Ahead of the Game: Six Nations facing compensation fight over £800m deal snub July 31, 2024 In his first weekly sports news column, Matt Hughes reports on the row between the Six Nations and southern hemisphere chiefs over the Nations Championship, the value of Team GB’s new deal with Adidas, Everton’s tensions with the Premier League, and England cricket chiefs’s latest hire. The Six Nations are facing potential demands for tens [...]
Olympics: Rugby sevens needs Dupont and USA to be medal contenders July 26, 2024 As a former sevens player, the Olympics is always an exciting time. We see the very best of a bunch of athletes who otherwise go under the radar across the rest of the calendar. But in a rugby-mad country like France, where stars like Toulouse and international No9 Antoine Dupont will be on show, this [...]
Qatar Airways to sponsor British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia July 25, 2024 Major long haul group Qatar Airways will be the title partner to the British and Irish Lions series against Australia in 2025. The partnership marks the next step in sponsorship for the famous rugby touring group, who have one of the most valuable pound-per-minute played commercial platforms in world sport. They follow City firm Howden [...]
Rugby: Wales, Cory Hill and what if they lose to the Queensland Reds? July 18, 2024 Let’s make one thing clear: if Wales lose to the Queensland Reds this weekend it would be an incredible humiliation for Warren Gatland and the national team. The game is uncapped and the Welsh side is a mix of experience and inexperience – including captain Cory Hill, who was forced to apologise this week for [...]
Are the All Blacks feeling the pressure ahead of Eden Park showdown? July 12, 2024 There has been a lot of talk this week about the history of playing the All Blacks at Eden Park being a heavy burden for Steve Borthwick’s England team to shoulder. But I actually believe that the weight of being unbeaten at one ground for 30 years, as the All Blacks are at the Auckland [...]
LOOK: New Northampton Saints badge unveiled on trademark website July 11, 2024 Northampton Saints are today set to unveil their new logo with the government trademark website potentially giving the big surprise away early this morning. The Premiership champions announced earlier this year that they would be changing the branding of the club’s logo to remain in keeping with the developing times sport is currently going through. [...]
New Zealand make change for second Test with England after blunder almost cost them July 9, 2024 Damian McKenzie allowed the 60 seconds permitted to take a penalty to run down as he was lining up a kick.
French rugby star ‘sorry and ashamed’ after he is axed for racist comments July 8, 2024 A video emerged on social media of Jaminet saying he wanted to attack “the first Arab I see on the street”.
England showed promise against All Blacks ahead of Eden Park finale July 7, 2024 Weirdly for England, Saturday’s 16-15 loss to New Zealand in Dunedin was their first match in three against the All Blacks that ended in defeat. In their last trio of games against the three-time world champions – in Japan at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, at Twickenham in 2022 and down in New Zealand at [...]
Cunningham-South, Baxter and Freeman: England players to watch in New Zealand July 5, 2024 The next fortnight will be one which could end up defining Steve Borthwick’s tenure as England manager. For their two-Test series against New Zealand could be the difference between establishing a winning side to take through to the next World Cup – in Australia in 2027 – or the realisation that England are not up [...]