Champions Cup: Round of 16 draw confirmed after last series of games January 24, 2022 Rugby’s most prestigious club competition has completed its pool phase. Through to the round of 16 are teams from three countries, each with a shot at the Champions Cup in May’s finals weekend in Marseille. Here’s what we have learned from the group stage. English challenge Although Harlequins romped to a surprising domestic title last [...]
County cricket fixture changes not enough to save England’s Test team January 23, 2022 When the County Championship fixture list was announced last week, many hoped it would include a healthy amount of August four-day games as England’s international Test side look to rebuild from a humiliating Ashes campaign. Alas, the domestic game is in for another season without the long-form game taking place across the height of the [...]
Formula E and Channel 4 enter multi-year broadcast deal January 21, 2022 Formula E and terrestrial broadcaster Channel 4 today announced a multi-year free-to-air partnership. The broadcaster will show more races of the Season 8 edition of Formula E than fans have seen in previous seasons. Channel 4 will also offer race highlights on its platform as well as the new 22-driver qualifying format on its YouTube [...]
Ollie Phillips: The squad is exciting but it’s still classic Eddie Jones January 21, 2022 When I saw the England squad Eddie Jones had named for the Six Nations on Tuesday evening, I was actually pleasantly surprised. It is good to see head coach Eddie Jones picking in-form players this year, though I must say the squad seems rather predictable. The return of Owen Farrell is no surprise. Jones is [...]
Domestic cricket: Fixtures unveiled as English game eyes Ashes recovery January 20, 2022 The England and Wales Cricket Board (EBC) today finalised the fixtures for domestic English cricket’s main competitions. The County Championship fixtures will kick off the men’s domestic summer on 7 April and will conclude in the last week of September. During this time, the T20 Blast will run over a seven week period – culminating [...]
Ashes: England Women look to get off to flying T20 start January 19, 2022 England Women will be looking to succeed where the men’s team failed and end their Ashes losing streak when the showpiece competition gets underway tomorrow in Adelaide. England last won the Ashes in 2013-14, when they beat the Southern Stars 10-8 in Australia. In the three subsequent series they have failed to regain the coveted [...]
England coach Eddie Jones: ‘Make me look an idiot’ January 19, 2022 Eddie Jones yesterday told his dropped England stars to “play at a level that makes me an idiot if I don’t pick them” as he announced his wider squad for the upcoming Six Nations. Notable absentees from the training group, who will meet in Brighton next week, include Saracens back-three player Elliot Daly and Bath [...]
Championship rugby club chairman: ‘Increase funding to clubs’ January 18, 2022 Richmond’s chairman has called on the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to solve the Championship’s increasingly insurmountable financial barriers to promotion to the top division. The RFU has cut funding for already cash-strapped second-tier clubs from around £550,000 each per year to less than half that this season. It is another hurdle to promotion for Championship [...]
Ashes: This series is just the latest in disappointing results Down Under January 17, 2022 Well it’s over… finally. The 72nd edition of the Ashes will not go down as a classic battle. The 2021-22 tour of Australia was Joe Root’s third Ashes series without a win and England’s third tour since they last won a Test. There are, though, common themes which point to serious issues which remain unresolved [...]
Winter Olympics: No general sale tickets for Beijing, say organisers January 17, 2022 The organisers of next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing have withheld plans to sell tickets to the general public. While organisers had previously said there would be domestic access for fans, tickers are now set to be reserved for invited “groups of spectators” only. Beijing will become the first city to host both the Summer [...]