CATEGORIES

Why less might not be more for stars

MARTIN Johnson spent a rugby eternity perfecting his survival skills in the engine room of the scrum – the nearest thing big-time sport has to a circle of Hell, being dark and sulphurous and generally infernal – but, unlike Dante’s damned souls, he emerged into the light with a full set of glittering prizes: domestic titles, European titles, the England captaincy, the Lions captaincy, Triple Crowns, Grand Slams, a World Cup winner’s medal.

Wales show spirit but Springboks just have too much in reserve

THE Mexican Wave, always an indication of the importance and intensity of the occasion, started as early as the 50th minute as the crowd realised that the first winning of the Qatar Airways Cup was of no real relevance.

Classy May enjoys his day in the sun

THE two sides are synonymous when it comes to style of play and on a sun-drenched late afternoon they both exploited the conditions in an end-to-end encounter that yielded 11 tries and showcased sumptuous skill.

Borthwick's England are on the right track

EDDIE Jones praised Japan’s improvement in the set-pieces, and a 100 per cent record tended to back him up.

Lawrence ready for All Black challenge

OLLIE Lawrence revealed England’s current tour of Japan and New Zealand is the perfect tonic for his Premiership hangover.

We'll get it right this time, insists Darbon

WITH the dust barely settled on their Premiership-winning season, Northampton Saints CEO Mark Darbon has insisted that the mistakes of 2014 won’t be repeated.

Sensational Warriors hold on to defy Bulls

SCOTTISH rugby legend Jim Telfer once spoke of winning in South Africa as toppling Everest, and that’s what Glasgow did in Pretoria last night, showing true heart and determination to be crowned URC champions in spectacular fashion.

Lake gives body and soul to lift Wales

THE sixth best team in Europe against the double world champions on neutral ground in London sounded ominously like another of those embarrassing mis-matches.

Stylish Smith passes audition at No 10

MARCUS Smith passed his first major audition for a permanent role at No.10 as England shook off their jet lag to put eight tries past a novice Japan team.

Borthwick: We must improve discipline

ENGLAND head coach Steve Borthwick warned his side to be squeaky clean in New Zealand after a disciplinary horror show in Japan.

Kent hold on to take honours in thriller

KENT secured back-to-back County Championship titles at Twickenham as Taff Gwilliam's side edged a thrilling final that displayed how cruel rugby can be.

Pirates were one hell of a club to be at for so long

BEATING Saracens when we hadn't played for almost a year was probably the most memorable moment of my Pirates career, which has now come to an end after nearly 200 appearances for the club.

Cheers! Ale looks good for Hammond

HOLD my beer, Nottingham have signed a Swedish prop called Ale.

England punished by lively Georgia

ENGLAND U20 endured a repeat of last year's wobbly World Championship preparations as Mark Mapletoft's side were soundly beaten in Georgia.

Bears bid to hunt down the top dogs

GLOUCESTER-Hartpury will be aiming to secure back-toback Premiership Women's titles at Sandy Park on Saturday but standing in their way are a Bristol Bears side that appear to be peaking at the right time.

Booth wants to see more from Ospreys

OSPREYS coach Toby says having Booth two bowed out in quarter-finals will fuel their appetite to achieve even more next season as they set their ambitions higher.

Green tipped to take chance with England

KEY Harlequins figures believe that Green if Tyrone doesn't get picked for the Springboks this summer, then he'll turn his attentions to becoming an international star with England.

Munster can't live with slick Warriors

GLASGOW will head to South Africa to face the Bulls in the final on Saturday after stunning Munster at Thomond Park.

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.