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Continue reading...Mr Hull KR: real-life hero of Post Office IT scandal bankrolls club to verge of treble glory
Owner Neil Hudgell is as proud of his players’ connection to the community as he is of the club’s success as they face Wigan in Saturday’s Grand Final
Neil Hudgell has witnessed highs this summer he and a generation of Hull KR supporters perhaps thought they would never get to experience, but even in these most euphoric of times the low moments are never far from the forefront of his mind.
There have been plenty of those during his 20 years as owner of his boyhood club. Flirtations with administration, relegation from Super League in the most dramatic of circumstances in 2016 courtesy of an extra-time defeat to Salford and a 50-0 loss to Leeds in the 2015 Challenge Cup final that Hudgell ranks as his lowest ebb.
Continue reading...Senior rugby figures believe rebel R360 league all but dead after unions’ statement
Players who sign up would be ineligible for national sides
Proposed event yet to be sanctioned by World Rugby
Senior global rugby figures believe the rebel R360 venture is all but dead unless it can find a way to appease the world’s top nations. In a dramatic move the leading unions collectively made clear this week that players involved in the R360 competition would be ineligible for their national sides and have warned them to treat offers with “extreme caution”.
Privately there is a widespread view that those pushing the R360 concept, fronted by the England World Cup winner Mike Tindall, now face a struggle to get the project off the ground if the world’s top male and female players are required to forfeit their international futures to join the rebel league.
Continue reading...‘I stood on the shoulders of giants’: Josh Walters on scoring the winning try in the Super League Grand Final
Not only did Walters score the key try for Leeds in 2015 – he did it again in the Scottish Grand Final a decade later
Ten years ago this week Josh Walters took a simple pass and plunged over the six-yard line at Old Trafford to score the final try in the Super League Grand Final as Leeds secured their seventh title. There were 73,512 fans inside the stadium and a couple of million more watching at home. He humbly plays down his role in the treble-clinching triumph. “I never say it was the winning try because Kev [Sinfield] still had to kick the two points – my try brought us level and there was still 15 minutes left.”
That was his first winning try in a Grand Final. The second came this summer in Scotland, watched by a few dozen spectators at Penicuik Rugby Club. In contrast to his supporting role at Old Trafford, Walters was West End’s driving force for the whole match. The dramatic golden-point victory brought West End Warriors their first title in their debut season, Walters breaking from halfway to seal a 34-30 win over Edinburgh Eagles. “We wouldn’t have been in that position if it hadn’t been for me,” says the gently spoken Walters. “I was about to score earlier and someone knocked the ball out of my hands. So I had to make up for that.”
Continue reading...‘Enormously harmful’: Australia in stunning power move against R360 as defectors face ban
The national rugby unions of eight of the sport’s major nations released a statement on Tuesday warning players and support staff against joining the rebel R360 competition.
James O’Connor returns keen to add ‘stardust’ to Leicester’s attack
Fly-half back in UK after facing All Blacks with Australia
O’Connor may play against Northampton on Saturday
James O’Connor, Leicester’s new Australian recruit, is hoping to bring a touch of sparkle to the East Midlands after finally linking up properly with the Tigers this week. O’Connor’s first spell last month was curtailed when he was swiftly recalled to the Wallabies squad to face New Zealand, but he is now back raring to go before his new club’s derby against Northampton on Saturday.
Having arrived in the UK only on Monday, the 35-year-old played a limited part in his first training session but seems poised to feature in the matchday 23 against the Saints. Leicester’s new director of rugby, Geoff Parling, will not confirm his team until Friday but hinted that O’Connor was in line for some action despite his latest long-haul flight. “He’s an experienced operator who gets up to speed quickly, put it that way,” Parling said. “When you’re in business class you can just put your feet up anyway. I don’t think it was too bad for him.”
Continue reading...England among eight countries to ban players who sign up to rugby’s rebel R360 league
Statement says R360 players ineligible for internationals
Ireland and Scotland among those to impose sanction
The rugby unions for eight major nations have issued a joint statement saying that any players that join the breakaway R360 competition will be banned from playing for their countries.
