Toulon primed to clinch first ever European hat-trick April 30, 2015 HARRY MADLEY PREVIEWS THE ALL-FRENCH EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP FINAL AND BEN CLEMINSON LOOKS AT TOTTENHAM V MAN CITY THE INAUGURAL European Champions Cup final between French pair Toulon and Clermont Auvergne will take place at Twickenham tomorrow. The clash is the seventh major European final between teams from the same country and, with a heavy [...]
Playing sport boosts your chances in the City by improving your teamworking skills November 6, 2014 Playing rugby can help to improve your teamwork skills and demonstrate discipline. A huge opportunity is on its way. News that ITV is bumping some of its major shows in favour of rugby World Cup matches next year is an indication of the chance to create a real legacy for the sport. The potential [...]
Skipper backs more rugby joy as England’s women turn pro August 25, 2014 WORLD Cup-winning captain Katy McLean is confident full-time contracts will keep English rugby at the top of the women’s game after the sport’s governing body confirmed top female players will be paid for the first time. England Women’s Sevens side will now operate on a professional basis and the Rugby Football Union has issued 20 [...]
Sevens loophole closure to dent Armitage switch September 9, 2014 ENGLAND outcast Steffon Armitage has been warned to forget about switching his allegiance to France ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup. The Toulon No8 was crowned European player of the season last term but has not donned an England shirt since 2010 due to the Rugby Football Union’s stance of not selecting foreign based [...]
Second place not good enough for England, Lancaster warned March 24, 2015 ENGLAND rugby chief Ian Ritchie has heaped pressure on head coach Stuart Lancaster ahead of this year’s home World Cup by insisting that his repeated runners-up finishes are not good enough. Lancaster’s team earned admiration and sympathy for falling just a converted try short of a first Six Nations title of his tenure in Saturday’s [...]
Injury woe raises question marks over Croft’s World Cup availability March 25, 2015 ENGLAND flanker Tom Croft has emerged as a major doubt for this autumn’s home World Cup after Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill revealed the extent of his latest injury setback. The 29-year-old dislocated a shoulder during the Tigers’ Premiership victory over Newcastle Falcons earlier this month and faces a race against time to be [...]
Veteran Sinfield targets top flight after code switch March 31, 2015 VETERAN former England rugby league captain Kevin Sinfield is poised to follow in the footsteps of some esteemed code-switchers by ending his 19-year association with Leeds Rhinos at the end of the season and embarking on a career in rugby union. Sinfield, 34, has signed an 18-month deal with second-tier side Yorkshire Carnegie, having led [...]
2012 stage for rugby league February 25, 2015 LONDON’S Olympic Stadium is to host its first rugby league international when England face New Zealand at the Stratford venue on 7 November. The match is the second of three-Test series and follows just a week after the stadium hosts rugby union World Cup fixtures. Rugby Football League chief executive Nigel Wood said: “It’s simply [...]
London hotel rates close to £150 as bookings pick up countrywide September 11, 2014 LONDON hotels have enjoyed a profitable start to the year, with 80 per cent occupancy and average daily rates of £136.60. Analysis from PwC found revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the capital rose 5.5 per cent in the first six months, to £87.30. But London hoteliers could be in for even better takings, PwC [...]
Sport Comment: Rugby has the ability to infuriate but when in full flow the game simply inspires like few others September 14, 2014 Many of you will have spent last Friday hunched over a computer pretending to be observing market trends and world news, when in fact you were trying to access tickets for the Rugby World Cup next year. Some will have been lucky. One or two will have given up after encountering the usual glitches that [...]