By Alex Shaw The stage is set this weekend for the return of European rugby, with the European Rugby Champions Cup quarter-finals looming large amidst a packed sporting calendar. The…
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Hotshot: Dragons back row Ollie Griffiths
Tell us about your rugby background I started a bit later than most of the boys. I played football until I was 15 and then started rugby at Newbridge Comprehensive…
Hotshot: Glasgow Hawks half-back George Horne
When did you start taking rugby seriously? When I was going into high school. I had played it in Primary Four and with Howe of Fife rugby club, and my…
Champions Cup: Stade Francais backrow Jono Ross has Leicester in his sights
From Blue Bull to Paris pink, South Africa loose forward Jono Ross recently signed a new deal with Stade Francais that will keep him at the club until 2020, having…
A week in the life of a Sale Sharks academy player, Part Three
Sevens. The nemesis of a lock. We lanky, gangly and distinctly uncoordinated second-rows are not built for the sport designed to bring more exhaustion than a full 80 minutes, more…
Youngsters shine in the rain at Portugal’s Rugby Youth Festival
Hello, hola, olá, bonjour – this is the Rugby Youth Festival. About 2,000 players representing 80 teams met in Lisbon last weekend to play 300 matches in a tournament organised…
Is it worth selling the naming rights to Twickenham?
The RFU have hinted that they would sell off the naming rights to Twickenham – but what is the point? They make a bit of money but there is nothing…
Five things we learnt about rugby in March
Rugby cannot be above racial slurs The alleged ‘Gypsy boy’ incident between Joe Marler and Samson Lee, and its subsequent handling, remains a blemish on this year’s RBS 6 Nations.…
Who will follow Josh Charnley as the next code-hopper?
By Alex Shaw Sale Sharks fans were certainly smiling today, as their club confirmed the signing of Wigan Warriors and England Rugby League winger Josh Charnley. The 24-year-old will make…
Are foreign players to blame for France’s diminishing powers?
We all know who’s to blame for the decline of France as a rugby power. Foreigners. It’s what everyone says, from Philippe Saint-Andre to Guy Noves, to most of the…