England could ditch Twickenham for Milton Keynes over council row March 19, 2025 England could quit Twickenham and play their rugby internationals in Milton Keynes because of Richmond upon Thames Council, chief Bill Sweeney has warned. The Rugby Football Union needs to fund a £663m redevelopment of Allianz Stadium in Twickenham but has previously admitted that some of the financing for this would need to come from non-rugby [...]
Brentford owner Benham weighs up minority investment in Bees March 19, 2025 Brentford have received multiple offers of minority investment from American groups who value the club at around £400m. Owner Matthew Benham has been seeking additional investment for over a year. Rothschild was appointed to oversee the sales process but City AM understands that the merchant bank is no longer working on the Brentford deal. The [...]
Why rugby union should get its own Riyadh Season event February 28, 2025 One gripe I have with the 2025 Six Nations is the second rest week; it stifles interest and really damages the flow of the rugby tournament. As least, then, I had spare time to watch Chris Eubank Jr slap Conor Benn with an egg during their face-off ahead of their bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. [...]
Why Melvyn Jaminet’s transfer to Toulouse could relegate rugby giants February 27, 2025 Everybody dreams of playing for Toulouse. But what is the story of Melvyn Jaminet, a €450,000 loan and a potential salary cap breach and forced relegation? Across much of the length and breadth of Europe you’ll struggle to find a city where football isn’t the primary sport. But in the Pink City of Toulouse, around [...]
Sweeney should get RFU bonus if he earned it. He didn’t, so shouldn’t February 18, 2025 England Rugby’s CEO Bill Sweeney should get a hefty pay package, but only if the numbers add up. They don’t, so he shouldn’t, argues Matt Hardy Should the chief executive of a major organisation receive a bonus for the work they do? For some it will depend on where they stand on the morality of [...]
Row erupts over bid to resurrect London Irish February 12, 2025 London Irish administrators and former frontrunner Daniel Loitz are at loggerheads over the breakdown of the German’s proposed deal to buy the stricken rugby club. Sources close to the deal claim that Loitz had months – including an exclusivity period – in which to finalise a purchase with the ReSolve Group, which was appointed when [...]
DCMS issue insolvency threat to rugby clubs over Covid-19 loans February 10, 2025 Rugby clubs have been warned after the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said it “wouldn’t hesitate” to use “all financial levers” available to recover loan payments owed by sports organisations from the pandemic. Those powers could see the government department aid in forcing insolvency on sports clubs to ensure the taxpayer recoups the [...]
Rugby head injury trial could be delayed until 2027 after court spat February 6, 2025 A high-profile trial against rugby’s governing bodies brought by former players who suffered head injuries may not take place until 2027 after key legal voices sparred in the High Court. Delays caused by holding further case management conferences (CMC), which deal with any pre-trial admin such as available days and application requests, will likely push [...]
Can England win the Six Nations Grand Slam? No reason why not February 1, 2025 Serious question: Can England win the Six Nations grand slam this year? To believe it you’ve first got to seriously back Steve Borthwick’s side not to be complete and utter nonsense, and then you’ve also got to have faith that England and their players can actually play a brand of rugby to wound lethal opponents. [...]
Where to watch the 2025 Six Nations in London, from sports bars to posh pubs January 30, 2025 The Six Nations seems to come around faster and faster every year, and the 2025 edition will kick off on Friday. Across five of the next seven weekends, beginning on 31 January, a total of 15 matches will be broadcast across London. So City AM has done the hard and collected the best pubs and [...]