Ed Warner on the sporting year that was December 22, 2022 And so we reach the end of a year of sporting excess, or at least an excess of sport. Sunday’s FIFA World Cup Final was the calorific dessert that may well have caused you to come over all Mr Creosote, exploding under the temptation of just one more dish of must-see sporting competition. While we [...]
Can Argentina announce decisive arrival and pounce on England? November 3, 2022 They’ve always been the fourth team in the southern hemisphere behind the World Cup winning trio of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, but Argentina – boosted by a significant number of players playing in Europe – are primed to embark on a 12-month period that could shock the rugby establishment. When Los Pumas reached [...]
The Notebook: Giles Kenningham on improving Rugby’s fortunes, banning the bots and the renewable investment boom February 28, 2023 The Notebook is a place for interesting people to say interesting things. Today, it’s Giles Kenningham, founder of Trafalgar Strategy.
England captain Tomkins backs former club Wigan to win Challenge Cup May 25, 2022 The rugby league Challenge Cup has a new showpiece location for its final. Come Saturday, thousands will pack into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the competition crowns either Wigan Warriors or Huddersfield Giants as its 121st winner. The winner will a trophy which has always left an extraordinary memory for players lucky enough to lift [...]
The Notebook: It may not be popular, but tackling the housing crisis requires helping landlords too June 4, 2024 Tackling the housing crisis is no easy matter, and it requires radical change on all fronts, writes David King in today's Notebook.
Ed Warner: My trip to the Paralympics taught me that sport is bad for your health September 5, 2024 Our sport business columnist on the danger of watching the Paralympics, dynamic pricing, election season in Olympic land, and Scotland’s Commonwealth Games dilemma. Watching sport is bad for your health. Or can be. I’m glad I wasn’t strapped to a heart-rate monitor during the wheelchair rugby in Paris over the past week or I would [...]
Ollie Phillips: England should embrace Premiership’s rugby style September 30, 2022 Last Sunday’s storming contest in which Exeter Chiefs edged Harlequins 43-42 was, in my opinion, a perfect example of where the tectonic plates of rugby are starting to move. Gone are the days of overly structured play and coming in are sturdy defences paired with incredible counter-attacking moves. I think that’s where we have seen [...]
Ollie Phillips: I’d want to avoid Harlequins in the semi-finals at all costs April 22, 2022 No matter whether I were Leicester Tigers or Saracens, I would want to stay well clear of Harlequins in the Premiership playoffs. No disrespect to Gloucester, Northampton Saints or Exeter Chiefs, but Quins have proven that they’re a danger in the knockout stages of the domestic league – even if they went out of Europe [...]
Ed Warner: Reform the FA to avoid the burdens of a sport regulator September 29, 2022 Can you name the new Minister for Sport? Turns out it’s Stuart Andrew, MP for Pudsey. Let’s hope he’s a sports fan as there’s nothing publicly available to say that he is (or indeed isn’t). And so the door to this most junior of ministries revolves again. And at a time when a number of [...]
Ed Warner: English football of all levels penetrating hyper-commercial US sport November 3, 2022 Does anyone in England call the Premier League the EPL? I ask because I had a random encounter at Heathrow last week with one of a group of five Crystal Palace fans headed to Selhurst Park for their “first EPL game”. The Ted Lasso effect maybe? I only hope they made it to the Clifton [...]