Pantomime villain Ashton crowns lively career with try record May 3, 2022 Having broken the Premiership Rugby try-scoring record with a hat-trick at the weekend and moved within just five tries of a ton, you might think Chris Ashton would be ready for his after-dinner speech career. But doing all of the above while being a controversial rugby player, often the centre of debate, is what truly [...]
Why Premiership and Championship rugby clubs are teaming up to win May 3, 2022 While the powers that be seem to be determined to keep Premiership rugby outfits apart from Championship teams, that hasn’t stopped clubs from partnering up with one another in a series of mutually beneficial playing arrangements. Last week defending Premiership champions Harlequins announced a partnership with London Scottish, who play just up the road at [...]
Ollie Phillips: My five-man shortlist for Premiership player of the season April 29, 2022 With just three regular rounds of Premiership action remaining before we can turn our thoughts to the semi-finals, it’s worth highlighting some of the players who have stood out for me this season. While I have tried to lean away from those who have been away for weeks on end with international duty, in one [...]
Fantastic Farrell helps Saracens secure top four spot as others left chasing April 24, 2022 Saracens may have confirmed their spot in Premiership Rugby’s end-of-season playoffs with a 38-22 bonus point over Exeter Chiefs, but the implications for the losing side could be monumental. The Chiefs have featured in each of the last six Twickenham finals but, having failed to pick up a single point at Sarries, that run looks [...]
Ollie Phillips: I’d want to avoid Harlequins in the semi-finals at all costs April 22, 2022 No matter whether I were Leicester Tigers or Saracens, I would want to stay well clear of Harlequins in the Premiership playoffs. No disrespect to Gloucester, Northampton Saints or Exeter Chiefs, but Quins have proven that they’re a danger in the knockout stages of the domestic league – even if they went out of Europe [...]
Wales Women can shine in future rugby games after copying England April 22, 2022 Wales are a team on the up as they prepare to meet France in the penultimate round of the Women’s Six Nations. Having not won for three years prior to the tournament, they take two victories from their three matches at this championship into the clash with title challengers France. Such a turnaround would have [...]
Ed Warner: The higher the price for Chelsea, the sooner their new owners will feel the strain April 21, 2022 Unless the media have been blindsided by a canny investment bank, it seems that there are no sovereign wealth funds or squillionaires left in the running to buy Chelsea. No Musk, Bezos, Chinese tech magnate or gas-rich autocracy. The three remaining bidders, as reported, are all consortia. Let the game theory commence. The selling bank, [...]
Champions Cup two legged ties introduced new spark to European rugby April 18, 2022 Some said the past fortnight’s two legged ties would kick the life out of European rugby. Others said it would be one of the best changes the governing body, EPCR, could make to liven up the continental season. Well, after the weekend’s second leg matches, it’s clear that the latter opinion has won out. It [...]
Ben Cohen ready to admit defeat in battle to save anti-bullying foundation April 13, 2022 England Rugby World Cup winner Ben Cohen has revealed that his anti-bullying foundation StandUp could be forced to close in the coming months. “I will say this and no one knows it,” Cohen told City A.M. “I am probably going to close it. We’ve had Covid-19, Brexit, Ukraine and we’re probably going to hit a [...]
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 [...]