CATEGORIES

No doubt Sarries will get some abuse next season

The totally unsurprising news that Saracens slaughtered Ealing Trailfinders in the two-leg Championship final doesn’t seem to have provoked the strong reaction some might have expected.

Banahan aiming for new life as a golf pro

HAVING played in his first professional golf tournament, recently retired rugby star Matt Banahan admits turning from lock to wing was a far easier transition.

Booth has helped Beard find his consistency and regain Wales slot

Force: Adam Beard playing for Wales in Six Nations

Adam aims to provide spark

ADAM Hastings believes he can take his game to the next level at Gloucester after leaving family life behind in Glasgow to test himself in the Premiership again.

If Ealing Are The Best, What Are The Others Like?

Let’s hope that the members of the RFU Council were watching Saracens annihilate Ealing Trailfinders in the first leg of the Championship final, as the game should have removed any doubts about the need for an extension to the moratorium on promotion and relegation.

URC will reshape the global game

DANIEL GALLAN talks to Rudolf Straeuli about his expectations of the league replacing PRO14

Bears' writing their own ‘living history' under visionary Pat

PAT LAM has used his love of history to haul Bristol from the Championship to the top of the Premiership and a seat at the table of European rugby’s elite.

Les Bleus announce themselves to the world

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

Surely Robson's ready for a first start now, Eddie

IF JUSTICE prevails in the coming weeks, 29-year-old Dan Robson will surely make his first start for England after 12 appearances off the bench.

Undercooked Wales set for gruelling week of fitness work

WALES head coach Wayne Pivac admits he fears his team will be underdone for their summer Tests in a scenario similar to the one which preceded their horror campaign at the end of 2020.

Scotland captaincy eases pain for Ritchie

SCOTLAND flanker Jamie Ritchie aims to channel his anguish at missing out on the British & Irish Lions tour by leading from the front as he prepares to captain his country for the first time.

Lions pride runs deep in this Belfast powerhouse

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools

Dombrant steps up defence for Eddie

ALEX Dombrandt is keeping the England faith despite continuous knockbacks and is praying Harlequins’ strong Premiership campaign will finally lead to a first cap.

As a No.8 and wing I was called McLomu

THE FORMER SCOTLAND, GOLDEN LIONS, GLASGOW, LONDON IRISH, LEEDS AND EDINBURGH BACK ROW/WING

O'Brien Urges Ireland To Blood Players In Prem

Sean O’Brien believes Ireland should relax their rule which all but bars players being selected for the national squad if they move outside the country and use leagues like the Premiership to develop players.

Wayne's got a way to put Wales out in front

IN the northern hemisphere we have always been one or two steps behind teams in the south. That’s just a fact and it applies to both club and Test rugby. Teams like New Zealand and South Africa constantly bring something new to the table despite the immense success they’ve had over long periods of time.

Touchline fiasco should never have happened

THE touchline row between Steve Borthwick and Pat Lam in the clash between Leicester and Bristol at Welford Road last weekend was a savage indictment of the Premiership in terms of professional standards.

‘Robin Hood' rides to Nottingham's call

I ONLY ever intended to go to Nottingham for six months back in 2001 and I ended up staying for a dozen or so years. Now, after nine years away coaching in Hong Kong, I’m going back, as head coach. Nottingham is a special place for me and my wife and I wouldn’t have left my job with the Hong Kong RU for any other role. Our three kids were all born in Nottingham and we’re all excited about what lies ahead.

Mount are on the climb again under Campbell

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools

Influencer White's got Sale in rhythm

A product of the St John Fisher College in Wigan, like Shaun Edwards, White’s innovative thinking and ability to bring the best out of sportsmen has aligned perfectly with the transition of Sale’s culture into a people-first environment under DoR Alex Sanderson.

Inspirational Bentos puts Lions on road to glory

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

Hungry Harry is the epitome of Borthwick's new Tigers

HARRY Wells has enjoyed his breakthrough season at the age of 27, an almost ever-present in an improving Leicester side the second row has come to personify through his dogged determination, will power, strength and nuisance value.

Big Joe must seize his England chance this time

JOE Cokanasiga on top form is quite simply a lethal rugby player. That is why it is so good to see him back in the provisional England squad for this summer’s matches against Scotland A, followed by the internationals against the USA and Canada in July.

14-man Chiefs secure semi-final advantage

EXETER booked their sixth Premiership home play-off on the trot but the reigning champions had to dig deep against a Sale side who threw down the gauntlet early on and were nearly rewarded for their audacity.

Stokes Driven By Imposter Syndrome

London Irish fullback James Stokes is still locked in a mental battle to convince himself he deserves to be playing in the top flight.

Quins secure play-off spot in ten-try thriller

HARLEQUINS – looking in all sorts of grief earlier this season – clinched their place in the play-offs with yet another spectacular victory which underlined their box office reputation.

Hitt won't let his lack of playing pedigree impede climb to the top

A DECADE ago, Christian Hitt was working at grassroots level as a rugby development officer for the WRU with a passion and desire to go into coaching.

Patriot Josh throws his hat into the ring for Wales

JOSH Turnbull has revealed he once turned down a lucrative offer to join a Premiership team in favour of trying to win more caps with Wales.

Leon's skill lit up the bearpit of Max's Stade

As a boy growing up in Coventry, Leon Lloyd had a dream: “To score the winning goal for the Sky Blues in the FA Cup final.’’ On a May day in 1987, shortly before he could reach the grand old age of ten, he watched someone else beat him to it by accident, Gary Mabbutt’s own goal in extra-time giving Coventry their famous win over Spurs. Leon’s vision of staging an action replay vanished for good a couple of years later when a change of school ‘forced’ him to play rugby.

Falcons aim to put brake on Sam's try scoring run

AS Newcastle prepare to face Exeter, Dean Richards’ verdict on Sam Simmonds is that he is the complete No.8 who should have far more caps for England.