‘Battle for top two spots so tight’

Watson: Get ready for more

IN CARDIFF ANTHONY Watson continued his scoring spree

I’m proud we fronted up, says Wales captain Owens

WALES skipper Ken Owens refused to hide behind

Baxter calls for overhaul on loans

ROB Baxter believes an overhaul of the loan

Lewis: I’d love to play for England with my brother

Brothers-in-arms: Lewis Chessum playing for England U20 Inset,

Randall shows Lam his fighting spirit

PAT Lam knew Harry Randall was ready to

Barbeary close to full recovery

Highly rated: Alfie Barbeary in action in his

Borthwick right to ask for eligibility changes

READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK

French will want all angles covered

THE French will be twitchy about any repeat

I’m 100% with the players, says Davies

JONATHAN Davies heavily criticised the Welsh Rugby Union’s

Chawatama takes long route to top

Happy: Lovejoy Chawatama in action for London Irish

Revived Salop have all eyes on survival

NEWPORT Salop are in a relegation battle in

The game is going back, not forward

A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME

Old Brodleians bid for crowning glory

OLD BRODLEIANS Ladies will today bid to put

McKellar steps up

LEICESTER have appointed former Australia forwards coach Dan

Premiership review

PREMIERSHIP Rugby has appointed long-serving Slaughter and May

Curry ruled out of Six Nations

SALE confirmed that Tom Curry’s Six Nations campaign

Tierney dies at 46

FORMER Ireland, Leicester and Munster scrum-half Tom Tierney

McDonald a Falcon

FORMER Wasps lock Kiran McDonald has signed for

SA prop Latsha signs for Quins

HARLEQUINS women have signed South Africa prop Babalwa

Added bulk puts Barnes back in running

BARNES head coach Jack Heald feels his side’s

Minikin happy to keep his eye on the pitch

DESPITE having barely watched any rugby his entire

Hartpury cement place at the top

HARTPURY women’s head coach Mo Hunt hailed the

Saints switch paying off for hooker Smith

On the ball: Northampton hooker Robbie Smith ROBBIE

Christ College take Brecon 7s

CHRIST College laid down a huge marker ahead

BRITISH RUGBY RESULTS AND FIXTURES

Neath get back on track at Bedwas

NEATH got back to winning ways after their

Michalak takes up Racing 92 challenge

FRENCH COLUMN

Forthcoming fixtures

Week beginning Sunday,February 26,2023

Steward rises to the occasion and puts England on right road

Wales.................................. 10pts Tries: Rees-Zammit 41 Conversions: Halfpenny 42

Plenty of effort but not much speed or sizzle

A WEEK that started with Wales’s players threatening

Pointless! Wales have nothing to show in this bleakest of winters

DESPITE issuing an avalanche of apologies over scandals

It’s do-or-die in Italy so we must pull together

Fighters: Gareth Thomas hands off Ellis Genge Mason

Gutsy Italy give Irish a Grand Slam scare

Italy.....................................20pts Tries: Varney 7, Bruno 41 Conversions: Garbisi

We gave everything, says Lamaro, but we must work on the details

ITALY captain Michele Lamaro was frustrated by the

Townsend: Gray in the form of his life

PREVIEW... France v Scotland Today. 3pm, Stade de

France looking to return to best

DEFENDING champions France are looking to bounce back

French stars can produce something from nothing

OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK

Sweeney more of a liability than an asset

SADLY it needs to be realised that the

Not enough rugby is played in our schools

I WAS very interested to read last week’s

Healey’s comments can be infuriating

Pundit: Austin Healey I AGREE with the comments

DREAM TEAM

JAMES SIMPSON-DANIEL, THE FORMER GLOUCESTER AND ENGLAND WING, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST

Sensational Prendergast does it again for Ireland

Italy....................27pts Tries: Quattrini 13, Botturi 47, Mey 59,

Ruthless French have far too much in the tank for Scotland

France............... 54pts Tries: Ferte 8, Mathiron 20, Carbonneau

England make their hopes of fast start to keep Grand Slam alive

Wales..................................................... 21pts Tries: Andrew 25, 58, Penalty 40

