IT’S A tough life being a referee – hundreds of decisions to make, crowds jeering you, coaches blaming you. There was an even more painful moment for Wayne Barnes recently.…
Rugby World
RBS 6 Nations: French search for the perfect 10
“IF YOU any good ideas, give them to me,” said Philippe Saint-Andre in the aftermath of Saturday’s Six Nations defeat to England. The coach of France was responding to a…
Rugby World TV: Six Nations Round 3 analysis
AFTER A brief sojourn from the RBS 6 Nations, we were rewarded with three fascinating Six Nations duels in Round 3. England are now the only side capable winning…
RBS 6 Nations: Lions Watch – Round 3
THE FURTHER we wade into the 6 Nations the clearer the Lions picture becomes. After the latest matches, Rugby World’s Round 1 picks of Lion O’Driscoll, Owen Farrell, Stuart Hogg,…
Silly season revisited: Seven more surprising signings
ONCE THE big announcements started, it was hard to stop. Like a snowball rolling down a High Street in February, the rumours gathered pace while more and more players decided…
RBS 6 Nations: Wales analysis. Five things we’ve learned
WALES' GAME plan was executed perfectly in Rome - their territorially driven ‘kick chase’ was mightily effective in the wet Stadio Olimpico. Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny were instrumental throughout…
RBS 6 Nations: Ireland analysis: Round 3
SOMETIMES THE stats do lie. If you didn’t know the score at Murrayfield on Sunday and were just handed the match data afterwards, everything would suggest that Ireland had beaten…
RBS 6 Nations: England analysis: Round 3
ENGLAND TOOK a giant step towards their first Grand Slam in a decade with a 23-13 victory over France. The most important statistic is that Stuart Lancaster's men found a…
RBS 6 Nations: Scotland analysis: Round 3
ON SUNDAY there were so many numbers being thrown around, but the shock of it all was that it was Ireland, rather than Scotland, whose number was up. Heads spun…
Chill-out chat with David Denton
The young Scotland No 8 talks sevens, socks and superstitions RUGBY WORLD: Who’s the best player to room with for away games? DAVID DENTON: Chunk (Allan Jacobsen) is a pretty…