Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s only conversation when he met Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt on the weekend was about family, but the rugby convert has declared he’s “ready” to suit up in a gold jersey as soon as he’s called on.
‘It’s been an incredible ride’: Wales and Lions centre Jonathan Davies retires
- Davies won 96 caps and two grand slams for Wales
- Centre played six Tests for British and Irish Lions
The former Wales, British and Irish Lions and Scarlets centre Jonathan Davies has announced his retirement from professional rugby.
The 36-year-old, who won 96 caps for Wales, left Scarlets at the end of the 2023-24 season having scored 55 tries in 209 appearances across two spells for the Welsh region.
Continue reading...Now one of rugby league’s greatest sides, what next for Wigan Warriors? | Aaron Bower
This all-conquering team have cemented a place in the game’s folklore, but there will be no resting on their clean sweep this season
If there is one man who knows a thing or two about building a sporting dynasty, it is Sir Alex Ferguson. To that end, had we known the legendary Manchester United manager was the one to deliver Wigan Warriors’ motivational speech on the eve of the Super League Grand Final, the result would have felt like a formality before a ball had been kicked.
After all, it is not like this most outstanding of rugby league sides needs any additional help. Matt Peet’s team completed a historic quadruple with victory against Hull KR at Old Trafford on Saturday night. The first clean sweep of the Super League era and only the second in nearly a century.
Continue reading...Wigan v Hull KR: Super League Grand Final 2024 – as it happened
A touch of French class secured an historic Wigan win at Old Trafford
Harry Smith whomps the ball deep into Hull KR territory and we’re away!
The teams are strutting onto the field serenaded by The Lathums, an indie outfit from Wigan.
Continue reading...The Ineos Effect: hit and miss as Jim Ratcliffe’s tentacles have gone global
Ratcliffe has built an empire of assets across different sports but his teams have enjoyed varying degrees of success
Should Sir Ben Ainslie’s crew achieve the seemingly impossible and bring home the America’s Cup it will be the biggest sporting triumph yet for Ineos, whose tentacles now lie across the elite landscape in six disciplines. Despite heavy investment and the oversight of Sir Dave Brailsford it has been a mixed bag so far for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s petrochemicals company; they have struggled to make their mark in Formula One and cycling, while it may take a superhuman effort to restore Manchester United to greatness.
They have encountered accusations of using sport to airbrush environmental concerns around their business. Ending Britain’s 136-year wait for sailing’s most vaunted prize would, in the short term at least, guarantee favourable headlines.
Continue reading...International arrest warrant issued for former Wallabies captain
An international arrest warrant was issued on Friday against former Australia rugby captain Rocky Elsom, who was sentenced in his absence to five years in prison by a French court for misuse of corporate assets, a lawyer in the case told AFP.
Fairytale meets formidable: Hull KR and Wigan face off in Grand Final for the ages
Wigan’s last trophy was 24 days ago, Hull KR’s, 14,417 days. Yet the Robins may still be the ones to beat the Warriors
Masters versus apprentices. History breakers versus history makers. The club that reign supreme over rugby league against the team aiming for the ultimate coup d’etat. However you dress it up, Saturday evening’s Super League Grand Final has all the makings of a classic and more subplots than you could ever imagine.
In the red corner, there is Wigan Warriors. Defending champions and so much more. They currently hold all four major trophies available to win: the World Club Challenge, the Challenge Cup, the League Leader’s Shield and the one they are aiming to defend on Saturday, the Super League title. There have been some legendary Wigan sides of the past and this group are one win away from joining them.
Continue reading...Drovers get back to winning ways in SRC
It turned into a very good week for Euros Evans. On Wednesday night his Coleg Sir Gar team dismantled reigning champions Llandovery College in WSC U18 Rugby and a day later he saw Llandovery get back to winning ways with a 30-28 triumph at Newport. The Super Rygbi Cymru victory at Newport Stadium could well […]
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Obituary: Wales loses first professional coach Kevin Bowring
Kevin Bowring, Welsh rugby’s first professional coach, has died after suffering a heart attack at the age of 70. The Neath-born flanker became a legendary figure at London Welsh, where he made 268 games as a player and captained the club for three seasons, and was good enough to be picked for a Wales B […]
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Evans selected for two Tests in autumn window
Wales referee Craig Evans will be one of six officials taking charge of two Test matches for the men’s international window in November. Thirty referees from 12 nations will take charge of the 36 Test matches and five other matches featuring representative teams in the window. Jordan Way (Australia) will take charge of the first […]
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Jones wants Wales to end year on a high against Japan
Wales skipper Hannah Jones has told her players to park their disappointment at being pipped by Italy in the second round of their WXV2 campaign and challenged them to finish on a high against Japan today (Friday, 11 October). The prize is a first win in WXV having failed to win in the top-tier tournament […]
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O’Brien back for Newport as they seek revenge over Drovers
Newport host Llandovery in a repeat of last season’s Indigo Premiership play-off final in the opening game of Round 5 in Super Rygbi Cymru. The Drovers have lost three of their four games to date and surrendered the new SRC Challenge Shield in losing at home to Ebbw Vale last weekend. The incentive for Newport […]
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Sanderson v Diamond friendship on sidelines in battle of the north | Robert Kitson
Newcastle head to Sale on the back of a 24-game Premiership losing streak and a with pressing need to attract a fresh audience to rugby union in the north
It is supposed to be a snarling northern “derby” but, in reality, Sale’s Friday night date with Newcastle is a case of friends reunited. The Sharks’ Alex Sanderson and the Falcons’ Steve Diamond take their respective eight-year-olds to the same swimming class every week and have been mates for so long they know pretty much exactly what the other is plotting.
Sanderson, in particular, has been warning his squad they will need to be up for the fight against their bottom placed, winless opponents: “They’re already talking survival, food on plates and roofs over heads; we’ve got to match their emotional levels.” Diamond, for his part, has been busy stripping down his side’s tactics to the barest essentials to counter Sale’s big pack and territory based game. “We’re not even competitive at the moment,” he says. “There’s still players here who don’t understand what we’re trying to do on game day.”
Continue reading...Hull KR’s Ryan Hall: ‘It was the human pull of this club that got me’
Veteran of six Grand Final wins with Leeds seeks a fairytale finale as his current club chase a first trophy since 1985
There have been few stories in recent years quite like the rise of Hull KR from the doldrums of Super League to the sport’s biggest domestic game in only four seasons. And there are few players as eloquent, experienced and in such an ideal position to tell it quite like Ryan Hall.
Hall is not your average rugby league player. He is a qualified accountant, having completed a degree while playing at the highest level. He can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute and is capable of playing several musical instruments. Plus, there is the fact that Hall has played an integral role in one of the most incredible transformations any club have seen for some time.
Continue reading...Winnett picks up WRWA Young Player of the Year Award
Cameron Winnett’s stellar first season in senior rugby has been crowned with him being named as the Welsh Rugby Writers’ Association Welsh Young Player of the Year for 2024. The 21-year-old Cardiff Rugby full back not only nailed down the full back berth at his region but is now the proud owner of seven senior […]
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