South Africa need cash from New Zealand Tests but All Blacks fans not like Lions Sport Business It is quite simple really: the Greatest Rivalry series between South Africa and New Zealand, which starts on Saturday, needs to be a real money-spinner for the Springboks. It should see every seat occupied for the three Tests – in Johannesburg and Cape Town – and healthy crowds for the All Blacks matches against the [...]
Ticket price hikes proof Wales Rugby Union is tone deaf to loyal fan concerns Sport Business Earlier this month the Wales Rugby Union announced ticket price hikes for the Six Nations and if nothing else it is utterly tone deaf. Over the Severn Bridge the sport is in turmoil, with regions fighting for their lives not only because of difficult macroeconomic factors but because their own governing body is actively trying [...]
Sorry Hearn, Northampton Saints idiots if they pay Pollock £1m Sport Business Is Henry Pollock worth £1m per season? No. Sorry to burst an Eddie Hearn-shaped bubble but it is just not realistic in the world of rugby union. The business of rugby – especially in England – is to fund a squad of more than 30 players within a salary cap of just over £6m, rising [...]
Fifa want to sell the family silver but should World Rugby do the same? July 31, 2026 Selling stakes in commercial entities is like selling the family silver. So should World Rugby copy Fifa? Selling stakes in commercial entities – much like Fifa announced it wanted to do with the World Cup – is like selling the family silver. Global tournaments are pillars of sports with revenues and reach that soar during [...]
Saracens and Harlequins embracing athletics and hockey smart move for rugby July 24, 2026 Despite this weekend appearing to be the first in an eternity without top-flight rugby, the reality is that across England we have never had so little of it. Take Harlequins or Saracens, the two Prem Rugby clubs in London, and recent fixture announcements lay bare the underlying reason as to why so many teams make [...]
What can the Rugby World Cup learn from US nailing of Fifa World Cup? July 17, 2026 With a United States Rugby World Cup just five years away, Ollie Phillips asks what can the sport learn from the Fifa World Cup. Sitting here in the UK looking across the Atlantic to a World Cup mainly staged in the United States, it is difficult not to get just a little bit excited about [...]
Will the Nations Championship financially underdeliver for in-need Fiji? July 11, 2026 With Fiji set to sell out Everton’s stadium this weekend why isn’t it rosy for the island nation, Ollie Phillips asks. In theory this month should have been a dream one for Fiji’s rugby team, despite losing to Wales in their opening Nations Championship match. They’ve upped sticks from Suva in the Pacific and chosen [...]
Reality is rugby’s Nations Championship is botched July 3, 2026 With the inaugural Nations Championship around the corner, Ollie Phillips looks at why the sport’s bosses missed a trick. The Nations Championship kicks off this weekend, but when you look at what is the star match of round one based on the players involved – South Africa’s home fixture against England on Saturday – it [...]
Women’s rugby in England is way ahead, and the RFU deserves credit June 26, 2026 In a phrase many thought a rugby fan would never utter: The RFU, the governing body of the sport in England, is doing a world-leading job. Hold the front page, it surely cannot be true given recent controversies surrounding bonuses and the structure of the men’s game below Prem Rugby. But it is true. But [...]
Prem Rugby needs to switch up its calendar to stop final being banished to fringes June 19, 2026 Ollie Phillips argues that on this super weekend for sport in the capital, Prem Rugby could do more to be noticed. London is on its very best form this weekend: some of the world’s most exciting male tennis players will contest the HSBC Championships semi-finals and final at The Queen’s Club in Baron’s Court; England [...]
