Bristol’s Harry Randall: ‘We’re going after teams and having a real crack’
Trying to catch lightning in a cider bottle would be only slightly harder right now than containing Bristol’s dazzling attacking game. The Bears have been averaging 50 points per match in winning five successive league fixtures and, before Saturday’s crucial…
England’s Marlie Packer: ‘I’d give my son the world – dad did none of that for me’
‘We’re in France and the crowd is going to be hostile,” Marlie Packer says as she looks ahead to Saturday’s Six Nations grand slam decider in Bordeaux with relish. “But we know that can flip on its head because of the…
English clubs urge RFU to speed up enhanced hybrid contract plans
Leading English clubs are urging the Rugby Football Union to accelerate its plans to introduce hybrid central contracts for a limited number of key men’s international players. Saracens are one of several sides keen to know exactly how many of…
The Breakdown | Rugby’s rulers ignore the game’s marvellous heritage at their peril
Some of us went back in time at the weekend. There was no Doctor Who-style Tardis involved, just an easyJet flight (beware their petty hand luggage regulations) to Scotland for a reunion of old student friends. It was good fun…
Reed doubles up on 100th appearance as Sale stun Harlequins in 10-try thriller
“It was squeaky-bum time wasn’t it?” observed a mightily relieved Alex Sanderson after his Sale side had clung on to win a thrillingly open game which keeps them firmly in the playoff mix. Sir Alex Ferguson famously coined the phrase…
Northampton tighten grip on top spot with thumping defeat of Leicester
Another week, another thumping win for Northampton who could afford to leave out a handful of their star names and still put arch rivals Leicester to the sword with plenty to spare. This was their fourth home match in a row…
Tom Parton’s double-quick hat-trick sets Saracens up for Gloucester stroll
Not the biggest thrashing in Premiership history, maybe, but this was the sort of non-contest to give a competition a bad name. There was something dispiriting about the inevitability of what unfolded, albeit enlivened by a pair of quickfire hat-tricks,…
England 88-10 Ireland: Women’s Six Nations – as it happened
Sarah Rendell’s match report is right here: And that is the lot for today. England march on to a shot at the grand slam against France next week. Au revoir for now. Louis Deacon, the forwards coach, says they want…
Dow and Kildunne hat-tricks fire 14-try England to Six Nations rout of Ireland
There will come a day when England’s dominance in the Women’s Six Nations ends. Their run of consecutive wins in the tournament, standing at 28, will be broken. But Ireland could not stop England on a windy day. The Red…
Sam Vesty: the unfashionable former Tiger leading Saints’ resurgence
Look back through the archives and it becomes clear what kind of a player Sam Vesty was. “Probably not the most fashionable,” according to his former Leicester head coach Richard Cockerill, but as the Australian Matt O’Connor, who would later…