CATEGORIES

Riley: We believe we can make top four

SAM Riley is bullish about Quins prospects of stashing some silverware in the Twickenham Stoop cabinet and confirms the Londoners’ sights are fixed on all targets.

This Italian squad are good - but not quite their best side

HAVING reported on Italy since the early 1990s, I wouldn’t hesitate to nominate the current crop as the strongest all-round Azzurri squad in modern history … but I’m not sure yet whether they are the best Italy side ever.

Smith has diamonds on the soles of his shoes

FIN Smith confirmed that he is a big match player to the soles of his boots when he banged over the 50m penalty ten minutes from time which eventually wrestled the Calcutta Cup from Scotland’s grip for the first time in four years.

Wall times it perfectly to snatch it at the death

EXETER lock Dorothy Wall dotted down amid a bundle of bodies to break the deadlock in the final play and give Chiefs an end of season victory at Welford Road.

Hardy is getting back to his best

AFTER going through a challenging spell in his career, Kieran Hardy is now enjoying his rugby again and playing with a smile on his face.

Start off with the 'new' and finish with the old

I FIND it hard to understand why there are now so many breaks in the Six Nations competition as after just having a week off we now face another break extending the competition from the February 1 to March 15.

Northampton get it right this time

NORTHAMPTON put their finals day ghosts behind them to win their first Premiership U18 Academy final since 2014.

It's Sale at a canter as late scores clinch win

SALE got the better of their near-table rivals Birmingham Moseley with a decisive win under the lights at Heywood Road.

This brotherhood of mates is what keeps us together

THAT was an awesome performance from the boys. We were talking all week about putting in an 80-minute display and I definitely felt we did that.

French stars need to get on the same page

HOW will France respond in Rome after losing to England? I don’t believe that French supporters will be feeling that charitable towards their own team after their defeat at Twickenham, and will want to see the record set straight against Italy this afternoon.

Never can a team have lost and won so much

FOR more than 60 glorious minutes, the man they call ‘Jockey’ watched his no-hopers dare to cause an upset every bit as outrageous as any 100-1 winner of the Grand National.

I'm glad to be in a 'beautiful place' - Curry

TOM Curry has turned back time to when he was a teenager after his recovery from injury.

England's warriors end Scottish curse

ENGLAND skipper Maro Itoje hailed his side’s warrior spirit as they reclaimed the Calcutta Cup at Twickenham yesterday after five years of hurt.

Cut bench in half to make a game of it

THE bench is damaging rugby union, and this Six Nations should be a watershed moment in curbing its overblown influence.

Racing's delight at smash and grab

RACING really needed that. A first win in the Top 14 since they beat Pau on the road in early November.

The time's ripe for a summit of the egos

UMMITS are all the rage right now, “rage” being the operative word, and as the union game has finished turning itself into a classic Monty Python sketch – “Would you like a five-year argument or the full half-century?” – why not get everyone round a table and thrash things out once and for all? If Twickenham’s governing class can spend time, money and political capital on a nationwide roadshow aimed primarily at saving the job of their own chief executive, they can surely help organise something a little less self-indulgent.

Triple top for Ireland, new hope for Wales

SO Ireland secure the Triple Crown and remain on course for the Grand Slam, while the Welsh losing run continues – but that hardly begins to tell the story of this compelling encounter.

Fin, not Finn, for Lions XV Chalmers

FORMER Scotland flyhalf Craig Chalmers believes it might be best to exclude the ageing Finn Russell in the starting British and Irish Lions side this summer to facilitate bringing youngsters through.

Davies back to put fire into Coventry

FOLLOWING a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Steff Davies hopes to return at the tail end of this campaign with a bang.

Blackett: Argentina the goal for these A players

LEE Blackett has told his England A players to put themselves in the shop window for the senior tour to Argentina this summer when they take on Ireland at Ashton Gate today.

Neild: We need to see return of promotion

CAMERON Neild is a “big fan” of the old automatic promotion and relegation, and wants it brought back to make the Premiership more “exciting and fascinating”.

Brough is so Hungary to build on early adventure

BIRMINGHAM Moseley winger Daniel Brough says his love for rugby was solidified when he spent two years playing for Portuguese team Lousa alongside Chile international Pablo Casas in what he describes as a \"boy to a man experience\".

There's more to come from this England pack

ENGLAND'S win over France last weekend was a huge confidence booster ahead of Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland because of the way the team gave themselves an opportunity to win - and the players seized the moment.

Ellis was a rock that we'll never forget, vows Old Reds' Dan

NATIONAL League rugby was rocked last week when Old Redcliffians prop Ellis Joseph passed away aged 27, and captain Dan Fry says the club's focus is to honour his legacy.

Coach hails his King for the day

REDRUTH had to dig deep to see off a physical Cinderford side who deservedly took a losing bonus point back home.

Flying Falcons hoping to make it six out of six

SON of a pig farmer, Freddie Lockwood has been a headline-hogging act for Newcastle this season.

England need to be more consistent

THOSE who believe England have turned a big corner following their last-minute fireworks against France are optimists, simply because their record so far under head coach Steve Borthwick suggests there will be more boom-and-bust.

Too tall to be a pilot, I found lift-off in rugby

Jon Newcombe talks to Josh McNally who says that, without the RAF, he would not have achieved anything in the game

Bears on top but Bath go through

BRISTOL looked the stronger side on paper and so it eventually the bonus-point win still wasn't enough for them to secure a place in the knockout stages proved but Bears were left to rue a 78-19 hammering at the Rec and a surprise defeat at Bedford which left them with too much to do on the final weekend of the competition.

Great that we found a way to win, says Sleightholme

OLLIE Sleightholme insists England have finally broken their glass ceiling but urged them to take a leaf out his club Northampton's book.