WE KNOW that rugby and royalty go together like chocolate and orange. As if Mike Tindall’s marriage to Zara Phillips isn’t enough evidence, Prince William himself is a patron of…
Rugby World
Rugby Rant: Coaches need to trust their captains
AH! BACK-SEAT drivers, don’t they get on your nerves? “Left here”, “It’s green”, “Slow down”. SHUT UP! Well, now we have our very own back-seat drivers in rugby, and they’re…
Wealthy owners like Jacky Lorenzetti and their late forays into the transfer market
QUEUEING EARLY at rugby’s buffet does not appear to be a requirement for the millionaire owners of some teams, with the wealthy able to place late orders for personnel they…
Home from home: the teams playing pre-season friendlies away from their grounds this summer
MOVING AWAY from home is the right of passage for some. Scores of road movies and coming-of-age dramas are based on the subject. However, for rugby teams, home is where…
The Heineken Cup fixtures list
THE DRAW may not have been the most glamorous of affairs, resembling something between an IT lecture and an awards ceremony for engravers, but we now know the Heineken Cup…
Which international rugby team will the Royal Baby support?
BEFORE BRITAIN goes into meltdown over the birth of the Royal Baby™, panicking about the sex of the little tyke and which quirky nickname the tabloids will splat on their…
Hotshot: Ellis Jenkins (Cardiff RFC)
Was rugby always your top sport? I played football until I went to comprehensive school, but it was a bit soft for my liking! Is openside your favourite position? Yes.…
Hotshot: Max Crumpton (Saracens)
How did you first get into rugby? I played football from when I was very little and I had a trial with Arsenal at U10s but didn’t get in. So…
Where are they now?: Henson & the IRB Young Players of the Year
A PUNCH landed in a Bath pub and the 2001 IRB Young Player of the Year landed on the floor. In last week's well-publicised fracas between Gavin Henson and team-mate…
Should there be another cross-code Union versus League match?
BIZARRE THOUGH it may seem, but if the images are anything to go by then the mind-boggling dual-code pre-season showdown between football’s Marseille and rugby’s Toulon was a brilliant day…