What must Prem Rugby CEO learn from his trip to US? Sweat the asset Sport Business It speaks to Prem Rugby’s ambition that its chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor is jetting off to the United States to drum up investment and sponsorship for the English game, as reported by City AM earlier this week. It suggests the league – unlike many other top-flight union competitions – is actively seeking to go beyond [...]
Spain must host 2035 Rugby World Cup because Europe is sport’s commercial hub Sport Business Just imagine watching a Rugby World Cup final at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou. It would be sensational. And it is not beyond the realms of possibility anymore after Spain announced its intention to bid for the 2035 tournament. Going up against Japan, which staged the tournament successfully – albeit with a typhoon interrupting proceedings – [...]
Will on-pitch woes force Harlequins fans and sponsors away? Sport Business Watching Harlequins at the moment is either absolutely soul-crushing or completely baffling, depending on whether you support the London club or not. Soul-crushing because the club is supposed to represent the very best of attacking rugby in a fusion of England internationals and overseas superstars. Baffling because it should never have got this bad, losing [...]
For Manchester City 2026, see Saracens 2019 October 2, 2026 For Manchester City 2026, see Saracens 2019. Cheating in sport is common on the pitch and it probably happens a lot more than we’d care to admit off it. But sometimes it is blatant and sometimes it is brazen. The independent commission’s verdict on 115 charges lodged by the Premier League against Manchester City was [...]
Investors are watching Prem Rugby so the league can’t mess this year up September 25, 2026 It may still be rather warm outside but you know when it’s autumn because Prem Rugby returns to the sporting calendar. And this year is an important one. Because the cash has arrived from various new investors and the stability of the league will once more be under a microscope. This season will be the [...]
Is Henry Pollock’s biggest problem Eddie Hearn? September 18, 2026 Henry Pollock’s first few months with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency has felt less like a commitment to rugby union – and reaching the heights within the sport – and more like a scattergun approach to marketing a player in a way rugby players hadn’t experienced before. Except they have. Seeing Pollock in the front [...]
Allowing South Africa vs New Zealand to clash with NFL is classic rugby September 11, 2026 South Africa and New Zealand choosing to stage their money-spinning Greatest Rivalry rugby match in Baltimore on the opening weekend of the NFL season is, at best, short-sighted and realistically rather daft. What is the point in the sport trying to break the US, five years out from a North American World Cup many are [...]
Prem Rugby needs a draft, but not one for the very best players September 4, 2026 Top flight domestic rugby is back this weekend in the form of the Prem Rugby Cup – the former Anglo-Welsh, British and Irish, and inter-Prem/Champ competition that is now just a little bit of a nothing league. But that’s for another day. Because the return of rugby in England feels underhyped. We’ve had an entire [...]
South Africa need cash from New Zealand Tests but All Blacks fans not like Lions August 21, 2026 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 August 14, 2026 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 [...]
