Savage Bears Serve Brive A Tasty Bagle

PAT Lam acclaimed his Bears romp in France as “a big statement” in their desire to become one of Europe’s leading clubs.

Nerveless Dan Gives Saints Late Salvation

DAN Biggar showed nerves of steel to keep Northampton unbeaten in Europe, but it was still not enough to make Chris Boyd happy after his Saints were given a real scare by Benetton.

Quins Win Ugly To Keep Their Euro Dream Alive

PAUL Gustard praised the effort and energy of his Quins as the London club breathed new life into their European crusade but left Bath facing a monumental challenge to progress any further in the competition.

Franco And Irish Defy Musclemen Of Bayonne

FRANCO van der Merwe produced a colossal captain’s display as Irish held off a monster Bayonne outfit to bag seven tries and a heartening Challenge Cup win.

Bustling Beno Ready To Muscle In On Prop Stars

INSPIRED by the World Cup exploits of cousin Maro Itoje, Bath’s bulldozing prop Beno Obano believes he is hitting top form in the race to further his own Test ambitions.

End This Secrecy Over Saracens

WHETHER you take the view that Saracens have nobbled themselves, or have been nobbled by others jealous of their success, Europe’s champion club have crashed to earth.

Bears Offer Rory Chance To Go Out At The Top

RORY Best is being asked to kick retirement into touch and take a fast track to the summit of the English Premiership.

Trim the bench, enforce rules...and improve game

THE 2019 World Cup was a great advert for the game, and even though I was a long way away from Japan, I loved it – and also believe that it can be a springboard for an even better version of rugby union.

The Beast has become a beauty for Springboks

FEW players get to announce their retirement off the back of possibly a career-best, World Cup-winning, performance but that is the happy place Tendai Mtawarira finds himself occupying this week as he enjoys the Springboks’ trophy tour of the Rainbow Nation.

Ospreys would be so magical with Liam

The Saracens salary cap scandal could have a positive outcome on the game in Wales with Liam Williams out of contract at the end of the season.

McNicholl will give North some competition

Five years ago Johnny McNicholl found himself surrounded by so many All Blacks that it must have seemed a mere matter of time before he became one himself.

Lions and Baa-baas lined up for Twickenham

THE Lions are planning to play the Barbarians at Twickenham for the first time since the Gareth Edwards-Phil Bennett era more than 40 years ago.

Assistant coaches could hold key to All Blacks job

As an All Black, Tony Brown played just 18 Tests and lived almost permanently in the shadow of one of the greatest New Zealand fly-halves of the modern era, Andrew Mehrtens.

Hardwick Shows Tigers Have Turned The Corner

It wasn't pretty but Leicester will not care how they achieved their first Premiership win of the season.

Kolisi No.6 Shirt Brings Fresh Hope To A Troubled Land

Everybody recognises the power of the shirt, the passion and pride behind a nation’s national colours and jersey that has been handed down through the decades.

Eddie Has To Stay For Four Years Or Go

Big matches are tough for a reason – they are so intense and full of pressure and that’s when you have to produce your best performance. England had done that until this final 80 minutes of asking.

Sometimes You Never Know Just Why You've Lost, Admits Eddie

FRUSTRATED Eddie Jones predicted four years of pain for his England side after they hardly fired a shot in yesterday’s World Cup final defeat to South Africa.

Set-piece Supremacy Has Ravers Rocking On

CALDY head coach Matt Cairns attributed his side’s hard-fought victory over Fylde to their dominance at the scrum and lineout as the hosts reduced the deficit at the top of the National League 2 North table.

England Are Crushed By Iron Fist Of Mighty Boks

WELL, it didn’t go to the script and will have left England fans devastated.

England Favourites But So Were All Blacks

Well, who would have guessed it was semifinals week with so many childish statements by all the teams involved?

Bordeaux Face Battle To Retain Radradra

Semi Radradra’s stock has never been higher than it is right now. After a slow start to the World Cup, the Fijian – a centre by trade who played on the wing in Japan – showed exactly what he is capable of against Georgia, and had pundits and fans alike purring in appreciation. Some even dubbed him “the world’s best player”.

Like Warren, I Dare To Dream Despite Injuries

FOR the neutral rugby fan it’s a great shame this morning’s World Cup semi-final between Wales and South Africa has been robbed of two big entertainers in Liam Williams and Cheslin Kolbe.

Rugby Gods Reduced To Rubble By Eddie's Heroes

EDDIE Jones called the All Blacks ‘rugby gods’ before yesterday’s semi-final.

Keep Improving To Be World Champs

LEADING into the World Cup England had become renowned as a team who start fast, build a lead but then tail off in the second-half following the Six Nations defeat to Wales and draw with Scotland.

Excellent Ollie Puts Dragons In Control

OLLIE Griffiths played a starring role as the Dragons condemned Glasgow to their third defeat of the PRO14 season with a comfortable victory at Rodney Parade.

Warburton red card still haunts me today

THERE is a picture of me after our 2011 World Cup semi-final defeat by France.

Rebirth of Hiroshima ignored by RWC

They began queuing in the rain at the Peace Memorial Park first thing on Friday morning, global pilgrims to the place where a blinding flash of light turned an entire city into a vast crematorium.

Now let Rhino loose on those All Blacks!

EDDIE JONES hailed Kyle Sinckler’s “rhino charge” of a try as he revelled in England’s thrashing of Australia and looked ahead to the semi-final clash with the All Blacks on Saturday.

Leitch is new hero for man in sumo suit

Nick Cain looks at the impact Japan’s World Cup giant-killing is having on the whole country.

Japan should join the Rugby Championship

Even as a Scot I was applauding Japan by the end of the match, but I do wonder whether people haven’t gone completely over the top in their praise of the Cherry Blossoms.