Nine matches have been squeezed inside a week, to leave players and staff gasping for breath. Western Storm have continued their serene progress, claiming five wins out of five, but in the process they have shown up the weaknesses of the competition as well as its strengths. For their latest contest they travelled up to
First indications are that the elite division will be even more elitist and divided than ever. In its first two years of existence three clubs, Harlequins, Loughborough Lightning and Saracens, pulled away from the rest to establish a superiority that was rarely endangered. Only Wasps came close to challenging them – they finished third in
Two more games in the Kia Super League, two more wins for the southern franchises. The Guildford match was over in a trice; the Vipers had to hold their nerve at Haslegrave to squeeze home against Lightning in the final over. Surrey Stars followed convention by inviting the visitors to bat first. Marizanne Kapp started
After the desolation of a trouncing by the Australians can English cricketers return to the sort of form that won them a World Cup so recently? Well, the shape of the KSL allows them to enjoy lots of help from outsiders, not least some of the self-same Aussies. This is its last season. We can
The B&I Lions are already in talks with the Four Home Unions about the possibility of launching a first tour for women. This is heady news for women’s rugby, coming hard on the heels of the introduction of the Barbarians female version. Before we look at the prospects for this venture, first a glance at
England Under 20 v Canada Under 20 Loughborough July 28 2019 England had to work desperately hard to overcome a well-organized and accurate Canadian side that had seen off their USA opponents 24-7 in mid-week. After the intense heat of Wednesday they were presented with the other side of English weather, cold, wet and miserable.
England U20 v USA U20 Tri-Nations – Loughborough 20 July 2019 All the great names (Dow, Perry, Beckett, Botterman, Tuima, Attwood, Galligan, Harrison) had disappeared from the Under 20 roster – upstairs, to the elite squad. And still the new-look squad put ten tries on a hard-pressed USA side. Just as though it was a cricket
England Women U20s head coach Jo Yapp has named her team to play USA in their Tri-Nations Cup opener on Saturday [20 July]. The squad assembled on Tuesday to prepare for the tournament at Loughborough University. England face the USA before meeting Canada on Sunday [28 July]. In the three-nation tournament hosted by Canada last
The two television companies covering the series each picked their Dream Team. First Florugby.com’s 23: Next Sky’s verdict, a XV only: 1 DeMerchant (Canada) 1 Cornborough (England) 2 Ngata (NZ) 2 Thomas (France) 3 Rogers (USA) 3 Rogers (USA) 4 Beukeboom (Canada) 4 Blackwell
The organisers of this new-style tournament will have been well contented with proceedings. For the first time ever the five top-ranked nations met in combat in one location. In the process some high-class rugby was put on show. There were surprise results to set beside the bankers; every side won at least a match and
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