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…
England
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…
30 Minutes with… Sam Burgess
Sam Burgess, of Bath and England, talks Speedos, spiders and superpowers
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
Analysis: Ten attacking lessons to take from rugby league
The crossover between 13- and 15-man codes is a well-trodden path. From coaches Phil Larder, Dave Ellis, Shaun Edwards and Mike Ford to megastar players Jason Robinson and Israel Folau, a plethora…
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…
Spots in France’s World Cup squad up for grabs
The matches between France and England in August will be crucial to determining their final World Cup squads
Rugby Statistics: Does World Cup form matter?
How much attention should be given to form going into a World Cup? Significance may well be attached to ‘building momentum’ in competitions such as the Rugby Championship beforehand, but…
Dan Cole’s Top 5 tightheads
They’ll be the first to tell you, but the tighthead is one of the most important positions on the pitch. The anchor of the pack and a crucial cog at…
Lions fixtures for 2017 New Zealand tour
The Lions have announced their 10-match fixture list for 2017 tour. Unlike 2013, where they stopped off in Hong Kong for a sponsor-led fixture against the Barbarians, there will be…