‘We want the crowd behind us’

Critics pile in as shell-shocked WRU faces ‘worst crisis ever’

WALES kick the Six Nations off on Saturday

Day: New tackle laws musn’t spoil the game

GENERAL secretary of the Rugby Players Association (RPA)

Burns bids farewell to Tigers and joins Highlanders

FLY-HALF Freddie Burns made his 115th and final

Brothers give Quins a lesson in power game

HARLEQUINS players were humbled this week as the

We must string a few wins together - Davis

ASSISTANT coach Brad Davis hopes London Irish can

Launchbury: I won’t ever lose the desire to play for England

Ambitious: Joe Launchbury in action for Wasps PICTURES:

French fade away as Champions Cup heads to the business stage

THE Heineken Champions Cup is still occasionally referred

Cockerill’s next gig is in France

ENGLAND boss Steve Borthwick will be losing another

Sharks pair set for exit

SALE are poised to have a mini-clear out at

Chiefs and Saints battle for Moriarty

In demand: Welsh forward Ross Moriarty PICTURES: Getty

Woodburn agrees to stay at Exeter

EXETER have agreed on a new deal that will

Racing keeping tabs on Vunipola

Off? Billy Vunipola RACING 92 could enter the

Two fliers who can light up Borthwick’s England

OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK

‘New’ England need to take their chances

READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK

Time this autocratic RFU is held to account

THE warning signs that the RFU’s administrative standards have

Pride and prejudice central to Eddie’s tale

GUEST COLUMNIST

Why Joe deserves a decent break

“IF it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t

Gatland still has an Irish score to settle

THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW

Hollow words from WRU over ‘toxic sexism’

FOR more than 12 months since her abrupt

Return of the ringmaster gives hope of a revival

WALES

Georgia the team to beat in Euro fiesta

A weekly look at the game’s other talking points

It’s time to give credit to the URC

OK I think we can all agree that

Pro game can learn from amateur ranks

A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME 

Knights are riding high after downing Eagles

JAPAN ROUND-UP

Scottish link-up helping Scott to develop

EDINBURGH born and bred Cameron Scott has gone

Gordon’s begin with a bang in Spring League

THE inaugural Next-GenXV Spring League continued on Wednesday

Cherry feeling tops after shock victory

NOTTINGHAM started their first game of 2023 in

BRITISH RUGBY RESULTS AND FIXTURES

I don’t expect call from Warren, says Cardiff boss Young

IT WILL be an unexpected surprise if Warren

Deadeye Williams is winner of the day

Division One round-up

Laporte’s shadow still hangs over game

Politics at the top of the FFR overshadowed

Forthcoming fixtures

Week beginning Sunday, January 29, 2023

Packer fears over tackle law divide

SARACENS and England back row Marlie Packer fears

Chief Kirsten heading home to Bulls

EXETER Chiefs confirmed back row Jannes Kirsten’s departure

Seabrook signs on to be a Saint

NORTHAMPTON have signed Gloucester winger Tom Seabrook for

I’m putting my Cornish roots first, says Moon

Jon Newcombe talks to Dickon Moon ahead of his 400th game in charge of London Cornish and finds a worried man

Keep your cool and you’ll have a chance

THE phoney war is about to end, and

Playing at Twickenham was my lifelong dream

THE FORMER NAMIBIA, LANCASHIRE, MOSELEY & FYLDE SCRUM-HALF

JAGOSHEPPARD

A fter a torrid time in the Exeter

DREAM TEAM

PETER WALTON, THE FORMER SCOTLAND, NEWCASTLE & NORTHAMPTON FLANKER, PICKS THE BEST XV HE’S PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST

Saints show the wit to keep Tigers at bay

Leicester ........................... 18pts Tries: Potter 7, 46

Ramm ‘lucky to stay on the pitch’

JAMES Ramm was relieved to only receive a

Despair for Bears as Saracens steal glory

Saracens ...........................20pts Tries: Dann 59, Segun 77, Hougaard

Versatile David takes his opportunity and makes the most of his switch to Harlequins