England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, France and Italy have all agreed to bar their men’s and women’s players from the national setup if they sign up to the rebel event, which is being fronted by the former England player Mike Tindall.
More details soon …
Continue reading...The Breakdown | ‘The road not taken haunts me to this day’: David Bishop on a rugby career full of regret
The former Wales and Pontypool scrum-half has written an autobiography on a life blighted by violence and reflects on the punch that ended his international career
Imagine, for a moment, the following scenario. Having broken his neck in a freak rugby accident and avoided paralysis by a millimetre, the player concerned is back for a meeting with his spinal consultant. The specialist advice is crystal clear. Make the most of your second chance and, if you fancy staying alive, never do either of the following again: dive off a high board or resume playing rugby.
And now just imagine being the kind of guy who leaves the room and immediately nips home to pick up his swimming trunks before heading to the nearest swimming pool. Who puts on the swimmers, climbs up to the highest platform and dives straight off. Not once but twice. The rationale being that, if he survives, there will be no reason not to give rugby another go.
This is an extract taken from our weekly rugby union email, the Breakdown. To sign up, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
Continue reading...Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins credited with saving little girl’s life at Melbourne playground
Nick Cummins was with his family at a Melbourne playground on the weekend when disaster struck and he jumped into action.
There are good guys and then there is Lewis Moody – MND has cruelly singled out the bravest of men | Robert Kitson
Moody’s diagnosis with motor neurone disease at the age of 47 is desperate news for all those who know and love him
Back when he was captaining England at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Lewis Moody went canyon swinging near Queenstown in New Zealand. Despite being utterly fearless on the pitch he was not brilliant with heights. That day, he wrote in his autobiography, was “the most terrifying experience of my life”. Or at least it was. A fortnight ago, he and his family were plunged into something infinitely scarier.
Moody’s diagnosis with the incurable motor neurone disease at the age of 47 is, first and foremost, desperate news for all those who know and love him. There are good guys and then there is “Moodos”, about whom nobody in rugby has a bad word. Cruel doesn’t come close to describing it.
Continue reading...NRL 2025 grand final: Brisbane Broncos beat Melbourne Storm – as it happened
Reece Walsh awarded Clive Churchill Medal at Accor Stadium
Oooph! Off comes Mr Swims’ jacket to reveal an AC/DC themed plaid combination ideal for launching into a cover of TNT and demonstrating a decent set of pipes. An excellent way to win over new friends on a night like this.
Teddy Swims has just kicked off his bekilted yacht rock pregame show. It’s fine, I guess.
Continue reading...‘Non-existent ’: Quade Cooper takes swipe at Wallabies tactics, calls for NRL convert’s return
Wallabies legend Quade Cooper has criticised the Wallabies’ tactics during Saturday night’s Bledisloe Cup loss.
Springboks win nailbiter to seal historic back-to-back Rugby Championships
Cobus Reinach and Malcolm Marx scored two tries apiece as South Africa beat Argentina 29-27 at Twickenham to win successive Rugby Championship titles for the first time in their history.
History for All Blacks with record-breaking win after freak try in Wallabies legend’s farewell Test
Australia’s Rugby Championship dream is over after the All Blacks sealed a 28-14 victory at Perth Stadium on Saturday evening, whitewashing the two-match Bledisloe Cup.
Bledisloe Cup live: Australia Wallabies 14-28 New Zealand All Blacks – as it happened
All Blacks secure 11th straight win over Wallabies
New Zealand run in four tries in wet conditions in Perth
Conditions in Perth are damp. It’s been raining on and off throughout the day so it will be slick under lights. Temperatures are mild and there’s little wind to speak of.
“As a South African following while doing a short stint in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I am salivating ahead of this pivotal match,” emails Craig Sayers. “Indeed, my medulla oblongata has worked overtime this entire Rugby Championship, considering the effect on my heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure.
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