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? Sport Business 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 Sport Business 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 [...]
Do the Prem Rugby semi-finals need a Welsh URC team? June 12, 2026 Ahead of this weekend’s Prem Rugby’s semi-finals, Ollie Phillips assesses whether they could do with a hint of Wales. Picture the scene: next year’s Prem Rugby semi-finals feature the top three teams from this year – Northampton Saints, Bath Rugby and Exeter Chiefs – plus one of the Scarlets, Ospreys, Dragons or Cardiff. This would, [...]
McCall or Rowe: A Prem Rugby titan will bow out this weekend June 5, 2026 City AM rugby columnist Ollie Phillips discusses the last weekend of Prem Rugby fixtures, and how a major giant of the game in Tony Rowe or Mark McCall will bow out come full time. Tony Rowe, Rob Baxter, Nigel Wray and Mark McCall: the four men who have, arguably, defined English club rugby over the [...]
