Rugby World

THE END-OF-SEASON run-in… In years gone by, we’ve often reached this stage and the play-off places have been sewn up. Not this time. There is still plenty to play for – and lots of drama expected – across this season’s Gallagher Premiership, Allianz

AS CORNY as it sounds, we are all individuals, no two people are the same. Yes, we’re in a team sport but you can still put your own stamp on things. I love dressing up, I always have, and it shows another side of yourself that people don’t necessari

It’s a month until the Allianz Premier 15s final at Sixways. The climax to the season takes place over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend, on Friday 3 June (KO 3pm). Tickets are £12 for adults, £6 for juniors – head to eticketing.co.uk

MORE AND more people are listening to your stuff now. Where did your love of music start? I’ve always loved listening to songs and I always used to write poems. About things I was feeling or thinking. Then one day in 2018, I said, ‘Right, if I recite

Premier Rugby Sevens – North America’s sevens league that features men’s and women’s teams (below) – will stage events in San Jose (PayPal Park, 9 July), Washington DC (Audi Field, 16 July) and Austin (Q2 Stadium, 30 July) this summer. “We believe th

A TACKLE CAN only occur in the field of play and who the tackler and tackled player are is clearly defined in law, as are their responsibilities. Most importantly, both players must allow for a fair contest for possession! The basic requirement for a

BLACKROCK COLLEGE won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup for a record 70th time when they beat Gonzaga College 50-21 at the RDS, Dublin. As part of the legacy programme for this year’s women’s World Cup, a development camp for 15 secondary school girls

WHAT AN Easter weekend of European rugby! We started with Leinster crucifying Connacht, then witnessed several classic matches, the highlight being the resurrection of a seemingly dead-and-buried Toulouse. With eight teams left in the egg hunt, can w

EARLIER IN the year, on BBC 5 Live’s Six Nations Greatest podcast, Sam Warburton discussed how one of Warren Gatland’s big strengths was managing team environments. As an example, he cited this reaction to Wales’ 2015 Six Nations defeat by England… “

Age 20 (29 November 2001) Born Cardiff Position Wing Region Cardiff Country Wales How old were you when you first played? I was in Year Six, so ten or 11. It was at my local club, CRICC, and I played through all the years until youth. Then I went int

THE SLOW burn or the quick hook? For Beno Obano it’s definitely the latter. When it comes to sports documentaries, he wants to be drawn in quickly; do that and he could find himself watching something quite unexpected. The All Or Nothing and Drive To

ARGUMENT AND discussion rage over the decline of Welsh fortunes at junior, regional and national level. So where has it all gone wrong after the success of the Gatland years? To my mind, the turning point of Welsh fortunes has its origin in two key W

“In my second year of college, I was home for the summer and my mum suggested I give rugby a go at the local club, Tullamore. I went to that first session and loved it. The girls made it; in that environment everyone was so welcoming. It didn’t matte

A QUIET MAN but a mighty man.” Lawrence Dallaglio’s pithy summary struck a chord with all who knew Tom Smith, whose passing at the age of 50 rocked rugby on its axis. Quiet? This writer recalls a Sydney press conference at RWC 2003 when Smith had jou

BIG GAME – Harlequins’ festive visit to Twickenham – has become a regular feature on the calendar and the club will be back at English rugby’s HQ this month, albeit with a somewhat warmer offering. Quins’ Gallagher Premiership fixture against Glouces

“I’VE BEEN working for Korn Ferry, the management consultants in London, since 2017 and I love it. I blew my knee out in 2002, so that was the end of my playing career. Then I coached at Bristol with the academy where we had Dave Attwood and the Vuni

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STYLE. IT means different things to different people. Or nothing at all to some – an irrelevance. It matters to Kyle Sinckler, who got a hairdresser to fly from Tokyo to Beppu at RWC 2019 to do his ‘skin fade’ haircut. And it matters to Joe Marler (l

ROMAIN NTAMACK is effortlessly elegant both on and off the pitch. While the comparisons with Dan Carter might still feel a little premature at this stage of his career, it’s not a surprise to discover that the France fly-half idolised the All Blacks

Rugby’s most outspoken and influential journalist RECENTLY, THE great Toulouse scrum-half Antoine Dupont received the Pat Marshall Memorial Trophy. This award is voted for by the membership of the Rugby Union Writers’ Club and is presented annually t

EVERYTHING STARTED with a motivational speech gone wrong. In the middle of a Wasps pre-match huddle, Jacob Umaga, torn between saying ‘Stay composed’ and ‘Keep your composure’, blurted out ‘Stay composure!’. “Everyone was laughing,” recalls team-mate

