Positives and negatives from the South Africa tour

- June 27, 2018June 27, 2018

A dogged 25-10 victory over South Africa in the third and final test restored some pride for the English team after an increasingly tough 2018 threatened to run away from them.The conditions were wet and didn’t lend themselves to the fast running game of the first two tests, which perhaps

England are failing to learn from defeat

- June 19, 2018June 19, 2018

There was a strong sense of déjà vu watching England play South Africa at the weekend. For the second successive week they stormed out of the blocks, scoring quick, well-worked tries, before contriving to throw away a commanding lead and lose – albeit, from only 12-0, rather than 24-3 the

Concerns remain about England’s discipline and defence

- June 13, 2018June 18, 2018

England’s first test against South Africa at the weekend is a difficult one to try and analyse. Going down 42-39, on paper it was not such a surprising margin of defeat (indeed the Rugby Blog’s Jacob Bassford predicted a 3-point Springbok victory in his preview). However it was the manner

My England team to start the first test against South Africa

- June 6, 2018June 6, 2018

England face off with South Africa at Ellis Park in the first test of the summer tour this Saturday. It should be a physical and exacting game of rugby – particularly given the lung-busting altitude of the world’s highest test-rugby venue.Both teams are in bad need of a win. England

Four issues for England ahead of South Africa

- May 31, 2018May 31, 2018

Sunday saw a 45-63 drubbing for England at the hands of a fired up Barbarians side. It was a record number of points conceded by England at Twickenham, as the BaaBaas – spearheaded by the likes of Semi Radradra, Josh Tuisova and English-exile Chris Ashton – drew England into a

Three things to look out for in England v Barbarians

- May 24, 2018May 24, 2018

England face the Barbarians this Sunday in their only warm up game before heading down to South Africa for the three-test series. With a significant chunk of the touring England players still involved in Saturday’s Premiership final clash between Saracens and Exeter, there are a few uncapped or fringe players

England Squad for South Africa 2018: Key Talking Points

- May 16, 2018May 16, 2018

Last Thursday, Eddie Jones named his England squad to take on South Africa; alongside a familiar core there were several surprise names included, and the sound of many a pundit frantically googling Cameron Redpath.Jones has made some interesting calls with this squad. And while he was never going to appease

The 3 uncapped players who could help Eddie Jones rediscover his Midas touch

- May 9, 2018May 8, 2018

The optimisms of a trio of consecutive England Six Nations titles were swiftly squashed this year, parallel to the bubble of Eddie Jones’ invincibility bursting. The World Cup hopes stumbled to their worst tournament finish for 35 years, Jones lost his Midas touch, and England fans were left scratching their

Aviva Premiership: Who are your players of the year?

- May 2, 2018May 1, 2018

The end is in sight – there is one round left of the Premiership but most of the important positions have been decided. We know our play-off contenders (Exeter Chiefs, Saracens, Wasps and Newcastle Falcons), while London Irish have been consigned to relegation.There is still a bit to play for

Three Lessons from Europe for English rugby

- April 26, 2018April 26, 2018

The weekend saw compelling victories for Leinster and Racing 92 in the semi-finals of the Champions Cup. The Dubliners smashed the Scarlets 38-16, while Racing beat Munster more comprehensively than the 27-22 scoreline suggests, Munster scoring near the end when the result was already confirmed.As we know, there was no