Former England fly-half Toby Flood talks Toulouse, Top 14 and the future
England
John Smit picks his top five hookers
John Smit played in three World Cups, winning 111 caps for South Africa and lifting the 2007 trophy after defeating England in the final in Paris. After two years in…
World Cup squads selections continue to raise eyebrows
By Will Macpherson Making sense of World Cup squads is an exercise carried out on two levels. Firstly, things are best kept simple: who’s in, who’s out, which coach nailed…
England v Ireland: Taking the positives
By Adam Hathaway Whatever the result at Twickenham on Saturday when England host Ireland we can be certain of two things. One coach will say that the result does not…
How to train like a professional rugby player – with Wattbike
A rugby player’s training routine is often perceived as being the toughest of any sport – gruelling, physical and at a high intensity. But what really happens behind closed doors?…
Analysis: Five areas England must fix from France defeat
There were some small crumbs of comfort for Stuart Lancaster to take from Paris. Mako Vunipola, Nick Easter and Danny Cipriani excelled from the bench, wing Jack Nowell grafted all…
Dave Ewers on his England ommission, Europe and the Chiefs spirit
By Sam Roberts In rugby, the brightest orb burns over Twickenham at the moment. As England defeated France on Saturday night, fans of the red rose began basking in a…
World Cup watch: Jonny May in fine form for England
AT LONG LAST, that was the performance by Jonny May that England supporters have been waiting for. Gone was the dithering with the ball in hand, the indecisiveness fielding kicks…
Analysis: How centres Sam Burgess and Henry Slade combined for England
Two debutants undertaking a high-stakes audition at Twickenham. Two centres with entirely different attributes who had taken contrasting paths to their first Test cap – one a code-hopping superstar, the…
The Bledisloe Cup rivalry: An All Black’s perspective
Eleven years on the front line of the Test arena saw Sean Fitzpatrick captain New Zealand 51 times on the way to 92 caps. Remarkably, 24 of the former hooker’s…