JASON WOODWARD

LEICESTER & ENGLAND U20s CENTRE

Codling is inspiring a plastic population

Jon Newcombe catches up with the forwards coach who is helping to turn a small French regional side into a major European force

Oulton is ready to take the next step up

JACK Oulton is revelling in his first season

Bitter-sweet Test career taught me a hell of a lot

THE FORMER ENGLAND, BATH, MUNSTER, ROTHERHAM, NEWCASTLE AND NORTHAMPTON HOOKER

Ramm in control as Saints hit top gear

Northampton ....................41pts Tries: A Waller 22, Braley 43,

Skivington: We struggled until bench came to our rescue

GLOUCESTER boss George Skivington thanked his substitutes for

RFU in line for Chelsea bonanza

THE RFU could be set for another massive

Muldoon in demand

CONNACHT have launched a bid to take Bristol

Lions want Akker back

SALE hooker Akker van der Merwe could be

Blackett favourite for Edinburgh

Follow me on Twitter: @neilfissler FORMER Wasps boss

Toulouse set to deny Bordeaux and keep Willis

TOULOUSE are confident they will be able to

Exeter line up Painter move

JON NEWCOMBE WITH Harry Williams on his way

Lyon on a mission to land Adams

LYON are confident that they are close to

Tigers on the up as Pollard floors Irish

London Irish .................... 22pts Tries: Pearson 5, Powell 9,

Sale’s human bowling ball is a very lucky man

ACT in haste, repent at leisure. We’ve all

Songs that are out of tune with the modern world

MISSING it yet? You must be: the anti-woke

We took our foot off the gas, says McCall

Saracens .......................... 29pts Tries: Mawi 1, Lewington 15, 22;

Falcons pleased to grab a point

CALLUM Chick was proud of the way Falcons

Radradra shines as Bath let it slip again

Bath .....................................13pts Tries: Reid 33 Conversions: Francis 34

We failed to take chances - van Graan

BATH boss Johann van Graan admitted the outcome

Sanderson prepares for ‘last dance’

PREVIEW... Exeter v Sale Today. Kick-off 1pm, Sandy

Skinner: We want to finish season on a high

Battle: Harvey Skinner HARVEY Skinner has warned Sale,

Southern invasion gives no comfort

THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW

Even acting CEO Walker must wonder how it all came to this

ANOTHER week of crisis management brought another damning

Grassroots rugby now in a fight for its future

PAUL REES SAYS BOTH THE RFU AND WRU ARE STRUG LING TO MAKE THE NUMBERS ADD UP AND FACE SOME HARD CHOICES

Ulstermen show heart in Durban

Sharks ............ 24 Ulster ............... 31 ULSTER proved

Home joy at long last for the Lions

Lions ................35 Glasgow ......... 24 THE Lions finally

Chiefs avoid a bolt of Lightning to stay top

Exeter....................... 17 Loughborough....... 12 THE Exeter Chiefs maintained

Bears in savage mood on home soil

Bristol.......................59 Worcester............... 10 n BRISTOL Bears ran in

Sarries lay a marker at Cherry and Whites

Glouc-Hartpury.....27 Saracens.................36 SARACENS Women put down a marker,

Sharks avoid a sting from the Wasps

Wasps....................... 12 DMP Sharks............36 DMP Sharks secured their

Quins hope to quell Sale’s revenge mission

PREVIEW: Sale v Harlequins Today. Kick-off 2pm

Turner hails the ‘clinical’ nature of his Ampthill

Ampthill ............36pts Tries: Skelcey 1, Blackmore 25, 36,

Hema’s hat-trick sparks fightback

Cambridge ............. 50 Rosslyn Park.........28 CAMBRIDGE kept up

Gritty Sale see off stubborn Chinnor

Sale FC.....................27 Chinnor.................... 17 SALE made it back-toback

Stortford’s defence was key area in win – Rogers

Plymouth Albion............ 12pts Tries: Jones 30, Collier 40

Hayman treble leads the charge for in-form Rams

B Moseley .............. 21 Rams ........................24 HOOKER Max

Warboys’ points haul steers Titans

Taunton T................73 Hull............................ 18 FOR the first six

