Super Rugby pre-season on both sides of the Tasman was in full swing over the weekend with Australian and New Zealand teams playing a handful of derbies.
Last week’s post-Christmas block of fixtures took us beyond the halfway point in this season’s Gallagher Premiership and a number of the round nine results have certainly whetted the appetite as English ruby welcomes in the new year.
This weekend’s return of the Gallagher Premiership following a five-week hibernation was given its banner headline on Wednesday when Joe Marler confirmed he will retire from playing with immediate effect following Friday night’s Harlequins match at home to Bristol.
Round six of the Gallagher Premiership promises to deliver another thrilling weekend of action, with teams looking to solidify their positions ahead of a break before the Test rugby returns in November.
Twenty-eight of the 36 players named by Steve Borthwick in the England squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series will start for their clubs in this weekend’s Gallagher Premiership.
With England versus New Zealand on the November 2 horizon and Steve Borthwick poised to name his Test squad on Wednesday for the four-game Autum Nations Series, a number of leading candidates have been pencilled in for some timely club action.
Here we are, about to begin another season of Premiership Women’s Rugby. Last season saw Gloucester-Hartpury Women lift the trophy once again, winning a free-flowing finale against Bristol Bears Women.
Scottish URC side Glasgow Warriors have issued a squad update that has implications for two of their front-line players.
Moana Pasifika centre Levi Aumua has been in devastating form and brings size and power unlike any other midfielder in New Zealand.
A question familiar to All Blacks fans in the Ian Foster era is that of the starting loose forward trio, balancing the explosive power game that some players possess with the needs of the set piece is not an easy task.