Six Nations 2017: France and Ireland show cunning to outfox Wales and England March 20, 2017 Scrum to France, final play, 5m out. France five points ahead and frothing with Gallic trickery. Monstrous prop, Uini Atonio suddenly needs a head injury assessment which sees France return their top tighthead, Rabah Slimani, to the field. As a prop there is no scenario of greater importance than a defensive scrum 5m from one’s [...]
Bring on New Zealand, insists England head coach Eddie Jones as he backs RFU stance to face All Blacks March 19, 2017 England head coach Eddie Jones insists his side are itching to face world champions New Zealand after backing governing body the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) stance on arranging an out-of-window match between the two heavyweights. The teams are not scheduled to play each other until the autumn of 2018 but the RFU confirmed last week [...]
British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland insists even his captain won’t be certain to start against New Zealand March 19, 2017 British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has warned that whoever he selects to be his captain for this summer’s tour to New Zealand will not be guaranteed a starting place. Gatland is set to name his skipper when he selects the squad next month and has indicated that he has six candidates in [...]
Six Nations 2017: Why Ireland vs England is “massive” for sponsors Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day weekend March 18, 2017 As far as weekends go, they don’t come much bigger for Guinness. St. Patrick’s Day, of course, means pint pullers around the world will have spent an evening with one hand permanently affixed to the Guinness pump — it is estimated that the annual celebration can double the average day sales of the Diageo-owned brand. [...]
Eddie Jones urges England to scale new heights to avoid Ireland gatecrashing Grand Slam party March 16, 2017 England head coach Eddie Jones insists his Six Nations champions will have to scale new heights in order to prevent Ireland gatecrashing their Grand Slam party on Saturday. Tournament victors England will become just the sixth side in history and first since the inception of the Six Nations in 2000 to claim back-to-back Grand Slams [...]
Injury to scrum-half Conor Murray could be terminal to Ireland’s chances against Grand Slam-chasing England March 16, 2017 Injury to Munster scrum-half Conor Murray is a real game-changer and alters the whole dynamic of Ireland’s tactics when they come up against Grand Slam-chasing England on Saturday. The British and Irish Lion is excellent and absolutely vital to Joe Schmidt’s side. Murray has failed to recover from the shoulder problem incurred during his side’s [...]
Betting: England set to re-write the history books in Dublin March 16, 2017 A place in history awaits England as they face Ireland on Saturday in the climax to this season’s Six Nations. Eddie Jones’ side stand on the brink of back-to-back Grand Slams, and a world record 19th consecutive Test victory – overtaking the mark set by New Zealand in 2015-16. In a time of political shocks and [...]
Ireland v England stats preview: Have Eddie Jones’s men been less impressive Six Nations winners than last year? March 16, 2017 Eddie Jones demanded improvement from his England side ahead of this year's Six Nations — a tough ask of reigning Grand Slam champions. Until last weekend's demolition of Scotland at Twickenham, there were few signs his calls had been heeded. England have been accused of only playing well in spurts, of struggling to consistently match some of [...]
Wales’s Six Nations resurgence against Ireland defers debate over Rob Howley’s tactical rigidity March 13, 2017 In the build-up to Friday's fixture in Cardiff, when Wales overcame Ireland 22-9, their former flanker Martyn Williams pointed to the "stubborn" management team as a factor in explaining their patchy form of late. Coaches are often caught in a dilemma between whether to stick with the status quo or delve deeper into the squad [...]
Dylan Hartley, Jonathan Joseph and George Ford urge England not to allow chance to make history slip through their fingers March 12, 2017 England skipper Dylan Hartley has led a chorus of assertions that his record-equalling side will not allow history to slip from their grasp during their crunch Six Nations clash against Ireland on Saturday. Victory in Dublin would not only see England become the first team since the inception of the Six Nations in 2000 to [...]