Sale Sharks and Saracens can spring Premiership surprises May 31, 2024 As is the competitiveness of this year’s Premiership, I wouldn’t put it past Saracens and Sale Sharks becoming the first two teams in the history of four-team play-offs to produce two away wins. The Premiership has never seen two away wins in the play-offs in the same season but that could change this weekend. Northampton [...]
Uni BUCS 7s bonanza in London will be Team GB selector event May 30, 2024 Rugby player development in the United Kingdom is heavily skewed towards the academies of existing clubs; their resources are often the key factor in being able to nurture talent. But the likes of England international Alex Dombrandt, Tom Pearson, Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins and Luke Northmore all have something in common: BUCS rugby. It may [...]
A Minister for Sport would change the game. If only politicians listened May 30, 2024 Sport matters to me. A lot. Probably to you too, otherwise why else are you reading this? Physical health, mental displacement, tribal identity, emotional immersion, empathy, joy, endorphins. All these gifts and more – including an appreciation of sport’s value to the society I live in. Enough to want our politicians to nurture it. Actually [...]
British and Irish Lions agree Charles Tyrwhitt partnership May 28, 2024 The British and Irish Lions have announced a partnership deal with City staple Charles Tyrwhitt ahead of the 2025 tour to Australia. The touring group – made up of rugby players from England, Wales, Scotland and the island of Ireland – will head Down Under next summer for a series that will include three Test [...]
Epic sporting weekend proves sport can be cog in any government agenda May 28, 2024 With a General Election in full swing across the nation sports fans were treated to an epic weekend of action. So with so many events pencilled in across the next five years and numerous more beyond that, our politicians should promote sport to a priority talking point. City A.M. Deputy Sports Editor Matt Hardy writes. [...]
South African involvement in European rugby has given competition lease of life May 27, 2024 “It was international rugby versus club rugby,” said one person at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the South African Hollywoodbets Sharks beat Gloucester Rugby 36-22 in the EPCR Challenge Cup. That’s not entirely true, both sides had their international representatives, but the point is a good one. The addition of the Sharks into the European [...]
Investec Champions Cup: The final of a generation May 27, 2024 It was billed as the final we deserved, between two powerhouses of the Investec Champions Cup meeting in a showpiece for the first time ever. And what a match fans were served up. At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, seen by many as one of the world’s greatest arenas, Leinster and Toulouse went toe-to-toe; the Dublinners [...]
Intensity at centre of Investec Champions Cup final between Toulouse and Leinster May 24, 2024 Without getting you all too excited, I do believe this weekend’s Investec Champions Cup could be one of the few finals that matches last year’s epic comeback by La Rochelle, who rallied from 17-0 down inside the opening quarter. Because Leinster versus Toulouse isn’t just Leinster versus Toulouse; it’s four-time winners against five-time winners, Ireland [...]
Challenge Cup can be cure to desperate seasons for Gloucester and Sharks May 23, 2024 Before the start of the current rugby season both Gloucester and the Sharks, from Durban, would have been full of hope for their domestic campaigns. But soon into their Premiership and United Rugby Championship campaigns, things began to unravel and any hopes of winning a league title disappeared over a cliff. It left the two [...]
Slade named Premiership rugby player of the season at London award dinner May 22, 2024 Henry Slade was last night named Premiership Rugby’s player of the season at a glitzy Central London awards dinner. The Exeter Chiefs centre has been pivotal for a West Country team on a major rebuild having suffered an exodus of top players across the last 12 months. Premiership RUgby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor said: “Henry [...]