Of the five Champions Cup groups, Pool 5 looks like going down to the final weekend – with one point separating the top three: Bath, Toulon and ScarletsTake nothing away from Wasps’ hugely impressive victory against La Rochelle but the absence of Victor Vito, Levani Botia, Pierre Aguillon and Jason Eaton from the starting XV must be taken into consideration. Wasps certainly learnt from their mistakes of seven days previous however, were far more physical in the collisions and had Danny Cipriani in fine fettle at fly-half. It is not so long ago that Wasps were in somewhat of a crisis, languishing down towards the foot of the Premiership table amid a terrible run of injuries. Elliot Daly may yet...
England clubs suffered their worst set of results in European history but Bath, Leicester, Saracens and Wasps have the chance to lead a reversal of fortunesOK, so it looks bad. Seven European defeats for England’s seven Champions Cup representatives was their worst return in European history. Given four of the games were at home, it bodes ill for the reverse fixtures this weekend. Fair play to their Pro14 and Top 14 rivals but hang on; are we saying Bath have no chance at home to Toulon, that Leicester are doomed when they entertain Munster at Welford Road and that La Rochelle are guaranteed to win at Wasps? All are potentially competitive fixtures, all could still go either way. Even if...
Confusion over rescheduling of Clermont Auvergne game adds embarrassment to injury on worst weekend for English clubs in Europe’s top tournamentThe pantomime season is upon us but farce is rugby union’s recurring speciality. How else to explain the sight of Clermont Auvergne thrashing a pallid Saracens in one of the year’s supposedly highest‑profile club fixtures in front of a paltry audience on a freezing Monday teatime in Mill Hill?To decree, as the European Professional Club Rugby did in a belatedly rescinded statement on Sunday night, that the rescheduled game would be held behind closed doors was ludicrous from everyone’s point of view – players, coaches, fans and sponsors. The natural disruption caused by a snowy weekend should not obscure the shambolic...
The Champions Cup holders have lost three consecutive Premiership matches for the first time since 2010 – Clermont should expect a reaction this weekendIn order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate. So wrote René Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher Saracens players have become used to discussing in a group organised by the club’s psychologist, David Jones, as part of the club’s team-building ethos.There will be contemplation aplenty at Allianz Park after the defeat at Harlequins last Sunday meant the European Champions Cup holders had lost three consecutive Premiership matches for the first time since 2010, the season they made their breakthrough after years of inconsistency. Related: Richmond show part-time may be the way forward...
Danny Care continues to improve for Harlequins (and England), Northampton are on the ropes and Exeter are really hitting the high notesThe rivalry between England’s two leading scrum-halfs, Ben Youngs and Danny Care, is becoming every bit as intense as that between Matt Dawson and Kyran Bracken in the side of the late 90s/early 00s. If that was England’s last great team, the vim of warring No9s is as strategically a valuable a dynamic as any. To date Care has been seen as the sparky game-breaker, with Youngs the game-shaper, but Care’s all-round game continues to develop. “Everyone’s going to remember him as a fantastic rugby player,” said John Kingston, Quins’ director of rugby, “but I’ve talked to him about...