, it was the Black, Green and Golds who came out on top. But tomorrow, in the [...]
Average Premiership attendances fall compared to pre-pandemic figures June 8, 2022 Regular season attendances in English rugby’s top flight Premiership competition are, on average, 1,000 down on pre-pandemic levels. In data crunched by City A.M. – and taking into account a series of factors – attendances in England’s top flight have fallen from 12,636 in the 2018-19 season, the last full season before the pandemic, to [...]
Jones picks exciting squad ahead of England showdown with Baabaas June 6, 2022 In Eddie Jones’s 35-man England squad for the upcoming uncapped match against the world famous Barbarians team, the Australian head coach has picked a group of largely young, exciting talents. With his player pool drained due to an inability to pick from the four Premiership sides who are in this weekend’s semi-finals, Jones has had [...]
La Rochelle: Coastal Atlantic outpost to European Champions May 30, 2022 “Ici, ici, c’est Stade Rochelais.” “Here, here, it’s La Rochelle.” The chanted hymn of the French outpost on the Atlantic coast – now European champions. From their humble beginnings, La Rochelle have risen through the ranks and, after promotion to France’s Top14 in 2014, have never looked like a side likely to slip up. They [...]
Exclusive: London Irish’s Ollie Hoskins on ‘easy’ decision to re-sign with club May 27, 2022 Australia prop Ollie Hoskins has signed a new long-term contract with London Irish – and insists it was an easy decision to recommit to the Premiership rugby club. “I’ve got a strong connection to the club. This is where I wanted to play and continue to develop my game,” Hoskins told City A.M. “I can’t [...]
Ollie Phillips: Leinster should sneak tight Champions Cup final May 27, 2022 It’s going to be tight, Champions Cup finals usually are, but I think Leinster will win their fifth title tomorrow in Marseille. They have the physicality, they have the depth, and they’re stacked with match winners. They’re the favourites for sure. That said, it would be foolish to completely write off Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle [...]
New Zealand Rugby and SAP announce multi-year partnership May 26, 2022 New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and software company SAP have today announced a multi-year partnership that will see the German headquartered corporation partner the major Kiwi rugby teams. The deal, confirmed today, will “accelerate” the “digital transformation” of NZR and will see the two organisations look to innovate in areas such as crowd experience and sustainability. [...]
Dan Norton: London 7s, bursting onto the scene and longevity in sport May 26, 2022 The two-day fun-fueled party that is the rugby sevens returns to the capital this weekend as England, Fiji, New Zealand and others look to go head-to-head to win on the prestigious London leg of the circuit. Argentina top the table coming into the event – which will be held at England’s Twickenham Stadium – but [...]
Ollie Phillips: Quins’ attacking mentality is good for rugby May 20, 2022 Twickenham Stadium will host its second Harlequins home fixture of the season tomorrow and a win for Tabai Matson’s side would guarantee them a spot in the top four. I don’t see a situation where Quins don’t make it but, until it’s certain, there’s work to do. They’ll entertain Gloucester in front of around 50,000 [...]