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…
Australia
Rugby Championship: Wallabies determined to end All Blacks losing streak
AUSTRALIA will unleash all their big guns on New Zealand in the Rugby Championship decider at ANZ Stadium on Saturday as they seek to end a ten-match winless streak against…
Five things we learnt in July
Misbehaving Wallabies, innovative All Blacks and the importance of Samson Lee for Wales are all topics addressed in this July review
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…
Poll: Who is Australia’s best midfield playmaker?
Australia’s last-gasp victory over South Africa on Saturday was a truly compelling spectacle. A win for the Wallabies, who had been 20-7 down with half an hour to go, opened…
Rugby Championship Talking points – Round 1
The first weekend of Rugby Championship action gave rugby watchers their first chance to see what sort of shape four of the world’s top 10 sides were in with the…
Top 14 transfers: Comings and goings
The Top 14 transfer market has more or less closed for the summer. Clubs are still permitted to sign up to two supplementary players in addition to ‘World Cup jokers’,…
Analysis: Giteau, Pocock and Mitchell – Wallabies emerging from the wilderness
The Rugby World Cup narrative has already taken so many intriguing twists and turns that December 3, 2012 – when each nation discovered their group-stage opponents – feels like a…
Sevens World Series: England v Australia Olympics battle heats up
There is no dividing line drawn on the ‘standings’ table on the HSBC Sevens World Series website, but it’s as solid and real as the device on which you’re reading…
Jonny Wilkinson and fellow stars give back to grass roots
On a windy and blustery day in Farnborough some of the world’s elite rugby players, past and present, assembled in Farborough for the game between the world’s smallest club, Racal…