Spotlight falls on Steve Borthwick coaching after Fiji set off more England alarm bells August 28, 2023 Steve Borthwick declared himself “deeply honoured” and “excited” upon being named the successor to old mentor Eddie Jones as England rugby coach in December. “The English game is full of talent and I want to build a winning team which makes the most of our huge potential and inspires young people to fall in love [...]
World Rugby streaming service to make all World Cup games available everywhere August 25, 2023 World Rugby has announced the launch of RugbyPass TV, a new streaming platform that will ensure live coverage of every game at the Rugby World Cup is available everywhere. British-based rugby fans will be able to follow the tournament in full on ITV’s channels, but in territories without blanket broadcast coverage the games will be [...]
Courtney Lawes to captain England on 100th cap as Jonny May gets surprise call August 24, 2023 Courtney Lawes will win his 100th cap when he captains England in their final warm-up match before the Rugby World Cup against Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday. With Owen Farrell serving a four-match ban for a dangerous tackle, Lawes is retained as skipper to become the fifth England player to amass a century of Test [...]
The Notebook: Andy Silvester on how AI could save your August out-of-office, a dream headline and why GCSEs need a rethink August 24, 2023 Embrace the long break, even if it’s made my job harder August has never felt so – for want of a much better word – Augusty. It’s mighty quiet out there, and that isn’t just because of the City’s long-discussed issues attracting floats and the slowdown in M&A. Indeed, more and more of my contact [...]
Ollie Phillips: Farrell and Vunipola bans are almighty World Cup headache for England August 23, 2023 The banning of England pair Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola for the start of the Rugby World Cup has thrust tackling into the spotlight, and on that topic I share the view of Shaun Edwards. As the France defence coach says, it is a contact sport so accidental collisions are inevitable. That is made more [...]
England’s Rugby World Cup plans rocked as Billy Vunipola joins Farrell on banned list August 23, 2023 England have lost a second key player for the start of the Rugby World Cup after Billy Vunipola received a three-match ban. Vunipola’s suspension will be reduced to two games if he agrees to attend tackle school following his red card against Ireland on Saturday. But he is sure to miss England’s World Cup opener [...]
England captain Owen Farrell to miss start of Rugby World Cup due to four-game ban August 22, 2023 England will be deprived of captain Owen Farrell for their first two games of the Rugby World Cup after he was handed a four-match ban for his high tackle against Wales earlier this month. Farrell was initially shown a yellow card for the challenge on Taine Basham, which was then upgraded to a red on [...]
England facing D-Day over Vunipola and Farrell Rugby World Cup ban fates August 21, 2023 Under-fire England coach Steve Borthwick will learn on Tuesday whether key men Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola will be banned for the start of next month’s Rugby World Cup. Captain Farrell and No8 Vunipola are both due to attend disciplinary hearings after being sent off for dangerous tackles in England’s two most recent World Cup [...]
English rugby ‘digging its own grave’ with outdated coaching, says Danny Cipriani August 20, 2023 Former fly-half Danny Cipriani has accused English rugby of “digging its own grave” and appeared to compare coach Steve Borthwick to football manager Sam Allardyce after the national team’s Rugby World Cup plans descended further into disarray. England lost 29-10 to Ireland on Saturday in their penultimate warm-up match for the tournament and saw Billy [...]
Rugby’s disciplinary process betrays the very reason tough rules are in place August 17, 2023 Utterly ridiculous. Hugely embarrassing. Total disaster. These are some of the thoughts that have crossed my mind this week when I should instead be getting excited for the Rugby World Cup next month. Why? Because with the overturning of Owen Farrell’s red card from last Saturday, all of the sport’s decision makers have put the [...]