Long breaks do us no favours - Rayer

BEDFORD Blues have made a promising start to this truncated but season's Championship director of rugby Rayer says.

Hendrickson enjoying his new life in Japan

TOM Hendrickson is settling well to life in the Far East having swapped the Premiership for that of Japanese Rugby League One.

Tigers keen to make it a day to remember

LEICESTER scrumhalf Tom Whiteley wants to give Hanro Liebenberg a day to remember by helping Tigers book a place in the Premiership Cup final.

Magnificent Mercer takes no prisoners

GLOUCESTER supporters must wish Zach Mercer could be snubbed by England every week.

England A told: Play what's in front of you

ENGLAND A will not be a replica of the senior side when they face Portugal at Welford Road next Sunday.

Moody: Ireland hold the aces

LEWIS Moody still harbours doubts are that England ready to lift the Six Nations crown despite a confident and promising start to the campaign.

Dowson hoping Lawes will stay

NORTHAMPTON director of rugby Phil Dowson still harbours some hope that Courtney Lawes has a future at Franklin's Gardens beyond the end of this season.

Assiratti goes from novice to mainstay

A YEAR ago Keiron Assiratti was wondering how he could prop up his family, never mind the Welsh scrum.

O'Shea wants more England A fixtures

TWICKENHAM is looking to arrange up to four England A fixtures in the coming years following the resurrection of the side this season.

Mercer on a mission

GLOUCESTER booked their place in the Premiership Cup final with Zach Mercer, pictured, leading the way with the first try and a hand in both of the others as they saw off Exeter 17-14 at Kingsholm.

Cole's wife gave him green light to carry on

ADAM HATHAWAY

Hodge to hit the ground running

JOSH Hodge insists he’s looking to make up for lost time after making his return to first team action at Exeter Chiefs.

Shock for Portugal as Belgium beat the odds

CORNISH Pirates full-back Jordan Gott hopes that playing a part in Belgium rugby’s best-ever win will be the catalyst for a strong second half of the season on a personal level as well as the dawn of a bright new era for the Black Devils.

Battling England's power is too much for Wales

MARK Mapletoft's age-grade front row have endured hefty expectations to replace the current men's ageing forwards but Friday night's scrum masterclass shows the future is looking bright for England's pack.

Italy need to stay in the game if they can

DUBLIN has been anything other than a fair city for Italy in the last decade. Playing a rerouted England side in Rome is one thing, but if the Azzurri are to show visible signs of progress they will need to front up at a ground where they have tended to go missing.

This Irish dynasty will keep on going

WAS the speed of the Irish recovery after the World Cup surprising? No, because I don’t call it a recovery. They showed against France in the Six Nations opener in Marseille last week just how high their standards now are.

That was a try-but the record will not retiect tt

THERE is a three-volume book to be written on false dawns, shattered dreams and broken hearts in Scottish rugby and this game will surely have its own substantial tear-stained entry. Last week they won a game they should probably have lost and yesterday they lost a game they should definitely have won.

Scotland heartbreak after has the final word in late drama

HAS there ever been a Six Nations encounter where the final outcome hinged so dramatically and for so long on the decision of a television match official?

Once again, England escape to victory

IT was another skin-of-the-teeth England win as Jamie George’s crew rewarded Steve Borthwick’s decision to stick with his Rome line-up, as the team edged past Wales in this second round tussle.

Williams sets his sights on Wales return

LIAM Williams has left the door open on a return to the Test scene for Wales’ summer tour of Australia but faces stiff tralia but faces stiff competition from Warren Gatland’s new boys. new boys.

Anglo-Welsh league 'depends on money'

PREMIERSHIP coaches have given their backing to Warren Gatland's call for an Anglo-Welsh league as long as the finances add up.

We're not far off the top teams George

SKIPPER Jamie George claimed his England side were not a million miles off the top teams in the Six Nations after they scrapped to a 16-14 win over Wales at Twickenham yesterday.

Why Six Nations is pinnacle of game

HERE we are at the start of another Six Nations with everything to play for as the excitement builds with the first games this weekend. The world of rugby desperately needs the Six Nations to be a real success if the game is to grow and prosper.

Carnduff learns the Leicester way

FINN Carnduff is honoured to join an illustrious list of England U20 captains and made if four of their past five age-grade skippers to have come from Leicester Tigers.

Ford looks the right Guy to build a bright future

IT HAS been a frustrating season for Chester head coach Guy Ford in National Two West, but with an average player age of 23, the club is building towards a bright future.

Waters relishes biggest battles ahead in race to clinch title

THE battle for supremacy at the top of the National 2 East can feel like a staring contest, and last weekend we may finally have seen the first blinks.

Odendaal enjoying his life back in the Prem

BURGER Odendaal was one of the few Premiership players who did not welcome the break for the Six Nations, raring to go rather than flagging after a non-stop 17 weeks.

Double agents out to prove their worth

Ben Nurse talks to two of Portugal’s World Cup stars looking forward to taking on England A

Dunn: I want to finish my time with a trophy

TOM Dunn has spent his senior career at Bath and intends to finish it by emulating the teams he watched as a boy and securing silverware.

Grand Slam was ours, come hell or high water

I WAS privileged to play with a fantastic squad of players at what was largely a successful time for the Scotland team. Like any good team we weren’t reliant on any one individual, there was always someone ready to step up and take the lead. Everyone knew their role in the team and mine, as a winger, was obviously to cross the whitewash at all costs and put points on the board. I managed to score 15 tries in 37 Tests but that’s not to say I didn’t make an arse of things many, many times!