UNLUCKY 13? Philippe Saint-Andre will be hoping not. Since he became coach of France after the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Saint-Andre has gone through 12 half-back pairings in his quest…
Countries
Ireland v Georgia: Talking points
Pressure for places led to a patchy first forty With thirteen changes made from the side that beat South Africa, there were a lot of players coming into this game…
Scotland v New Zealand: Talking points
The All Blacks are still the best at closing out tight games Scotland came closer than they have in more than a decade to breaking their 109 year drought against…
Saints and Sinners: The weekend’s talking points
Saints Teddy Thomas: Remember the name The 21-year-old from Biarritz is the latest player to be anointed the ‘the prochaine grand chose’ in French rugby. It’s not hard to see…
Wales v Fiji: Talking points
When offloads go wrong Wales may have beaten Fiji 17-13 but it was as error strewn a performance as you are likely to see from a tier one nation –…
Autumn International analysis: Five moments that decided England v South Africa
Saturday's 31-28 defeat by South Africa was England's fifth consecutive Test loss. We analyse five moments in which the game slipped away from the hosts
Autumn Internationals: Week two report
Stats, facts, quotes and photos from week two of the autumn Internationals
Week 2: Autumn Series talking points
Lancaster’s final challenge England’s clash with South Africa tomorrow afternoon offers more than a second shot at conquering one of the world’s top two sides this autumn. The Twickenham showdown…
Responding to the haka
One-on-one At its heart, the haka is a symbolic ritual representing the challenge laid down by one team to another. But the Kapa O Pango’s group mentality belies the more…
Ireland v Georgia: is Joe Schmidt the world’s best coach?
WE THINK in generalities but live in detail, wrote an English philosopher. It’s a creed that Joe Schmidt has taken to heart, the New Zealander’s latest triumph as Ireland coach…