Some players never win the haul of caps befitting their talent. John Hall, the irrepressible Bath flanker, accrued only 20 caps across a ten-year Test career and James Simpson-Daniel,…
Alan Pearey
Herald return of the Anglo-Welsh Cup
Most of us were so wrapped up in the World Cup last autumn that the absence of the Anglo-Welsh Cup barely registered. Yet the decision not to play this long-running…
Rugby Championship: Australia search for finishing touches against the Pumas
Super Rugby came to Twickenham in 2011 and this weekend the Rugby Championship follows suit, with Argentina moving their home game with Australia 6,000 miles north in a bid to…
England’s hooker logjam
Who’s got the Paracetamol? As Eddie Jones today names his latest EPS, a logjam is developing in the very position that England’s coach once graced for Randwick and NSW –…
Aviva Premiership: Who’s for the drop?
The play-off system dilutes the significance of finishing positions at the top end of the Aviva Premiership, but at the bottom it’s quite the opposite – 12th and last spot…
Rugby sevens spotlight on: Dan Norton
A smile borne from a belief that, no matter the difficulties of merging three nations and without any World Series events to compete in, GB have all the tools needed…
Hartley to lead an English-based Lions?
England’s historic series win in Australia has done more than propel them to second place in the World Rugby Rankings – it has made Dylan Hartley the near unbackable favourite…
Women’s Sevens Olympic Repêchage: Ben Gollings is chasing the dream with China
Ben Gollings is one of the superstars of the sevens sphere, discussed in the same breath as Waisale Serevi and Eric Rush after a career that yielded 220 tries and…
Why South Africa needs Allister Coetzee
South Africa are at a crossroads. Not only has Allister Coetzee succeeded Heyneke Meyer as head coach but the remnants of the 2007 World Cup winning team has all but…
Fiji home in on another HSBC Sevens World Series title – and No 1 seeding for Rio
Softer toilet paper and being allowed to eat sausages were two of the treats sampled this week by the Fiji squad, who stayed at the deluxe Lensbury hotel in Teddington…