THE MOST stylish rugby players of all time. Where do we start? What do we mean by style anyway? That got us talking about the qualities we were looking for; not just on-field brilliance or physical brutality, but something extra. Genius that comes na

CROWD GROWTH is a multifaceted process – no single factor is dominant. There are no silver bullets guaranteeing success; the trick is to get the many variables working in the same direction. Much has been made of the record crowds achieved in the rec

BEFORE WE get into the meat of the subject, Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber wants to ensure that there is some understanding around what leads up to the killer question. Because deciding how you want to play rugby isn’t exactly knocked over be

AS PROFESSIONAL rugby players we live lives that are fairly regimented and where people have total control over us. They tell us when we eat and what we should eat, they control what time you train, what time you go to a meeting. Well, there’s one th

Age 25 (14 Nov 1996) Born Swansea Position Centre Club Gloucester-Hartpury Height 5ft 8in Weight 10st 3lb Wales caps 35 Instagram @hannahj_12 WITH ALL the talk of skill development and fitness gains since Wales introduced professional contracts for a

HOW DO you represent the people of an entire ocean region? That was the challenge facing the Moana Pasifika franchise when they began plotting their first season in Super Rugby. Based in Auckland but held up as a symbol for all of Pasifika and their

Yes, that is a huge maple leaf design Captain America tributes? Yuck The worst ever acid flashback A grey mess of meeeugh We wish this shirt was properly camouflaged These guys in Paris are repeat offenders ■

THE STORY has grown enough arms and legs for three Vitruvian Men, but Elrigh Louw still finds an involuntary laugh. “It’s not as bad as it sounds but it was one of my first trainings at the Bulls, coming from the Kings,” starts Louw, 22. “We had a ‘s

ONE LOOK at the Allianz Premier 15s table illustrates exactly how dominant Saracens have been this season. As the league resumes this month, they are the only team to have booked their place in the semi-finals; in fact, they are assured of top spot w

THERE’S A sliver of extra steel in the good folk of Jarrow, the South Tyneside town synonymous with shipbuilding and the long march to Parliament in 1936. And it’s needed at the rugby club, where Jarrovians were assured of bottom place in Durham-Nort

RUGBY IS one of the most physical games on the planet. Yet when teams enter the cauldron of the big occasion, semi-finals and finals, the mental side of the game is just as crucial. Don McPherson is a mind coach who has worked across Formula One, ten

BECOMING A track and field star was always the goal for Naya Tapper. Until it wasn’t. “I ended up getting bored with it in my senior year. So I decided to just go to college and focus on my academics and having a social life, because I felt like I ki

CHIEF PRIOR No 8 Sam Prior, 33, a Taunton Titans legend, has done most things in his ten years with the Two South club but still manages to break new ground. He travels three times weekly from Dorchester to Taunton and his latest brief was a loan spe

COASTAL PATH Shoreham, of Sussex Two East, have taken a ground-breaking step by teaming up with Greene King IPA Championship side Richmond as a pathway club. The arrangement kicks off next season and will include joint sessions and opportunities for

BARNES BONANZA The Forest XV v Wayne Barnes XV match and fun day is back for a seventh year at Regentsholme, Lydney on 3 June, the day after a special dinner, all in aid of Breast Cancer Now. The Bream-born Barnes is bringing a team of top players to

RETURN OF THE REF It’s welcome back to Staffordshire’s Becky Davies, 51, who has answered the RFU’s call for retired match officials to get back involved. She played for nine seasons, ‘retired’ 11 years ago and became the first aider and injury thera

CASTLE TOUR Scarborough, of One East, have indulged in that rare modern commodity – a tour. The Danesmen, their development squad, headed to Kent on a three-day trip organised by club director and player Richard Guthrie. They stayed at Hever Castle a

ULSTER HAVE been perennial bridesmaids in the URC and its guises, having only won it once back in 2006. Yet they have all the ingredients: a brilliant player development system, and schools system to underpin it. A squad teeming with talent. A home c

EVER WONDERED how elite referees stay in good nick? We asked some top officials about their training week, with some interesting results. Take Nika Amashukeli’s plans. “In a week I’ll have four early-morning conditioning sessions on the field with my

There was much speculation on the impact of byes in the Premiership and the results with just four rounds to go suggested that a bye week gives sides a big advantage the next time they play. Of 21 games featuring a team coming off a bye, that side wo

SOMETIMES IT’S hard to be daring in a pro rugby environment because it’s a cutting and juvenile (yet also jovial) environment. People like to have a bit of craic and take the mickey, so whenever anyone enters the building looking even slightly out of