CATEGORIES

I can't see me returning to coaching, says Murphy

FORMER Leicester boss Geordan Murphy has revealed he is still scarred by the manner of his departure from the Tigers and is doubtful he will ever return to frontline club coaching again Just over four years have passed since the genial Irishman lost his job as director of rugby and the 46-year-old Dubliner doesn't appear to be in a hurry to re-enter the cut throat world of professional rugby coaching.

Baxter: Fixture schedule hurting us

IF tackling the elite of English and European rugby was not enough for Exeter Chiefs to contend with, director of rugby Rob Baxter has blasted fixture schedulers in regards to weekly turnaround times for his side.

Muir's aiming to hit the target with Bath

DARTS-loving Will Muir hopes Bath winger can hit the bullseye in 2025 having gone so close to Premiership glory last season.

Computer games annoy Sanderson

ANGRY Alex Sanderson has vowed to channel the perceived lack of respect for his Sale Sharks side into a driving force for their Premiership title push in 2025.

Tigers chasing dream double

NICKY Smith insists Leicester Tigers will be content not unless they complete a \"dream double\" as Michael Cheika's men target domestic and European glory.

Stick with Marcus, he's best in England

STEVE Borthwick has put three outside halves on hybrid contracts and he has less than a month to decide which one to select for the start of the Six Nations in Dublin.

A humble hero who had a big heart ...

A DARK cloud of sorrow has been hovering above St Thomas’ Church at the east end of Swansea this Christmas over the loss of one of its most beloved disciples, Geoff Wheel.

Firefighter Konkel turning the heat up for Harlequins

FIREFIGHTER Jade Konkel has ignited a Harlequins title charge following a run of miserable successive seasons for the 2020/21 winners.

Quins finish year at the top of the pile

HARLEQUINS went top of the Premiership Women’s Rugby with victory in Big Game 16 at the Allianz Stadium.

Pirates are on course to make it five in a row

CORNISH Pirates are riding a wave of momentum looking for their fifth consecutive Championship win when they visit strugglers Ampthill today.

Nottingham take their chances to silence Cov

A THRILLING display of high-tempo attacking rugby in which wingers Ryan Olowofela and David Williams played prominent roles earned Nottingham a bonus-point success over Midlands rivals Coventry.

Itoje: Life's taken turn for the better under Borthwick

ENGLAND and Saracens lock Maro Itoje has claimed that the ‘atmosphere and experience’ of playing for the national team has improved under Steve Borthwick compared to life under former head coach Eddie Jones, adding that some of the practices Jones employed to get the best out of his players were ‘unnecessary’.

Varndell: Lam has put flair into Bears

WHEN it comes to scoring tries in Premiership Rugby, few players have struck fear into opposition defences quite like Tom Varndell.

Let's hope Brizball can stay in fashion

THIS is not obviously the time to be talking balls – the Twickenham elite have cornered that particular market – but the question demands to be asked: is Brizball the union game’s version of Bazball?

Roots looking to find his old form

ETHAN Roots started 2024 with a bang, man of the match in Italy on his England debut, but his year ended with more of a splutter.

Dragons still can't get better of Cardiff

DRAGONS’ nightmare run against their fiercest rivals continued as they fell to their 19th consecutive defeat, having not beaten them since Boxing Day 2014.

Skivington: Balance is better but much to do

GLOUCESTER director of rugby George Skivington is confident his team are close to striking the right balance between attack and defence as they look to put their Sandy Park jinx to bed.

Rampant Sale leave Bears with nothing

WHAT a difference a week makes. Last weekend, Bristol’s all singing and dancing 54-24 performance at Leicester was hailed as one of the best in Premiership history.

Mitchell & Smith get Saints back on track

NORTHAMPTON swept aside a tame Newcastle team in a match that was over after just 15 minutes.

Quins are denied as Tigers snatch draw

ON a weekend of bizarrely one-sided games, a full throated and entertaining draw in front of nearly 80,000 fans at Twickenham redressed the balance a little but this 16th edition of the Big Match wasn’t without controversy.

Bath give Saracens lesson in finishing

BEN Spencer brushed off his autumn blues to come back and help inflict a record league victory on his old club as Bath went five clear at the top of the Premiership.

Ollie is the right man for England

SINCE Ollie Sleightholme won his first two England caps against New Zealand last summer, and then came off the bench again in the autumn series to score two tries against Australia, and another two against South Africa and Japan, he has not been exposed or looked out of place.

Sides are coming after us - Dowson

PHIL Dowson concedes his Saints are still struggling to cope with being targeted by rivals desperate to stick one on the reigning English champions.

Wilson backing Isgro to create havoc for Quins

RODRIGO Isgro is a “physical specimen” who will become an even more destructive weapon for Quins once he is Premiership “battled hardened”.

Strength in depth at Bath and Scotland is huge, says Bayliss

JOSH Bayliss enjoyed his best run in a Scotland jersey over the autumn but insists competition for places means he’ll never take selection for granted, for either club or country.

Steward prepares new plan of attack

FREDDIE Steward has the safest pair of hands in the Premiership and is now set on finding his feet as an attacking force.

Ford set to follow family line and take up coaching

GEORGE Ford admits he sees himself following in the footsteps of his father and two brothers by moving into coaching one day.

MacGinty out for four months with knee injury

BRISTOL fly-half AJ MacGinty is to miss the next four months with a knee injury that has required surgery.

Jenkins excited to get back in action

BY his own admission, it’s been a ‘painful’ watch for Dafydd Jenkins so far this season.

Diamond is happy to stick with Newcastle

STEVE Diamond has committed himself to Newcastle longterm, as long he is wanted by the new owners when Semore Kurdi sells his stake in the Falcons.