European club rugby faces crunch time with CVC sniffing around Pro14 and the only certainty being that change is afootNext month in Newcastle they are promising to host the best weekend that club rugby union has ever known. A convivial city, an iconic stadium, two ding-dong finals and a vibrant late-night social scene: anyone heading to Tyneside is in for a treat. Assuming the weather plays along, it will make Twickenham feel like Madame Tussauds.It might come as a surprise to many, therefore, that the future of Europe’s elite club competition is not yet entirely guaranteed beyond 2022. The entire road map of domestic and international rugby is in the process of being reassessed and no one currently knows where...
The No8 has been under scrutiny for his support of Israel Folau and delivered an intense performance in a hostile atmosphere against MunsterHe must have thought he had begun to leave the last 10 days behind him. No sooner had Billy Vunipola scored the try that secured Saracens latest semi-final victory, that secured him the man-of-the-match award, than a Munster fan confronted him after the match, gesticulating aggressively. Vunipola jogged on in a lap of honour, but he knows his support of Israel Folaus socialmedia antics will not be so easy to leave behind.If his performance, or that of his team, is anything to go by, the hostility will only serve to intensify Saracens focus, which sharpens where that of...
The hooker chose a good time to impress the watching England coach, Eddie Jones, at Allianz ParkOn afternoons like this it is easy to forget just how long Jamie George had to wait for his first England start – that he was named as a replacement 19 times before getting hold of the England No 2 jersey, more than two years after his debut, and that he made three starts for the Lions before he did so once for his country. For here was further evidence that, if Dylan Hartley ends up being part of Eddie Jones’s World Cup squad, he will not do so as England’s first-choice hooker. Related: Liam Williams bags two tries as Saracens storm to semi-final...
Many greats, including Gareth Edwards and Will Carling, have played in the Rosslyn Park National Sevens and skills acquired here can be priceless in top-level XVsEveryone in Mumbai knows about the Oval Maidan where 100 games of cricket can take place simultaneously. Football’s nearest equivalent used to be Hackney Marshes where, during the 1950s and 1960s, 120 pitches would cater for 2,500 players every Sunday morning. And rugby? Look no further than the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens taking place in south-west London this week.Over the coming days the world’s largest schools sevens tournament will play host to no fewer than 9,624 participants aged 13 to 18 and 800 teams, including representatives from Pakistan (the splendidly named Angels International College,...
Leinster – and the fast-rising Scottish sides – are packed full of internationals while Test players are spread more thinly across their Premiership and Top 14 rivalsThe Premiership goes into the final round of the European Champions Cup group stage this weekend hunting a first victory over an Irish province in this season’s tournament. Its clubs have three opportunities: Ulster travel to Leicester, Leinster are away to Wasps and, in the one contest that has an outcome for both teams, Exeter have to become the fourth team to topple Munster at Thomond Park in the competition.The Chiefs’ task is even more demanding because of the bonus point Munster secured at Gloucester last Friday. It means Exeter not only have to...