No support for English rugby’s breakaway cup November 21, 2013 ENGLAND’S Rugby Football Union are adamant they will not be forced into a U-turn on plans to form a breakaway European competition next season, despite unions in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy indicating their clubs were set to continue playing in the Heineken Cup. Top French and Welsh clubs had previously indicated their intention [...]
Rugby Comment: All Blacks loss shows we need to be clinical November 21, 2013 NEW Zealand might have beaten us last weekend, but this group of England players has shown the potential to go forward to the 2015 World Cup and that we can match the world’s best on any day. We know we’re not the finished article and must learn from defeats, like we did after Wales in [...]
It’s not fair, says England rugby league ace axed from World Cup October 23, 2013 CONTROVERSIAL England rugby league forward Gareth Hock insists he has been victimised after he was thrown out of the squad days before the start of the World Cup. England chiefs announced his exclusion on Monday night after he broke an alcohol ban by going out drinking on Saturday and then missing a recovery session the [...]
Rugby chiefs warned over risk of NFL-like concussion lawsuit October 17, 2013 RUGBY Union’s governing bodies could face multi-million pound lawsuits unless they step up efforts to minimise the risks of concussion, according to a leading British neuroscientist. American Football’s NFL paid out £476m in a settlement to more than 4,500 former players who blamed dementia, depression and Alzheimers on concussion-related brain injury. The International Rugby Board [...]
Rugby stars dress down for day at Lloyd’s of London October 16, 2013 ENGLAND Rugby head coach Stuart Lancaster and backs coach Andy Farrell took to the Lloyd’s of London underwriting floor yesterday to announce the official QBE Internationals England squad in the shadow of the famous Lutine Bell. But it seems the team took the dress code for the Lloyd’s building – clearly stated on the invitation as [...]
Rugby viewers up 90 per cent October 15, 2013 VIEWING figures for Premiership Rugby have almost doubled from the same period last season following the switch to BT Sport, top-flight chiefs said yesterday. The 16 matches from the first five rounds of the season shown live on the channel attracted average audiences 90 per cent greater than last year, according to figures from the [...]
Rugby Comment: It doesn’t get better than playing at Wembley October 14, 2013 YOU always want to play in front of big crowds and there is nowhere better than Wembley Stadium. I’ve played in all nine of Saracens previous visits there and loved it. I can’t wait to go back for our Heineken Cup tie on Friday. As an English guy it’s a dream to go to Wembley [...]
Rugby tightens salary cap rules October 8, 2013 ENGLAND’S top rugby union clubs have agreed to tighten regulations on salary caps in a bid to ensure no teams are cheating the system. Premiership Rugby now has the power to undertake an investigatory audit in addition to the standard salary cap audit in order to root out financial cheats. The organisation, which represents the [...]
Sport Comment: Why won’t football learn lessons from rugby? September 29, 2013 THIS week’s column is the proverbial record that’s got stuck, for which apologies, but it’s a pretty safe bet it’s going to get re-written a fair few times in the future until things change. When will football, wonderful arrogant football, admit it can learn a few lessons from other sports? Having taken an eternity to [...]
English and French clubs lack respect, says Euro rugby boss September 23, 2013 HEINEKEN Cup chiefs ERC have accused English and French league bosses of a lack of respect in their attempts to form a rival competition. ERC chairman Jean–Pierre Lux also called Premiership Rugby’s contract with BT Sport to broadcast the new tournament “questionable”. An Anglo-French breakaway, which would be called the Rugby Champions Cup, has gathered [...]