Elior Champ Rugby deal may be good for clubs, but what’s the point? March 20, 2026 It is great to see Champ Rugby get its first sponsor in six years this week, in catering company Elior UK; it signals a shift in appetite for the second tier of English rugby. It will be a good marketing tool for clubs, whose matches are broadcast on streaming platform Clubber TV, and it solidifies [...]
Can Scotland ever win the Six Nations, when so many of their players play abroad? March 19, 2026 On the final day of the 2026 Six Nations Championships, Ireland defeated Scotland in Dublin in their 12th successive victory against Gregor Townsend’s side. Ireland’s victory extended Scotland’s 27-year wait for the title and underlined the growing gap between the two sides. Days later, news broke that Scotland No8 Jack Dempsey has agreed a deal [...]
Sir James Dyson buys 50 per cent stake in top flight English sport club March 18, 2026 One of the UK’s richest men, Sir James Dyson, has purchased 50 per cent of Prem Rugby champions Bath. The long-time fan of the West Country Club, which won three trophies last season, has converted his front-of-shirt support for the club – through Dyson – into a 50 per cent ownership stake in the Blue, [...]
Lozowski: Showdown Saracens match at Tottenham good for Prem Rugby March 17, 2026 England’s Prem Rugby takes an almighty leap of faith later this month, staging three of its five Round 12 fixtures at stadiums more than double the home team’s usual arenas. On Saturday 28 March, Gloucester Rugby take on Leicester Tigers at Aston VIlla’s Villa Park and Bristol Bears host Harlequins at Wales’s Principality Stadium. But [...]
England won’t be derailed if they hold their nerve over Borthwick March 13, 2026 However unlikely one may think it is, there is a chance of England being left holding the wooden spoon for the first time in the Six Nations era. You have to go back to 1987 for their last bottom-place finish in the old Five Nations. That alone would be a humiliation for a head coach [...]
Toulouse minority owner: Prem Rugby franchising ‘very exciting’ March 11, 2026 A ringfenced Prem Rugby should be seen as an exciting prospect that could one day chase down the powerhouse Top 14 league, according to a co-owner of six-time Investec Champions Cup winners Toulouse. The RFU Council voted through measures last month that ended automatic promotion and relegation from Prem Rugby to the second-tier Champ. It [...]
Itoje and Pollock can boost Britain’s soft power on global stage, MP says March 10, 2026 England captain Maro Itoje and teammate Henry Pollock have been backed to become ambassadors for the country. Steve Borthwick’s England side may be on a dire run of three consecutive defeats but Liberal Democrat MP Edward Morello insists the pair, alongside Women’s Rugby World Cup winning Red Roses, can help to project Britain’s soft power [...]
If international rugby’s fatal flaw is not financial, what is it? March 7, 2026 When systems are forced to grow without replenishing what sustains them, they do not fail slowly. They hollow out — and then collapse suddenly. This pattern appears across markets and institutions, but sport, and rugby, offers one of the clearest live demonstrations of how extraction degrades an ecosystem from the inside. For decades, debates about [...]
Italy Six Nations revival a lesson for Wales as England challenge awaits March 6, 2026 In 2019 rugby in Italy was staring down the barrel of extinction: three home Six Nations matches at their 70,500-capacity Stadio Olimpico drew crowds of just 38,500 versus Wales, 49,700 against Ireland and 48,800 for their match against France. Fast forward to 2026, however, having just beaten Scotland in front of 68,200 fans Italy will [...]
English rugby is on brink of seismic change. It mustn’t fumble at the try line March 5, 2026 Ed Warner was part of the group that has recommended major changes to the way English rugby is governed. He explains why this is a generational opportunity. This is news overload time for English rugby. The men’s national team wilting twice in the Six Nations under weighty expectations, debate about the possible impact of head [...]