One of rugby’s weirder nuances is that sometimes it is better not to have the ball. Every so often, relentless aggression in defence, allied to only a few attacking ambushes,…
Countries
30 Minutes with… Schalk Brits
The Saracens and Springboks hooker on golf, gags and guilty pleasures
Rugby Championship: why the All Blacks dominate the game
If you had to name one player who summed up the world-beating All Blacks, who would it be? Richie McCaw? It would be hard to disagree. Dan Carter? Hasn’t played…
Top 14 superstars: Money well-spent or wasted
One meelllion dollars! Okay, it’s Euros but that’s the eye-watering price Racing Metro are rumoured to be willing to pay to prise Matt Giteau from Toulon next summer. The Aussie…
Saints and Sinners: The weekend’s talking points
The Saints 67 reasons to be cheerful Rugby fans in the British Isles who have been missing their domestic rugby fix over the summer were treated to a try-fest as…
30 Minutes with… Jordi Murphy
The Leinster and Ireland flanker chats spiders, Spain and supermodels
Start of season talking points
Gloucester to pack a punch Gloucester simply weren’t at the races last season, with a porous defence leaking 60 tries and finishing a lowly ninth. It served to be the…
The Championship preview: Bristol and Worcester firm favourites
The Championship raises the bar They came from all points west: Chris Morgan, of the Pirates, stayed overnight in Ipswich to break the seven-hour journey from Cornwall. Plymouth’s Iain Grieve…
Top 14: Grenoble reaping rewards of consistency
After the first three rounds of the Top 14, Rugby World looks at why sticking with a regular starting XV is paying off for Grenoble
Top 14: Is there a blueprint for success?
Last season’s Top 14 was fiercely contested with just a 16-point gap separating top side Toulon and Brive in ninth place. As a comparison, the difference between first and ninth place was 43…