Fixtures: DS v Worcester Exeter v Bristol Loughborough v Gloucester-Hartpury Sale v Saracens Wasps v Quins Two First Outings It will be our first chance to clap eyes on the two sides who missed out last weekend, the Bears and the Wasps. Will there be any room left over in the Bristol XV for non-Welsh
After a colossal hiatus play was resumed in the Premier 15s with a new sponsor, two new clubs and a host of law-amendments to catch the unwary. Congratulations to the 30 players representing Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks in their very first showing at elite level. Exeter have experienced huge disadvantages in their build-up, but
Allianz Premier 15s Round One Rugby archivists might consider 16 September 2017 as a red-letter day in the development of the game. The first round of the new women’s elite Tyrrells Premier 15s took place. But the events surrounding this year’s first round may well prove even more historic. The RFU has done well to
Allianz, the insurance giant, are to be the new sponsors of the Premier 15s. So the tournament acquires the new name: Allianz Premier 15s The news will bring delight and relief in equal measure to the RFU, the clubs, players and supporters, though those supporters will remain love-locked-out. That hateful phrase ‘Behind closed doors’ will
The New Season draws closer As the proposed starting date for the Premier 15s draws ever closer, tension increases and good news tussles with bad. Fiona Tomas (The Daily Telegraph, 1 October) hints the RFU is on the point of announcing a sponsor. That will bring a huge sigh of relief all round. If it
England’s Gains and Losses Against all the odds the five-match series between England and the West Indies was completed. Our thanks go to the ground authorities and staff, the players, officials and the media folk who brought a wet game to memorable life. Above all to the West Indian party. They have had to withstand
It rained all day, and still a match was played and completed – the first-ever women’s 5-over sprint. There were team changes. The important pre-match news was that Danni Wyatt left the bubble for personal reasons. It broke a sequence dating back to 2017. We wish her well. Fran Wilson returned in her place. Freya
England made it four out of four despite a much improved showing by the Windies in the first quarter of the game. Heather Knight won the toss once again and chose to bat. The top order still isn’t functioning smoothly, Aaliyah Alleyne getting Danni Wyatt and Nat Sciver caught behind. Wyatt hasn’t scored big runs
Let’s start by calling this tournament a raging success, then see if we can pick any holes in it. Aim The first target was to get some meaningful cricket in before it was too late in the year. Method The ECB had already decided on the eight hubs that would be the future building blocks
The glorious experiment of the RHF Trophy came to a worthy end at the halfway-house venue of Edgbaston. This test arena was a fitting background. As most experts expected, Vipers completed an unbeaten sequence of games against their battling opponents. Lauren Winfield-Hill, released from the Derby bubble, resumed the captaincy of the Northerners and opted
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