Ranking the Four European Champions Cup Semi-Finalists

The semi-finals of the European Champions Cup will see Clermont Auvergne take on Saracens and Toulon face Leinster. With just four teams remaining, who is best placed to win the trophy? Which team were “New Zealand-esque” at the weekend, who will have to “improve immeasurably” to progress? Ranking these four teams has taken into account the strengths of each squad, their winning mentality and, most importantly, their form going into a semi-final and a final only two and four weeks away, respectively. Begin Slideshow  Read More →

Ranking Europe’s Top 15 Club Teams After Weekend of April 4-5

The Champions Cup quarter-finals produced three of the four semi-finalists who made it this far last season. Leinster have displaced Munster as the Irish member of the quartet that will see Saracens face Clermont Auvergne once again while Toulon lie in wait for the Dubliners. The last eight saw triumphs for grit and grind in two of the games while flair and flamboyance won the day in the Massif Central. Toulon’s victory combined a bit of both to see Wasps off. In the second tier of the tournament, Gloucester and Exeter set themselves on collision course in the semi-finals with the winners... 

Top 5 Performances from the European Champions Cup Quarter-Finals

The European Champions Cup returned with a vengeance after the break for the Six Nations. Which players most affected the outcome of the matches? Whose performances were especially commendable because of their lack of recent first-team action? And who was the player of the round? The players ranked between second and fifth on this list were very hard to separate, so preference has been given to the mental strength of the players ranked second and third because they are fly-halves over 30 who delivered when many expected them to fold. Reflecting the intensive, even and highly tactical contest between... 

Biggest Winners and Losers in World Rugby for Weekend of April 4-5

The final four of the inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup were decided during the weekend of April 4-5, as Toulon, Clermont, Saracens and Leinster blazed a trail in the semi-finals of the competition. The European quartet accounted for a bulk of the northern hemisphere hype in recent days, while it was the in-form Hurricanes who continued to impress on the other side of the equator. Chris Boyd’s side continued their unbeaten start to the season by clinching a seventh win of the campaign, but there were other Super Rugby spectacles to behold this past weekend. Read on as we take a look... 

Best XV in World Rugby for Weekend of April 4-5

The inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup saw its field reduced to four this weekend, as Clermont Auvergne, Toulon, Saracens and Leinster booked their spots in the tournament’s semi-finals. Representatives of those Top 14 giants feature heavily in our team of the week after Clermont and Toulon claimed substantial wins over Northampton Saints and Wasps, respectively, comprising numerous individual master classes. South of the equator, the Hurricanes continued their run at the summit of the Super Rugby standings and contribute several star performances to our lineup, with the Crusaders, Chiefs... 

5 Questions England Fans Would Love to Ask Stuart Lancaster

England head coach Stuart Lancaster leads his team into a home World Cup this September. When England last hosted the tournament they reached the final and lost to Australia. Twenty-four years later, the game and the tournament have changed beyond all recognition. Now, Lancaster’s men must beat the Aussies and Wales if they even want to win their group, never mind lift the Webb Ellis Cup. Lancaster has certainly lifted England from out of the gloom following their dismal display at the 2011 World Cup, taking them to wins over the All Blacks and Australia, and coming close to four Six Nations... 

Rugby’s Money Influence Edging Toward a Worrying State

“Money makes the world go round” is a mantra by which rugby looked to have avoided abiding, but developments over the last few years would suggest even the most noble professions succumb eventually. For a long time and even for the first phase of rugby’s professional era, clubs and regions largely got by on homegrown talent; it was a simpler time not complicated by television sponsorships and broadcasting rights. Fast forward to 2015 and the announcement of Adam Jones’ impending departure for Harlequins at the end of this season has interim Cardiff Blues boss Dale McIntosh... 

Charles Piutau Move to Ulster Sign of the Times for New Zealand Rugby

All Blacks outside back Charles Piutau’s decision to sign a two-year deal with Irish club Ulster is, while unexpected, a sign of the times for New Zealand rugby. At 23, he remains a great prospect who has his best rugby ahead of him. Unfortunately for the All Blacks, they will not see any of that over the next two years. Everyone has their price, and for a 23 year old, a million-dollar contract is surely hard to turn down, as is the opportunity to earn this money while travelling the world. In the past, the prestige of the All Blacks jersey has been New Zealand’s main counter against... 

Why Jonny Sexton Will Be the Key Man for Ireland at the 2015 World Cup

Ireland secured their second successive Six Nations title in March and go forth to the World Cup with a genuine chance of making the semi-finals for the first time. The Irish are in a group with France, Italy, Canada and Romania, having avoided the big guns from the Southern Hemisphere, as well as swerving the kind of misfortune that has landed England, Wales and Australia in the same pool. If the Irish win their section, an outcome that will hinge on their clash with Les Bleus, they are likely to face Argentina, who are favourites to finish runners up to New Zealand in Pool C, in the last... 

Ranking Europe’s Top 15 Club Teams After Weekend of March 28-29

We return our attentions to club rugby this week after that thrilling climax to the Six Nations. The top domestic leagues are all getting set for the final push for the play-offs, and in some cases the rash of points we saw in the final weekend of the Six Nations continued. In France, there were bloody noses for the top two, and in the Pro 12 a ding-dong draw between two of the top four. It has been a while since we checked in on this ranking, so it’s worth refreshing the ground rules. Teams flying high in their league and still battling it out in the top tier of European competition, the... 

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