French firepower subdues England

ENGLAND’S hopes of winning a first Junior World Cup since 2016 were dashed as a formidable French team fought back to claim victory in the semi-final.

We made too many mistakes, admits Chessum

ENGLAND’S tournament ended in disappointing fashion as they were beaten in the bronze medal match for the ninth time in 13 tournaments.

Fantastic France demolish Ireland

FRANCE underlined their complete supremacy at the junior level with a thumping win in the World Rugby U20 Championship Final against Ireland.

Ounsley: We want to bring home gold next time

HAVING been forced to watch her Exeter side come up just short in the Premier 15s final, Jodie Ounsley is hoping to play her part in taking the Chiefs one step further next season.

Warriors setting ambitious targets

NEW Worcester Warriors women managing director Jon Graham has high hopes for his new club going forward, with ambitious targets both off and on the field for Premiership Women’s Rugby’s (PWR) only independent team.

Ringland: Time to cut back on subs

FORMER Ireland and British and Irish Lions player Trevor Ringland has called for rugby to “de-physicalise” by reducing the number of substitutes a team can use in a game.

Misery for Jones as Argentina snatch it

EDDIE Jones’s first campaign with England resulted in a grand slam, but a whitewash beckons at the start of his second stint in charge of Australia after Juan Martin Gonzalez’s late try gave Argentina a deserved victory.

Mo'unga in control as All Blacks look in the mood for World Cup

WITH the World Cup nearly on us, New Zealand served notice they will have a big say as to who wins the Webb Ellis Trophy in October.

Delighted Searle on his way to Toulouse

BILLY Searle’s patience has finally been rewarded with a dream move to European aristocrats Toulouse, and the flyhalf can’t wait “to get stuck in” when he reports for work tomorrow.

Now Bears to stage 'Big Game' in Cardiff

BRISTOL Bears are set to be the latest club to adopt the ‘Big Game’ concept by taking one of their home Premiership games to the iconic Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Itoje: We can go all the way

MARO Itoje insists England have buried their Six Nations nightmare and are ready to be a force at the World Cup in France.

Richardson keen on Scotland role

WHEN Dylan Richardson was called up to play for Scotland against Japan at Murrayfield in 2021, the South African-born utility forward headed north not knowing what to expect.

Dupont is looking to take a sabbatical

ANTOINE Dupont could take a sabbatical year after the 2024 Olympic Games, reports in France suggest.

We trained for hours in baking sun - then lost!

AS England ramps up their preparation for this year’s Rugby World Cup, I can’t help thinking and remembering what is was like being involved in the first-ever World Cup and all the negotiations it took before getting the agreement for it finally to go ahead.

Young stars need more room to grow

A FASCINATING Junior World Cup has reached the business end of affairs so it’s not too late to parachute in and catch some of the excellent action on the World Rugby stream which has been working pretty well while ITV also put a highlights package together.

Wales in the mood to rumble

WALES U20s defence coach Craig Everett says his side are ‘chomping at the bit’ for their physical battle against Georgia today.

Spirited England out for revenge

ENGLAND U20s have the opportunity to make amends for their dismal defeat to France at the Rec in February and book a place in a World Championships final tonight.

Wales pull another one from nowhere

WHEN it comes to finding players from anywhere and nowhere for World Cups, Wales can be relied upon to do so with almost unfailing consistency.

Middleton keen to help Japan move up a notch

SIMON Middleton has taken on a new role as high-performance adviser to the Japan national women’s 15s team.

James: We'll just keep improving

LIFELONG Sale Sharks fan Sam James is hoping his side go one step further next season and lift the Premiership to pave the way for the next generation of players from the North West.

World League will add to the pressure

ALL the excitement in the game at the moment surrounds the upcoming World Cup in France, and that’s the way it should be. But what is going to happen when we have the new World League in play? Where is the highest value going to go then? I’m not sure what the main reason was for the introduction of the new tournament but, in my eyes, it can only add extra pressure on the coaches and players.

'I wanted to keep on working with Steve'

RICHARD Wigglesworth admits staying close to head coach Steve Borthwick was one of his biggest motivations to take his current England post.

When law and spirit are not the same

WE’VE heard an awful lot – far too much, frankly – about the spirit of cricket just recently, and it has had little to do with the amount of single malt a multi-coloured blazer in human form can chuck down his neck in the Long Room. The Great Jonny Bairstow Stumping Scandal has propelled us headlong into the realm of sporting morality: two words that fit together like “love” and “divorce”, or “parliamentary” and “standards”.

A man-mountain who needs to be stopped

POSOLO Tuilagi is a force of nature who stands between England U20 and the chance of another World U20 final – and they will need a Joe Worsley-style masterclass in chop-tackling to keep him at bay.

Radwan's aiming to fly high with Falcons

DESPITE finishing bottom and with relegation set to return in next season’s top flight, Newcastle Falcons winger Adam Radwan insists his side are looking up the table under a new coaching staff led by Alex Codling.

Arendse piles the misery on Jones

EDDIE Jones endured a miserable start to his second tenure in charge of Australia as the Wallabies’ Pretoria curse continued courtesy of a hat-trick by Springboks flyer Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Arundell shouldn't be lost in France

HENRY Arundell’s new contract with Racing has been the subject of a lot of speculation, but the overall understanding is that he has signed a one-year contract, with a two-year option. Arundell is young, talented, and has been given a wonderful opportunity to play for a good team in a great city like Paris – and when you lose your job in the way he did at London Irish it is not surprising that his thinking would be to immediately find some job security.

Gatland calls up uncapped Plumtree

UNCAPPED back row Taine Plumtree, who Scarlets last week unveiled as a new signing, has been called up to the Wales squad. Swansea-born Plumtree, 23, is the son of ex-Swansea head coach and All Blacks assistant John Plumtree.

Radford keen to put steel into the Saints

NEVER one to shy away from a challenge as a child growing up on the largest council estate in Europe, Northampton’s new defence coach Lee Radford knows a thing or two about resilience – something the Saints lacked in abundance in protecting their own line last year.

French surprise as AWJ signs for Toulon

ALUN Wyn Jones has joined French club Toulon as cover during the World Cup.