CATEGORIES

It felt a bit surreal when I ran out at Murrayfield

RICHARD DE CARPENTIER - THE FORMER ENGLAND SEVENS INTERNATIONAL AND LEICESTER, WORCESTER, HARLEQUINS AND BATH BACK ROWER

High life suits Wales as they prepare for World Cup assault

Wales enjoy the high life as they get set for France

Haskell: We must be tough

ENGLAND’S World Cup hopes rest on building an aggressive, physical spine of ‘tough guys’ to intimidate their opposition.

GB women clinch sevens spot at Paris Olympics

GREAT Britain’s women’s sevens team won gold at the European Games in Krakow, Poland to clinch a place at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

O'Kelly's backing his boys to triumph

FORMER Ireland lock Malcolm O’Kelly believes his nation will win the World Cup – if the coaches avoid the preparation issues that have cost them in previous tournaments.

Biarritz are left sweating on future

BY the time you read this, ProD2 side Biarritz were supposed to be under new management after a deal finally brought an end to a difficult and convoluted period in the storied club’s recent history.

Jones: We must be multi-dimensional

THE last peak scaled by England under Jones was in Australia last summer when they came from one down to clinch the Test series against the Wallabies at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

RFU needs to strike the right financial balance

EARLIER this week, the RFU president Nigel Gillingham, sent out a newsletter outlining many of the current problems facing the game in England and what the RFU are attempting to do to put it right.

I think I took more good options than bad ones

MY LIFE IN RUGBYIAN WHITTEN THE FORMER IRELAND, EXETER & ULSTER CENTRE

Recalling when all roads led to the sea

AS ANY half-decent student of European history knows, the first Russian Revolution of 1905 paved the way for the end of the Tsars.

25 years on and the pain is fading...

Next week marks the 25th anniversary of the end of what became known as the “Tour of Hell”. Jon Newcombe talks to some of the players whose Test careers were over before they barely began as a result of the frightful hammerings at the hands of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

Great to see Dupont going for Paris gold

RATHER overlooked during a hectic end of season in France which saw Toulouse march off with all four national titles – Top 14, U20, U18 and U16 – was a report in the authoritative Le Parisien insisting that Antoine Dupont will be missing some or even all of the 2024 Six Nations to pursue his dream of also winning an Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics next July.

Baldwin still glad he headed to Falcons

Jon Newcombe talks to Newcastle’s new defence coach and finds a man who is certain he has made the right decision

Torture of the ice age gave us faith

DON’T tell me or any of the boys from 2011 that the players in the Welsh squad training for the World Cup are having a hard time of it. Hoods, splashes of water in their faces and carrying logs on long marches – luxury!

Time to balance a weighty problem

A CLEVER man once predicted that progress would eventually turn out to be a circle rather than a straight line.

Reds to kick off their defence against Cov

CHAMPIONS Jersey Reds will begin the defence of their Championship crown against third-placed Coventry when league action starts on October 22.

You write off the All Blacks at your peril

BEFORE this edition of the Rugby Championship, people have been writing off New Zealand, and talking about their decline – but, even if they do not have the presence Richie McCaw’s world champions had eight years ago, you write them off at your peril.

Cardall set to fire for the Falcons

AS Tim Cardall reflects on the eventful last nine months for the career, his hope for the new Premiership season is that it will command attention for the richness of its rugby rather than more clubs collapsing under a debt pile.

Halliday's collective ultimatum

Halliday: We need to see radical changes

Heavenly finish as Crusaders snatch title

THE Crusaders made it seven straight titles in Scott Robertson’s final game in charge to sign off on one of rugby’s greatest-ever dynasties.

Charalambous on Scottish mission

AFTER aiding the club’s surival bid last term, London Scottish new signing Rhys Charalambous is hoping to use the final three games of last season as the building blocks for a mid-table finish this term.

Noot: Blackheath aiming for top six

ALEX Noot has stressed that his new Blackheath side are not there to merely make up the numbers next season in National 1 and are aiming to compete at the top of the table.

Playing for my country was never about money

MY playing career with Tonga (a record 54 caps) really came about as a result of the riots of 2006 when political unrest over an election result back home led to Nuku’alofa, the capital, being burnt down.

Sensational Jonah, the game's first global star

IT’S A quiet corner of a five star hotel in Johannesburg four days before New Zealand open their 1995 World Cup account against Ireland at Ellis Park. A giant man-boy with comically oversized headphones enveloping his ears is sitting alone on a settee, bored as only teenagers can be bored, and counting down the minutes before All Blacks press officer Ric Salizzo tips him the wink and he can buzz off back to his room.

Nienaber keeps faith with World Cup stars

SOUTH Africa’s squad preparing for the Rugby Championship contains 19 players who were involved in the 2019 World Cup final against England in Yokohama – with two more in contention for this year’s tournament in France.

Irish weren't given enough time - Ojo

LONDON Irish’s record try scorer Topsy Ojo says it’s regrettable that the club weren’t given more time to try and find someone to fund the club before their suspension from the Premiership in the first week of June.

Why this merger just might be the way to go

ANOTHER day in Welsh rugby and another potential drama emerges. They always say the close season is the ‘silly season’ for stories, but I’m not sure which end of the scale I’d place the suggestion of a potential merger between Cardiff and the Ospreys.

Hill keeps climbing the peaks in France

Jon Newcombe talks to top coach Richard Hill after he secured yet another promotion in the French leagues

Law-tinkerers are a danger to the game

THE odds on Owen Farrell travelling to the World Cup as England’s starting No.10 are even shorter than the lifespan of a European Champions Cup format, which means three things: watertight kicking and defence, an ocean of attitude and, according to his critics, the imaginative scope of a whelk. How might we describe this style of rugby? Fazball. Owzat?

Harlequins swoop to sign trio from London Irish

HARLEQUINS have pounced for three players who found themselves out of work after the collapse of neighbours London Irish, including England centre Will Joseph.