I'm delighted we are opening title race against Saints, says Russell

BATH were inches away from Premiership glory despite playing almost an hour of the final with 14 men, and with their title rivals waving goodbye to household names, talismanic fly-half Finn Russell believes they are in great shape to claim the trophy this time around.

All Blacks gear up for Springbok showdown

Unbeaten run at Eden Park extends to 50

13 years on and Yeandle's fire is still burning bright

WHEN it comes to the Exeter Chiefs' success story, Jack Yeandle has never been too far away from the main headlines.

Charity cricket goes with a swing

A BUMPER crowd turned out for an entertaining charity all star cricket match between The Matt Gallagher Foundation XI and a Knowle & Dorridge Cricket Club Xl last week, raising funds to help people with Motor Neurone Disease.

Ewers: I'm thrilled to be joining Stormers

AS the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden hue over Cape Town's iconic Table Mountain, Dave Ewers stepped off the plane, his heart racing with a mix of excitement and nostalgia.

Premier Sports to cover Champions Cup

THE Champions Cup and Challenge Cup will be shown on Premier Sports in the UK next season, with tournament organisers EPCR agreeing a three-year deal with the subscription channel who already own the UK rights to the URC and Top 14.

Leatherbarrow banks on a third tier future

TEDDY Leatherbarrow's decision to drop down to the third tier of English rugby is very much a tale of the times in rugby.

Sponsorship deal will really help grassroots

THE news that the cabbage patch is to get a name change which will ensure increased funds for the grassroots game for at least four years, has to be a really good thing.

Young talent climbing the ladders of success

EXCITEMENT women's for rugby should only grow based on the successful work done by the England player pathway system that provides the next batch of young talent with chances to shine.

New owners keen to inspire Bournemouth

BOURNEMOUTH Rugby Club, who currently play in Regional 2 South Central, at the sixth tier of the English rugby union system, are set to take a major leap into the future following a successful acquisition.

How the sun keeps shining for Spain

IT'S been an outstanding summer for Spain... and the good news keeps coming. Last month Los Leones embarked on a first-ever tour of the Pacific and recorded an historic 29-20 win over Tonga in Nuku'alofa, not to mention a narrow 34-30 defeat against Samoa in Apia the previous week.

The matchday vibe in Bath was awesome

I DIDN’T play rugby until I was 16, I was swimmer for most of my childhood in Pembrokeshire and I played cricket but athletics was the big one for me – I threw the discus.

Berry's briefest of brief encounters...

TEN summer Olympiads have come and all but gone since Marty Berry went off on a sprint which made Noah Lyles' in Paris the other night feel a bit sluggish.

What counts is how the money is spent

IT WAS a close-run thing but, after crunching the numbers harder than a caffeine-fuelled psephologist on election night, we can now predict the following with a high degree of confidence: there is more chance of Dan Cole outperforming Simone Biles on the uneven bars than of a badged and blazered rugger chap from some swanky corner of the shires erasing the word \"Twickenham\" from his vocabulary.

RFU must learn from Olympic gold rush

THE Paris Olympics should have rammed home an urgent reminder to the RFU that English rugby has to invest in an equivalent of the World Class Programme that has underpinned the significant increase in the number of Olympic medals – especially gold – at the last five games.

Diamond: We'll be fit and raring to go

STEVE Diamond insists Newcastle Falcons will be fit for purpose when they kick off the new Premiership season at home to Bristol on Friday, September 20.

Summerhill in hunt for a new deal

AS he comes to terms with being unemployed, Aled Summerhill admits he has taken a gamble, but is standing by his decision.

I'm at Tigers for the long haul - Cheika

TROUBLE-shooter Michael Cheika has told Leicester fans he is not just a quick fix merchant and is hoping to be in it for the long haul in the Midlands.

Matthews stepping into Pellegrini shoes

REPLACING World Cup star Pat Pellegrini could be perceived as a daunting prospect but Coventry new signing Tommy Matthews is confident he's up to the challenge.

Easter ‘appalled' by Prem Cup exclusion

NICK Easter has described the decision to exclude his Chinnor side and Cambridge from next season’s Premiership Cup as “appalling and astonishing.”

We must all share the blame -Youngs

BEN Youngs insists Leicester’s players only have themselves to blame for last season’s flop and not Dan McKellar who exited as head coach in June.

Halliday: I'm proud of united approach

SIMON Halliday has left his role as chairman of the Championship Clubs’ board both proud and frustrated by his 12 months in the role.

Jaminet appeals against long ban

FRANCE international Melvyn Jaminet is to appeal against a 34week suspension and €30,000 fine imposed by the FFR's disciplinary committee for posting a video to social media during the July tour of Argentina and Uruguay in which he made racist comments.

Good to see women winning more awards

It WAS disappointing that Team GB women's sevens side were unable to get any medals that we all thought they would. With a number of the team from England's World Cup runners-up squad in the 15s game, it was almost unthinkable that they would not get a medal of some sort.

Call me The Stag - but I was stuck with Bambi

IT'S been great watching the Rugby Sevens at the Olympics just now.

Farrell loves it, says Robinson

JASON Robinson always knew that his Wigan Warriors teammate Andy-Farrell would go onto great things as a coach he just did not realise that it would be in a different code.

Why SVNS makes sense for the future

Rugby sevens-or SVNS, as a London-based team of funkily-dressed marketing executives have somehow succeeded in rebranding it used to be known as \"the short game\".

Hastings opens up options for Townsend

IF YOU were to ask different Scottwo land fans for their assessment of the tour of the Americas, you would be forgiven if you thought they hadn't seen any of the same matches.

Golden girls put in final flourish

NEW Zealand proved themselves undisputed queens Olympic 7s by beatof ing Canada at the Stade de France to secure their second gold medal in a row.

Salvi adding steel to Georgia defence

WHEN it comes to taking on a challenge, Julian Salvi has never been backwards in coming forwards and he's relishing his latest one as Georgia's defence coach.