The gap is widening This week Warren Gatland will feel as though he has gone from O.B.E to OMG. There was a stage when the performance gap between Wales and…
South Africa
Saints and Sinners: The weekend’s talking points
The Saints Super Smith New Zealand pipped England 28-27 in a ding-dong Test match battle on Saturday, and so took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. The brightest spark…
Wales v EP Kings: Five things we learned
A training ground win Wales beat the EP Kings by a convincing 34-12. It was exactly the result and performance that the coaching staff would have hoped for. Despite some…
Sam Warburton: Rugby’s best opensides
Best for game intelligence – Martyn Williams (Wales) “Martyn was my hero growing up. He was the first person I met at the Blues on my first day in the…
Self-policing in rugby: Right or wrong?
As the second half of Harlequins’ thrilling win over Bath grew fractured and frantic on Saturday, BT Sport commentator Austin Healey indulged in a bit of a whine. Referee Wayne Barnes had…
Mike Blair picks his top five No 9’s
He’s Scotland’s most capped scrum-half, has played at three World Cups and is a British and Irish Lion. Throw in domestic stints in Scotland, France and England and you’d expect Newcastle…
Saints and Sinners: The weekend’s talking points
The Saints Golden Oldie Branded “too old” and “past his sell-by date” by Newcastle Falcons boss Dean Richards last month, David Lemi carried on proving Richards and any other doubters…
Ian Frykberg: The man who changed the face of rugby
Ian Frykberg, a former political journalist and TV executive turned sports rights mogul and deal-maker, died in Sydney on Sunday at the age of 68. His legacy is the deal…
Comeback kids: Burger, Kaino and Ferris
We are spoiled for young back-row talent across the world right now. Billy Vunipola was phenomenal in the early part of the Six Nations. Australian Michael Hooper has terrorised breakdowns…
2013: RW’s End of Year awards
GOOD OLD Sonny Bill. Not content with winning a Rugby World Cup in Union and League, he’s now decided he wants to top that by winning a second Union World…