Brace yourselves, because the beginning of the Six Nations will inevitably bring a torrent of clichés. And the majority of them always seem to concern France. According to well-worn maxims,…
Tournaments
New-look European Champions Cup reaching new heights
SOMETIMES THE stars align and you have a perfect rugby heaven. For TV viewers this weekend’s European Champions Cup fare is pure nectar, with BT Sport able to broadcast three…
Six Nations: Who should be No 1 for England against Wales?
READING DOWN the list of names as England announced their training squad for the Six Nations opener against Wales at the Millennium Stadium on 6 February, it becomes apparent that…
London Welsh fight to get equality in Premiership
Passions run high in sport and when my previous blog, provocatively titled ‘Are London Welsh the worst Premiership team ever?’, was published recently, Exiles fans were up in arms. The playing…
Six Nations player watch: Jake Ball, Scarlets and Wales
Every now and then, amid the high-and-tight haircuts, base-layers and white boots, you come across a player who would look right at home on a 13th century battlefield. Very occasionally, they…
Saints and Sinners: The weekend’s talking points
English clubs had the most to celebrate after a terrific weekend of European Champions Cup rugby, as four of the five Aviva Premiership sides who were playing non-English opponents won.…
Rugby statistics: Can we predict the 2015 Super Rugby winner?
The 20th season of Super Rugby begins in February and with the tournament expanding to 18 teams in 2016, this will be the fifth and final time that the 15…
Who’s going to win the Six Nations?
It’s the question several outlets will be asking: Who’s going to win the Six Nations? Many believe it is as wide open a tournament as you could get in World…
Saints and Sinners: The weekend’s talking points
The Saints Killer kick The weekend started in some style with a humdinger of an Aviva Premiership clash between Gloucester and Saracens at Kingsholm. There were enough incidents, both good…
Aviva Premiership analysis: Nick Easter inspires Harlequins
Last week, one broadsheet billed Harlequins’ clash against London Welsh as a ‘basement battle’. Although undeniably clichéd, the epithet was accurate enough – Conor O’Shea’s team were languishing in ninth place before…