The Springboks’ autumn tour to Britain, Ireland and Italy went from bad to worse, bookended by two unexpected losses to Ireland and Wales, with the latter compounded by a potentially…
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Nathan Sharpe: Rugby’s best locks
At the Dubai Sevens we caught up with Wallaby great Nathan Sharpe. In a stellar 14-year career former Queensland Red and Western Force lock Sharpe won 116 caps, played in three World Cups…
European Champions Cup: five epic clashes
ROUNDS THREE and four of Europe’s elite club competition sees teams play the same opponents in successive weeks – so it’s a chance to either turn the tables or hammer…
Rugby Rant: Stop players going off their feet at the ruck
HAVE YOU ever tried to get insurance to play rugby in another country? It is often classed as an extreme sport. Insuring the game is risky because the game is,…
EXCLUSIVE COLUMN: Chris Cracknell
By Chris Cracknell NOT SO long ago, the highlight of the sevens circuit was the Commonwealth Games, which gives the game the international viewing platform it deserves. However, as we…
The Top 14 and the death of l’esprit de clocher
There’s a revolution underway in French rugby, one that is having ramifications for the home nations. We’ve already seen evidence of it in October when Toulon, Toulouse and Racing Metro…
Autumn Tests 2014: End of series awards
The ‘In the black’ Award – New Zealand The marketeers at Adidas have their work cut out rebranding a black shirt, and this year they came up ‘the Blackest Shirt…
Autumn International player analysis: Chris Robshaw, England
A trivia question to start, so no cheating if you do not know the answer. Here you go: who said this about whom last week? “He’s an absolute pest. Last year…
Wales v South Africa: Five things we learned
Wales get the win they deserve Wales beat South Africa 12- 6 and finally got the much referenced monkey off their back. But let’s face it, this wasn’t your common-or-garden…
Saints and Sinners: The weekend’s talking points
The Saints Biggar the better He didn’t create any tries with breath-taking passes or scything runs, he didn’t kick any points as he had Leigh Halfpenny to do that job,…