PREVIEW... London Irish v Harlequins Today. Kick-off 3pm,

George looking good for England

MARK McCall revealed after Saracens win over Bristol

Advantage Chiefs but they need to improve

Exeter ................................ 24pts Tries: Gray 10, Kata 17,

‘We need to put the hammer down’

EXETER coach Ali Hepher refuses to be gloomy

Reed has final say as Sharks snatch it

Sale .....................................30pts Tries: Carpenter 2, Dugdale 17, Roebuck

Sanderson: Final try shows how much it matters to players

ALEX SANDERSON hailed his Sale young guns after

Smith leads depleted Ospreys

Preview Zebre v Ospreys Today. 3pm PROP Nicky

Benetton ........30 Munster .........40

MUNSTER boss Graham Rowntree praised his men for

Ulster ..............35 Stormers .......... 5

SKIPPER Alan O’Connor says his Ulster side are

Double for Brown as Warriors charge on

Dragons ...............28pts Tries: R Williams 15, Tomkinson 18,

Scarlets seal first Welsh victory over Bulls

Scarlets ............37pts Tries: Davis 9, Mathias 16, G

Leinster academy boys step up

Leinster ...........38 Cardiff ............. 14 MAX Deegan praised

Edinburgh push Sharks all way

Edinburgh ....... 19 Sharks..............22 EDINBURGH came up short

Connacht cut through Lions

HAT-TRICK hero Caolin Blade said this was the

Caldy have the power to see off Bedford

Caldy ..................36pts Tries: Pilgrim 5, Beer 16, Aigbokhae

Ealing go down to blow title race open

Ealing ................................. 19pts Tries: Tizzano 9, 23; Daniels

Classy Brown keeps Jersey in the hunt for top spot

Cornish P .........25pts Tries: Smith 28, Schwarz 49,

Hartpury blitz too hot for Richmond

Hartpury............26pts Tries: Foley 4, Denty 16, Morris 24,

McBryde’s breakaway earns bonus for Knights

Doncaster ........32pts Tries: R Smith 4, Holling 20,

Heartbreak for Exiles as Ampthill finish Strong

London S ........... 19pts Tries: Jurevicius 9, 25;

Dupont: For us to win two titles in a row won’t be easy

Paul Rees says Fabien Galthie has brought consistency to selection that has helped performance

It’s now more expectation than hope for Sexton & Co

Brendan Gallagher predicts good things ahead for Farrell’s men after success against the All Blacks

Inner steel that can lift Azzurri off the bottom

Brendan Gallagher finds reasons to be cheerful for an Italian outfit which is improving all the time

Scots need Russell to pull everything together

Brendan Gallagher sees great potential in a Scottish squad which should be making more noise

Another day, another destiny

Paul Rees listens to the new England coach and finds a man happy in his new role and ready to take responsibility

Six-hitting Tykes see off fellow strugglers

Leeds Tykes ...36 Hull..................... 12 LEEDS Tykes beat

Speare points way to Albion success

Plymouth A ............28 Chinnor.................... 12 A LATE try

Sale hero Walsh weaves his magic

Sale FC.....................24 Cinderford.............. 17 SALE FC got their

Hosts hit by a Rams raid as final flurry steals win

Cambridge .......27pts Tries: Maka 4, Brownlie 12, 22

Moseley unable to cling on after Stedman treble

B Moseley ..............34 Bishop’s S...............34 A PERFECT first-half

Park’s late surge floors Mowden

Rosslyn Park.......... 31 Darlington MP....... 21 ROSSLYN Park

Titans strike back to topple Esher

Taunton Titans.....27 Esher......................... 18 TAUNTON Titans overcame a

RFU creating a big divide in the game says Honey

THE RFU’s decision to lower the tackle height

Otley hold out after Chester’s late surge

Otley...................36 Chester..............22 OTLEY regained fourth spot in the

Dore Moor fortress as strong as ever

Sheffield T..............34 Preston G.................22 THE fortress that is

Wearmouth seals a top Dale tussle

Tynedale................. 21 Wharfedale............ 20 THE two Dales produced

Sheffield send out warning to rivals

Sheffield............ 21pts Harrogate.......... 10pts SHEFFIELD RUFC have moved

Field crown a mid-season revival with top triumph

Huddersfield..........33 Hull Ionians............ 17 HUDDERSFIELD’S mid-season revival scaled

