CATEGORIES

Bulls hold firm to keep Leinster out

IT'S a third successive season without a trophy for Leinster with the Bulls deservedly winning an epic encounter to reach the URC final.

Tuima: I have to move up the ladder

EVEN by his own expectations, it's been quite the year for Exeter Chiefs forward Rusi Tuima.

Townsend targeting four wins out of four

SCOTLAND will have a target on their backs this summer but Gregor Townsend has urged his squad to front up and win all four Tests despite a challenging tour schedule.

Borthwick: We want to get kids engaged

STEVE Borthwick has urged his side to help youngsters in England fall in love with rugby again after being blanked by mainstream TV.

Winters leads brutal ride across USA in aid of Doddie

EVEN for men as mentally and physically durable as former England Grand Slam back rowers Peter Winterbottom and Mike Teague, the 3,250 mile USA coast-to-coast bike ride from San Francisco to New York has been a monumental challenge.

Carpenter looking to make his mark

SALE'S Joe Carpenter is aiming for a cap with Steve Borthwick's Rose touring Red side but admits his heart is still in the land of the white rose.

Fresh calls to get rid of the caterpillar ruck

HARTPURY'S director of rugby John Barnes has called for the eradication of the caterpillar ruck and for scrums to be left alone as part of any future rule changes by World Rugby.

Cov's chief: We'll drop to nat leagues

COVENTRY chief executive Nick Johnston says the Championship club remains prepared to drop down to the national leagues if they can't reach a funding arrangement with the RFU they are fully satisfied with.

New Zealand teams display their strength

NEW Zealand continued their Trans-Tasman dominance with three of the final four teams participating in next weekend's Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals.

Emphatic England demolish Georgia

UNDER-20s Six Nations champions England made a victorious start to their World Championship warm-up matches in Georgia.

Sanderson: We'll come back better

ALEX Sanderson is an ebullient, upbeat character who tries to ride the waves of professional sport with a smile on his face.

Chiefs gunning for champions

REIGNING champions Gloucester-Hartpury have been the league's pacesetters once again and today face an Exeter side determined to make up for last season's final heartache.

Ospreys can't stop Munster marching on

IRELAND star Jack Crowley says Munster must improve as they look to go all the way and retain their URC crown.

Saints stars give credit to Vesty

ALEX Mitchell and George Furbank, two of Northampton's current internationals, have hailed Sam Vesty as the best coach they have worked with.

Callard impressed by Bath coaches

BATH legend Jon Callard believes two of the best signings Johaan van Graan has made as the club's head of rugby are not Finn Russell and Thomas du Toit but the forwards and backs coaches, Richard Blaze and Lee Blackett.

Hotshot Hendy seizes the day

GEORGE Hendy’s ‘Saints Super-sub’ status will be forever etched into Franklin’s Gardens folklore after his magical break eight minutes from time ensured Northampton celebrated the tenth anniversary of their first Premiership title by claiming their second at Twickenham yesterday.

Steward: Sinfield has given me belief

FREDDIE Steward hopes to enjoy some Southern Hemisphere comfort after coming through what he admits has been one of the most “challenging” spells of his relatively short playing career.

Hampson can keep on playing and coaching

CRAIG Hampson has come to an agreement that will allow him to continue playing with Ealing Trailfinders while also remaining as head coach of Chinnor in the Championship.

Minikin sparks a party at Twickenham for Yorkshire

EUPHORIC scenes swept round Ionians ground as Lewis Minikin dashed over to score Yorkshire's fourth try to send the white rose to Twickenham for the first time in 16 years.

Rebels facing tough test against 'Canes

SUPER Rugby Pacific play-off spots were confirmed this weekend, with the soon-to-be extinct Melbourne Rebels living to fight another day in eighth place.

Ospreys' Nicky just too tricky for Cardiff

LEICESTER-BOUND, Smith scored Nicky two tries as Ospreys squeezed into the playoffs with a bonus-point victory over a battling Cardiff in an enthralling game.

Quins want to throw fitting farewell party

HARLEQUINS stars Shaunagh Brown, Rachael Burford and Emily Scott start their final game for the club today.

Mapletoft set for Georgia challenge

ENGLAND U20s head coach Mark Mapletoft has confirmed his 30-player squad that travel to Georgia next week in preparation for next month's World Championship.

Gloucester put faith in 'some old heads'

IT was typical of Gloucester's season - make that the last couple that when they came up against a front five in last weekend's Challenge Cup final that contained four World Cup winners they were missing three frontline forwards.

Smith has final say for Saints

NORTHAMPTON Saints, having run teams ragged in glorious fashion all season, scrummaged and muscled their way to their first Premiership final since 2014 but a resilient Saracens contested the issue until the final whistle.

Finally! Bath hold nerve to see off Sharks

BATH are one victory away from winning the Premiership for the first time after surviving a Sale comeback, but they are likely to be underdogs against a Northampton that has been a couple more years in the making.

Chessum 'gutted' to miss out on England

OLLIE Chessum admits he is \"gutted\" to be missing out on a busy summer with England in the southern hemisphere.

Boyd got me back on track - Ludlam

LEWIS left the Ludlam Franklin's Gardens turf in a Northampton jersey for perhaps the last time on Friday night, six years after he thought about ending his career because he feared it was going nowhere.

Sanderson warns about selecting Curry too soon

SELECTING Tom Curry for this summer's England tour comes with a warning from Sale Sharks boss Alex Sanderson pick him now and risk shortening his Test career.

Stupple glad to be heading back to where he belongs

HERBIE Stupple says he is 'excited' at the prospect of returning back to Plymouth Albion next season.