England playing simple rugby, executed precisely

- February 13, 2019February 13, 2019

Could England back up their dominant performance against Ireland, matching the emotional and physical intensity, take revenge on France for their 2018 defeat and lay down a marker ahead of the World Cup pool game? Well, those questions were emphatically answered. A 44-8 victory over Les Blues threatened to rewrite record

England beat Ireland with heavy-metal rugby

- February 5, 2019February 5, 2019

Even the most myopic of England fans didn’t see that coming. I am still enjoying the warm afterglow of the comprehensive manner of England’s 32-20 win over Ireland on Saturday. I had an inkling we may see something special and, like Hutch, had gone against the bookies to predict a narrow

Six Nations 2019: An England team to take on Ireland

- January 24, 2019January 23, 2019

England’s Six Nations campaign gets underway on Saturday 2nd February, with a trip to Dublin to take on international rugby’s form team, and reigning grand slam champions, Ireland. Eddie Jones has selected his squad for the tournament and from that, here is the team I would select to play. 1 Mako Vunipola;

Six Nations 2019: Who should England pick at fullback?

- January 16, 2019January 16, 2019

Eddie Jones is due to name his squad for the 2019 Six Nations on Thursday and, as usual, he has some selection dilemmas. The back row is a bit of a mess (again), then there is the enduring puzzle that is the England centre partnership. However, the question mark hanging

Three rugby pet peeves

- January 10, 2019January 10, 2019

At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man, ranting from his armchair, we all have a few things that irk us far more than they should. Not least in sport; usually a source of so much joy, little, often inconsequential, bits of gameplay can inexplicably make the blood

Premiership sides off the pace in Europe

- December 19, 2018December 18, 2018

The last two weekends gave us some absorbing rugby in back-to-back Champions Cup matches. However, things are not quite going to plan for the Premiership teams – now two-thirds of the way through the group stages and Saracens are the only side that look like they will be competing for

Gallagher Premiership: Big names risk being drawn into a relegation fight

- December 6, 2018December 5, 2018

Nine games in, and the mid-point of the season fast approaching, and only five points separate the bottom six teams in the Premiership: from Bath in sixth on 19 points to Newcastle Falcons in 12th on 15. Between them lie Bristol Bears, Leicester Tigers, Worcester Warriors, Northampton Saints and Sale

Positives and negatives from the Australia game

- November 27, 2018November 27, 2018

England capped off the Autumn Internationals with a resounding 37-18 victory over Australia. It took them to six straight wins over the Wallabies and meant they ended the series with three victories alongside a loss to the world champions New Zealand by a solitary point – certainly an outcome most

An England team to take on South Africa

- October 30, 2018October 30, 2018

The first test of the Autumn Internationals is nearly here, with England taking on South Africa this Saturday. Injury has laid England’s options rather bare in a few positions, but there is still a strong team more than capable of winning in Eddie Jones’ squad. We'll publish the results of

Loosehead prop is the most concerning selection dilemma for Eddie Jones

- October 17, 2018October 17, 2018

We had our first dose of European rugby at the weekend. It didn’t get off to the greatest of starts for the English sides as the reigning champions Leinster comprehensively thrashed Wasps Friday night. The Irish sides remain something of a bogey opposition for English teams, with high-flying Exeter only managing