Disparity in income generated in Europe leaves southern hemisphere countries hoping for some form of shared revenue from internationalsIt has been another British summer when the jet stream has moved too far to the south and, as the European club seasons start, climate change is being felt with the southern hemisphere shivering in a chill wind.Australia’s capitulation in Sydney a week ago, when they conceded a record number of points to the All Blacks, would ordinarily have led to strident demands for Michael Cheika to be sacked as head coach. Even if there was little excuse for some abject defending, especially after how the Lions took on the World Cup holders in the summer, there is an appreciation that Australia’s...
New Zealand have a standout player in Portia Woodman but Simon Middleton’s side are a well-oiled machine as they target back-to-back triumphsTwo enormous yellow shipbuilding cranes dominate the Belfast skyline and are impossible to miss. Situated in the Titanic quarter and looming large over the city, they are known locally as Samson and Goliath, and considering England versus New Zealand is the final the Women’s World Cup has been craving, pitting by a distance the two giants of the game against each other, it is an apt backdrop for Saturday night’s showdown.It is also a match-up that has a familiar ring to it – while the men’s game must make do with verbal sparring from Eddie Jones and Steve Hansen...
Honours deserved to be even as tourists weathered the expected All Blacks onslaught with a superior kicking game and superb defenceLike most people I had a sense of anticlimax at the final whistle. It was a strange feeling. I couldn’t help but think: “Even if they flip a coin, surely it can’t end like that?” But thinking about it a bit more, it means that the 2017 series will go down in history. We will look back on it in the future and there will be a bit of mythology to it.And for all that it was a perplexing end to the tour, I don’t think there should be any changes to the laws. It is so rare that it...
The Lions captain did not make the starting XV for the first Test but his influence in the second and third matches against New Zealand was incalculableThere are several defining images from the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour, many of them involving the same colour: the red card shown to Sonny Bill Williams in Wellington, Warren Gatland’s red clown nose, the oceans of red in the stadiums and, perhaps above all else, the red‑shirted Lions captain, Sam Warburton, jokingly yanking the trophy towards himself as he and his New Zealand opposite number, Kieran Read, posed for end-of-series photographs. Related: Warren Gatland sees Lions’ draw against All Blacks as next best thing to success | Andy Bull Related: Warren Gatland...
Head coach is justifiably proud of his team’s achievement of a tied series against the best team in the world on their home territoryWarren Gatland lost his red nose somewhere along the way on Saturday night, but he did have a couple of black bags under his eyes on Sunday morning. He said he was feeling fresh, but you would not have guessed it to look at him. It had been “a pretty quiet night,” he said, “quiet for me, anyway.” Related: Sam Warburton the Lions’ brightest star in series that had everything Related: Warren Gatland says his Kiwi instinct was a crucial factor in Lions series draw Continue reading...