Have you followed the big stories in football, rugby union, golf, cricket, boxing, cycling and horse racing?
Continue reading...England full-back George Furbank heads for Harlequins in lucrative switch
Northampton struggle to meet offer
Smith and Mitchell fit for Saints quarter-final
Underperforming Harlequins have confirmed the signing of England’s full-back George Furbank as they seek to rebuild their squad for next season.
The 29-year-old Furbank has been an influential figure at Northampton, the league leaders, but a lucrative contract offer has persuaded him to try his luck in south-west London.
Continue reading...Sale believe Courtney Lawes can regain England place after veteran signs one-year deal
Former captain spent past two seasons at Brive
Alex Sanderson: ‘He’s still got the ability’
Courtney Lawes has been backed to regain his England place following confirmation he will be joining Sale Sharks this summer on a one-year deal. The former national captain has spent the last two seasons with Brive in France’s ProD2 but has indicated he would love to play international rugby again should the chance arise.
While Lawes will be 38 next February and retired from the Test arena after the 2023 World Cup in France, he still feels he can make an impact at the top level of the game. That view is shared by Sale’s director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, who is much looking forward to welcoming the former Northampton stalwart to Manchester.
Continue reading...‘Nothing is ever promised’: Max Ojomoh on England rejection and his Bath rapport with Russell
Centre wonders if he will play another Test but remains positive as his club side meet Saracens in Champions Cup
There have been some small but significant changes at Bath’s stately home training base at Farleigh House this week. Black flags, to complement their bespoke Champions Cup kit, flutter in the spring breeze and up in reception is the precise number of days and matches left this season should the club keep winning. “Choose Greatness” reads another motivational sign before their last-16 encounter with Saracens on Saturday.
One particular player, though, needs no extra impetus. One moment Max Ojomoh was accepting the man of the match award after a fine display for England against Argentina in late November, the next he was losing his Six Nations squad place. Even if he hadn’t turned up for this interview wearing a tight black bandana on his head, the 25-year-old would still look and sound like a man on a mission.
Continue reading...Sports quiz of the week: World Cup, Masters and County Championship
Have you been following the big stories in football, cricket, rugby league, boxing, golf, F1, athletics, rowing and chess?
Continue reading...‘You need enemies’: joy for Super League as Bradford and Leeds finally resume rivalry
Heavyweight fixture that featured icons such as Kevin Sinfield and Lesley Vainikolo returns after 12-year hiatus
It will almost feel as if Super League has stepped back in time on Friday night as the rivalry that defined the competition’s early years returns after a 12-year hiatus, and it will not just be across West Yorkshire that eyes will be on Odsal Stadium for Bradford Bulls’ derby with Leeds Rhinos. In a small corner of New Zealand, Lesley Vainikolo will interrupt his Saturday morning to watch the return of the derby he starred in for Bradford during the early 2000s, and he will probably not be alone.
Dubbed the Volcano because of his incredible try-scoring record, with 149 in 152 games for the Bulls, Vainikolo rarely gives interviews these days. But the lure of discussing one of Super League’s biggest fixtures returning was too much to resist. “There is no way I’d miss it,” says the 46-year-old, who is now director of rugby at Wesley College near Auckland, the school that forged the career of Jonah Lomu.
Continue reading...Super League at 30: how media coverage has changed since 1996
After covering changes for matchgoing fans, Gavin Willacy assesses how coverage has transformed for fans at home
Super League celebrated its 30th birthday in style at the weekend. The main party was at Headingley, where Leeds hosted Warrington in a repeat of one of the league’s original fixtures. As Sky Sports anchor Brian Carney welcomed guest after illustrious guest to reminisce about their past heroics, we were shown clips from three of the opening round of games from 1996. That’s because only three were televised. And that was one more than Sky normally showed, despite having spent £87m on the new competition. All seven Super League games were shown live last weekend.
We now consume the game on our phones rather than through hourly radio bulletins. Unless you had a satellite dish on your house in the mid-1990s, you couldn’t watch Super League’s launch. For the opening weekend, Sky sent the media circus to Paris, Oldham and Leeds. By all accounts, members of the press pack were well oiled. In 2026, Super League on Sky is just a well-oiled machine.
Continue reading...Super League at 30: how the sport has changed for matchgoing fans
A lot has changed since 1996 – summer matches, bigger crowds, more foreign players, a salary cap, skin-tight jerseys and female referees – but some things always stay the same
The first season of Super League kicked off on 29 March 1996, when 17,873 people watched Paris Saint-Germain beat Sheffield Eagles 30–24 at Stade Charléty. The opening fixture might sound outlandish 30 years later, but the first season of the competition set the tone for the next decade.
