Ollie Phillips: Bath’s senior players need to step up October 22, 2021 If last week’s 17-71 mauling taught Bath anything it’s that they need to step up. They were totally outclassed by a Saracens side boasting a full starting XV of internationals, but that’s no excuse. Though they were without their bulldozing No8 Taulupe Faletau through injury, Bath were still able to field Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson, [...]
Premiership Rugby attendances fall by a quarter October 20, 2021 Premiership rugby clubs are struggling to attract supporters back to matches, with attendances down by a quarter so far this season. After five rounds of fixtures, the average attendance for a game in England’s top division has been 10,748. That is a 25.9 per cent decrease on the average for the last full season played [...]
Eoin Morgan: I’m not going to stand in the way October 20, 2021 England captain Eoin Morgan will drop himself from the playing squad should his run of poor batting performances continue. Ahead of today’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against New Zealand, Morgan admitted that he needs to improve otherwise he will not feature against the West Indies on Saturday in his side’s opening match of the [...]
London Irish’s home comforts aren’t enough. They need a win October 20, 2021 Exiled from the capital for over two decades but now finding their feet back in the Big Smoke, there is a charm to the London Irish story. Moving home is never easy, but in the Brentford Community Stadium they have a more permanent base. Now they need to show they can make it work on [...]
Eddie Jones backs Marcus Smith to handle England role October 19, 2021 Eddie Jones has backed Marcus Smith to handle the pressure of being England’s fly-half after naming the exciting Harlequins prospect in his Autumn Nations Series squad. Smith made his debut in the summer against the US before being picked as a late call-up for the British and Irish Lions’ tour to South Africa. “First of [...]
England receive one-match stadium ban following Euro 2020 disruption October 18, 2021 England have been ordered to play one match behind closed doors in response to the disruption that marred the Euro 2020 final against Italy at Wembley in July. In addition to the ban, which includes a second, suspended, match, the Football Association (FA) was fined £84,560 (€100,000) by governing body Uefa. England’s ban will take [...]
Premiership: Five things we’ve learned as Leicester rumble on October 18, 2021 Premiership clubs Saracens and Leicester completed demolition jobs, Bristol continued their struggle to match the highs of last season and Harlequins lost their first game. Worcester, meanwhile, cannot do anything but lose. Here’s five things we learned this weekend from the weekend’s Premiership action. Sarries Rec Bath Saracens’ English contingent put on a show for [...]
Football training can be safer with VR technology October 15, 2021 A whipped cross and a powerful header towards goal are staples of football and the essence of set-piece tactics used by every football team. But building Cristiano Ronaldo-like leg power to spring higher than your opponent and honing the skill to guide the ball into the net requires endless training drills. The other, more serious [...]
T20 World Cup: Who are the outsiders looking to shout Howzat? October 14, 2021 Sunday will see the first over of the seventh Twenty20 World Cup bowled in Oman. The Middle Eastern state, co-hosting the competition with the United Arab Emirates, feature in a preliminary round-robin set of fixtures in which four sides will earn spots against the bigger nations in the next stage, the Super12. The preliminary round [...]
County cricket will return to two divisions in 2022 October 14, 2021 County Cricket in England and Wales will return to a two division structure after using a conference system during the Covid-19 pandemic. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the news following discussions with the 18 counties that currently play first-class cricket. Division One will consist of 10 teams, while Division Two will feature [...]