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Veteran Earls out on his own
LIKE his native Limerick, there has never been anything flash or fancy about Keith Earls which goes some way to understanding why he might have thought last week's acrobatics against England a bit OTT.
'I'd signed for Salford day before RFU called"
I SIGNED for Salford Rugby League one Monday, and then the following day, Don Rutherford at the RFU, rang me up to say I’d been selected on the bench for England’s game against Scotland.
Big beasts need to set the right mood
SO where did the last four years go? The final warm-up matches are over yet it seems only yesterday that England got delayed on their way to the World Cup final in Japan, hurried through their warm up and the coin toss and then lost to a Springboks team that saved its very best for last. Some are still replaying that match in their minds, it seems so raw and recent.
YOUNG GUNS
MAXSURRY SCOTLAND U20 PROP
Big cats likely to dine on minnows
IT MUST be a sobering prospect for the makeweights, travelling to a World Cup with a bunch of players registering close to zero on the Name Recognition Scale – the seismological equivalents of faint tremors – and burdened by the fear that any meeting with half-decent opponents playing reasonably well might reduce their campaign to rubble. But that’s enough about Wales.
I'd put my faith in Mitchell to spark England
NO MATTER what Steve Borthwick does he’s just getting lynched by the public There’s a certain pool of people who think Marcus Smith should be at 10, you’ve then got other people who are criticising that he’s named the squad early and then there was massive criticism becasue they didn’t celebrate the players enough when announcing the squad like South Africa or New Zealand.
England heading to the Badlands
STEVE Borthwick has taken a fork in the road which has led England into the Badlands of international rugby. With two weeks to go until England start their 2023 World Cup campaign against Argentina in Marseille his team looks high and dry.
Rowe confident Chiefs will be back in the black soon
TONY Rowe is confident Exeter will move back into the black by the end of the season after three years of financial turbulence sparked by the pandemic.
Healy fear as Ireland battle back
CIAN Healy dealt Andy Farrell a big World Cup blow as the veteran prop sustained a bad injury at the Stade JeanDauger in Bayonne.
My concerns: attack, defence and attitude
WATCHING England now is the most frustrating thing in the world. I want them to do well, but it does not look promising when a lot of the players are playing worse for England than they do for their clubs.
Springboks fire out a World Cup warning
SOUTH Africa showed how hard they will be to dethrone as World Champions by inflicting New Zealand’s biggest ever defeat in Test rugby at Twickenham on Friday night.
Scotland head to France on a high
SCOTLAND put a sluggish first half behind them to score five second-half tries and head to the World Cup in buoyant mood with a third victory out of four from their warm-up campaign.
Galthie puts his faith in Jalibert to step up at 10
FRANCE head coach Fabien Galthie has gone full throttle for their final World Cup warm up match against Australia this afternoon.
Shambolic England crash to new lows
THIS was not just England hitting rock bottom, it was plumbing the rugby depths.
Davies: I almost gave up on Wales career
SCARLETS scrum-half Gareth Davies has revealed he came close to giving up on his international career before Warren Gatland's return as head coach.
Bassett gets ready to roar for Tigers
CHRIS ASHTON will take some replacing but Josh Bassett has come to Leicester hoping to make a splash of his own.
Player welfare needs top priority - Hayman
CARL Hayman says rugby is in denial about player welfare and insists there must be improved education on head injuries.
Welsh aiming for 10-team elite division
THE Welsh Premiership will be replaced in the 2024-25 season by a “finishing school” for rising talent with the number of teams reduced from 13 to 10. Existing Premiership clubs can each apply for a slot, with criteria for the Elite Domestic Competition (EDC) yet to be finalised.
Lawes: We were made to look silly
STEVE Borthwick had to admit his side were outplayed yesterday as England suffered their first ever defeat to Fiji who triumphed at Twickenham 30-22.
S Africa ward off England fightback
SOUTH Africa delivered a commanding performance in the second half to beat England U18s.
De Klerk: We're out to prove a point
FAF de Klerk says South Africa have a point to prove against New Zealand when they clash at Twickenham on Friday.
Rugby League has taken over says Campese
AUSTRALIA legend David Campese is concerned that rugby union is starting to mimic traditional rugby league and is a poorer sport as a result.
Moyle quick off the mark as Pirates find their feet
CHAMPIONSHIP side Pirates produced seven tries as they dominated the first of two outings against National One Plymouth in front of an excellent pre-season crowd of 1,360.
England must get the ball to the wide men
FOR four years, Sir Clive Woodward in his matchday analysis in his newspaper column always states that the coaches pick the right team... he might be right one day.
New Scotland cap Healy has point to prove
NEW Scotland recruit Ben Healy admits he may have “a bit of a chip on his shoulder” as he aims to prove he was right to switch international allegiance from his native Ireland.
Fiji give France a run for their money
FRANCE put the loss of star fly-half Romain Ntamack behind them as they continued their fine form but were made to work hard for a win over Fiji in Nantes.
Gatland's men get lesson in finishing
AS distressing dress rehearsals go, this one leaves a wishful Wales pinning their faith in the old showbiz dictum that ‘It’ll be all right on the night’.
Time is running out for chaotic England
ANOTHER day, another English disciplinary implosion with a red card, this time given to Billy Vunipola, for a headhigh tackle on Ireland loose-head Andrew Porter in the 52nd minute of this Red Rose warm-up debacle in Dublin.
Robinson's delight to be back at Bath
Jon Newcombe finds the club's former captain in fine form as he returns to join coaching team
Take mental health seriously - Rugman
ELLIE Rugman has urged new England head coach John Mitchell to take mental health more seriously after her struggles with anxiety were ignored by the previous regime.