St Helens ended Wigan’s run of seven successive titles and Bradford showed what was to come by finishing third. The three clubs would dominate the opening era of the new competition before Leeds finally fulfilled their potential. Leeds RLFC (rhinos were still something you only saw at the zoo) finished 10th in the inaugural season, winning just six of their 22 games. Hull KR were scrambling off the canvas, romping to the third-tier title, while Hull FC finished third in the second tier behind Salford and Keighley.
Continue reading...Featherstone’s long and quiet Sundays in a rugby league town that lost its soul
Club’s financial crisis meant exclusion from the RFL Championship this season, and it could be a long way back for one of the sport’s storied names
Sunday afternoon in Featherstone. The first shoots of spring are creaking through the skyline and the Railway pub is bustling with rugby league supporters as the town’s pride and joy, Featherstone Rovers, prepare to face Swinton Lions.
Or at least, that is what should have happened last weekend. Instead, streets of this West Yorkshire town built on coal mining were deserted. The Railway, just a few hundred yards from Rovers’ Post Office Road home, was largely empty and the gates of the stadium chained shut.
Continue reading...Defeat not an option for Saracens’ McCall in crunch Northampton clash
Sarries need to bounce back from Bath hammering to stay in touch with the top when they face the Prem leaders
Prestigious Prem matches are scattered across the country on Saturday but none is more significant in the title race than Saracens’ date with Northampton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
By the time Sarries and Saints run out for their evening kick-off in north London, Gloucester will have played Leicester at Villa Park, before Bristol meet Harlequins at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Continue reading...World Cup-winning captain Johnson urges England to think about summer break for players
The former England captain and head coach argues that elite stars need a proper training block to peak at 2027 World Cup – but warns even best-laid plans get ripped up
England’s legendary World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson says the current management should consider resting key players this summer to boost the chances of history being repeated in Australia next year. Johnson was among several senior squad members who did not tour Argentina in the buildup to their 2003 global triumph and suggests a similar policy could assist England’s 2027 campaign.
In 2002 England beat the Pumas 26‑18 in Buenos Aires with only eight of their subsequent World Cup-winning squad involved. Johnson is fully aware that post-game recovery and conditioning techniques have moved on significantly but believes the current captain, Maro Itoje, and others require careful handling if they are to prosper in 2027.
Continue reading...Champions Bath blow away Saracens in nine-try rout to reclaim top spot
Bath 62-15 Saracens
Finn Russell kicks 17 points and Arundell scores twice
Champions Bath left no doubt about their appetite for another title as they swept Saracens aside 62-15 at the Rec to regain top spot. The Londoners started brightly and did not lack effort but Bath’s killer instinct earned them nine tries in front of another capacity crowd.
Scotland’s Finn Russell kicked 17 points from seven conversions and a penalty. Russell and the club captain, Ben Spencer, were straight back into action after ultimately frustrating Six Nations campaigns with their respective countries.
Continue reading...‘It’s not about punishing’: Five key issues for English rugby to resolve after the Six Nations
Steve Borthwick will be reprieved by the RFU’s review but there are other factors at play from the makeup of his backroom team to the conveyor belt of English talent
The Rugby Football Union’s review into England’s least successful championship for 50 years is already up and running with an alacrity that would impress Louis Bielle-Biarrey. And one detail seems clear: barring something spectacular, Steve Borthwick will still be coaching the team this summer. As one well-placed insider put it: “This review is about supporting Steve to make improvements. If change is needed change is needed but it’s not about punishing him. He’s absolutely going to be in post this summer, there’s no question about that.”
Continue reading...Sports quiz of the week: youngsters, old timers, records, protests and posh grub
Have you followed the big stories in football, rugby, golf, baseball, horse racing, winter sports, F1, snooker and more?
Continue reading...‘A shithouse stadium’: NRL coach left needing stitches to hand after glass shatters at Canberra stadium
Visiting Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo sustains deep gash
Calls intensify for ageing GIO Stadium to undergo refurbishment
Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo has joined growing calls for Canberra’s GIO Stadium to undergo a face lift after revealing he would need stitches after glass shattered on him in the ageing arena.
While the visiting coach was left with a deep gash in his hand, Raiders boss Ricky Stuart also weighed in, calling his side’s home arena a “shithouse stadium” and claiming authorities didn’t care about the state of the 1970s-built venue.
Continue reading...