Today Scotland head coach Vern Cotter will send off his World Cup 31 to World Rugby. Tomorrow he announces his squad officially to the public. If ever there was a…
Alan Dymock
Rugby World editor
World Cup watch: In support of undroppable front-rowers
For some of the world’s most revered front row players, it is the ideal situation. For the coaches it lies somewhere between walking on eggshells and urging the turkey to…
Rugby World fitness: Boost lineouts like Ireland’s lifters
Some team’s lineouts go off like clockwork, with star forwards fitting into the right space at the right time, withe the calls perfectly understood. You see Ireland doing this brilliantly,…
Welcome to Hell: Pre-season stories from the 2014-15 season
Tyres are flipped, weights are hoisted, pools are emptied and mountains are conquered. Before a ball is kicked in competition, pro players endure some of the most punishing fitness drills…
Can you win a Rugby World Cup without kicking a ball?
SOMETHING SHOULD have been jarred loose as New Zealand met France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, 24 years after the pair had last faced off at Eden Park…
Rugby World fitness: maul like an England forward
There are a few sights that you only get in rugby – the lineout, the scrum and the maul. Now the maul can be held up as the refuge of…
The cult of the captain
There are those in rugby who believe the role of captain is a ceremonial post. There are those who believe the word demands a capital ‘C’. Some believe the loss…
Who should play at fly-half for the All Blacks?
New Zealand have named a squad of 41 for the upcoming Rugby Championship. There are plenty of recognisable names in there, with only five potnetial new caps in the group.…
Rugby Rant: stop dissing football!
“We don’t want to turn into Wendyball.” It’s a phrase that makes me want to snap some rugby fans’ rose-tinted spectacles over my knee. Some punters, it’s sad to say,…
