CATEGORIES

My body is telling me to quit, saysEvans

WALES are about to be hit by another loss despite spending the final weekend of the autumn series all washed up with nobody to play.

Vermeulen excited to visit old friends

EXETER start their Champions Cup campaign away in South Africa on Saturday, but Jacques Vermeulen will feel very much at home.

Scotland deserve fair share of Lions

WE MAY be exaggerating here, but not by much: since the wonderful Tom Smith made the last of his half-dozen consecutive international appearances in the red jersey of his dreams, as opposed to the blue one, it has been easier to spot a Twickenham chief executive in a food bank than clap eyes on a Test Lion from Scotland.

We'll be locked and loaded for Sale trip - Cheika

WITH wins over Exeter, Newcastle and Saracens, playing away from home in the Premiership currently holds no fears for Leicester.

Sanderson: We need to get our bite back

ALEX Sanderson expects Sale to bear their teeth against resurgent Leicester at the AJ Bell Stadium after heavy defeats on the road in the last two rounds.

Newcastle master misfiring Saracens

STEVE Diamond pledged that Newcastle had to focus on home form and turn Kingston Park into a fortress, and those words came to fruition in a season-defining victory against Saracens.

Lam puts Ibitoye in frame for England

PAT Lam believes Steve Borthwick should put Gabriel Ibitoye in his future England plans and give the wing a Six Nations run out.

Carreras class has Saints on the rack

GLOUCESTER'S first-half charge won this classy Premiership contest despite a Northampton fight-back led by fit-again No.9 Alex Mitchell.

Chiefs fight hard but Bath go back to top

THIS was a rare ugly match in the Premiership as Bath returned to the top of the table and Exeter’s losing run stretched to seven league matches.

Pepper praise for Underhill

SAM Underhill was one of Guy Pepper’s idols growing up and he’s now enjoying learning from him in person at Bath.

We can't compete with the big dogs, admits Diamond

STEVE Diamond will be putting young players on long-term contracts to protect Newcastle from the greater spending power of every other club in the Premiership.

Tough for clubs to get permission for 10,001

I HAVE every sympathy with my old friend Simon Halliday, the outgoing Chairman of the Championship Board, and the Championship clubs having read his comments in Nick Cain's article in TRP last Sunday.

Don't be in awe of 'The System'

AS a long-time England supporter I feel compelled to express my concerns about the performances and results of our team.

Scotland must not waste potential

N assessment of where Scotland and England are after the autumn series, with another Calcutta Cup clash to come at Twickenham in the middle of the Six Nations, is an interesting comparison. It's made even more pointed by competition for places on the 2025 Lions tour.

Boks going to need a bigger trophy cabinet...

Peter Jackson looks back on a season where, once again, South Africa proved to be the best team on the planet

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.