• Premiership Rugby and Ligue Nationale de Rugby hint at action• World Rugby wants to change international calendarThe leading French and English professional clubs have hinted at possible legal action if World Rugby proceeds with its proposed plans to…
Talk of circumventing the salary cap is nothing new and what top-flight rugby union needs is opennessThis is a timely week for the salary cap controversy to erupt because it brings back memories of what happened when England last played Italy at Twicke…
• Bath 18-9 Saracens• Sale thrash Leicester 32-5 after Kalamafoni dismissalBath’s fly-half, Rhys Priestland, kicked six penalties as his side finally managed to hold on to a lead to topple second-placed Saracens 18-9 in the Gallagher Premiership on Fri…
• Sale 14-20 Exeter; Leicester 19-14 Wasps• Lonsdale comes off bench to seal win for league leadersExeter remain top of the Gallagher Premiership as the Chiefs provided a hammer-blow to Sale Sharks’ top-four ambitions following a 20-14 triumph at the A…
• Bath 29-31 Harlequins• Fifth consecutive victory strengthens hold on third placeIt was a fallow weekend in the Six Nations, but there were 11 players in the two squads who had been called up by the England head coach Eddie Jones during the past three…
• Saracens 36-17 Northampton• Saints pay price for fielding a back division of youngstersAt the best of times, it pays not to go to Saracens the week after they have been beaten. Northampton need to be particularly careful, there being something about …
• Bristol 28-24 Gloucester• Outstanding long-range effort from Ian Madigan seals winBristol’s first victory over Gloucester in the Premiership for 11 years could hardly have materialised at a more opportune moment. This breathless win, their first leag…
The RFU’s Nigel Melville has plenty on his plate with a newly-flush top flight making noises over ring-fencing and the international scene in danger of implodingRugby union is not the only sport struggling to navigate a fast-changing world but this has…
• Bath 30-13 Newcastle• Hosts score four tries in comfortable victoryNewcastle’s hold on the bottom position in the table is becoming that bit securer by the week, but there was little suggestion in their fourth consecutive league defeat that they were…
• Saracens 33-10 Leicester• Tigers overwhelmed in second halfSaracens needed a bonus-point win to retake their position at the top of the table, so that was what they took. For the majority of the match a bonus point, at least of the attacking variety,…
• Gloucester 24-17 Exeter• Bristol 22-29 WaspsGloucester beat the league leaders, Exeter, at Kingsholm thanks to a Ben Morgan try three minutes from time on Friday night.Jason Woodward and Willi Heinz scored Gloucester’s other tries while Billy Twelvet…
• Summit meeting sought to ensure sport’s sustainability• Premiership Rugby aim to provide update on 9 AprilThe owners of Premiership clubs are seeking talks with the Rugby Football Union over ending promotion and relegation in England’s top flight.Fea…
• ‘I have had a couple of discussions,’ says Wales head coach• Gatland enjoyed success coaching Wasps in 2000sWarren Gatland, who ends his 12-year association with Wales at the end of the World Cup, has held discussions about his next full-time job and…
Supporters face being squeezed, players pummelled by longer seasons while promotion and relegation are under threat “Money love can help you on, heal you and sustain you, but never turn your back upon, how money love it can change you.” So sang Brian P…
Tarting up the game with a rubbish makeover would be a disaster – only an NFL-style system that works for the many not the few would be acceptableIt did not take long. Barely has the lucrative deal with CVC Capital Partners to inject new capital into E…
• Wasps 27-16 NorthamptonThe future shape of English club rugby is again a subject of heated debate but for Wasps the soothing balm of this much-needed victory was all that mattered. After only one win in their previous 13 games they badly needed a con…
• Reports suggest Premiership Rugby considered breaking away • Richie plays down claims of a rift with Rugby Football UnionProposals for a revamped English top flight have not even left the drawing board yet, according to the Premiership Rugby chairman…
• Worcester 21-19 Bath• Home side overturn 16-point deficit 20 minutes after timeTwenty minutes after time had elapsed, with Bath down to 11 men, Duncan Weir landed the conversion that has secured Worcester a vital edge in this insane relegation battle…
• Leicester 34-16 Gloucester• Jonah Holmes and George Ford also score tries for the TigersTwo tries from Jonny May against his former club and one each for Jonah Holmes and George Ford propelled Leicester to a welcome bonus-point win over Gloucester, w…
• Exeter 14-9 Bristol• Bears make Exeter scrap for victoryExeter returned to the top of the table, but this was not a match to be deposited in memory banks. It yielded four points for Exeter and a rare one away for the Bears who, on this evidence, shou…
