Orderly change has rarely been Twickenham’s strong point but with the Australian staying until 2021 the union has a clear post-World Cup planThe marriage between Mr Edward Jones of Sydney and English rugby has been so formidably successful that the surprise renewal of vows was easy to understand. Short of slipping a ring on Jones’s finger and wheeling in a cake, the Rugby Football Union could not be more delighted to be snuggling up to its favourite Australian for two further years beyond 2019, even at the cost of forsaking all others. Related: Eddie Jones signs contract extension as England coach until 2021 Related: Eddie Jones: ‘I want England to be the best. You should never be satisfied’ Continue reading...
Bristol City celebration and Cricket World Cup final were among the highlights in a year when sport too often seemed to reflect the corrosion of the world around itThe sight of Bristol City’s manager sweeping up a 10-year-old ballboy in a dance of pure joy to celebrate their team’s last-minute cup victory over mighty Manchester United last week added a note of sweetness to a year of conflict and contradictions. Many sports lovers had found themselves spending too much time in 2017 worrying about the integrity of what they were being asked to applaud: the integrity of the competitor, the integrity of the competition.From state-sponsored doping to tax avoidance, from child-abuse cover-ups to corruption in sport’s most powerful governing bodies, so...
Robert Kitson imagines an alternative reality in which Sam Warburton’s boys had the chance to win the series against the All Blacks rather than settle for a drawIt was a drizzly evening in Auckland as Sam Warburton slipped out of the British & Irish Lions’ team hotel by a side entrance and climbed into the passenger seat of a sponsored car. The journey across town to the All Blacks hotel would take only a few minutes but Warburton was in no mood to rush.This was the biggest week of his life and he wanted to feel absolutely certain he was doing the right thing. Continue reading...
From England’s victorious youth football squads to cricket’s county championship underdogs, there are strong claims aplenty this yearThey did not beat the double world champions over three compelling Tests, but Warren Gatland’s Lions deserve a place on the list for their part in a thrilling series in New Zealand that will stand the test of time. Often under the cosh, there were times when it looked as if the Lions would be hopelessly outmatched against a team as brilliant and confident as the All Blacks, especially after losing 30-15 in the first Test. Instead of allowing their hosts to run away with it, Gatland’s tourists responded with a magnificent performance in the second Test, fighting hard to win 24-21. Their...
Honours deserved to be even as tourists weathered the expected All Blacks onslaught with a superior kicking game and superb defenceLike most people I had a sense of anticlimax at the final whistle. It was a strange feeling. I couldn’t help but think: “Even if they flip a coin, surely it can’t end like that?” But thinking about it a bit more, it means that the 2017 series will go down in history. We will look back on it in the future and there will be a bit of mythology to it.And for all that it was a perplexing end to the tour, I don’t think there should be any changes to the laws. It is so rare that it...