THERE WILL undoubtedly have been roars of delight as Newcastle Falcons clambered out of the Championship at the first time of asking, but for one man watching Falcons 31-24 victory…
Gallagher Premiership
Aviva Premiership final: an old-fashioned tear up
"AMBUSH AT the Allianz" could be a way of describing the Aviva Premiership semi-final between Northampton Saints and Saracens. That would do a disservice to Saints, though, who maintained an…
Lions 2013: Surviving finals and the Lions run-in
STAYIN’ ALIVE by the Bee Gees was a late 70s sentiment so powerful that it generated an eponymous follow-up movie to Saturday Night Fever in which John Travolta hustles to…
It’s awards season again…
IT IS awards season and whether you agree with the esteemed panels or punters’ votes, there are a few players carrying off more gongs than Daniel Day Lewis. Ulster’s Nick…
Knockout Know-how: The Aviva Premiership Semi-finals
AS SARACENS, Leicester, Harlequins and Northampton prepare to do battle in this weekend’s Aviva Premiership semi-finals, which set of supporters has most reason to feel optimistic?
Speed and agility tips from Christian Wade and Tom Varndell
LONDON WASPS wings Christian Wade and Tom Varndell have proved to be a lethal double act this season, scoring tries for fun in the Aviva Premiership and the Amlin Challenge…
RFU Championship: The battle for promotion
THE RHETORIC of battles is always used in professional rugby, as if the weeks of weights and hours of Xbox were shared experiences with servicemen and women garrisoned around the…
What’s the best way forward for Welsh rugby?
THE NEWS that George North is to leave his homeland to ply his trade in Northampton may cause some hand wringing in Wales, but there is scope to consider another…
The battle at the bottom of the Premiership continues
WITH LONDON Welsh losing their appeal against a five-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player, Tyson Keats, they remain five points behind nearest Aviva Premiership rivals Sale Sharks. With four…
Statistics: Who will be rugby’s Golden Shoe winner?
AS A nimble Tom Varndell danced up the touchline against Northampton Saints at the weekend – an act of human dressage so well timed that both teams must have choreographed…