Of the five Champions Cup groups, Pool 5 looks like going down to the final weekend – with one point separating the top three: Bath, Toulon and ScarletsTake nothing away from Wasps’ hugely impressive victory against La Rochelle but the absence of Victor Vito, Levani Botia, Pierre Aguillon and Jason Eaton from the starting XV must be taken into consideration. Wasps certainly learnt from their mistakes of seven days previous however, were far more physical in the collisions and had Danny Cipriani in fine fettle at fly-half. It is not so long ago that Wasps were in somewhat of a crisis, languishing down towards the foot of the Premiership table amid a terrible run of injuries. Elliot Daly may yet...
Confusion over rescheduling of Clermont Auvergne game adds embarrassment to injury on worst weekend for English clubs in Europe’s top tournamentThe pantomime season is upon us but farce is rugby union’s recurring speciality. How else to explain the sight of Clermont Auvergne thrashing a pallid Saracens in one of the year’s supposedly highest‑profile club fixtures in front of a paltry audience on a freezing Monday teatime in Mill Hill?To decree, as the European Professional Club Rugby did in a belatedly rescinded statement on Sunday night, that the rescheduled game would be held behind closed doors was ludicrous from everyone’s point of view – players, coaches, fans and sponsors. The natural disruption caused by a snowy weekend should not obscure the shambolic...
The Champions Cup holders have lost three consecutive Premiership matches for the first time since 2010 – Clermont should expect a reaction this weekendIn order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate. So wrote René Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher Saracens players have become used to discussing in a group organised by the club’s psychologist, David Jones, as part of the club’s team-building ethos.There will be contemplation aplenty at Allianz Park after the defeat at Harlequins last Sunday meant the European Champions Cup holders had lost three consecutive Premiership matches for the first time since 2010, the season they made their breakthrough after years of inconsistency. Related: Richmond show part-time may be the way forward...
Semi Radradra and Josua Tuisova at Toulon, Clermont’s Alivereti Raka and Levani Botia of La Rochelle are among an exhilarating cast set to take centre stageWith the 2017‑18 European rugby season about to start, here is one for you: how many of France’s formidably wealthy, massively well-stocked clubs have lifted the continent’s grandest prize this century? The answer, remarkably, is just two: Toulouse and Toulon. The heavy mob of Clermont Auvergne, Racing 92, Montpellier and co are all still waiting to crack the code.Even a side like Castres, who consistently punch above their weight in the Top 14, contrive to underperform year in year out in Europe, reaching the knockout stages once in 13 attempts and failing to win any...
Exeter’s Premiership victory has won plaudits as has Saracens’ in the Champions Cup but British & Irish Lions players need careful management next seasonExeter Chiefs. Saracens are back-to-back European champions but neither they nor Wasps could topple the Chiefs when it mattered domestically. While the Lions could yet ambush this category they will do well to equal the ceaseless positivity and collective spirit of English rugby’s new market leaders. Robert Kitson Related: Alex Goode try seals Champions Cup final victory for Saracens over Clermont Related: Scarlets score six tries to sweep aside Munster and win Pro12 title Related: Wasps go to Premiership final as Josh Bassett’s late try floors Leicester Related: World Rugby ‘disappointed’ with Northampton over George North injury...