We came to target Barton, admits La Rochelle’s O’Gara

BBC/ITV drive Six Nations bid to £100m

Joint bids: Julian Knight BBC and ITV have

Rampant Chiefs in fightback

PICTURE: Getty Images Ollie Devoto celebrates scoring for

Leonard: Boks will be brutal in warm-ups

BRITISH & Irish Lions chairman Jason Leonard is

Now upright defenders face ban of their own

DEFENDERS who persistently stand upright when making a

Isles sets sights on an Olympic double

Explosive: Carlin Isles in action for USA Sevens

Gatland’s Saracens problem

WARREN GATLAND will be unable to select any

Owens hopes buzz in Wales helps electrify the Scarlets

KEN Owens acknowledges Wales’ four regions have struggled

Exiles aces line up for England’s call

Dashing full-back: Tom Parton Inset: Les Kiss

Paolo’s the vital piece for puzzler Fekitoa

MALAKAI Fekitoa believes it’s only “a matter of

Sharks finding fun factor in pain game

ALEX Sanderson claims his “sadomasochistic” Sale Sharks are

Quins icon Brown leaves to join the Falcons

MIKE BROWN is leaving Harlequins and joining Newcastle

Tough to find dead certs but Taulupe one of them

OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE... EVERY WEEK

England’s ‘power’ scrum looks more powder puff

READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK

That Rome weekend puts block on Georgia

GUEST COLUMNIST

Wayne may spark new Kiwi dominance

RUGBY is a thinking man’s game, but there

Eales was the best

ANOTHER Wayne Smith, the highlyaccomplished rugby correspondent of

Boulton: Tier Two is ‘sleeping giant’

CHAMPIONSHIP stalwart Phil Boulton believes the second tier

Spotlight rightly falls on women’s game now

WALES AND LIONS LEGEND

Faletau is back to his brilliant best - with years in front of him

WALES AND LIONS LEGEND

Welsh ace Dave beat Alun Wyn to four Slams

THE MAN TRULY IN THE KNOW

Hookers earn their money

NEVER in the history of Test rugby can

Fly-halves with fancy footwork

THE fly-half merry-goround means that at least nine

Day BBC bosses made Invers rage

A weekly look at the game’s other talking points

Lelos power on their way to RWC 2023

THESE may be tricky transitional times for Georgia

Red-card refs made Six Nations a mockery

A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME

We all agree, give Sam a run at centre

LIKE all England fans my pals and I

Three gripes to put in Room 101

ALWAYS enjoy the Room 101 column, and I

Time for RFU to get tough on top flight

COME the review of the PGA (Professional Game

Clear benefits of removing jeopardy

IS it just me or has Premiership rugby

Revert to Five Nations over four weekends

Inconsistent: Scotland lose at home to Wales in

DREAM TEAM

ANDY REAY, THE FORMER HARLEQUINS, MOSELEY, BRISTOL, LONDON SCOTTISH, EALING & ROSSLYN PARK CENTRE, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST

Agony as Odogwu’s white boots cost Wasps

Wasps ................ 25pts Tries: Odogwu 5, Bassett 23,

Blackett: Gutting to lose like that

WASPS boss Lee Blackett was bitterly disappointed by

Golden ticket buys Beaumont’s band of brothers a shot in last chance saloon

PREVIEW... Scarlets v Sale Today. Kick-off 5.30pm, Parc

Battling Chiefs show champion pedigree

Exeter ................47pts Tries: Hill 14, 26, O’Flaherty 28,

Great to be back with pals says Hill

TWO-TRY lock Jonny Hill admitted: “We knew Lyon

Cockerill gambles on Blair at No.10

Preview Racing 92 v Edinburgh Today, Kick-off 12.30pm

Gloucester courage not enough this time

Gloucester ........16pts Tries: Ackermann 31 Conversions: Barton 31

Matthis try kills Munster momentum

Munster ............33pts Tries: Earls 25, 28; Coombes 51,

Wales ace Sheedy leads Bears into dog fight

PREVIEW... Bordeaux Begles v Bristol Bears Today. Kick-off

PAT TAPLEY

THE BEDFORD BLUES WINGER TAKES US THROUGH HIS PET HATES FROM THE RUGBY WORLD AND BEYOND

Insanity beckons for Care

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Powell to coach at Southwell

