NFL poaches World Rugby boss Brett Gosper as it aims to increase its presence in UK and Europe December 2, 2020 World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper will leave the governing body next year to run the NFL in Europe and the UK. Gosper has been in his current role for eight years, during which time he has overseen the staging of two successful World Cups. The Australian has agreed to become head of Europe and [...]
England v France Autumn Nations Cup final tickets available by invite only and hospitality sold out December 1, 2020 Spectators are due to return to Twickenham this weekend when England host France in the Autumn Nations Cup final. The good news for England rugby fans is that 2,000 seats have been made available, including some hospitality places, for the game on Sunday. The bad news is that only a few tickets remain at the [...]
Video: Premiership rugby 2020-21 season preview: Wasps, Bristol and Sale best placed to topple Exeter November 30, 2020 [brid video=”681229″ player=”24372″ title=”Premiership%20rugby%20202021%20season%20preview” duration=”422″ description=”” uploaddate=”2020-11-20 12:18:43″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/18445/thumb/681229_t_1605874744.png” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/18445/sd/681229.mp4″] It’s surreal that Premiership rugby returns this weekend, just 27 days after Exeter lifted the trophy. But in 2020, everything is out of the ordinary. With Exeter also winning the European Champions Cup and Bristol the Challenge Cup, the English game is in a good [...]
How to stage a limited capacity match in the Covid era, from socially distanced seating to ordering drinks November 25, 2020 Sports clubs across England are preparing to host limited-capacity events when lockdown ends next week, but Harlequins are one step ahead. The Premiership rugby club had 2,800 at their home, The Stoop, for a match against Bath in early September, as part of a nationwide pilot scheme. Here, Adrian Wells, chief marketing officer at Harlequins, [...]
France are my favourites for the Autumn Nations Cup, a Six Nations with extra spice November 13, 2020 I’m a glass-half-full person, so I can’t help but be excited that the Autumn Nations Cup is happening. Given everything, fans and players just have to be grateful we’ve got some international rugby with silverware to play for. OK, we haven’t got New Zealand, South Africa or Australia coming over as usual. But we to [...]
Rhino boss Reg Clark on why rugby brand remains a good bet despite warehouse blaze and pandemic sales dip November 11, 2020 It is just as well Reg Clark, boss of rugby kit maker Rhino, is the level-headed type. Because 2020 has dealt the company the type of crunching blows that the world’s leading teams inflict on its scrum machines. Already braced for another dip in demand as many of its markets fell into second lockdowns, Clark [...]
Explained: Why Amazon Prime Video is showing the Autumn Nations Cup and what it means for rugby November 10, 2020 Amazon Prime Video acquired the rights to rugby’s Autumn Nations Cup for an estimated fee of £16m-£20m and it looks a potential win for all parties. Years ago, it may have been seen as a risk selling your media rights to Amazon. But now the e-commerce giant looks like it could make a lasting impact [...]
The Week In Sportbiz: Premier League set to axe pay-per-view (for now), Formula E gets cosier with Extreme E, and Gosper gives US his World Cup vote November 6, 2020 Less than a month after its introduction, Premier League clubs are expected to ditch their unpopular pay-per-view service. Since debuting on 17 October, half of all games have been restricted to those willing to pay £14.95 a time. Fans groups protested the extra charges by successfully urging people to donate thousands of pounds to food [...]
It’s England’s Six Nations to lose, and I fancy France to beat Ireland handsomely October 30, 2020 Everyone is thankful for competitive live sport like the Six Nations Championship at the moment. And the fact that the final round of fixtures on Saturday will decide the winner makes it even more exciting. Away from all the increasingly gloomy news in other areas of life, we have a Six Nations finale and a [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: QBE’s bold Six Nations call, and Euro shutdowns spell doom for ‘let fans back in’ push October 29, 2020 England may be hot favourites to win the Six Nations this weekend, but not everyone agrees. Insurer QBE is tipping Ireland to triumph — an outcome currently attracting odds of 3/1 with most bookmakers and even bigger prices on exchanges. It is a bold call, especially as QBE itself predicted England would take the title [...]