Having led 28-17 losing Tomas Francis to the sin-bin set up a final act of pure agony before the euphoriaOnce upon a time in the west there was a team who made their region proud. What a shame there were no supporters in the ground to witness the ultimate moment in Exeter’s 149-year history but there was no silencing the Devonian roars at the final whistle. A grey day in Bristol was suddenly replaced by a haze of purple euphoria and pure relief.Goodness, though, this was tense. A flawed classic, perhaps, but a 14-man Exeter had to win it the hard way. Having led 28-17 thanks to a priceless interception score finished by the ever-classy Henry Slade, the loss of...
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...
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...
Nervy win over Racing 92 took champions into quarter-finals but Allianz Park atmosphere was darkened by off-field troublesA quarter of a century ago, when Nigel Wray began investing in Saracens, the club played on a public recreation ground in the north London suburbs and before matches the mess from dogs that had been walked on the pitch during the week had to be cleared up. The European champions now play on a swish plastic pitch in Barnet but the whiff from the biggest scandal in English rugby history has engulfed the club.Wray has now gone, although the benefactor was in the stand at Allianz Park on Sunday behind a pair of dark glasses that could have been a disguise but...
Charging into an opponent to exploit weight advantage is legitimate but how many more players like Pat Lambie will have their careers ended early before anything is done?Pat Lambie retired from rugby this week at the age of 28, the latest player done too soon after suffering repeated concussions. The South Africa fly-half stood out for his relative lack of weight, little more than 13st, and was a target for bulky ball-carriers.It was a collision with the Ireland No 8 CJ Stander, a player nearly 5st heavier, in 2016 that started the countdown for Lambie’s retirement. The following year, he spent six months out after colliding with a teammate in training and suffered another concussion that December playing for Racing...