Ed Warner: British amateur sport must take a match to bonfire of bureaucracy April 13, 2023 Different patterns of belonging in this social media age are a stiff challenge to those of us attempting to build membership rosters for sporting bodies. What can we offer to persuade amateur athletes and casual fans to give a chunk of their identities – and a few quid from their virtual wallets – to organisations [...]
Billy Vunipola facing defeat in battle to force England World Cup recall April 12, 2023 England No8 Billy Vunipola is a major doubt for this year’s Rugby World Cup after being ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. The bulldozing back row is set to undergo surgery on Thursday after suffering the problem in Saracens’ bruising Champions Cup defeat at La Rochelle on Sunday. Vunipola’s [...]
The future is orange for rugby referees as chiefs ponder new card for World Cup April 12, 2023 World Rugby is considering giving referees the option of “orange cards” at this year’s World Cup, according to the governing body’s head of match officials. A form of the yellow card review system is currently being trialled in Super Rugby Pacific and it could be fast-tracked into the global showpiece hosted by France this autumn. [...]
Exeter Chiefs’ Champions Cup run rewriting final act of their 13-year play April 10, 2023 It wasn’t supposed to be like this; the final lines in the script of the fall of Exeter Chiefs as their era of dominance comes to an end. But they’re the one remaining English team across the two European club rugby competitions, the Champions and Challenge Cups, and it’s a feat few expected. Of the [...]
South African sides in Champions Cup proves rugby can be radical when it wants to be April 9, 2023 And there we have it, eight have become four. The Champions Cup has always been better in the knockout stages and that’s only been personified further by the woeful system in place for the pool stages. Two pools of 12 was always a stupid idea – fans get lost in the complexities of it all [...]
What sport is on the TV? April 7, 2023 It is a mega weekend in sport across the Easter break as football continues to ramp up and the Masters gets us in the summer spirit. Here are five sport events you need to watch this weekend. Golf: The Masters – Thursday to Sunday It’s here. The first golf major of the year. The Masters [...]
It’s been fun but English clubs will now bow out of Champions Cup April 7, 2023 Though English clubs represent three of the eight Champions Cup quarter-finalists, I think this weekend the gulf in class between them and the giants left in the competition will show and the trio will be knocked out. Leicester Tigers, Exeter Chiefs and Saracens remain in the hunt for European honours and are in action across [...]
Rugby World Cup Barometer: Referee on the rise for France 2023 April 6, 2023 | Sponsored In the lead up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, City A.M. have put together a barometer in partnership with City Index to look at which players and other personnel are hot and not in the race to be part of the quadrennial event in France later this year. Rugby player of the week Props are employed [...]
Dow scores four as England trounce Italy in Women’s Six Nations April 2, 2023 Winger Abby Dow scored four tries as England continued their strong start to the Women’s Six Nations with a 68-5 win over Italy at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton. Fellow back Jess Breach scored a hat-trick of her own while Marlie Packer and Claudia MacDonald’s braces added to the points total – Tatyana Heard scored the [...]
Champions Cup and Challenge Cup quarter-final draw as Saracens win April 2, 2023 Saracens overcame a stubborn Ospreys outfit today in north London to beat their Welsh opposition 35-20 and book themselves a spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup against title holders La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast. At a sunny StoneX Stadium this afternoon Ospreys took an early lead through tries from Michael Collins and [...]