Esher leave it late to dent Cinderford

Cinderford...............35 Esher.........................47 CINDERFORD suffered their second home defeat

Mowden hold on to tame the Tykes

Leeds Tykes....25 Darlington MP.27 LEEDS Tykes were left

Ionians register ‘massive’ triumph

Sheffield T....... 10 Hull Ionians.... 17 HULL Ionians

Fylde are floored by doughty Dale

Tynedale.................23 Fylde......................... 12 SECOND-PLACED Fylde were made to

Fisher lands huge haul for Sheffield

Sheffield.................64 Blaydon..................... 5 SCRUM-HALF Elliot Fisher was the

Stewart’s four-timer fires Field to victory

Flying in: Finlay Stewart scores for Huddersfield Below:

Otley race to Gate success with four-try flourish

Otley......................... 31 Harrogate................ 13 A STORMING spell of

Leaders Park hold off Dale fightback

Sedgley Park.........35 Wharfedale............ 31 SEDGLEY Park kept up

Hosts cling on as Hoppers hit back

Chester.....................37 Preston G................. 31 CHESTER captain Sean Green’s

1 North East

WITH five games re-arranged from earlier postponements the

1 North West

OBSERVERS were sent scurrying for the record books

1 South Central

A FOUR-TRY comeback saw Banbury win 34-24 against

1 South East

SIDCUP bounced back from their thumping loss at

1 South West

A LATE Jake Bailey try, the hooker’s second,

1 Midlands

A HAT-TRICK of tries from Augustine Clarke sent

Bursey’s late try steals it for Bury

Sevenoaks....... 31 Bury St Ed’s......35 BURY St Edmunds

Walsham boost survival chances

Westcliff................. 15 North Walsham.....57 NORTH Walsham stepped up

McLean sweeps Guernsey aside

Worthing..................59 Guernsey................. 12 FULL-BACK Matt Mc-Lean starred with

Barnes blow Juddians away to rack up a rout

Barnes................33pts Tonbridge J........ 7pts Full stretch: Despairing tackle

Club class shows as the leaders hold off Hawks

Blackheath............. 50 Henley......................28 BLACKHEATH conjured a classy display

McRae’s magic wins it for Dorking

Dorking.....................36 Old Albanians........26 A STORMING five-try first-half display

Hundred heroes edge Canterbury

Rochford H..............28 Canterbury..............26 ROCHFORD Hundred came up with

Barnstaple take worst punishment in card-fest

Barnstaple....... 13 Bournville........ 17 BOURNVILLE escaped a card-fest

Tee troubles see Newport lose out

Exeter Uni................ 31 Newport (S)............28 NEWPORT (Salop) will

Thriller comes down to last kick

Loughborough S....47 Dings Crusaders...45 LOUGHBOROUGH edged an absolute

Lions stay in pole position by edging rugged affair

Clifton.................14pts Leicester L....... 24pts Wrestling match: Clifton’s Rhys

Nervy Hornets cling on to edge a blockbuster

Hornets.....................46 Hinckley.................. 41 HORNETS took the spoils in

Groves puts the boot into Redruth

Redruth.................... 13 O Redcliffians........ 14 THE trusty boot

Stour left sour by derby defeat

Stourbridge............ 10 Luctonians.............. 17 LUCTONIANS got the better

Results

Regional results

Results and tables supplied by the RFU

Regional results

Results and tables supplied by the RFU

It’s nine losses in a row for Llanelli

Bridgend.......... 45 Llanelli...............11 BRIDGEND scored seven tries against

Sebastian on his way

PROP Javan Sebastian will leave Scarlets at the

Knoyle’s bonus ball sees Merthyr climb up to third

Merthyr....................28 Pontypridd.............. 12 MERTHYR leapfrogged Aberavon into third

Resurgent Quins make it four wins on trot

Carmarthen............28 Aberavon................. 17 CARMARTHEN Quins continued their rise

Chiefs on rampage to shock Crusaders

DISBELIEF enveloped Orangetheory stadium as the Chiefs opened

Another double for super Kida

HARUTO Kida crossed twice and Bernard Foley kicked

Major League Rugby round-up

SEATTLE Seawolves secured back-to-back wins to go top