Rugby – Sports Gazette

Experienced Fijian’s expect young talent to excel against a strong Barbarian side at Twickenham.

Rugby Union

by Jake Jones - 15 November 201915 November 2019 0248

By Jake Jones and Callum Room The Flying Fijians are training in London ahead of this weekend's fixture with Eddie Jones’ Barbarians. In their first outing since exiting the 2019 Rugby World Cup at the group stage, Head Coach John McKee has selected a mixture of heavily experienced players, alongside a number

Rugby World Cup Final: Springboks rugby legend Naas Botha on how South Africa can stop England

Rugby Union

by Pranav Shahaney - 1 November 2019 0362

After a month and a half of high-octane rugby, the World Cup has now reached its final game. Two-time champions South Africa will square off against one-time winners England at the International Stadium, Yokohama on Saturday. Both sides have shown signs of promise throughout the competition and it will be interesting

Why You Should Watch England’s Chance at Making History

Rugby Union

by Alexandra Ibaceta - 25 October 201925 October 2019 0282

Yes, England’s rugby match is early tomorrow, but your morning cuppa is going to be that much more exciting as Eddie Jones’ team has the chance to make history for England Rugby. New Zealand has won 15 of 16 encounters between the two nations. England were able to get the better

How the 2019 Rugby World Cup has suffered due to a lack of organisation

Rugby Union

by Sarah Glenton - 18 October 201918 October 2019 0346

When Japan were announced as the hosts for the 2019 Rugby World Cup on 28th July 2009, then-President of the JRFU Yoshiro Mori said: “the God of rugby smiled on us today.” Over a decade later, and the tournament is in full swing. Japan are the first Asian nation to stage

World Rugby takes back control from mega-rich clubs

Rugby Union

by Daniel Gallan - 15 March 201921 September 2019 0293

World Rugby’s new proposal for a Nations Championship - pencilled in for 2022 - is a necessary development to grow the international game by providing context to otherwise meaningless cross-hemisphere friendlies. In addition, it will take back some of the power away from mega-rich clubs in England and France who

‘How it got to this stage is staggering’: Former Belgian coach Simon Leader talks player ineligibility and Belgium rugby

Rugby Union

by Danny Ruddock - 24 May 201824 May 2018 01618

Rugby Europe needs to be seriously looked at in the wake of the player ineligibility scandal, according to former Belgian assistant coach Simon Leader. Leader said: “They cleared each and every one of those players to play in the games as they have to do the checks before each game. How

ESPN releases new streaming app

American Sports

by Louis Olvera - 12 February 201814 March 2018 01182

U.S. based global cable company ESPN has announced a new streaming service called ESPN Plus that will cost $4.99 per month and will launch this spring. ESPN, owned by The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications, says the offering will be built into ESPN’s main mobile app which will go

Don’t Crack Podcast: Episode 6 – Scottish World Cup Woes

by Adam Samuel - 20 November 2017 01266

In the sixth addition of the Don’t Crack Podcast, we discuss the continued failure of the Scottish men's football team in their quest for a first World Cup appearance in nearly 20 years! For this episode we were joined by Sports Gazette editor and proud, if long suffering, Scotsman Matt Horsman. LISTEN

Project players and Bundee Aki

Rugby Union

by Danny Ruddock - 10 November 201710 November 2017 02430

Rob Herring, CJ Stander, Bundee Aki, Nathan Hughes, WP Nel and Cornell du Preez. These are all players with no familial connection to the country they will represent this weekend. Taking out the smallest six nation country, Italy, these players represent the total amount of "project players" representing the five largest

Sports Gazette’s Champions Cup Predictions

Rugby Union

by Matthew Horsman - 15 October 201722 November 2017 01225

With the Champions Cup starting this weekend, Sports Gazette’s two rugby correspondents Danny Ruddock and Matt Horsman give their predictions for the season ahead. Pool Winners Pool 1 Danny - La Rochelle Going to go with La Rochelle here. They play a fantastic brand of rugby and have picked up where they left