CATEGORIES

Joy for Kidney as Gonzalez seals it

DECLAN Kidney heaped praise on his Exiles for shrugging off their struggles over unpaid wages to sign off the season by clinching fifth place in the Premiership

Sale get in the mood for Tigers showdown

SALE warmed up for their Premiership play-off semi-final against Leicester with an impressive and fluent display against old rivals Newcastle who will be glad to see the end of this season

Red for Ashton as Quins hold on

CHRIS Ashton’s illustrious career looks to be over after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle in this niggly tussle which saw Harlequins hold on in a desperate finish

Bears win but find the honey has gone

THE battle of the under-achievers went the way of Bristol but, in a dramatic finale, their Heineken Champions Cup spot for next season was cruelly taken away from them by a resurgent Bath who climbed above Bears by defeating an under-strength Saracens at The Rec

Lawrence pounces to grab Cup place

AFTER the coronation came the procession. Bath will dust down their Champions Cup regalia after sealing eighth spot with their final play of the season following the bizarre decision of Saracens to keep the ball alive in their own half with the countdown clock on zero

England look too confused in attack

IT has been difficult to see how England want to attack since Steve Borthwick took over as head coach

Spencer: Fire to play for England still burns

BEN Spencer smiles and says nothing when asked whether the England coaches have been in touch

Beaumont predicts a physical encounter

JOSH Beaumont refuses to read too much into statistics as Sale prepare to welcome Leicester to Salford on Saturday with a prize in the Premiership final at stake

Ounsley quitting rugby to be a Gladiator

EXETER winger Jodie Ounsley will leave the Premier 15s side to join the TV series Gladiators

Lawes in the mood to finish on a high

COURTNEY Lawes has set his sights on finishing what has been a frustrating season for last year’s England captain on a high with Northampton and making the England squad for France in what would be his fourth World Cup campaign

Top flight to be cut down to 10 teams

Premiership to go down to 10 teams

Thomas defends decision to defect

HENRY Thomas will start work on his unprecedented transfer from England to Wales this month – 16 years after an abortive attempt to join The Land of his Father

Reynolds: Don't prop up failures like Wasps

WASPS’ presence in the Championship next season after going bust with debts of more than £100m will send out the wrong signal and encourage other clubs to take financial risks.

Simmonds: We can take down holders

JOE Simmonds is adamant Exeter Chiefs’ collective desire and mental steel can help them overcome the individual flair and brilliance of holders La Rochelle to reach another memorable European final.

Moon enjoying hard work as he aims to help Saints to the title

ALEX Moon is looking to cap what he feels is his best season for Northampton by helping the Saints reach the Premiership final.

Jersey cut out cake and find extra edge

SWAPPING ‘Bake Off ’ for Dojang on a Thursday is one of many things Jersey have done to notch up performances and secure the Championship title.

ON THE BLINGSIDE

Sharks in the market for Wallaby Latu

Why England need to be the fittest team in France

EVERY coach is going to say there is room for improvement and, just as Steve Borthwick has done recently with England, one of the areas they are most likely to target is fitness.

England hold on to deny France

ENGLAND marked a historic day with a thrilling win over France to secure the Grand Slam and their fifth straight Six Nations title in front of the largest-ever crowd in women’s rugby.

CVC's influence may not be in the best interests of clubs

TWICKENHAM is the jewel in English rugby’s crown, and there are grave concerns that the mismanagement of the RFU’s finances is putting the future of the stadium at risk.

Toulouse all at sea as Leinster take it

WITH an air of inevitability, Leinster marched into next month’s Champions Cup final but fell someway short of the context we all hoped for.

Sio keen for Chiefs to go out on a high

HAVING suffered heartache in his swansong appearance for the Brumbies, Scott Sio is determined that this summer’s Exeter leavers don’t suffer the same fate.

Glasgow power on to first Euro final

GLASGOW deservedly qualified for their first European final by scoring five tries to one against injury-ravaged Scarlets.

This time, two into seven just might go

ENGLAND’S campaign at the home World Cup in 2015 was a big enough joke in itself, but that didn’t stop the smart arses rolling out their laughter-in-the darkness lines.

Project Exiles: Italy's new hunt for talent

SEBASTIAN Negri is not the only member of his family doing good things for Italian rugby, his elder brother Thomas is also playing a key role in the Azzurri revival.

With so many leaving, we must give youth a chance

THE strange goings on in Welsh rugby continued on Thursday night when Cardiff Rugby took to Twitter to announce the 16 players who will be leaving the club this summer.

Sanderson annoyed by Ashman's move north

ALEX Sanderson is unhappy with the departure of Ewan Ashman to Edinburgh next season, adamant the hooker would be better off staying at Sale.

Jeff's right, we must support grassroots

JEFF Probyn is absolutely right in stating that the future of rugby in England depends on more resources being made available by the RFU to support grassroots rugby than the disastrous Professional Game Agreement has allowed over the last seven years.

Treviso standing on the edge of history

AT the last count, Benetton Treviso had won 15 Italian Championships and, lest we forget, walked away with the hurriedly organised Rainbow Cup in the teeth of Covid disruption in 2021 but I would nonetheless suggest their European Challenge Cup semi-final at Toulon this afternoon represents the highwater mark in their history.

Champion finish for Red island in the sun

JERSEY Reds held their nerve in recovering from an early wobble to cruise to the victory over Ampthill that delivered the RFU Championship title to a small island in the English Channel.