Leicester and Saracens star in my Premiership rugby Team of the Season May 12, 2023 It is that time again when everyone with an interest in rugby names their Premiership Team of the Season. I am no different, so here goes. It took a small amount of debate with City A.M. colleagues but, all in all, this was one of the easiest XVs to put together. Front row Gloucester loosehead [...]
Rugby World Cup Barometer: Coombes in for some Irish luck? May 11, 2023 | Sponsored In the lead up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, City A.M. has put together a barometer in partnership with City Index to look at whose form is hot and not in the race to be part of the tournament in France later this year. Player of the week Tipped earlier on in the season [...]
Neville to become first female official at men’s Rugby World Cup May 10, 2023 Joy Neville will make history later this year when the Irish referee becomes the first female official selected for a men’s Rugby World Cup. The tournament takes place in France this autumn and Neville, 39, is among the group of television match officials – rugby’s version of VAR. Elsewhere England’s Wayne Barnes, who has been [...]
English rugby bans high-ranking official from Twickenham for using N-word May 10, 2023 A former Rugby Football Union council member has been banned from Twickenham after admitting making racist comments at a Six Nations match last year. Alex Murphy said to an unnamed volunteer as they walked to the council box at the England v Wales game in 2022, “You realise they don’t let n****** in the Royal [...]
Premiership enjoys attendance bounce, but figures little for rugby to cheer about May 9, 2023 Premiership rugby’s average match attendance is close to returning to pre-pandemic levels as the sport shows signs of recovery following a turbulent period. Average attendance in the Premiership this season was 12,569, up by more than 1,000 on last year and almost back to pre-Covid-19 levels, according to data crunched by City A.M. The figures [...]
Worcester fan group: We don’t want ‘cuckoo club’ Wasps May 9, 2023 A new fan group representing recently purchased rugby team Worcester Warriors have called on the sport’s governing body to block a proposition that would see fellow strugglers Wasps move to their stadium. Following the completion of a deal between the Atlas consortium and administrators Begbies Traynor for Worcester Warriors, it emerged that Wasps owner Chris [...]
Opinion: Worcester Warriors and a defence of the RFU May 5, 2023 Governing any sport is never easy. It is a slog of monstrous proportions where failure to please the masses is almost guaranteed. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) cannot claim to have an unblemished record but, so far at least, in the case of Worcester Warriors, they haven’t put a foot wrong. English rugby’s bigwigs have [...]
‘Gloucester cannot blame injuries, they’ve fallen off a cliff in 2023’ May 5, 2023 Alongside the coaches, players, fans and pundits, I have no idea how Gloucester have fallen so fast and hard in the Premiership table. And I am not having injuries as an excuse. Third after five games, seventh after eight and 10th after 19; the fall from grace has been pretty dramatic. And it’s not the [...]
Red Roses appoint John Mitchell as new England coach May 4, 2023 Former England men’s assistant coach John Mitchell has been named the new Red Roses head coach. The ex-All Blacks coach is currently defence coach with Japan and will take up his new post after this year’s World Cup in autumn. Former England captain Sarah Hunter – who retired during this year’s successful Six Nations campaign [...]
Rugby World Cup Barometer: Kerr-Barlow to cross Tasman Sea? May 4, 2023 | Sponsored In the lead up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, City A.M. has put together a barometer in partnership with City Index to look at whose form is hot and not in the race to be part of the tournament in France later this year. Player of the week Rugby’s hottest new trend is the [...]