CATEGORIES

'Tofty' on mission to improve the pathway for England

MARK Mapletoft had no hesitation when he was last month offered the chance to take the England Under 20s to the Junior World Cup in South Africa.

Ealing add Collins to list of star recruits

BIG-SPENDING Ealing Trailfinders have come to the rescue of Tom Collins who had been left high and dry by the collapse of London Irish.

Champions Cup draw suits Bears

BRISTOL Bears sneaked into the Champions Cup through the cat flap rather than the back door, but they will be more content with their pool draw than Sale, who pushed Saracens all the way in last month’s Twickenham final.

Dynamic duo back for more

PAUL de Villiers and Katlego Letebele will return for their second stint with the Junior Springboks, this time as captain and vice-captain of the South African squad that are at home in this World Rugby Under-20 Championship.

Jones opts for mixed approach

WALES U20s interim head coach Mark Jones has named five uncapped players in his squad.

Not bad for a stocky centre-forward convert

AS I write this, a group of 50 of us are a day into the latest Walk4Matt event, covering the 100 miles of the Warwickshire Ring Canal network.

Who will be next on the production line?

THE Junior World Cup makes a welcome return after a four-year hiatus next week down in South Africa and I for one give thanks.

Sirker's glad he's moved Down Under

CALLUM Sirker feels Championship players are a victim of Premiership clubs financial mismanagement so decided midway through last season to leave Cornish Pirates to move to Australia and focus on his law career while also playing in the Shute Shield for West Harbour.

So, who is set to fly in under the radar?

REMEMBER Jean-Marc Doussain’s international debut for France? Probably not.

Champions Cup reverts to multi-pool

THE Heineken Champions Cup reverts to a multi-pool format next season, but teams from the same league will not face each other.

Woollett keen to see repeat performance

AUSTRALIAN Ben Woollett got a reputation as the joker in Jersey Reds ranks, playing practical jokes and winding up teammates, but there’s nothing laughable in the dedication he showed as the islanders wrapped up the Championship title.

Kingsholm showdown to decide the title

THE Premier 15s top two sides Gloucester-Hartpury and Exeter Chiefs meet at Kingsholm next Saturday in both team’s first ever final.

Spencer's the man to fire up England

STEVE Borthwick’s ability to get the best out of the best scrum-half in England will have a crucial bearing on how well England play at the 2023 World Cup.

Champ clubs refuse to delay new deal

FURIOUS Championship clubs have voted against proposals to push back the new push back the new Professional Game Agreement (PGA) by another year, to 2025-26.

We'll keep on fighting, says Newcastle owner

NEWCASTLE owner Semore Kurdi has rubbished claims that the club is willing to be relegated to the Championship because it is struggling to pay its way in the top flight.

Hunter and Cox named in Birthday Honours list

FORMER England women’s captain Sarah Hunter has been awarded and CBE and professional referee, Sara Cox an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to rugby.

Borthwick: Mercer a contender for France

STEVE Borthwick claims Zach Mercer has “grown” into a true World Cup back row contender for during his time across the Channel.

Purdy out to make his name overseas

AS many professional rugby players are discovering, the financial problems in the Premiership are making it tough to make a living and Henry Purdy is not excpetion,

Heineken pull plug on Europe

GLOBAL brewing giants Heineken are to step down as title sponsors of rugby’s Champions Cup, leaving tournament organisers with a big financial gap to fill before their two tournaments kick off in December.

Heroic Brumbies fly the flag for Australia

Super Rugby Pacific round-up

Folau call was TV turn-off for Gareth

GARETH Thomas “refused” to watch the Barbarians vs World XV match last month due to the “contradiction” of having symbols to celebrate LGBT+ pride whilst still allowing Israel Folau to play

Brady's Bream bunch capture stunning haul

BREAM RFC have made a miraculous rise through the leagues in recent years with their youthful squad and were crowned champions of both the Papa Johns Counties South Junior Cup and the Forest of Dean Junior Combination Cup this season

We must find a way to stop vicious spiral

HEAVEN knows The Rugby Paper has been warning of a Domesday scenario for Premiership rugby for a decade or more so the calamitous events of the last nine months with three Premiership clubs going under should not come as a surprise

Moore told me: The work starts now

MY FIRST captain in senior rugby was Brian Moore, at Nottingham. I’d gone there having just played for England U19 Colts and he’d just come back from the 1989 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia and I always remember his first words to me were, ‘congratulations on playing for England Colts but now you start at the bottom again, this is men’s rugby’

O'Driscoll: Defeat was emotional

LEINSTER and Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll feels Leinster’s second-straight Champions cup final defeat to La Rochelle could “leave a mark”

Abendanon: French rugby is far more fun

FORMER England full-back Nick Abendanon says that the Premiership is not entertaining enough to compete with the French club game and worries about the future of English rugby

Amateurs set for talks over their future at Hazelwood

LONDON Irish Amateur RFC’s chairman Kevin Flynn is this week meeting administrators appointed after the collapse of the London Irish professional side to find out their plans for Hazelwood

Waterman: Time to hit fifth gear

FORMER England star Danielle Waterman was moved by seeing a record crowd at Twickenham for the Red Roses win in the Grand Slam decider against France, but believes there is work still to be done to get the game into “fifth gear.”

Cleall knows Chiefs will be a tough test for Saracens

EXETER Chiefs head coach Susie Appleby says her side are ‘raring to go’ ahead of today’s semi-final against reigning champions Saracens

Bears swept aside as Gloucester power on

PREMIER 15s pacesetters GloucesterHartpury reached their first ever final by seeing off Bristol Bears at Kingsholm