Which stadium is the best in the Gallagher Premiership? December 26, 2024 There are 10 Gallagher Premiership teams fighting tooth and nail to lift the title this season. And a key part of reaching the semi-finals is home form and away form. But which stadium is the best in England and which comes up short? Well here is my ultimate ranking of the 10 Premiership grounds. 10 [...]
Premiership Rugby: Chiefs winless as top four pull away October 28, 2024 That’s it. The Premiership is done and finished for a month. After six rounds the 10 teams will take a month-long break while the Autumn Nations Series takes place. So what have we learned from the final week of action in the first block of top-flight matches? Devonian drought Few would have thought Exeter Chiefs [...]
Premiership Rugby 5 things: Bonus points more vital than ever September 30, 2024 Each Premiership side has now played a match at home and one on the road, so what have we learned from the early rounds of domestic rugby? Well Gloucester’s new attacking style started to reward them with results while Saracens and Bath remained the only unbeaten sides. Here are five talking points from round two. [...]
Bath to win Premiership rugby title, Falcons to finish bottom September 20, 2024 It feels as though Northampton Saints only just lifted the Premiership trophy but we’ve already reached the eve of this year’s campaign. We’ve got a new coach in Leicester Tigers boss Michael Cheika, who I worked with at Stade Francais, and renewed ambitions. And we’ve also got the chance of seeing a sixth different winner [...]
EPCR Investec Champions Cup and Challenge Cup pool draw in full July 2, 2024 This morning in Cardiff the draws were completed for the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup. The European competitions will see 42 teams battle it out for two trophies, with this year’s finals taking place in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Teams will play two teams in their pool at home and two teams away. Teams [...]
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 [...]
‘Premiership run-in is great. It is a shame about Gloucester and Newcastle’ May 17, 2024 It’s incredible – there are only 80 minutes left of the regular Premiership season and barely anything is decided. We know Northampton Saints are guaranteed a home semi-final, but they’re not yet confirmed as regular season champions. Saracens are definitely in the play-offs but aren’t sure of whether they’ll be home or away in the [...]
Ollie Phillips: Premiership top four play-off predictions May 10, 2024 The next two weeks of Premiership action will decide who makes the end of season play-offs. Eight of the 10 teams can still make the top four, and most of those can still earn a home semi-final. As it stands, Northampton Saints are four clear of Saracens at the top of the table. Bath are [...]
Premiership rugby: Top four race shows product deserves off-pitch stability April 21, 2024 When Joe Carpenter won an 82nd minute turnover against the run of play to hand his Sale Sharks side a 37-31 victory over Harlequins, it catapulted the Mancunians from eighth into sixth in the Premiership table and reduced the deficit to the play-off spots to just three points. With Northampton Saints five points clear of [...]