Rhys runs riot as visitors thrashed

Sedgley Park.........75 Blaydon.......................0 UNBEATEN Sedgley Park demolished bottom-placed

Dorrington double secures success

Fylde......................... 30 Rotherham T..........23 FYLDE maintained their lead

1 North East

BILLINGHAM still lead the table following a 39-23

1 North West

LEADERS Blackburn still set the pace after beating

1 South Central

PACESETTERS Wimbledon overcame an 11-point deficit against Havant

1 South East

THE game of the weekend was at the

1 Midlands

DUDLEY Kingswinford took another step in their pursuit

1 South West

LEAGUE leaders Camborne were pushed hard by Weston-super-Mare,

Alex at double as Barnes March on

Barnes...............39 N Walsham....... 19 BARNES eased to victory

Oaks on top as Rochford see red

Sevenoaks..............35 Rochford H.............. 19 SEVENOAKS ground out a

Ace Armstrong on song for visitors

Westcliff................. 13 Guernsey................. 41 AN efficient Guernsey side

Taggart treble is key as Raiders turn to Plan B

Worthing............29pts Bury St Ed’s.......22pts Full stretch: Worthing’s Will

McRae’s high five leads Dorking scoring spree

Dorking..................... 50 Canterbury.............. 21 DORKING ran out comfortable

Juddians slide to rare home reverse

Tonbridge J............ 17 Henley......................24 HENLEY Hawks condemned Tonbridge

Club class shows in victory over OA

Blackheath.............33 Old Albanians........ 21 BLACKHEATH were pushed all

Crusaders continue their fine away run

Barnstaple....... 19 Dings C.............. 31 THE Crusaders backed

Hornets stung by canny scholars

Exeter Uni................29 Hornets..................... 19 LOWLY Hornets suffered a

Lions made to work by Old Reds

Leicester Lions.....36 Old Redcliffians.... 14 LEICESTER Lions’ second-half

Ward’s tries give Clifton the edge

Clifton.....................64 Bournville............. 40 Hat-trick: Clifton’s Matt Ward celebrates

Students teach Newport a lesson in thrilling clash in thrilling clash

Loughborough S....45 Newport (S)............ 31 LOUGHBOROUGH Students came

Redruth display their clinical side

Redruth.................... 21 Luctonians................ 3 LUCTONIANS will rue a

Pointon runs the show for Hinckley

Stourbridge............28 Hinckley..................52 AN entertaining try-fest at Stourton Park

Results

Regional results

Regional results

Amory hits four to stun Sharks

DMP Sharks.............. 5 Harlequins..............49 HARLEQUINS continued their winning

Saracens turn up the power

Bristol Bears............ 5 Saracens.................36 SARACENS secured a dominant

Ruthless Chiefs rip Wasps apart

Wasps..........................0 Exeter Chiefs.........84 EXETER produced a scintillating display

Unbeaten Glos still on top

Gloucester-H..........34 Sale Sharks.............. 7 GLOUCESTER-Hartpury continued their unbeaten

Warriors leave it late to triumph

Worcester W..........28 Loughborough L.... 19 WORCESTER Warriors made

Championship round-up

HOLDERS Neath, Pontypool, Ystrad Rhondda and Cross Keys

In-form Raikes helps end Ponty’s drought

Aberavon................. 10 Pontypridd..............27 PONTYPRIDD picked up their first

Bridgend’s happy new year continues

Bridgend..................27 Newport...................24 A GOOD opening month to 2023

Fish chips in to get Cardiff back on track

Cardiff...................... 30 RGC............................. 20 CARDIFF got back to

Quins triumph in basement battle

Llanelli.....................28 Carmarthen............38 MARC Jones’ Carmarthen Quins seem to

Battle-hardened Ironmen are just too strong

Swansea................... 6 Merthyr.................... 31 A BATTLE-HARDENED Merthyr put

Drovers delight as vital victory secured

Llandovery...... 20 Ebbw Vale........ 15 THE eagerly-awaited Premiership