A new French squad is busy with its first training session under the leadership of François Ratier. It’s lasting four days from 9-12 February at Blagnac, a suburb of Toulouse. After a second session at the National Training Centre at Marcoussis (24-27 March), Ratier will sit down with his two assistants, Gerald Bastide and Florent
Two matches: Leicester Tigers v Saracens and Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs I had intended offering these in chronological order, but events took over, so first: Quins v Chiefs This was bound to be a humdinger, third versus fourth, but few could have predicted the final moments. The game had nearly every ingredient you could want
Two matches – first Bristol Bears v Trailfinders, then Sale Sharks v Gloucester-Hartpury Both matches were played in miserably wet murky conditions. We were treated to another thriller at Shaftesbury Park, as Bears tried to get their season running properly. History tells us these contests tend to be close, but not at the start. After
In this survey I attempt to gauge the balance between men and women in positions of authority, from the RFU down to the PWR clubs and officials. For the sake of clarity I present women’s names in CAPITALS. Caution: I do not claim the following lists to be either complete or fully up-to-date. But they
We now know the dates and fixtures, though venues remain to be finalised. The Fixtures: 11 April USA v New Zealand Canada v Australia 17 April USA v Australia Canada v NZ 25 April USA v Canada Australia v NZ The majority of matches are due to take place in the States. One or two
Sam Needs, the Interim Head Coach, has published the names of 44 players to form the first training squad of his reign. They have two sessions planned at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra: 2-5 and 22-26 February. The List: KATALINA AMOSA RUBY ANDERSON *DILLYN BLACKBURN *LILLY BONE BREE-ANNA BROWNE EMILY CHANCELLOR LORI CRAMER
There was so much rugby going on this weekend that I’ll limit myself to a few facts and some debatable conclusions. First, results: PWR Bristol Bears 30 Sale Sharks 29 Exeter Chiefs 36 Leicester Tigers 0 Gloucester-Hartpury 45 Loughborough Lightning 26 Celtic Challenge Glasgow Warriors 31 Clovers 38 Wolfhounds 38 Gwalia Lightning 10 Edinburgh Rugby
First apologies for earlier error: the PWR final will take place at the Twickenham Stoop 1 January. Saracens enter 2026 on an unbeaten run of 11 home victories 1. A figure looking distinctly like Sadia Kabeya appears in the giant New Year’s Day fireworks display, River Thames, London 5. Ioan Cunningham (ex-Wales and Fiji head
This London derby under lights had an edge to it. A quick Quins line-out caught TF napping, and Aoife Wafer had an opening try. At this stage the hosts were feeling the edge of Charlie Gayther’s whistle; at least the pack were in charge at the scrum. The first hometown cheer came when Vicky Lafln
Conversation: “Well, that went quickly.” “Oh no, it didn’t. Those were the longest, most boring five weeks I’ve known.” Take your choice, but Round 9 resumes on Friday evening, marking the halfway stage. Fixtures: Friday 30 January Trailfinders v Quins, 19.30 (BBC iPlayer) Sunday 1 February Bears v Sharks, 13.00 Shaftesbury Park (YT) Chiefs v
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