Racing 92 and Wasps know the double-seeking Chiefs will be relentless and intense but thwarting them is another matterBefore England played New Zealand in the 1995 World Cup semi-final in Cape Town, they did not pay too much attention to Jonah Lomu, the 19-year-old wing who was to reduce their defensive wall to rubble and reconstruct a game that was in the death throes of amateurism. “Nobody really knew much about him or his capabilities,” recalled the England No 8 that afternoon, Dean Richards, last year. “I do not think we did our due diligence on Lomu: we may have discussed him, but that was probably as much as we did do.”England preferred to focus on themselves, although in the...
A double-decker bus as a clubhouse and four shipping containers as changing rooms prove no barrier as the club attracts converts from all cultures and religionsIn these dark times there is a ray of light to be found in the heart of England. Just up the road from Spaghetti Junction to the north-east of Birmingham’s city centre sits the suburb of Erdington, officially rated the fifth-most deprived area in the UK. Less than three miles distant is Hodgehill, which sits at No 3. Rugby is not normally high on many local agendas.Which makes it all the more remarkable that Erdington RFC has just leapfrogged the rest of the nation to be crowned club of the year by Gallagher, sponsor of...
Unshakeable belief their time is now and collective trust are the bedrock of both teams’ storming runs to the Premiership finalExeter are supposedly all about their no-nonsense forwards while Wasps are a free-wheeling bunch of adventurous buccaneers. The truth is considerably more layered: this year’s two Premiership finalists, above all, are prime examples of the crucial power of the mind, as much as body, in successful professional sport.Of course Exeter were punishingly physical against Bath while Wasps eventually ran Bristol ragged in the first of two one-sided semi-finals but at the heart of both results was something even more significant: a mindset, a belief and a collective trust that said far more about the victors than the big numbers on...
The irresistible Anglo-French affairs of Racing v Saracens and Exeter v Toulouse are the pick of this weekend’s sport and can puncture myth international rugby is the only show in townOccasionally it is worth pausing for a moment and asking why people prefer to watch certain team sports compared to others. Football, for example, is easy to understand and truly global, its club game often more gripping and higher quality than its international counterpart. Cricket works well on television and has a range of formats to suit all tastes. Rugby – union and league – can be more compelling than either but is nowhere near as good at displaying the best of itself on a consistent basis.Partly it is cultural...
In 2000 Warren Gatland used World Cup players and Ireland lost so he tore up the teamsheet and turned things aroundIt has been a curious European Champions Cup season so far, with very few sides performing above pre-tournament expectations. Gloucester and an understandably distracted Saracens have sent out weakened teams for fixtures which could have transformed their campaigns, the Premiership leaders Northampton were ultimately unable to live with Leinster while Bath, La Rochelle and Ospreys are effectively down and out.There are, however, three notable exceptions. Leinster, Exeter and Toulouse are all still unbeaten and, along with Saracens, Racing 92 and Clermont, it is already hard to see anyone from outside that sextet making the final in Marseille on 23 May....