Owen Farrell set for sideline stint after Mark McCall sticks to winning formula
1 decade ago by The TimesSaracens have decided against starting Owen Farrell, the England fly half who has recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of the RBS Six Nations Championship, in Saturday’s European Champions...
Billy Vunipola receives the green light to add muscle against Clermont
1 decade ago by The TimesBilly Vunipola was cleared last night to play in Saracens’ European Champions Cup semi-final against Clermont Auvergne in Saint-Étienne on Saturday. The England No 8 had been cited for two offences...
Saracens' Billy Vunipola not guilty of headbutt and clear to face Clermont
1 decade ago by The TelegraphSaracens' impassioned defence of Billy Vunipola at a disciplinary hearing in London on Tuesday night brought due reward after a citing charge of headbutting and reckless play against the No 8 was dismissed...
Toulon lock Ali Williams still the warrior in Dad's Army
1 decade ago by The TelegraphIn the 1985 film Cocoon, a group of elderly pensioners gain a second lease of life after stumbling upon an alien fountain of youth near to their retirement home – which could easily double for the plot...
Schoolboy error of bigger is better culture
1 decade ago by The TimesWhen The Times broke the story last week that, in the first known case of multiple doping in schools in the United Kingdom, three schoolboy rugby players had been banned for possession of testosterone,...
Saracens play waiting game after citing for Billy Vunipola
1 decade ago by The TimesAnother week, another crucial citing. Saracens’ plans for their European Champions Cup semi-final against Clermont Auvergne on Saturday may be derailed after Billy Vunipola was cited yesterday for...
Matt Scott setback leaves Vern Cotter’s plan in tatters
1 decade ago by The TimesThe Rugby World Cup is five months away but already Scotland’s preparations have been heavily hit by injuries with Matt Scott, the Edinburgh centre, the latest to encounter a problem that makes him a...
Barbarians still have their place in modern rugby
1 decade ago by The TelegraphI went there to bury them, not to praise them. That was last autumn, when the Barbarians played Australia at Twickenham, but, unlike Julius Caesar, the Baa Baas are not done yet. Indeed, after their...
Club game should return to amateur status below elite level and back to days of doing it for love not money
1 decade ago by The TelegraphHere is a thought – why not make the game amateur? Not all of it, of course, just all those leagues below a certain level where club after club work themselves into a frenzy each and every season trying...
Underperforming Sale have themselves to blame for defeat
1 decade ago by The TimesLondon Irish 25 Sale 23 This was probably the death blow to Sale Sharks’ hopes of a play-off place, though arguably it was dealt by themselves rather than London Irish yesterday. An incensed Steve...
