Category: Rugby Union

Rugby Union News

Posted on

Europe is testing ground as Borthwick looks for Six Nations winning blend

With Alex Mitchell back at scrum-half, England could turn opener in Dublin into start of successful campaign

Maybe Elon Musk is the man to revive English rugby union. He already believes he has the solutions to most of the universe’s biggest problems so reforming a mere sports team should be a piece of futuristic cake. Throw £40bn at it, take over the comms department and stick the Rugby Football Union’s finest on a rocket ship to Mars? It’s an easy game, megalomania.

Back in the real world, of course, nothing is ever quite that straightforward. Even AI cannot identify why England keep struggling to maximise their resources because there is no one simple explanation. As Steve Borthwick prepares to unveil his Six Nations squad on Tuesday, it is again less about the individuals per se than finding the right blend to enable the collective to flourish.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Japanese Ambassador visits Principality Stadium to celebrate ‘Wales and Japan 2025’

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) hosted His Excellency, the Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium earlier this week (Wednesday). The visit marks the beginning of a series of cultural and sporting events in celebration of ‘Wales and Japan 2025’, highlighting the strong ties between the two countries. The partnership between Wales […]

The post Japanese Ambassador visits Principality Stadium to celebrate ‘Wales and Japan 2025’ appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

Posted on

Stuart Hogg was a world class Scottish rugby player who now has to relocate his moral compass | Robert Kitson

The former national rugby union captain has been spared jail for the domestic abuse of his estranged wife, Gill, after courts painted a grim picture of his off-pitch behaviour

Scotland has not always been blessed with rugby players of genuine world class but prime-time Stuart Hogg was a rare exception. At the height of his powers he was the Six Nations Player of the Year in successive seasons in 2016 and 2017, mixing acceleration and attacking intent with a just-try-and-stop-me attitude that set him apart from the average workaday pro.

The talented lad from Hawick was a big fish in a series of smallish pools – the Borders, Scottish rugby, Exeter – and grew accustomed to being hailed as king of his local oval-ball castle. While, behind closed doors, not being entirely the man his many fans thought him to be.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Lewis targeting two wins for Welsh Academies XV

Scarlets scrum half Rhodri Lewis says his Welsh Academies U23 XV will go into their two clashes with Wales U20 “quietly confident” of not only testing them, but also emerging with a couple of wins.   This time last year Lewis was in the ‘other camp’ preparing for the World Rugby U20 Junior Championship in […]

The post Lewis targeting two wins for Welsh Academies XV appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

Posted on

Former Scotland rugby union captain Stuart Hogg sentenced after admitting domestic abuse

  • Hogg given community payback order with supervision
  • Sentence for 32-year-old is an ‘alternative to custody’

The former Scotland rugby union captain Stuart Hogg will be supervised for a year as an alternative to jail after he admitted abusing his estranged wife over the course of five years.

He pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse of his ex-partner, Gillian Hogg, when he appeared at Selkirk Sheriff Court on 4 November. He admitted shouting and swearing, tracking her movements and sending her messages which were alarming and distressing in nature.

Continue reading...
Posted on

McBryde edges Lloyd out of top spot as leading SRC points scorer

It’s a New Year and all change at the top of the try and points scoring charts of Super Rygbi Cymru. Cardiff winger Dewi Cross has been deposed as the leading try scorer with Ebbw Vale’s captain Joe Franchi leaping to the top of the pile after scoring against Pontypool just before the New Year. […]

The post McBryde edges Lloyd out of top spot as leading SRC points scorer appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

Posted on

England’s Feyi-Waboso in dilemma over surgery for sake of Lions ambitions

  • Recovery delayed by new England deal, says Rob Baxter
  • Operation would rule him out of Six Nations

England’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is still in two minds about whether to undergo a shoulder operation that could affect his chances of representing the British & Irish Lions this summer. The Exeter wing is scheduled to have surgery next week, which would rule him out of the Six Nations and complicate his dream of touring Australia with the Lions.

Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, says the 22-year-old has not yet ruled out postponing the operation and can avoid recurring shoulder issues for the remainder of this season. A decision will need to be taken imminently, however, with Baxter suggesting extensive discussions between club and country are already delaying the process.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Ollie Lawrence should be applauded for streetwise play – rugby must ditch holier-than-thou image | Gerard Meagher

Bath centre should not have apologised for stopping match against Northampton after going down from clash of heads

A round of applause for Ollie Lawrence. Not for his apology after Bath’s last-gasp defeat by Northampton, which was entirely unnecessary, but for having the wherewithal to put his side into a winning position by demonstrating a streetwise streak all too seldom shown in elite rugby union.

To recap, Lawrence was pilloried by Northampton supporters for going down in instalments after a fairly innocuous clash of heads with Alex Mitchell in the last few minutes of Saints’ thrilling 35-34 win over Bath on Sunday. He took himself down to his knees, clutched his face and in doing so, made sure that the match was stopped, the incident reviewed.

Continue reading...
Posted on

‘Bring it on’ says Wales U20 coach Whiffin to Academies U23 side

Richard Whiffin has a simple message to the Welsh Academies XV that will take on his Wales U20 side over the next two Friday’s – ‘let’s get it on’. The Wales U20 head coach wants to put his team under pressure ahead of their U20 Six Nations campaign that kicks-off with two tough away trips […]

The post ‘Bring it on’ says Wales U20 coach Whiffin to Academies U23 side appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

Posted on

Ex-Cardiff captain and Wales centre Meirion Roberts passes

Meirion Roberts, the former Cardiff captain who played eight times for Wales, has died at the age of 90. Roberts played in his first Welsh trial while he was playing for Cardiff High School Old Boys in December 1957 ahead of moving to Cardiff the following season. In the 1957-58 season with CHSOB he scored […]

The post Ex-Cardiff captain and Wales centre Meirion Roberts passes appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.

Posted on

Leon Brown announces retirement

Dragons RFC and Wales international prop Leon Brown has today announced his retirement from professional rugby with immediate effect. The homegrown front row made a total of 74 appearances for Dragons RFC, scoring five tries, after his debut against Leicester Tigers in November 2016. Brown has been a formidable figure in the Dragons pack and […]

The post Leon Brown announces retirement appeared first on Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions.