Hill keeps climbing the peaks in France

Jon Newcombe talks to top coach Richard Hill after he secured yet another promotion in the French leagues

Law-tinkerers are a danger to the game

THE odds on Owen Farrell travelling to the World Cup as England’s starting No.10 are even shorter than the lifespan of a European Champions Cup format, which means three things: watertight kicking and defence, an ocean of attitude and, according to his critics, the imaginative scope of a whelk. How might we describe this style of rugby? Fazball. Owzat?

Harlequins swoop to sign trio from London Irish

HARLEQUINS have pounced for three players who found themselves out of work after the collapse of neighbours London Irish, including England centre Will Joseph.

Battling England go close as Ireland have to hang on

ENGLAND were denied a remarkable comeback victory in their opening game of the Under 20s Championship as they shared a breathless draw with Ireland in Paarl.

France prove too strong for Japan

FRANCE ran in 11 tries to steamroll a determined Japan outfit.

Borthwick impressed with intensity of Prem final

STEVE Borthwick’s hopes that England can enjoy a successful World Cup campaign were boosted by the “Test match” performances of some of his stars in the Premiership final.

England's Bath bias difficult to justify

IF England's international selection is meant to be a meritocracy it is hard to understand how Bath managed to have the biggest contingent alongside Leicester for the second of England’s World Cup warm-up training weeks.

Power to the girls on day of history

GLOUCESTER- Hartpury claimed their first Allianz Premier 15s title as they outclassed Exeter Chiefs in front of a record crowd.

Steward's aerial skills can power England on

FREDDIE Steward has had a big impact for England at full-back since he made his debut against the USA in the summer of 2021. Steward has made his physical size and strength count to the extent that two years later he has scored seven tries in 22 Tests, which is not a bad strike rate.

'Tofty' on mission to improve the pathway for England

MARK Mapletoft had no hesitation when he was last month offered the chance to take the England Under 20s to the Junior World Cup in South Africa.

Ealing add Collins to list of star recruits

BIG-SPENDING Ealing Trailfinders have come to the rescue of Tom Collins who had been left high and dry by the collapse of London Irish.

Champions Cup draw suits Bears

BRISTOL Bears sneaked into the Champions Cup through the cat flap rather than the back door, but they will be more content with their pool draw than Sale, who pushed Saracens all the way in last month’s Twickenham final.

Dynamic duo back for more

PAUL de Villiers and Katlego Letebele will return for their second stint with the Junior Springboks, this time as captain and vice-captain of the South African squad that are at home in this World Rugby Under-20 Championship.

Jones opts for mixed approach

WALES U20s interim head coach Mark Jones has named five uncapped players in his squad.

Not bad for a stocky centre-forward convert

AS I write this, a group of 50 of us are a day into the latest Walk4Matt event, covering the 100 miles of the Warwickshire Ring Canal network.

Who will be next on the production line?

THE Junior World Cup makes a welcome return after a four-year hiatus next week down in South Africa and I for one give thanks.

Sirker's glad he's moved Down Under

CALLUM Sirker feels Championship players are a victim of Premiership clubs financial mismanagement so decided midway through last season to leave Cornish Pirates to move to Australia and focus on his law career while also playing in the Shute Shield for West Harbour.

So, who is set to fly in under the radar?

REMEMBER Jean-Marc Doussain’s international debut for France? Probably not.

Champions Cup reverts to multi-pool

THE Heineken Champions Cup reverts to a multi-pool format next season, but teams from the same league will not face each other.

Woollett keen to see repeat performance

AUSTRALIAN Ben Woollett got a reputation as the joker in Jersey Reds ranks, playing practical jokes and winding up teammates, but there’s nothing laughable in the dedication he showed as the islanders wrapped up the Championship title.

Kingsholm showdown to decide the title

THE Premier 15s top two sides Gloucester-Hartpury and Exeter Chiefs meet at Kingsholm next Saturday in both team’s first ever final.

Spencer's the man to fire up England

STEVE Borthwick’s ability to get the best out of the best scrum-half in England will have a crucial bearing on how well England play at the 2023 World Cup.

Champ clubs refuse to delay new deal

FURIOUS Championship clubs have voted against proposals to push back the new push back the new Professional Game Agreement (PGA) by another year, to 2025-26.

We'll keep on fighting, says Newcastle owner

NEWCASTLE owner Semore Kurdi has rubbished claims that the club is willing to be relegated to the Championship because it is struggling to pay its way in the top flight.

Hunter and Cox named in Birthday Honours list

FORMER England women’s captain Sarah Hunter has been awarded and CBE and professional referee, Sara Cox an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to rugby.

Borthwick: Mercer a contender for France

STEVE Borthwick claims Zach Mercer has “grown” into a true World Cup back row contender for during his time across the Channel.

Purdy out to make his name overseas

AS many professional rugby players are discovering, the financial problems in the Premiership are making it tough to make a living and Henry Purdy is not excpetion,

Heineken pull plug on Europe

GLOBAL brewing giants Heineken are to step down as title sponsors of rugby’s Champions Cup, leaving tournament organisers with a big financial gap to fill before their two tournaments kick off in December.

Heroic Brumbies fly the flag for Australia

Super Rugby Pacific round-up

Folau call was TV turn-off for Gareth

GARETH Thomas “refused” to watch the Barbarians vs World XV match last month due to the “contradiction” of having symbols to celebrate LGBT+ pride whilst still allowing Israel Folau to play