Autumn Nations Series: How will England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales get on? November 1, 2024 The Autumn Nations Series can be a super tonic for the sport as titans clash from both hemispheres across Europe, writes Ollie Phillips. November internationals are always an odd time of year: you have neither the bitter rivalries the Six Nations and Rugby Championship generate over their own two hemispheres, nor is there the excitement [...]
Haka ‘ridiculous and needs binning’, England star taunts All Blacks October 30, 2024 England rugby star Joe Marler has inflamed tensions ahead of their clash with New Zealand on Saturday by branding the haka “ridiculous” and saying that the All Blacks’ traditional pre-match dance “needs binning”. Harlequins prop Marler, 34, made the comments on social media just days before the teams meet in Twickenham this weekend and deactivated [...]
Ahead of the Game: A$AP Rocky’s Tranmere takeover hits a snag October 30, 2024 City AM has learned that one of Tacopina's key investors, who was providing around 30 per cent of the funding, pulled out last week.
Spencer to make first England start against New Zealand October 29, 2024 Ben Spencer will make his first international start for England after Steve Borthwick named his XV for Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series game against New Zealand. The 32-year-old Bath scrum-half made his England debut in 2019 but has been in and out of the international game since. Spencer will partner Marcus Smith in a back line [...]
Appalling, laughable, not fair: Chinnor and Cambridge go it alone after Premiership Rugby Cup exclusion October 29, 2024 Championship sides Chinnor and Cambridge will compete in the Not The Premiership Rugby Cup after being excluded from the original competition. On Friday night at Mennaye Field in Penzance, Cornish Pirates will fancy themselves against a winless Exeter Chiefs in the opening fixture of the Premiership Rugby Cup. The competition has been one of the [...]
Premiership Rugby: Chiefs winless as top four pull away October 28, 2024 That’s it. The Premiership is done and finished for a month. After six rounds the 10 teams will take a month-long break while the Autumn Nations Series takes place. So what have we learned from the final week of action in the first block of top-flight matches? Devonian drought Few would have thought Exeter Chiefs [...]
Rugby’s ‘A’ games hidden gems in Autumn Nations Cup period October 25, 2024 Rugby’s ‘A’ games are crucial for development and capture, and are the hidden gems of this year’s Autumn Nations Cup period. This weekend, when Japan and New Zealand clash in Yokohama, marks the start of the rugby’s Autumn international period. The majority of major southern hemisphere teams travel to Europe to face the best of [...]
How long do Exeter Chiefs back Rob Baxter for? October 25, 2024 Exeter Chiefs are 80 minutes away from going the entirety of the first block of Premiership Rugby games without a win. At home they’ve fallen to Leicester Tigers and Bristol Bears – Pat Lam’s West County side were 32-12 down before coming back to win – and Northampton Saints, Saracens and Newcastle Falcons away from [...]
Government pledge to make UK “top destination for women’s sport investment” October 23, 2024 The government has today pledged to make the United Kingdom a “top destination for women’s sport investment”. Investment minister Poppy Gustafsson, formerly of Darktrace, has launched the Women’s Sport Investment Accelerator scheme to bring together 20 leagues and teams with investors to boost commercial activity in women’s sport. The participating sports include football, cricket, rugby, [...]
Messi and LeBron beaten to top spot in athlete marketability rankings October 22, 2024 US gymnast Simone Biles has beaten LeBron James and Lionel Messi to be named the most marketable athlete in the world by sports industry experts. Real Madrid and Brazil footballer Vinicius Jr is second, followed by NBA legend James, women’s basketball sensation Caitlin Clark and Messi in the list published by SportsPro magazine. Biles, who [...]