CATEGORIES

Ireland get in mood for Springbok clash

IRELAND dealt with the potential banana skin of Tonga in consummate style at Nantes, dismissing the dangerous islanders to go into next week's much anticipated clash with South Africa confiwith their dence high and game in excellent shape

Portugal make it hard for Wales

WALES may have won this second round Pool D encounter on the Cote D’Azur, and secured another four-try bonus point in the process, but it was Portugal who posted the best news of all.

Scrum-halves taking over as Springboks ring changes

JACQUES Nienaber’s South Africa have built themselves on versatility and that philosophy is illustrated with four scrumhalves in the match day 23 for their encounter against Romania today.

England need to extend control

CAN Japan produce another “Brighton Miracle”, mirroring their incredible win over South Africa in RWC 2015 by beating England in RWC 2023, or will it be a “Nice Nightmare” instead?

Dawson: Hard for Farrell to get back

WORLD Cup winner Matt Dawson is struggling to see how captain Owen Farrell gets back into the England team after George Ford’s magnificent performance last weekend against Argentina.

JSD: That was the best since Jonny

FORMER Gloucester flyer James Simpson-Daniel says George Ford’s performance against Argentina last Satrurday was the best an England fly-half had played since the prime days of Jonny Wilkinson.

Itoje: We are here to win, not entertain

MARO Itoje insists he is not worried by England’s World Cup try famine – as long as the wins keep rolling in.

Joy to see the hosts burst out of bubble

\"Fabien Galthie's remarkable glasses feature prominently on news bulletins nearly every day\"

Lloyd on target to floor Pontypridd

EVAN Lloyd put the boot into Pontypridd as he kicked Ebbw Vale back into a red hot contest at Eugene Cross Park before steering the Steelmen to a 31-21 victory in the Premiership.

Sedgley boss Barrow wants Park to do much better

SEDGLEY Park marked their return to National One by beating former Championship side Richmond in a shock result last weekend, but head coach Scott Barrow wasn't satisfied with the performance and says his side 'have used their get out jail free card for the season'.

Stick with 20 teams but bring in Trophy

IT'S very rare, in fact unique, for me to disagree with anything Gus Pichot says or propounds rugby wise but I must admit I'm struggling a bit with his continued support for a 24-team World Cup. And that is as a wholehearted and long-time supporter of T2 rugby nations and everything they are trying to achieve.

Dai Watkins, a magnet for every hit-man in north

DAVID Watkins used to be fond of telling two anecdotes from his bruising initiation into Rugby League. Typically, each tale would be told not as an exercise in self-aggrandisement but in self-deprecation.

Pirates make Bath battle all the way

A YOUNG Bath side overcame some sticky moments to take a bonus point win as the Premiership Cup arrived at the Mennaye with a seven-try thriller in front of a capacity crowd.

Gloucester too strong for battling Nottingham

GLOUCESTER kicked-off their 150th season with a six-try win over battling Nottingham.

Hassell-Collins has flying start

OLLIE Hassell-Collins took 90 seconds to make his mark on his debut in a comfortable win for Leicester by eight tries to nil.

Welsh Lions are strong enough to down Fijians

\"Looking at the team head coach Warren Gatland has picked, he knows what he is doing\"

Sexton in charge of Ireland's destiny

JOHNNY Sexton masterminded Ireland's biggest World Cup victory in his first match for nearly six months and if in the coming weeks they will face harder questions than Romania came up with, they burned with resolve in searing heat.

Adams: Anything below excellent won't be enough

WARREN Gatland is one of the most experienced coaches in the World Cup, but on the eve of the start of his fifth tournament as a coach he admitted he still gets nervous before a match.

Where does this leave Farrell?

\"It was Ford's composure at a time of stress that steered England to victory\"

Randall out to get Bristol motoring

HARRY Randall is using his disappointment at missing out on the World Cup to ensure Bristol make a strong start to the Premiership campaign.

We must promote game - Skivington

GEORGE Skivington has called for the game in England to put its best face, and voice, forward and sell itself after the calamity of last season when three Premiership clubs folded.

Brilliant Ford has the drop on Pumas

ENGLAND, down to 14 men within three minutes of the kickoff, put in a performance of guts, determination and poise to beat Argentina 27-10 in their highly anticipated World Cup opener here in Marseille last night.

Islanders keen to make some noise

ARE SAMOA about to make some noise again? The islanders have a proud World Cup record of two quarter-finals and a quarter-final play-off appearance but they all came in their first three tournaments.

Cozens: We struggle to find players in our patch

FLY-HALF Luke Cozens has stepped up to head coach of Clifton but has endured a difficult start, saying it’s harder than ever to recruit players.

Racing ramp up interest in Ford

In July, The Rugby Paper reported that ‘grand’ Top 14 side Racing 92 had Sale and England fly-half George Ford in their sights, after previously being linked to his England team-mate Marcus Smith, and South Africa’s Manie Libbok.

Millions set to enjoy razzmatazz all of the

RUGBY World Cups are an exciting time because they are the biggest shop-window for rugby union, and are watched by tens of millions around the world. They have a track record for producing some incredible games, and this tournament in France will be no exception.

All Blacks are still the team to beat

THIS year’s World Cup is unusual in a number of respects, not least that New Zealand do not go into it at the head of the world rankings and they are not the favourites.

Koroiyadi powers promoted Lions a

LEICESTER Lions have announced themselves to National 1 with a highly spirited victory over a quality Sale side.

It was great to score all 19 points v England

I WAS a mad-keen cricketer growing up and, in March 1994, I was selected to go on a Scotland cricket tour to South Africa.

22 teams raring to go in new-look Cup

THE Premiership Cup returns on Friday in the new-look format involving Championship clubs for the first time.