On 3 November Wales began a hectic programme of five autumn matches on consecutive weekends with a game against Spain in Madrid. Spain made another statement of intent as they beat an experimental Welsh XV 29-5. The visitors gave first starts to six players, forwards Gwenllian Jenkins, Georgia Evans and Abbie Fleming, and backs Angharad
World Rugby’s Women’s Player of the Year 2019 Emily Scarratt – A Tribute Did she deserve it? You bet! To at least one observer’s mind she has been the greatest female player in the world for many seasons. Of the four categories I suggested recently Influence on team Influence on results Ability in their position
The five nominations are: Emily Scarratt (England) Katy Daley-Mclean (England) Kendra Cocksedge (New Zealand) Pauline Bourdon (France) Sarah Bern (England) There can be few arguments about this quintet; they have all had an outstanding year, but that’s where clarity ends. Who on earth do we choose? On what grounds? Here are some possible categories: Influence
The Red Roses are due to play France away on 9 November. If we wondered last year how you keep 35 professional rugby players fully occupied, two answers might have been: seven of them aren’t full-time anyway and you have to allow for injuries. But now we have a single category of 28 players, and
After England’s men had made the All Blacks look mortal in the morning, the first tranche of the Tyrrells season finished with the top four clubs pitted against each other – Lightning v Quins in the early afternoon, then Sarries v Gloucester-Hartpury at the unsocial hour of 6.45 pm. Wrapped around them came the three
The significant results came from the middle reaches of the table. Two away wins: Lightning beating Wasps with something to spare; and DMP Sharks returning home from Richmond with a well-earned victory to boost their confidence. For the rest it was business as (almost) usual. Quins and Sarries laid their opposition to waste and Gloucester-Hartpury
Saracens v Worcester Despite their disparity in success these are the two clubs to have announced match fees for their players. Sarries had both Clealls, Lauren Cattell, Zoe Harrison and Rosie Galligan missing, but there was plenty of electricity left in the battery. Worcester have acquired a lot of new talent and are one of
The guys who select the livestream matches chose well for the first showing – even if it was three rounds late. Bristol and Wasps produced another close-fought drama at the noon-day hour. The Amber-and-Blacks showed they meant business by coming down the night before. This crafty move paid off; they pulled away in the closing
More Thoughts on the latest England Contracts The 28 contracts recently awarded to Red Roses mark another step forward in the management of professional terms for women rugby players. Before the Scotland match last March England’s head coach Simon Middleton said: …by the time the World Cup comes round I would like three or four
Typhoon Hagibis has hit the 2019 World Cup hard and caused a massive reaction from disappointed players, officials and spectators. It has its bearing too on the course of the next World Cup, to be fought out in New Zealand in two years time. As two greats of the Italian game, Leonardo Ghiraldini and Sergio
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