WALES TRAVELLED to Rome with a fragile confidence but they will have returned from their Italian sojourn with more than a little gladiatorial swagger about them. In dank, wet conditions,…
Owain Jones
RBS 6 Nations: Laying down the Lawes
HIS STUDS had barely begun to sink into the sodden, windswept turf of the Aviva Stadium before the robust Courtney Lawes was damaged by the more compact figure of Rob…
RBS 6 Nations: Round Three Talking Points
READY THE ice baths. Warm the pies. Give a last-minute rousing team talk to the terrified beer vendors, steeling themselves for battle. The RBS 6 Nations is back from its…
RBS 6 Nations: Italy may be lacking a captain
The player himself took to Twitter, pumping out tweets in several different languages to say that his sending off in the 36th minute for swearing – in English according to…
RBS 6 Nations: Mid-term report – Lions XV
THE BRITISH and Irish Lions are still hotter than a Justin Bieber and David Beckham collaborative calendar. Need proof? Every single test ticket for this summer's tour sold out in…
RBS 6 Nations: Scotland’s opportunity for a shake-up
SOMETIMES WITH Scottish rugby there is a feeling that you are being shown a flat that has all the mod cons, a nice view and above all else is cheap.…
A rugby weekend free from international razzmatazz
THE FIRST of the 6 Nations’ horrific lulls is here. Unless you are willing to maintain your patriotic streak –painting your face with your sister’s makeup, hanging your bedspread with…
RBS 6 Nations: Injured Ireland flirting with the past
AS THE rain tumbled down at the Aviva Stadium, Ireland were toiling. They had dug deep, hoping to scoop out some of the visceral anger that bubbles up whenever England…
Lions watch: Five Wallabies to watch in Super Rugby
THIS WEEKEND sees the start of the 2013 Super Rugby season with two all-Australian affairs. The Melbourne Rebels host the Western Force on Friday morning and the Brumbies host the…
Lions 2013: Gatland stumbles into selection storm
IF EVER there was a media brouhaha that your regular Australian rugby fan would want from the British Isles at this time of the year, then Warren Gatland’s purported 'Anglo-gate'…