Alex Lozowski stakes further England claim, Ben Te’o gives reminder to Lions and Eddie Jones is busy casting his eye over options for tour of Argentina Related: Alex Lozowski sparks Saracens revival to defeat dominant Northampton • Match report: Northampton 25-27 Saracens• Match report: Bristol 21-36 Wasps• Match report: Worcester 25-19 Bath Related: Bristol go down fighting after spirited battle against Wasps • Two-tone approach may throw Warburton and Hartley a Lions lifeline• Match report: Harlequins 26-39 Exeter Continue reading...
The crowds flocking to Twickenham and Wembley for Bath v Leicester and Saracens v Harlequins will be cited as proof of the game’s growth but they mask concerns ranging from fixture congestion to financial uncertaintyHere is a quick quiz question: name the sport rivalling the Premier League and the Grand National for popularity in the UK this weekend? The answer is Premiership rugby union, with as many as 125,000 people set to attend games at Wembley and Twickenham. The “What time can you get here?” gags have gone the way of jockstraps, duckboards and half-time oranges.These are not finals either, but regular league fixtures, albeit jazzed-up editions. While Bath and Saracens are hardly Manchester United and Arsenal, there is a...
Saracens won’t be daunted by Toulon, Eddie Jones shows his spikier side now the EPS agreement is signed and Mathew Tait revels in his injury-free runSaracens will begin the defence of their European title this week with every reason to be cheerful. Toulon may not have lost a European Cup tie on home turf but they will have to dig particularly deep to crack the toughest current challenge on the continent. Sarries have conceded just four tries in their six Premiership games, remarkable even by their standards and even more impressive given the absence of key backline figures such as Owen Farrell, Alex Goode, Duncan Taylor and Chris Ashton. “We put them under a lot of pressure,” said a delighted...
Sam Jones shines after England calls, the Kingsholm pitch works against Gloucester, and have Leicester become too friendly for their own good?If table-topping Wasps maintain their current league average by sticking 40 points on second-placed Saracens this weekend, they really will establish themselves as the team to catch this season. England will also take notice, particularly if Sam Jones and Nathan Hughes enjoy themselves against Billy Vunipola and co as much as they did against a second-best Harlequins side. Wasps’ director of rugby, Dai Young, compares Jones, 24, to a young Richard Hill and believes he could fill the openside flanker role if required in the autumn internationals: “He could do the job that [James Haskell] does well … he’s...
Bristol’s trials continue, Fotuali’i shines again for Bath and Saints show title credentials even in losingLeicester sit in the top four having won two of their three opening games but they could just as easily be bottom staring at three opening defeats. As was the case in their opening game at Gloucester they should have lost at Newcastle, saved only by a mishit drop-goal by Joel Hodgson with the game’s final kick and a plethora of other missed Falcons opportunities. “At times they made us look very ordinary and there were also times when we made ourselves look very ordinary,” admitted Richard Cockerill, the Tigers’ director of rugby. Newcastle can at least take some solace from the manner in which...