France for the slam? Or will it be Ireland’s treble? Perhaps Scotland will finally step up – all your questions answered
Coach Steve Borthwick
Captain Maro Itoje
Sparrow ready to fly in SRC Cup for Llandovery
Tiaan Sparrow’s rugby rehabilitation will take another step forward when he plays for Llandovery in the Super Rygbi Cymru Cup competition. The teenager is named among the replacements for the Drovers for their Round 1 clash at home against Cardiff. The league campaign has been halted while so many of the players turn out for […]
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Ollie Lawrence: ‘If you don’t dream big, you’re never going to get anywhere’
The centre on why England believe they can beat Ireland in their Six Nations opener and how his apology to fans over Alex Mitchell incident backfired
“That’s a good question,” Ollie Lawrence says as he ponders the reasons why England have lost five of their previous six Tests, even though they were in a position to turn each of those defeats into a precious victory. “I think if I had the answer to that then … ”
The Bath and England centre pauses, lost in thought, and then laughs when I suggest that if he could reel off an immediate answer he would be on his way to becoming Test rugby’s next head coach. “Exactly. I think the main thing for us is seeing off games. We’ve been in the lead, or in a position to win after 60 minutes, in all of those games. So it’s making sure we play the game fully from now on. We’ve hopefully learned our lessons and, going into this Six Nations campaign, we can push on and put things to bed when we’re in the lead.”
Continue reading...Lake and Grady latest to commit future to Welsh pro clubs
Dewi Lake and Mason Grady may be missing from the Wales squad for the 2025 Guinness Six Nations but they have both committed their long-term futures to their professional clubs by signing new contracts. Lake has followed fellow international Jac Morgan in re-signing for the Ospreys, while Grady has put pen to paper on a […]
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Six Nations is the shining light of rugby and so much this year is hard to predict | Ugo Monye
From Ireland’s shot at history to Italy’s raised expectations, the 2025 championship has all the ingredients to rival past classics
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Six Nations and what strikes me on the eve of the tournament is how much of a reassuring presence on the calendar the championship has become. The World Cup is a wonderful tournament but there is debate over how many teams should feature, the Champions Cup has been tinkered with in terms of format and the Premiership has undergone changes, whether it be the number of teams or the absence of promotion and relegation. Against that backdrop, having a tournament as consistently familiar as the Six Nations is special.
Whether you’re a supporter, an administrator, a player or a broadcaster, we all believe that the Six Nations is the shining light of rugby. It is the one tournament where there is a unified belief that it is still the greatest competition. In the coming weeks we’ll have 10s of millions of viewers watching our sport, it is our moment in the spotlight.
Continue reading...Lake all set for Gwalia Lightning debut against Edinburgh
Gwalia Lightning have named the side to face Edinburgh in Celtic Challenge Round 5 at the Hive Stadium, Edinburgh, on Sunday, January 26th (KO:11:30am). The Welsh side hit the road to the Scottish capital determined to build on their remarkable comeback win against Glasgow Warriors in Round 4. The Lightning scored a try with the […]
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Kevin Sinfield urges England players to ‘come out swinging’ for Six Nations
- ‘We all love that an underdog can prove people wrong’
- Some players have suffered heavy defeats at club level
England’s players have been urged to jettison the mental baggage of heavy recent club defeats and start afresh when the Six Nations kicks off next week. The majority of the squad have endured at least one disappointing result since Christmas but the management hope it will intensify their collective desire to transform England’s fortunes over the next seven weeks.
While Leicester’s 80-12 drubbing in Toulouse and Saracens’ unscheduled home loss to a second-string Castres side last weekend have cast an inevitable shadow over England’s warm weather training camp on the Costa Brava, it has at least awoken Steve Borthwick’s players and coaches to the urgent need to raise their level if they are to enjoy a more productive Six Nations campaign.
Continue reading...RFU’s Bill Sweeney refuses to apologise for taking £358,000 bonus
- CEO says even vote of no confidence will not get him out
- Sweeney distances himself from Borthwick appointment
Bill Sweeney has revealed he is determined to stay on as the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive until 2027 – even if he loses a forthcoming vote of no confidence – and refused to apologise for accepting a £358,000 bonus amid record losses and redundancies.
Sweeney also distanced himself from the appointment of Steve Borthwick as England head coach two years ago – the most significant decision of his tenure – on the eve of a make-or-break Six Nations campaign that could pile more pressure on the embattled chief executive.
Continue reading...Gatland: ‘Write us off at your peril’
Antoine Dupont can’t wait to get back into action in the Guinness Six Nations and he will return to captain Les Bleus against Wales on Friday 31 January. The Toulouse scrum half missed the 2024 tournament to concentrate on playing sevens rugby for France at the Olympic Games. It ended in a gold medal triumph […]
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Jones and McCann join Wales for Guinness Men’s Six Nations
Former Wales international Adam Jones and psychology and human performance specialist Andy McCann will join Warren Gatland’s back-room team for the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations. 95-cap and triple Grand Slam winner Jones joins Wales for the 2025 Championship on secondment from Gallagher Premiership side Harlequins. He will work closely with forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys […]
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Jones & McCann join Wales for Guinness Men’s Six Nations
Former Wales international Adam Jones and psychology and human performance specialist Andy McCann will join Warren Gatland’s back-room team for the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations. 95-cap and triple Grand Slam winner Jones joins Wales for the 2025 Championship on secondment from Gallagher Premiership side Harlequins. He will work closely with forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys […]
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Scarlets U18 kick-off defence of title in style
Llandovery College skipper Gryff Watkins helped himself to a hat-trick of tries as Scarlets U20 got the defence of their Regional Academies U18 title off to a flying start against Cardiff Rugby in Llandovery. Having sat out the first round the young Scarlets got up to speed pretty quickly as they ran in a magnificent […]
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Lynn loving coming home to coach Wales in World Cup year
He used to pass the ball to Gavin Henson in the Wales U18 team, has forged a massive reputation as a coach over the past two decades at Hartpury College, won the top women’s rugby league title in the world in consecutive seasons and is now coming home to coach Wales. Sean Lynn has put […]
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Wales announce squad for men’s U20 Six Nations
Head coach Richard Whiffin has confirmed a 41-strong Wales U20s squad for the forthcoming Six Nations championship. The squad contains 23 forwards and 18 backs and will be captained by Leicester Tigers flanker Harry Beddall with Cardiff Rugby centre Steffan Emanuel his vice-captain. Eight backs will be returning from last year’s squad while seven forwards […]
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Welshman Sean Lynn appointed as head coach of Wales Women’s senior side
The Welsh Rugby Union is proud to announce the appointment of Sean Lynn as the new Wales Head coach for the Wales Women’s senior side. Lynn has signed a three-year contract with the WRU and brings a wealth of rugby and coaching experience to the role. Swansea-born Lynn masterminded Gloucester-Hartpury’s back-to-back Premiership Women’s Rugby titles […]
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