Old glories on the rise with Dan Cole reviving Leicester forward power and Toulouse finding European title hunger once more Related: Six Nations set to unveil HSBC as championship’s new title sponsor Related: Owen Farrell is an England certainty. But where he plays is less clear Team of the weekend Continue reading...
Toulon’s nightmare speaks to French woes, Saracens are miles ahead of the pack and Freddie Burns had a weekend to forgetIt seemed as if all talking points would have to revolve around the 52-3 destruction on Friday night of the former multiple champions Wasps by Leinster – or the Ireland team plus James Lowe, which means the Ireland team in a couple of years’ time. But then Freddie Burns came along. Immediately all talking points became other examples of the flagrant squandering of tries. There are plenty but it is hard to think of any at such a crucial juncture of a game, to cost a team a match and coming so soon after the same player had missed a...
From Lyon’s back-row star Carl Fearns to rampaging Bath winger Joe Cokanasiga, who could be this year’s standout stars?The 2018-19 Champions Cup kicks off on Friday in what is always a keenly anticipated weekend in the European club rugby calendar. Here are six players well worth keeping an eye on. Related: All Blacks fearing autumn fall after Rassie Erasmus’s surprise lesson | Paul Rees Pool 1Bath, Leinster, Toulouse, Wasps Opening fixtures Fri Leinster v Wasps 7.45pm (BST)Sat Bath v Toulouse 1pm Continue reading...
The irresistible force meets the immovable object when Exeter play Saracens while Leinster are favourites against ScarletsThe season, domestically at least, ends this weekend. As it came in, so it goes out with players queuing for surgery. Artificial pitches have come under scrutiny after Jack Willis, John Barclay and Steffon Armitage suffered leg injuries in the last month that will keep them out of action for between six months and a year but other factors, such as fatigue, come into play.It is not so much the number of matches players take part in but the cumulative effect of training. Mako Vunipola, who was with the Lions in New Zealand, will make his 32nd appearance of the campaign on Saturday when...
Staging the Champions Cup final in Bilbao showed the benefit of taking a risk or two instead of clinging to the tried and testedThe word final is a relative term in rugby. Leinster’s European Champions Cup victory in Bilbao should logically have represented a high-profile full stop but for many it is not yet the end of the season – far from it. The Premiership and Pro14 have yet to play their semi-finals, the Top 14 final in France is not until 2 June and this summer’s hectic international tour schedule would cause even a travel agent’s head to spin.Talk to the Champions Cup organisers and they freely admit they would prefer their tournament to mirror football’s Champions League final:...