Leicester and Saracens star in my Premiership rugby Team of the Season May 12, 2023 It is that time again when everyone with an interest in rugby names their Premiership Team of the Season. I am no different, so here goes. It took a small amount of debate with City A.M. colleagues but, all in all, this was one of the easiest XVs to put together. Front row Gloucester loosehead [...]
‘Gloucester cannot blame injuries, they’ve fallen off a cliff in 2023’ May 5, 2023 Alongside the coaches, players, fans and pundits, I have no idea how Gloucester have fallen so fast and hard in the Premiership table. And I am not having injuries as an excuse. Third after five games, seventh after eight and 10th after 19; the fall from grace has been pretty dramatic. And it’s not the [...]
Record breaking Women’s Six Nations match is great send-off for Middleton’s England April 28, 2023 This weekend’s Six Nations showdown between England and France is a glass ceiling-smashing moment for women’s sport. More than 53,000 fans will be at Twickenham to watch this year’s championship decider. That bodes really well for the 2025 World Cup, with the Rugby Football Union hoping to sell out the final at the same stadium. [...]
Ollie Phillips: It’s time for RFU axe its short-sighted England selection policy April 15, 2023 I won’t hold my breath, but Jack Willis’s decision to stay at Toulouse ought to sound alarm bells at the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and cause them to reconsider their refusal to pick overseas-based players for the England team. That stance might be sustainable when your clubs can pay the same as those in France [...]
It’s been fun but English clubs will now bow out of Champions Cup April 7, 2023 Though English clubs represent three of the eight Champions Cup quarter-finalists, I think this weekend the gulf in class between them and the giants left in the competition will show and the trio will be knocked out. Leicester Tigers, Exeter Chiefs and Saracens remain in the hunt for European honours and are in action across [...]
Champions Cup rugby: ‘I predict eight home wins out of eight’ March 31, 2023 Though the fixtures suggest a couple of upsets, I am going out on a limb and saying that there will be eight home wins in the Champions Cup round of 16 ties this weekend. It’s one of those weekends where I will be putting my phone on vibrate and just enjoying what is set to [...]
I want Ireland to win the Rugby World Cup, but they’ll run out of steam March 24, 2023 I really do hope that Ireland win the World Cup this year, but so many bones in my body are telling me they’ll blow it in France later this year. They haven’t lost since last summer – in the first Test of their 2-1 series win against New Zealand down in the land of the [...]
It’s not a case of whether England lose Six Nations match, it’s by how many March 17, 2023 England’s final-round Six Nations tie in Dublin is not a case of whether the hosts can win, it’s a discussion about how many they win by. The Irish chasing a Grand Slam in Dublin, against England, on St Patrick’s weekend. It is made for a famous home victory, isn’t it? And even with their injuries [...]
No10 Russell can win Six Nations Triple Crown for Scotland March 10, 2023 Mercurial talent Finn Russell can drive Scotland to their first ever Triple Crown in the Six Nations era on Sunday when his side host Ireland. I would go as far as saying the fly-half is a genius, while his opposite number at Murrayfield – Johnny Sexton – is world class in his own ways. Scotland [...]
Six Nations: Jones and rest of old guard need to go for Wales to progress March 3, 2023 Having watched Wales’ third consecutive loss in this year’s Six Nations, I am now more convinced than ever that Warren Gatland needs to drop Alun Wyn Jones. He has been an incredible servant to Welsh and international rugby and fully deserved each one of his record breaking 168 caps, but the 37-year-old isn’t what he [...]
