Putting 50 points on the Aussies was a highlight

IT was only through an accident of birth that I was born in England (in Northampton) while my dad was travelling around the country working in the oil industry.

'I'm playing again after near death experience'

HENLEY Hawks forward Morgan Macrae has fulfilled his goal of playing again just seven months after nearly dying from a cardiac arrest.

Japan rugby full of talent, warns Savea

ARDIE Savea has issued a warning to England not to underestimate Japan in the two side’s first ever meeting in Tokyo this summer.

Schreuder happy to be Spencer's back-up

LOUIS Schreuder wasn’t the only South African scrum-half smiling when it was announced at the end of February that he would be staying on at Bath for at least another year.

Eight-try England turn on the style

ENGLAND’S quest for a sixth successive title rolls on after blowing winless Wales away once more, in front of the Red Roses’ largest home crowd for a fixture away from Twickenham.

O'Flaherty: We need to learn from our inquest

SALE’S players had good old northern, say it how it is, conversations with one another earlier this week as the inquest into yet another defeat took place at Carrington.

Sharp Smith gives Saints extra edge

AN assured display from Fin Smith helped Northampton to maintain their play-off push after that 52-21 thrashing at Bristol last week.

Exeter flyer on the fast track to top

ROB Baxter has warned opposition defences that England sensation Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will only get better with time after impressing for both club and country this season.

Dingwall has his eye on All Blacks

FRASER Dingwall is set on helping Northampton finish the season on a high and putting himself in contention for England’s summer tour to Japan and New Zealand.

I've loved my time at Bath Gallagher

MATT Gallagher admits it will be a wrench to leave Bath at the end of the season and is doing so to pursue his dream of playing international rugby.

Lam: I understand Sinckler decision

PAT Lam understands Kyle Sinckler’s decision to turn his back on England and join the exodus to France next season.

Bath fume at Irne's short time in the bin

MARCUS Smith and Harlequins just edged this crazy game and moved into the play-off spots but there could be repercussions following a yellow card storm.

Time for club owners to come clean on plans

SEETHING financial undercurrents are undermining the main pillars of the game in England, with the professional club top tier increasingly in peril-mostly due to the consistent administrative failings which have led to a broken Premiership structure.

Bath will have to go full metal jacket all the way

BATH have got a very good shout of winning the Premiership for the first time in almost 30 years, for all the reasons we've seen this season - and which were on display again against Sale at The Rec last weekend.

Slade: I'm happy to stay a Chief

HENRY Slade is set to reject the advances of clubs on the other side of the English Channel and pledge his future to the Exeter Chiefs.

Halliday: New deal is within our reach

CALLS for a further relaxation of Premiership ground capacity rules appear to be gathering momentum as the protracted discussions over the new Professional Game Partnership agreement (PGP) continue.

England were good, but a bit complacent

WATCHING the France versus England game last Saturday night, I couldn’t help but think that a little complacency had found its way into the England team after their surprise win against Ireland.

Hurricanes fly high as Crusaders flop again

JORDIE Barrett bagged two tries as the Hurricanes thumped the Melbourne Rebels 54-28 to maintain their 100 per cent record at the top of the table.

Millfield end long wait as they take 14th title

MILLFIELD ended their decade-long wait to win a 14th Cup title at Rosslyn Park as they defeated reigning Champions Harrow 28-17 in a thrilling final.

Turner leads Crusaders to hardest of triumphs

DINGS and Exeter University were involved in a try-fest that could have gone either way.

Having strength in numbers is proving big Barnes bonus

BARNES have used an incredible 51 players this season, and head coach Jack Heald puts his side’s success down to their squad depth which derives from a second team that continuously punches above their weight.

Cooper stars as Bury end poor run

RELIEVED Bury St Edmunds ended a run of seven defeats by grinding out a win against an emerging opponent.

Lewis full of pride for his Titans in bid for promotion

LOSING just one game all season would usually be more than enough to finish first, but Rotherham Titans can count themselves unfortunate to be in the same division as Leeds Tykes.

Okafor at the death has Tykes stunned!

ROTHERHAM Titans threw the promotion race wide open by inflicting a first defeat of the season on Leeds Tykes in a tense Yorkshire derby yesterday afternoon.

Warren seals Tigers' league status in thriller

A WIN at long last for Sedgley Park Tigers who hosted Cinderford at Park Lane yesterday and came away with a well-earned win for the first time in 2024 to secure their place in National 1 for next season.

The whistleblowers under the spotlight

Matthew Luddington talks to two referees at the lower end of the game about the trials of taking charge of a match

Wales look like missing out again

AS Wales ‘wails over the embarrassing state of its national sport’, a club coach raises an issue of piercing perception: “Is the pull of the Welsh jersey as strong as it used to be? That’s the question.’’

Knights make the most of lifelines

AN extraordinary game at Castle Park in which there was one red card and three yellows, saw an outstanding recovery by Doncaster who played most of the contest with 14 men and yet surprisingly drew, having been 22-3 behind 10 minutes into the second half.

Swart's on message to grab it for Scarlets

SOUTH African Eduan Swart was the unlikely hero with a 84th-minute try to give the Scarlets a much-needed victory.

Ford's resolve is impressive to see

ALL the top sports players have one standout quality – composure – which George Ford has in abundance, along  with his stoicism! A masterful player, who makes all around him look good, and is content to do so.