Find out who to keep an eye out for in the women’s championship
France
Passion behind Stade Français Top 14 success
THESE ARE good times to be a Stade Français fan. Currently level on points with Clermont at the summit of the Top 14 table, the Parisian outfit have claimed some…
30 Minutes with… Drew Mitchell
The Toulon wing on passcodes, pranks and drinks sank
French rugby reacts to Charlie Hebdo tragedy
French rugby played a part in the national outcry after the Charlie Hebdo tragedy
Top 14: Finances and the salary cap are strongly policed in France
Among the less interesting pages on the official France Federation website is one entitled ‘DNACG’. I don’t recommend a visit, not unless you’re an insomniac. Let me explain. DNACG stands…
Toulouse power struggle threatens Europe’s aristocrats
There’s not much Christmas spirit in Toulouse right now. In fact the atmosphere in the Pink City is what coach Guy Noves recently called ‘Nauséabond’. Imagine a rotten chunk of…
Challenge Cup: Top 14’s unwelcome distraction
I was at a loose end on Thursday evening. I did think about a trip to the cinema to see Paddington, but in the end I settled down with a…
The Top 14 and the death of l’esprit de clocher
There’s a revolution underway in French rugby, one that is having ramifications for the home nations. We’ve already seen evidence of it in October when Toulon, Toulouse and Racing Metro…
Autumn Tests 2014: End of series awards
The ‘In the black’ Award – New Zealand The marketeers at Adidas have their work cut out rebranding a black shirt, and this year they came up ‘the Blackest Shirt…
Doping in rugby: a Rugby World investigation
IN MAY 2013, during a Scottish training camp in the lead-up to the Junior World Cup, Melrose fly-half Sam Chalmers was pulled in for a random drugs test – his…