One thing about George North that never fails to astonish – more striking even than the staggering raw materials of pace, power and prodigious finishing ability – is his age.…
Rugby World
European Rugby: Weekend’s talking points
Farrell out to prove a point Given the injuries that have hampered his season to date, Owen Farrell’s inclusion in England’s squad for the Autumn Internationals was, for once, not a…
Rene Ranger on life in France
On first introduction, Rene Ranger seems so laid-back you would be forgiven for checking his pulse. However, when the versatile, attacking back is asked about his cult hero status back…
Joe Worsley on Bordeaux’s flying start
The Top 14 is having a breather until the end of October as European competition holds sway, allowing clubs a chance to assess their performances a third of the way…
Part 2: Locating a club and getting kitted out
This is a Rugby World advertorial. In the second of a four-part series, in conjunction with Microsoft Windows 10, Rugby World welcomes #therugbybeginner WEEK TWO It’s a grey, damp, chilly Autumnal evening…
Paddy Ryan’s incredible half-time interview
In the October issue of Rugby World we had a Rugby Rant about how annoying the half-time interview is – from the middle of the final of the Women’s World…
Rugby Rant: The half-time interview is pointless
As I looked around the Stade Jean Bouin midway through the Women’s World Cup final, I noticed Magali Harvey giving a TV interview on the pitch. The half-time interview has…
Saints and Sinners: The weekend’s talking points
The Saints Centre of attention Glasgow Warriors made the rest of Europe sit up and take notice as they put to the sword a Bath side which has been earning…
European Champions Cup player analysis: Henry Pyrgos, Glasgow Warriors
As Paul Ackford pointed out in his typically forthright column in Saturday’s Times, three of the five men to captain their country to a Rugby World Cup victory have been…
European Rugby: Weekend’s talking points
Sarries need that final step The 46-6 demolition job that Saracens did on Clermont Auvergne in last April’s Heineken Cup semi-final felt like a seismic shifting of Europe’s tectonic plates. It…