Rugby World Cup 2015: Australia’s David Pocock battered but unbowed as Wallabies hunt for final glory over All Blacks October 28, 2015 Australia No8 David Pocock remains battered and bruised from his side’s defeat of Argentina but is ready to realise his boyhood dream of playing in a World Cup final when the Wallabies face New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday. Powerhouse forward Pocock was sporting a pair of black eyes as well as a disfigured nose [...]
London Irish v Saracens to be played in New York as Aviva Premiership Rugby lands in America October 27, 2015 London Irish and Saracens will play each other in New York in the Aviva Premiership's first ever overseas fixture. The two London clubs will swap the Big Smoke for the Big Apple on Saturday 12 March, with the Exiles' home fixture set to be staged at the 25,000 capacity Red Bull Arena, home of the New York [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015 odds: Australia rugby bosses have £140,000 bet on their team to beat New Zealand in final in order to cover Wallabies bonus payments October 27, 2015 No one can accuse Australian rugby of lacking in confidence. The Wallabies may not have arrived at this year's World Cup as favourites, but the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) backed their team with a massive $AUS 300,000 (£141,891) bet with a corporate bookmaker on them lifting the Web Ellis trophy. If Michael Cheika's team beat [...]
Clean bill of health for Australia from coach Michael Cheika as Wallabies prepare for Rugby World Cup final October 26, 2015 Australia coach Michael Cheika is confident he will have a fully-fit squad at his disposal when he plots the downfall of defending champions New Zealand in Saturday’s World Cup final at Twickenham. Full-back Israel Folau and No8 David Pocock both missed Australia’s quarter-final victory over Scotland with ankle and calf injuries respectively but came through [...]
Restaurants and bars get their appetite back following Rugby World Cup 2015 boost October 26, 2015 The Rugby World Cup and greater consumer spending power thanks to falling food and petrol prices provided a much needed boost to UK bars and restaurants during the third quarter of the year. According to Begbies Traynor’s latest Red Flag update, which monitors the health of UK companies, the number of restaurants and bars experiencing “significant” [...]
Australia coach Michael Cheika labels Wallabies Rugby World Cup final underdogs after semi-final victory over Argentina October 25, 2015 Australia coach Michael Cheika immediately installed his side as overwhelming longshots for Saturday’s World Cup final against old foes New Zealand after withstanding a rousing second-half fightback by Argentina in yesterday’s semi-final. A hat-trick from wing Adam Ashley-Cooper added to an early a touchdown from second-row Rob Simmons and that proved sufficient for the two-time [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015: All Blacks earn £15,000 bonus each following semi-final win over South Africa and are promised £66,000 prize if they win final next week October 24, 2015 Members of the New Zealand rugby squad will each receive a bonus worth £66,000 if they win this year's World Cup. All Blacks players are signed to contracts with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) which guarantee them $NZ150,000 (£66,000) should they become the first country to lift the Web Ellis Cup for a third time. If [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015: All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams offers New Zealand v South Africa tickets to Syrian refugees October 24, 2015 All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams has offered Syrian refugees the chance to go to the Rugby World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa this afternoon. The Kiwi centre has set aside two tickets to the Twickenham clash and asked his Twitter followers yesterday to be put in contact with agencies working with [...]
Aviva Premiership Rugby salary cap to rise to £7m but still trails France’s Top 14 October 23, 2015 Premiership Rugby clubs have had their salary cap shackles loosened in order to "drive the next phase of growth in English club and international rugby". Clubs' limit on wage spending will be lifted by £1m to £6.5m next season and £7m in 2017/18, bringing the Premiership closer to the spending power enjoyed by French clubs, which are currently capped at [...]
Rugby World Cup semi-finals 2015: Australian experience at the business end to prove crucial against Argentina October 22, 2015 Australia and Argentina round off the Southern Hemisphere showcase on Sunday. Much has been made of the Wallabies’ improved scrum courtesy of Argentine forward coach Mario Ledesma, but they creaked against the Scots and weren’t altogether invincible when they took on Wales, either. They’ll be put to the test in the set-piece by Argentina, [...]