If the Golden Globes host ever does oval-shaped speeches he will have no shortage of similarly juicy targets at which to aimPerhaps the best way to embark on a shiny new rugby decade is to listen to Ricky Gervais’s coruscating speech at the annual Golden Globe awards. Fair play to the boy Gervais, there was absolutely no dull, formulaic box ticking (or kicking) involved. “If Isis started a streaming service you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you?” he challenged his wincing audience, before slaughtering virtually every other traditional sacred cow in Hollywood within seven and a half minutes.If Ricky ever does oval-shaped speeches he will have no shortage of similarly juicy targets at which to aim. “So, how come it’s taken...
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....
It was a difficult weekend for English clubs, with Irish provinces picking up a triple crown of victories over Premiership sidesIreland look like going into the Six Nations Larmour-plated. Joe Schmidt, who stood down as the national side’s head coach after the World Cup, never seemed to trust Jordan Larmour fully, certainly at full-back, but the 22-year old showed in Leinster’s emphatic victory over Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens that he is ready to take over from Rob Kearney, who was among the province’s replacements on Saturday. Larmour was the architect of Leinster’s first two tries, showing how deadly he can be in broken play if given just a trace of time and space, and he was part of a defensive...
The punishment for Nigel Wray’s team has caught many by surprise but it has exposed problems the game facesPioneering darlings of English rugby or hateful cheats? The verdict on Saracens continues to swing to impressively wild extremes, even by the standards of a sport that, 24 years into its professional era, has still to settle on anything like an equilibrium.Following the Premiership’s decision to puff out its chest and get macho all of a sudden on the matter of its salary cap, the assessment du jour is hateful cheats but, as usual, the boring truth lies somewhere in between. Related: Hypocrisy is in the air as Premiership rivals turn their backs on Saracens | The Breakdown Related: Saracens shake off...
The English champions have been left isolated by this week’s verdict, but there are mitigating factors and they do not deserve the tag of Premiership villainsSaracens have never courted popularity, but they have never been more isolated than now. Their Premiership rivals have welcomed the draconian 35-point penalty and £5m fine (which will rise if legal costs are awarded against them) slapped on the English and European champions for breaching the league’s salary cap regulations over a three‑year period.The Exeter chairman, Tony Rowe, will call for Saracens to be relegated when the Premiership board next meets in January. The Harlequins captain, Chris Robshaw, not one given to overreaction, said he found it hard to take now that success was found...