FORMER WALES No.8 Andy Powell has joined Nottinghamshire-based

Burgess dares to win again

FORMER Bath and England misfit Sam Burgess is

Bears want to claw Atkinson away from Glos

Consistent: Mark Atkinson BRISTOL Bears are trying to

Volavola likely to snub Falcons

NEWCASTLE Falcons have offered a contract to Fijian

Zebo set to link with Kidney and Kiss

Move: Simon Zebo LONDON IRISH have had talks

Saints go shopping in Italy

NORTHAMPTON Saints are looking to go shopping at

BETH BLACKLOCK

DARLINGTON MOWDEN PARK CENTRE

The Ash Splash, loved by many, hated by some

Brendan Gallagher delves into some of rugby’s most enduring images, their story and why they are still so impactful

DAN JOHN

EXETER FULL-BACK

Butcher praying for a big May Day turnout

WELSH Rugby Union chairman Rob Butcher admits he

We took Bristol to the wire in play-off

THE FORMER DUAL SCOTLAND INTERNATIONAL, CURRIE, BORDERS,  ESHER AND DONCASTER WINGER

Azema exit confirmed, destination unknown...

FRENCH COLUMN

Scarlets plan to prosper through New Zealand link

Probyn: Red-card refs  marred Six Nations

Ashton hit for six by dismissal

WORCESTER winger Chris Ashton has been banned for

Tigers leave it late to end Connacht’s challenge

Leicester ..........48pts Tries: Clare 11, 67; Porter 15,

Falcons hit quick triple with Tipuric in sin bin

Leicester ..........48pts Tries: Williams 8, D Evans 11,

Bath battle back to claim victory after Bruno’s hat-trick catches them cold

Zebre ..................27pts Tries: Bruno, 2, 9, 22 Conversions:

Collins try gets Saints out of jail

Dragons ............39pts Tries: Hewitt 11, 33; Screech 26,

Undisciplined Warriors crash out of Europe after Ioane red

Montpellier......26pts Tries: Guirado 38), Bouthier 43 Conversions: Lozowski 38,

Quins make big changes to take on the ‘favourites’

PREVIEW... Harlequins v Ulster Today. Kick-off 8pm, Twickenham

Irish defy red card with late winner

London Irish ....41pts Tries: Loader 33, Hassell-Collins 49,

Taulagi’s red card opens door for Benetton

Benetton ........29 Agen ..................16 BENETTON continued their impesive

Bears have banished bad eggs

PAUL REES TALKS TO BRISTOL’S LONG-SERVING  LOCK JOE JOYCE ABOUT THE CLUB’S TRANSFORMATION

Semi leads by example says Lam...and what a towering example that is for all

Role model: Semi Radradra SEMI Radradra has turned

Nightmare for Abrahams as Boujard lands hat-trick

France ..............53pts Tries: Boujard 3, 6, 15; Sochat

Big win but work to do says Cleall

England ............52pts Tries: Packer 9, Riley 16, Davies

Improving Sharks bite back at the death

DMP Sharks ....14 Wasps ..............27 WASPS secured a

Tongan Thor puts hammer on Rebels

TANIELA Tupou’s two tries inspired the Reds to

Brilliant Beauden spears Kubota

BEAUDEN Barrett proved the match winner for the

Brown’s boys confound Crusaders

TONY Brown’s Highlanders inflicted leaders Crusaders’ first loss

Robshaw gears up for Legion baptism

CHRIS Robshaw will finally become eligible to make

Results

Monmouth, hotbed for the multi-talented

Brendan Gallagher continues his series looking at rugby’s great schools

Jarrett became scourge of English

MONMOUTH’S list of star players is probably topped