Premiership Rugby’s relegation battle is set to go down to the wire, so why ring-fence the league? April 8, 2019 English top-flight rugby has rarely been more competitive than it has this season yet talk of ring-fencing the competition continues to loom large. Premiership Rugby is set to provide an update to its board on Tuesday regarding the proposal to ring-fence the league, despite the fiercest relegation battle for many years currently raging on. The [...]
Ollie Phillips: Mike Ford needs to galvanise Leicester to move them away from Premiership relegation April 4, 2019 There are five games left in the Premiership season and it’s crunch time at the bottom where four teams are battling it out to avoid the dreaded drop. Of the four it’s Leicester Tigers who are most unused to their standing, having slumped to 10th place and five points above the drop through a run [...]
Ollie Phillips: Home advantage weighs heavy for Saracens, Edinburgh, Leinster and Racing 92 in the Champions Cup March 29, 2019 The Six Nations finished two weeks ago but the tournament remains relevant as we head into the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup this weekend. The relationship between club sides and their countries is an interesting one and it’s born out when looking at the fixtures for Europe’s premier club competition. Wales won the Six Nations [...]
Glasgow Warriors can use Scotland’s Twickenham heroics for inspiration against Saracens in Champions Cup quarter-final March 28, 2019 Glasgow may not have beaten Saracens in Europe in five attempts but the Scottish side can take solace from their national team’s historic clash against England just two weeks ago as they prepare for this weekend’s Champions Cup quarter-final. Scotland were down and out after half an hour at Twickenham, with England 31-0 up, only [...]
Up in the air: Rugby is facing big decisions over the future of the Six Nations March 24, 2019 Wales may have won the battle for the Six Nations on the pitch but off the field the fight for control of the tournament rages on. A proposal from World Rugby, the sport’s governing body, to create a global competition has ignited interest in the Six Nations, which is subject to two sizeable investment offers. The [...]
Ollie Phillips: Grand Slam winners Wales show England and Ireland the benefits of impeccable leadership March 21, 2019 Like most teams, England want to win the World Cup and become the No1-ranked side in rugby union. The dramatic conclusion of the Six Nations last weekend showed just how lofty those ambitions currently are. Eddie Jones’s side flew out of the blocks against Scotland and held a 31-0 lead after as many minutes, but [...]
England’s Six Nations campaign leaves Eddie Jones with a number of selection headaches March 20, 2019 England’s runner-up finish at the Six Nations may not spell disaster but, having beaten Ireland in their opening game, losing to Wales and sacrificing a 31-0 lead at home to Scotland have left Eddie Jones with more questions than answers just six months before the World Cup. What had looked like a marked improvement in [...]
England fall flat in dramatic Six Nations finale against Scotland March 17, 2019 When Sam Johnson crossed the line to give Scotland a 38-31 lead over England with just three minutes left on Saturday, it looked as though the visitors were about to claim their first win at Twickenham in 36 years with the biggest comeback in Six Nations history. England denied them with the final play of [...]
Ollie Phillips: Ireland will find their form and help England to Six Nations victory this weekend March 14, 2019 The Six Nations builds up to its crescendo this weekend and all the indications are that it will be an intriguing one. With three sides still able to win the tournament there’s no problem with dead rubbers, although Wales against Ireland is the match which will shape the outcome. England’s hopes of winning the trophy [...]
England ready to rectify last year’s defeat to Scotland in Six Nations finale March 13, 2019 It was just 13 months ago that Scotland brought England’s winning run to a shuddering halt in a Six Nations match at Murrayfield that saw Eddie Jones and his players harassed on and off the pitch. England lost 25-13 that day, but more significant was the manner in which they were beaten. Out-muscled, out-fought and [...]