The Saints What a score! European Champions Toulon came to Welford Road having won their last nine games but Leicester Tigers put a stop to that run thanks to a…
European Champions Cup
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: European rugby letting down minnows
Last year, one team in eight in Europe was from outside the three professional leagues. This year, it’ll be one in 20. At the most. Another day, another disappointment, as…
Saints and Sinners: the weekend’s talking points
The Saints The Fab Four George North gave a try-scoring master-class as he crossed the whitewash no less than four times during Northampton’s 34-6 win over the Ospreys in round…
European Champions Cup player analysis: George North, Northampton Saints
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.…
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…
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…