A year on from England’s World Cup win against New Zealand, the head coach has picked a squad for a sport that is changing rapidly Exactly a year ago this week Eddie Jones was basking in a World Cup semi-final victory against New Zealand in Yokohama, among the most triumphant moments of his coaching career. The final turned out less brilliantly for him but it was still easy to imagine England returning from Japan and enjoying themselves in the 2020 Six Nations championship.Sport, and life, is rarely so predictable. Even so, no one envisaged England would still be waiting in late October to conclude their Six Nations campaign in Rome, with nine of the 23-man squad who beat New Zealand...
It’s 149 years to the day since Scotland and England played the first rugby union international. From the archive, here are half-a-dozen great stramashesThis article was first published on 3 February 2012 Related: The Joy of Six: champions | Daniel Harris Related: The Joy of Six: unsung sporting heroes of 2017 Continue reading...
From France’s new stars to the architects of Scotland’s improvement, some gongs for an unfinished Six NationsThe Six Nations, like the rest of rugby throughout the world, has been suspended because of the coronavirus outbreak but, with no action to look forward to in the immediate future, it provides a moment to look back on the past couple of months, which have left the title a three-way contest. Continue reading...
The imminent financial turmoil is likely to exploited by those who already have most of the power and moneyYou may have heard about the 13‑year‑old schoolboy from Leeds called Oliver Cooper who, it has been reported, was sent home from school after selling precious squirts of hand sanitiser for 50p each. Cooper’s scheme was rumbled when he recklessly tried to sell a squirt to one of his teachers, although not before he had made £9: a windfall that, according to his mother, is being invested in “a multipack of Doritos” and “a kebab”.All good clean fun and on reflection almost certainly one of those stories that has been trumped up for the benefit of the gullible internet. But a reminder,...
Suddenly, if Ireland can get everything right, an improbable title is firmly back on the radarSo farewell, then, “Super Saturday”. Hello instead to “At Least There’s Still One Game On Saturday” which is not the catchy promotional slogan the Six Nations organisers ideally wanted. At least the pub and bar owners of Cardiff can breathe a sigh of relief. Even if the coronavirus situation in Wales ramps up significantly, the income raised from 70,000 thirsty rugby punters should insulate them for a while.Tournament officials will also be grateful for small mercies. Had the spreading virus taken hold in Europe a month earlier the entire championship would have been decimated. There would have been insufficient spare weekends to replay the games,...