O2 extends rugby sponsorship February 6, 2012 Telecoms giant O2 has renewed its sponsorship agreement with the Rugby Football Union, which has been in place since rugby turned professional in 1995. The deal – which extends the partnership until after the 2015 Rugby World Cup – gives O2 customers priority booking for England matches at Twickenham while the telecoms company supports the [...]
Hiscox beats expectations with a profit February 27, 2012 HISCOX beat expectations yesterday by posting a profit in one of the worst years on record for the insurance industry. The firm was badly hit by £270m of catastrophe-related claims, driven by a spate of natural disasters including earthquakes in Pacific regions and flooding in Thailand. Profits plummeted 91 per cent to £17.3m for 2011, [...]
Robshaw: Retaining title would make us true greats August 30, 2012 ENGLAND captain Chris Robshaw believes he and his Harlequins team-mates have to this season retain the Premiership title if they are to truly prove themselves to be a great side and is adamant that they can do so by continuing to play the attractive brand of rugby for which they have become known. Quins last [...]
Australia are masters of dark arts, Gatland warns his Lions September 4, 2012 BRITISH and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has fanned the flames ahead of next summer’s tour of Australia by accusing his opponents of being masters of off-field chicanery. Gatland, who was yesterday finally confirmed as Sir Ian McGeechan’s successor, warned that a Wallabies team who reached last year’s World Cup semi-finals would not be [...]
Gatland defends handing Henson a Wales lifeline January 18, 2012 WALES coach Warren Gatland has defended the controversial selection of Gavin Henson in his 35-man squad for next month’s Six Nations. Centre Henson is set for a return to the international fold despite his indifferent club form, which has seen him dropped from the Cardiff Blues squad ahead of this weekend’s decisive Heineken Cup group [...]
Strauss and Co out to stump rivals in best team award January 26, 2012 UP there with recent Ashes glory, last year’s 4-0 series victory over India will long rank as one of English cricket’s most memorable achievements. Undefeated since May 2009 at the time, England emerged from the whitewash series win as the world’s No 1 Test team, the first time they had ever reached the top of [...]
Springboks whitewash is no disaster, insists Greenwood June 13, 2012 ENGLAND World Cup winner Will Greenwood believes current coach Stuart Lancaster can survive a 3-0 Test whitewash in South Africa, provided results improve in the autumn internationals. Greenwood has thus far been impressed with Lancaster’s long-term project and believes England’s 22-17 Durban defeat to South Africa provides cause for optimism ahead of Saturday’s second Test [...]
Pienaar kicks Ulster’s import critics to touch May 17, 2012 ULSTER scrum-half Ruan Pienaar insists the Heineken Cup final underdogs are not reliant on him and his fellow South African imports as they prepare to collide with Leinster in tomorrow’s historic all-Irish European showdown. World Cup winner Pienaar’s lethal kicking has propelled Ulster to the frontier of a monumental triumph, not least in last month’s [...]
WORLD CUP RUGBY STAR REVEALS AN UNEXPECTED WEAKNESS September 29, 2011 THERE HAS only been one occasion when Jason Leonard, the most-capped England rugby player of all time, has been intimidated on the pitch. That moment came when Leonard met Norman Hadley, a six foot nine Canadian rugby union player with a scar down his cheek that “didn’t come from rugby”. For reasons best known to [...]
Super Saint-Andre can lead France to trophy February 2, 2012 SPORT TRADER DAVID WILD AND BEN CLEMINSON BRING YOU THE BEST SIX NATIONS AND PREMIER LEAGUE BETS FROM TOMORROW WHO is under the most pressure ahead of this year’s Six Nations? Is it Stuart Lancaster, England’s interim coach who, should he achieve anything less than a Grand Slam, will probably be out of a job? [...]