Maro Itoje has a perfect mentor at Saracens, home truths for Exeter and New Zealand-born Joey Carbery shows he has a bright future at LeinsterYou can read Robert Kitson’s tribute to Anthony Foley, the Munster head coach who died aged 42 before his side’s scheduled match against Racing 92 in Paris on Sunday, here.Sometimes it is less the number of games a sportsman plays than the heart and soul he pours into the jersey he wears. Anthony Foley had the rare stamina and inner passion to satisfy both criteria, which is why the desperately sad news of his death at the age of 42 cast such a depressing shadow over European rugby. Foley was not just any old retired player;...
This season’s Champions Cup attendances will hopefully be up after a World Cup-hit 2015 while a high calibre of clubs are set for the Challenge CupThe 2016-17 European rugby campaign is upon us. Good luck to all competing clubs and, in particular, travelling fans from the UK as they prepare to exchange their weakened sterling for euros. Half a week’s wages for a round of gaseous French lager? Had the referendum literature mentioned the possibility of teetotal rugby weekends there might have been a different outcome. Related: European Champions Cup 2016-17: pool-by-pool guide | Paul Rees Related: Owen Farrell likely to return for Saracens against Toulon after injury Continue reading...
The holders begin their campaign with a mouth-watering clash in Toulon as the balance of power shifts towards the English clubs in the Champions CupThe difference between the Champions Cup and the old Heineken Cup is revealed by a glance at the pools, now five groups instead of six. There used to be one pool of death but now it is a case of a single pool of life, which tends to be the one that involves the Italian representatives.Wasps are the Premiership club fortunate to have drawn Zebre, who have lost by 54 and 44 points at Ospreys and Munster this season, along with Connacht, who have made a stuttering start to the defence of their Pro12 title, and...