RUSSIAN RUGBY has got one up on the Americans – the first rugby player in space. That’s what they’re claiming anyway after cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky welcomed dignitaries at the Sevens…
Tournaments
Lions 2013: The French foreign legion
CAUGHT BETWEEN the Devil and a deep red rage, Nathan Hines angered the people of Perpignan in 2009 by skipping the Top 14 final in order to travel to South…
Picture gallery: Best European quarter-final Action
LAST WEEKEND was a rip-roaring weekend of European rugby, with the action starting on a Thursday evening with Gloucester v Biarritz and finishing as the sun set on Sunday evening…
Sexton set to replace Wilko as top France earner
SO NOW we all know. You, me and every rugby player in France. As Midi Olympique revealed in Monday’s edition Jonathan Sexton will be pocketing €55,000 [£47,000] a month next…
B&I and Championship round-up
A CHAMPIONSHIP club is guaranteed a place in this year’s final of the British and Irish Cup; and it is little surprise that they will meet one of the Irish…
Fantastic four: Heineken Cup quarter-final review
CLERMONT AUVERGNE demonstrated just why they are the favourites to lift the Heineken Cup this year as they clinically saw off Montpellier. Rugby World, however, has decided to pinpoint a…
What’s the best way forward for Welsh rugby?
THE NEWS that George North is to leave his homeland to ply his trade in Northampton may cause some hand wringing in Wales, but there is scope to consider another…
Goode ready for European test
GIVEN THE intelligent, unfussy rugby instincts that characterise his game, it comes as no surprise that Alex Goode also possesses a pretty precise memory. Describing a short sequence an hour…
Heineken Cup: Can the Tigers take the heat?
COMPARED TO the chill winds that have been blowing through Leicester of late, Toulon on Sunday will feel positively balmy for the English club. Spring has been slow in showing…
The Championship blog – Week 20 round-up
DONCASTER, WHO began league life in Yorkshire 2, and rejoice in being the ‘most promoted club in England, have three games left to avert relegation to National League One. But…