STUART LANCASTER had described this autumn as "production time" for England. The Fiji Test was a nice dress rehearsal but Australia was the big opening night. And England fluffed their…
Blogs
Maori All Blacks cast aside Championship XV
CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB rivalry was put on hold on Saturday when a select RFU XV took on the Maori All Blacks at Doncaster’s Castle Park. Despite going down 21-52, head coach…
Scotland v South Africa: The Preview
TWO YEARS ago, Scotland went into a Murrayfield Test against South Africa on the back of a 46-point defeat by New Zealand and upset the odds to win 21-17. Last…
France’s toughest battle with themselves, not the Pumas
THE GREATEST challenge facing France on Saturday in Lille isn’t the Pumas – strong as they’ll be - but the French themselves. “We will see if we’re capable of stringing…
Missing the party: Four players not invited this Autumn
THE FIRST round of the Autumn Internationals has been and gone and happiness isbeing found in some unlikely places. England rumbled onwards, despite chronic wastefulness. Ireland got up close to…
Lions 2013: Guide to Sydney
Gullivers Sports Travel Advertising Feature NO TRIP to Australia would be complete without a visit to Sydney – and The British & Irish Lions stop there twice next summer. They…
England 54-12 Fiji: The Verdict
By Owain Jones, Rugby World Editor In a nutshell England performed a satisfactory, if perfunctory job on an underprepared and underpowered Fiji side. The hosts got off to a sluggish…
Scotland outclassed by peerless All Blacks
MURRAYFIELD MAY have hosted the world famous All Blacks, but the only way to see the game properly was in a pub where the sounds of the football drowned everything…
Ireland need to get back to winning ways
I CAN'T begin to imagine the impact on Ireland's pysche having come so close to beating the World Champions on their own turf, and then suffering a record defeat the…
Wales v Argentina: Five things we learned
WALES’ 12-26 defeat to Argentina seems to have come as a shock to many. To those who analysed the Pumas performances in the inaugural Rugby Championship, it hasn't. Argentina may…