THE DRAW may not have been the most glamorous of affairs, resembling something between an IT lecture and an awards ceremony for engravers, but we now know the Heineken Cup…

THE CRASS amongst us would suggest that it is easy to place French powerhouse Clermont Auvergne straight into the final of the Heineken Cup. They are strong, they are slick,…

Will Fraser

CLERMONT AUVERGNE demonstrated just why they are the favourites to lift the Heineken Cup this year as they clinically saw off Montpellier. Rugby World, however, has decided to pinpoint a…

clermont v saracens

GIVEN THE intelligent, unfussy rugby instincts that characterise his game, it comes as no surprise that Alex Goode also possesses a pretty precise memory. Describing a short sequence an hour…

jonny wilkinson toulon

COMPARED TO the chill winds that have been blowing through Leicester of late, Toulon on Sunday will feel positively balmy for the English club. Spring has been slow in showing…

Wayne Barnes

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.…