2021 Rugby Season revisited(1) – Back to the future
Happy New Year! When the Pandemic hit the world in 2020 and impacted the sporting landscape as well as our whole way of life, I observed that it was a chance for rugby to reset and go back to the future, ie embrace some traditional values and I believe I was right.
European Club Finals An Exceptional Showcase As Gamechanging Decisions Loom Large
Was it really 6 weeks ago that Saracens took their game to new levels by shutting out Leinster in the Heineken Champions Cup Final. It was a ruthless show of how to close out a pressure game from behind – a true International game in club jerseys.
Irish Repeat Success In Europe But No Racing Certainty
Some say that Ireland is God’s own country and certainly the rugby gods smiled on them with a clean sweep of European wins this past weekend, a triumphant National team this autumn and the good news goes on, it’s no coincidence.
Rugby Finals Scaling New Heights
In this pre World Cup year, we have seen what it is going to take to be successful. Pace and power running from the forwards with ability to pass out of the tackle.
Munster And Scarlets Get The Blues On Semi Final Day
I played for a Champion Club in the 80’s, the serially successful Bath who won multiple Knock Out cups and in fact never lost a semifinal or a Final.
Pool Stages Reach Crescendo In Europe
Tadgh Beirne and Jordan Larmour are two names you may never have heard of but by 2019 you definitely will have – the Scarlets second rower and Leinster Full Back could well become stars of the next World Cup. A measure of Ireland’s strength in depth and the reason that they are just as much a threat to the All Blacks as England.
Hallers Christmas Blog
As the Autumn Internationals played out, followed by two tumultuous European weekends, there has been much to admire as well as ponder as we approach a seasonal period of rest and reflection – unless you are a professional rugby player who isn’t banned or injured in which case not much of either.
England’s Finishers Prove A Point
Many a team came to Bath’s Recreation Ground in the champion years of the 80’s and left shaking their heads at a scoreline they felt was grossly unfair. Opposition front rows or line outs often claimed moral victories despite conceding 30 points or more
LIONS TOURISTS SHARPEN SOME CLAWS IN CHAMPIONS CUP DRAMA
Who would be a Lions coach?! After the Champions Cup Semi Final in Dublin, Andy Farrell’s face was wreathed in an unfamiliar smile as Saracens withstood the Munster fire and progressed to the Final in Edinburgh.
