CATEGORIES

150th party nearly ends in tears for sloppy Irish

IT'S been a pretty scruffy autumn for Ireland and that trend continued in Dublin yesterday when they squeezed out a win against an Australia side that probably deserved better for their efforts.

I'm still a crazy little man on the pitch, says Sheedy

CALLUM Sheedy has revealed how being his own biggest critic drives him on amid the quest for perfection. Cardiff's Welsh international flyhalf is now more than a decade into his career, but admits he is still \"a crazy little man\" out on the field.

Saints are looking to kick-start campaign

NORTHAMPTON last season used the Champions Cup to turbo charge their Premiership campaign and will be looking for a repeat when European rugby’s top club tournament starts this weekend.

Hawkins linked with Wales move

EXETER have yet to open talks with Joe Hawkins over a new contract as speculation mounts that the centre will be returning to Wales next year.

Pressure builds on RFU chief to resign

TOM Ilube’s tenure as RFU Board Chairman, and his financial credentials, will come under increased scrutiny with the news that Crossword Cybersecurity PLC, a company of which he was founder and chief executive, went into administration on November 18.

England can find a little bit of cheer

SO HERE we are on the final day of England’s autumn international series with all of us hoping and expecting Steve Borthwick’s team to win today after three weeks of bitter disappointment.

Stop messing with Marcus - Campese

DAVID Campese believes England are going backwards under Steve Borthwick, who is ‘messing around’ with talisman Marcus Smith.

Being a Lion was the highlight of my career

I PLAYED 19 games and scored 219 points for the Lions, on the tours to South Africa in 1968 and New Zealand in 1971, but I never played in a Test and that was fair enough.

Cook's crew not fazed as they eye tilt at top half

THERE appear to be few signs of second season syndrome at Westcombe Park as captain Nick Cook reveals the group aren’t even contemplating the threat of relegation and are instead targeting a top-half finish.

Forwards pack a punch for the Reds

OLD Redcliffians produced a proud defensive effort to take a bonus-point win.

Tom 'Ailes' the achievements of inspirational skipper Riley

SEDGLEY Park No. 8 Tom Ailes says his team relish the competitive nature of National One and is confident the Tigers can rectify their rocky start to the season in weeks to come.

Strachan confident Ampthill will be firing again soon

FRASER Strachan is determined to put Ampthill’s leaky defensive showings behind them and gain some much needed confidence in the run up to Christmas.

It's a whole new ball game for Rigg

WILL Rigg’s ambition was to become a professional cricketer but it is the oval ball rather than The Oval that is his driver now.

Scarratt leads the way for Lightning

LOUGHBOROUGH won a wet and windy East Midlands Derby after having the bonus point in the bag by half-time.

Becconsall: We need to release pressure

WILL Becconsall says Exeter are not spooked by the threat of relegation as they look to turn around their Premiership campaign after starting with six straight defeats.

It's not looking good for Lions from Wales

ONLY once in the last 100 years have the Lions chosen to play an entire Test series with as few as two Welshmen: Ieuan Evans and Scott Gibbs during the last tour of the amateur era.

Radford ready to get Saints rolling

CHAMPIONS North- ampton made a steady rather than spectacular start to the Premiership but Lee Radford is confident they will move through the gears in the coming weeks.

Pearson's power is enough to carry Saints past Cov

A BATTLING forward display in which flanker Tom Pearson produced a stand-out performance enabled Northampton to scrap their way past committed Championship leaders Coventry.

Saracens hold on to keep Quins out

SARACENS inflicted a first defeat in the Premiership Cup on local rivals Harlequins in wet and windy conditions at the StoneX Stadium.

Dan's learning a lot from top pair

FOR Theo Dan, every trip to Allianz Stadium is special and for good reason.

If someone thinks I'm an a***, they can switch off

JAMES Haskell took the direct approach as a player and he is no different as a podcaster, saying it as he sees it rather than tiptoeing around a subject so as not to trample on feelings.

Kolbe's majesty is a delight to behold

CHESLIN Kolbe won the “man of the match” award for his two-try contribution to South Africa’s victory over England, thereby proving that for all their sins of omission and commission, members of the union game’s decision-making class still have the capacity to recognise the bleeding obvious when they see it.

We need an agenda for regeneration and change

SACKING head coach Steve Borthwick and RFU CEO Bill Sweeney will not solve England’s problems because those problems are too complex and deep-rooted.

Borthwick can't afford another run of failure

WHEN it comes to “jam tomorrow” England teams have produced more jars of it than Chivers over the last two decades – and the lacklustre results by Steve Borthwick’s crew over the autumn is yet another serving of undelivered promise.

Ollivon proves point (whatever he says)

WHEN France’s analysts examine data from Friday’s win over ill-disciplined, inconsistent Argentina to complete an Autumn Nations Series clean-sweep, they might find a message hidden in the lines of Charles Ollivon’s tracking map.

This is where I'm supposed to be - Sione

SIONE Tuipulotu’s journey from the suburbs of Melbourne to the Scotland captaincy will come full circle today as he leads out his adopted nation against his country of birth at Murrayfield.

Dirty dozen could finish off Gatland

WHEN the Gatland Gate clanked shut behind him last night on a year of endless misery, the man himself might have wondered whether he will be back to walk through it again.

Wales are battered by force of Storm Sprinbok

THE closed Principality Stadium roof kept Storm Bert at bay, but for Wales there was to be no escape from Storm Springbok.

England have bullets but not the right gun

I WAS optimistic about England’s chances at the start of the autumn series, given the closeness of the games against New Zealand in the summer.

Fiji cave in as Ireland find some firepower

IRELAND finally found some fluency and firepower this autumn with eight tries at the Aviva but Fiji were a shadow of the side that beat Wales in Cardiff earlier this month.