A round-up of what’s hot and what’s not from Wales’ final Six Nations game of 2016 against Italy in Cardiff
Countries
While plaudits rain down elsewhere, James Haskell’s role mustn’t be ignored
By Alex Shaw It’s been a productive Six Nations so far for England. New head coach Eddie Jones has steered his side to the title with a round still to…
In George Kruis and Maro Itoje, have England found their best lock pairing?
England have played 50 Test matches since the 2011 Rugby World Cup and, as a cricket fan, Eddie Jones will know the significance of raising your bat for a half…
Rugby statistics hide the failings of France in attack during Six Nations
Modern sport loves its statistics. Some sports – cricket, for instance – always have because of their nature, but a surfeit of stats is a relatively recent phenomenon in rugby.…
Saracens CEO Heath Harvey on New York, a global network and breaking the mould
By Graham Jenkins “We don’t just want to be a north London rugby club; we want to use rugby to change people’s lives” Saracens chief executive Heath Harvey’s bold proclamation…
A week in the life of a Sale Sharks academy player, Part One
Sunday Outmuscled, outplayed, outclassed. We’ve just lost to Leicester, and playing against a Tuilagi and an Umaga is little consolation to the grim reality that Academy Finals Day at Allianz…
Scotland: Five things we learnt v France
We’re learning how to learn It is often quite hard to assemble a list of five things that any given Scotland team will have learned, when all evidence is often…
Ireland: Five things we learnt v Italy
By Whiff of Cordite The mood was downbeat for Ireland going into their fourth Six Nations game against Italy at the weekend, four games without a win having been compounded…
Saints and Sinners: The weekend’s talking points
The Saints England – the champions If you don’t want to see England get some credit where it’s due, then look away now, because England deserve major congratulations for becoming…
Wales: Five things we learnt v England
Defensive disasters, predictable play and coaching conundrums – the key learnings from Wales’ defeat by England