In defence of Bristol Bears CEO Tom Tainton’s rugby marketing comments May 8, 2026 “At Bristol Bears, we don’t call ourselves a rugby club. We are a marketing agency that plays rugby. Yes, our players have to be competent and able to deliver on the field, but if they are not bringing any value off the field, that genuinely factors into our recruitment conversations.” Those were the words of [...]
Winning Champions Cup players should get mega cash bonuses May 1, 2026 Sometimes I think Investec Champions Cup matches with something on the line could do with even more jeopardy. Bordeaux Begles, Bath Rugby, Leinster and RC Toulon will battle it out this weekend across the Atlantic and Aviva Stadiums. But what if there was a briefcase full of cash pitchside for the winners of each of [...]
Bellingham offers hope that celebs can find Prem Rugby investible April 24, 2026 Jude Bellingham has invested into cricket and it offers hope for Prem Rugby, Ollie Phillips writes. Jude Bellingham’s £800,000 investment into Hundred franchise Birmingham Phoenix is smart money; he’s from the area, gets one per cent of a team where he will do very little heavy lifting, and diversifies his portfolio. And it got me [...]
The Yankee dabble in Prem Rugby is Dandy, but I don’t get it April 17, 2026 It is great to see that an American investor is set to take over Exeter Chiefs; it marks a new point of interest for Prem Rugby after Red Bull and Sir James Dyson from this side of the pond invested in Newcastle and Bath respectively. And we must not underestimate the power of US involvement [...]
Investec Champions Cup needs two-legged quarter-finals. Here’s why April 10, 2026 It occurred to me, while watching predominantly dominant performances from home teams in the round of 16 last weekend, that the Investec Champions Cup needs two-legged quarter-finals. It was a little depressing to watch a depleted Leicester Tigers side who had won just one match in the group phase get smashed by defending champions Bordeaux [...]
Investec Champions Cup organisers should meddle with knockouts April 3, 2026 On Wednesday the amount of tickets still available for Harlequins’ Investec Champions Cup round of 16 fixture against Sale Sharks was well over 6,000. Against their registered capacity of 14,800, that could result in an attendance of less than 9,000 – or around 40 per cent empty – come Saturday night. It is a better [...]
Prem Rugby Big Match Bonanza test of sport’s commercial aims March 26, 2026 This weekend will go far in helping onlookers assess how much progress Prem Rugby has made in recent years. Because on Saturday the first match since Australia beat Uruguay in the 2015 Rugby World Cup will take place at Villa Park in Birmingham. The geography is a little bit iffy given the home team – [...]
Elior Champ Rugby deal may be good for clubs, but what’s the point? March 20, 2026 It is great to see Champ Rugby get its first sponsor in six years this week, in catering company Elior UK; it signals a shift in appetite for the second tier of English rugby. It will be a good marketing tool for clubs, whose matches are broadcast on streaming platform Clubber TV, and it solidifies [...]
England won’t be derailed if they hold their nerve over Borthwick March 13, 2026 However unlikely one may think it is, there is a chance of England being left holding the wooden spoon for the first time in the Six Nations era. You have to go back to 1987 for their last bottom-place finish in the old Five Nations. That alone would be a humiliation for a head coach [...]
Italy Six Nations revival a lesson for Wales as England challenge awaits March 6, 2026 In 2019 rugby in Italy was staring down the barrel of extinction: three home Six Nations matches at their 70,500-capacity Stadio Olimpico drew crowds of just 38,500 versus Wales, 49,700 against Ireland and 48,800 for their match against France. Fast forward to 2026, however, having just beaten Scotland in front of 68,200 fans Italy will [...]
