Ollie Phillips: Private equity investment is the impetus rugby needs for short-term survival and long-term prosperity January 31, 2021 Private equity in rugby is back on the agenda, with the long-rumoured CVC Capital Partners and Six Nations deal now said to be imminent. Meanwhile, US buyout firm Silver Lake is keen to add a stake in the All Blacks to a portfolio that also includes Manchester City. All this will make some in sport [...]
Ollie Phillips: Rugby in 2020 had fairytale triumphs and falls from grace, but it could all be derailed in 2021 December 23, 2020 Rugby in 2020 has been a mixed bag, with both fairytale triumphs and causes for real alarm. The club game delivered gripping storylines in the rise of Exeter from second-tier to European champions and the demise of Saracens. International rugby has suffered, though, and questions about concussion and dementia leave the sport in a vulnerable [...]
Ollie Phillips: England may have won but France were the real stars of the Autumn Nations Cup December 7, 2020 It was brilliant to see England claim the Autumn Nations Cup in such dramatic fashion on Sunday. Rugby fans have been missing that kind of competitive tension, so it was awesome that the competition was decided by a golden penalty. But while England took the silverware, much of the plaudits will rightfully go to the [...]
Video: Premiership rugby 2020-21 season preview: Wasps, Bristol and Sale best placed to topple Exeter November 30, 2020 It’s surreal that Premiership rugby returns this weekend, just 27 days after Exeter lifted the trophy. But in 2020, everything is out of the ordinary. With Exeter also winning the European Champions Cup and Bristol the Challenge Cup, the English game is in a good place. The absence of Saracens, however, has completely changed the [...]
France are my favourites for the Autumn Nations Cup, a Six Nations with extra spice November 13, 2020 I’m a glass-half-full person, so I can’t help but be excited that the Autumn Nations Cup is happening. Given everything, fans and players just have to be grateful we’ve got some international rugby with silverware to play for. OK, we haven’t got New Zealand, South Africa or Australia coming over as usual. But we to [...]
It’s England’s Six Nations to lose, and I fancy France to beat Ireland handsomely October 30, 2020 Everyone is thankful for competitive live sport like the Six Nations Championship at the moment. And the fact that the final round of fixtures on Saturday will decide the winner makes it even more exciting. Away from all the increasingly gloomy news in other areas of life, we have a Six Nations finale and a [...]
Premiership final: Why I’d love to see resurgent Wasps spoil Exeter’s double dream October 23, 2020 If you had to put your mortgage on a team to win the Premiership final then, based on their entire 2019-20 campaign, it would have to be Exeter. The Chiefs proved that they are the best team in Europe by lifting the Champions Cup last weekend. Completing the double with victory over Wasps in Saturday’s [...]
Ollie Phillips: Re-writing history by helping England Sevens win in New Zealand is my career highlight March 19, 2020 A year beforehand I would never have thought that 2009 would contain the highlight of my rugby playing career. I wasn’t involved with the England Sevens team for the majority of the 2007-08 season, but Ben Ryan brought me back into the fold for the final two tournaments of the season. I had brought some [...]
Entertaining Wales are on the right path under Wayne Pivac despite three straight Six Nations defeats March 12, 2020 Coronavirus has begun to have a huge impact across the sporting calendar, but for now the Six Nations has one of its three fixtures going ahead this weekend. While England’s trip to play Italy in Rome and Ireland’s visit to Paris to face France have been postponed due to the outbreak, Wales are still set [...]
Six Nations organisers had no choice but to postpone Italy v England over coronavirus but Saracens’ handling of Vunipola is ill-considered March 5, 2020 Coronavirus is all over the news at the moment and rugby is no exception after it emerged that England’s final Six Nations game against Italy had been postponed as a precaution. It is a shame for the tournament, which has been bubbling up nicely ahead of its conclusion next weekend, but organisers really had no [...]