CATEGORIES

Why is captain replaced so early?

SO THE All Blacks keep their home record of wins at Dunedin by just one point against an England side who will be wondering what might have been.

I played my last game in 38-degree heat...

OMAN, where I have been living with my family for the last two years, is a beautiful country just like Wales with the coastline and the mountains - but with a lot fewer rugby clubs and a better climate. In fact, there is only one rugby club out here, in Muscat, where my son now plays.

Injury and illness can't stop the fun

IT'S time to dip back into the 1974 Lions tour again and 50 years ago today exactly - July 14 a much agitated manager of the Marine Hotel in what used to be called Port Elizabeth was looking for Lions manager Alun Thomas to demand both an explanation and reparation.

YOUN GUNS HARVEYCUCKSON BATH & ENGLAND U20 SECOND ROW

Harvey Cuckson thought long and hard about whether to represent England or Wales in his age-grade rugby but is certain he made the right call in pulling on the Red Rose.

European elite keen to exclude outsiders

WHICHEVER way you care to define the i-word, it was an interesting few hours for Canadian sport.

I still have a lot more to give - McNally

JOSH McNally views his move to Cardiff as the perfect outcome after for a time that his rugby career may be over.

Wales show defiance but the wait goes on

ALL week long the Red Dragon legions had planned their regimental mobilisation with just enough military precision to let them catch the action in Auckland, a bit of R & R before the serious business.

Aussies made to fight all the way

WALES captain Dewi Lake scored two tries from lineout drives but it wasn't enough to prevent his side crashing to their ninth consecutive defeat and give Australia their first win at a rainy Melbourne since 2017.

High-risk blitz puts England in charge

THERE'S nothing not to like about England's blitz defence. It's bold, gutsy, and good to see because it makes rugby exciting. A blitz defence is all-or-nothing - there's no half-way, no 'just about'.

Underhill so impressed by England's improvement

SAM Underhill is a decent barometer of England's progress in the last 12 months having watched them from in and outside the camp over the last year.

Only our best will do, says Carnduff

FINN Carnduff leads England U20s out to face old rivals Ireland today knowing they must produce their best 80 minutes of the tournament so far to book a place in Friday's World Championship final.

Borthwick approach tempted Strawbridge

ASSISTANT coach Andrew Strawbridge reckons England are a team on the up and that persuaded him to throw in his lot with Steve Borthwick's crew.

George: I just can't wait for rematch

ENGLAND captain Jamie George is desperate for a rematch with the All reBlacks after another gut-wrenching verse down under.

Ireland stun world champions

SUPER-SUB Ciaran Frawley landed a last second drop-goal to write his name into Ireland legend as Andy Farrell's side clinched a dramatic victory over South Africa in Durban last night to level the series 1-1.

England know this was a chance missed

AFTER Marcus Smith missed a penalty two minutes into the second half from 30 metres out and just to the left of the posts, the outside-half cursed himself with a two-word phrase that England supporters watching at the ground and at home would have struggled to top in terms of bad language.

'It's about being the best player you can be'

PAUL REES FINDS OUT WHAT DRIVES NEW TIGERS COACH MICHAEL CHEIKA AND WHAT HE PLANS TO DO AT WELFORD ROAD

Borthwick happy to go back for future

SO IT looks like Steve Borthwick has learned a lesson and decided what many thought was perhaps a step too far for the England coach to make.

Jalibert is top of the 'Wanted' list again

NEVER mind that the words ‘Stade Toulousain’ have only just been meticulously punched into the plaque on the Bouclierde Brennus to mark them forever more as 2023/24 Top 14 champions.

Three hat-tricks for the Baa-Baas was a peak

THE FORMER SCOTLAND, BARBARIANS & GLASGOW WING

New-look England put Fiji to the sword

DESPITE making 13 changes to their starting XV, England secured a second victory in a row by dismantling Fiji.

Playing high stakes game to stay alive

WE’RE coming off the back of another good win against Fiji this week and one of the key messages was ‘staying alive’ and ‘expecting the unexpected’.

YOUNG GUNS

CHARLIEMYALL LEICESTER & ENGLAND U20 CENTRE

The scrum has decided the last two World Cups

Ben Jaycock speaks to Northampton scrum coach Matt Fergurson about their victorious Premiership campaign and the game's issues around the set-piece

RFU still has urgent questions to answer

THE biggest story of the season in the domestic game in England came three weeks ago when the Championship clubs defeated RFU/ Premiership attempts to enshrine the ring-fencing of the top league.

Towering talent who took Bath to the top

JACK Rowell’s contribution to Bath rugby was immeasurable from the beginning when he arrived at The Rec as coach in 1978 to his departure in 1994, when he took over as England coach, winning a Five Nations Grand Slam in 1995.

England go close but All Blacks have enough to take honours

ENGLAND may have rattled and rolled New Zealand at times in Dunedin yesterday, but it was still a case of so near, yet so far, for Steve Borthwick’s new-model side in a pulsating opening Test in which both teams scored two tries and the lead changed hands five times.

Smith is enjoying the life of a tourist

MARCUS Smith has been throwing himself into touring life down under as he makes the most of the current trip to Japan and New Zealand.

Halliday calls for clarity on Championship funding issues

CHAMPIONSHIP clubs are calling for the funding issues surrounding next season’s reintroduction of promotion-relegation to be ratified urgently.

George: Keep the faith

ENGLAND skipper Jamie George told his side to keep the faith after their agonising 16-15 defeat to New Zealand continued their drought down under.

Terrific Toulouse go on the rampage

WE DIDN'T just lose the arm wrestle - we had our wrists broken under the table,\" Bordeaux boss Yannick Bru admitted, graphically, after watching his side fall to a record 59-3 Top 14 final defeat at the hands of an irrepressible Toulouse in Marseille on Friday evening.