Tag Archives: premiership rugby

Premiership Rugby has confirmed that Mark McCafferty will step down as chief executive with Darren Childs set to succeed him. McCafferty will now take up a role as advisor to CVC Capital Partners, the equity firm that recently bought nearly a third of the competition for a £230m investment. He served as chief executive since 2005 and was responsible for …

England international, Manu Tuilagi has rejected an offer from French rugby powerhouse, Racing 92 in favour of signing a new deal with Leicester Tigers. The robust centre had been to France to discuss terms with the Parisians but has since decided to stay loyal to the club with whom he has spent his entire career. The 27-year-old said on Leicester’s …

Head of Premiership Rugby, Ian Ritchie has rubbished suggestions of an ongoing feud with the governing body (RFU) over the issue of scrapping promotion and relegation.  Ritchie’s comments come after The Mail on Sunday reported that Premiership Rugby bosses are threatening to break away from the RFU and start their own independent league. There has reportedly been a year of …

Premiership chairman Ian Ritchie says allowing a takeover of English rugby’s top tier is “not the preferred option”, but he admitted the cash-strapped league is looking for investment. Former Formula One owners CVC Capital Partners are believed to have expressed interest in buying a £275 million ($352 million, 309 million euros) controlling stake in the Premiership. England’s leading clubs are …

Cast your mind back 12 months.  The British and Irish Lions limp to a much-criticised 13-7 victory over the Provincial Barbarians in the first match of the 2017 tour to New Zealand in Whangarei. The game was littered by handling mistakes, indiscipline and unforced errors. In fact, the Lions conceded 14 turnovers in that game against a side made up …

Opinion: Eddie Jones' Golden Boys Put In Embarrassing Display For Quins

The rugby season is fast approaching the business end of the calendar and following an epic seven weeks of international rugby in the form of the Six Nations, it appears there is to be no let-up in the action. As eight sides prepare for the Champions Cup quarter-finals this coming weekend, the domestic leagues are continuing at a pace, with …

Under 18s finals day showcased the future of Premiership Rugby

While the search for a long-term replacement for former director of rugby Jim Mallinder continues, Northampton Saints have appointed veteran Australian coach Alan Gaffney as an interim technical coaching consultant. The vastly experienced Gaffney, who has most recently worked as the National Elite Programmes Coach with Rugby Australia, has prior experience coaching in the English Premiership having served as the …

Wasps Have Just Signed A Springbok Flanker To Aid Their Injury Crisis

Max Clark may have a choice to make soon over his international future as he is eligible to play for both Wales and England.   The 21-year-old has really stepped up over the last two seasons at the Rec, and on Sunday proved this again taking two opportunistic tries against Leicester Tigers to give Bath their first win at Welford Road since …

The Aviva Premiership came back with a bang on Friday night as defending champions Exeter Chiefs were stunned by a dramatic Jason Woodward try as Gloucester scored an unlikely win. Then on Saturday, we had the London Double Header in Twickenham as Saracens and new-boys London Irish took maximum points from the games against Northampton and Harlequins respectively. Irish had …

As preseason is well underway in the north-east, returning fly-half Toby Flood spoke exclusively to Pundit Arena’s Nick Heath about what he learned from his time with Toulouse and how the Premiership has changed over time. Flood said, “Everything is different in France, nothing works to a clock, you don’t have things laid on for you and I think you …

As the domestic rugby calendar winds down in the northern hemisphere, Aviva Premiership side Sale Sharks are planning for next season by announcing the signing of Springbok scrum-half Faf De Klerk. On Monday it was announced by Sale Sharks that the Aviva Premiership club had secured the services of the highly rated De Klerk from the Golden Lions on a three-year deal. …

Louis Picamoles’ stay in Northampton could be a short one, as reports in France on Thursday are linking him with a return to his homeland. The number eight is reportedly high on the wanted list of Top 14 side Montpellier, the club where he began his career and made 64 senior domestic appearances before moving to Toulouse in 2009. According to …

Former Scotland captain and Saracens veteran Kelly Brown has announced he will retire from rugby at the end of the season. The 34-year-old took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to break the news. He penned a heartfelt tribute to all those who helped him during his career and revealed he’ll take up a role in the Saracens academy next season. …

Italy and Stade Francais captain Sergio Parisse, even at 33, remains one of the most powerful and effective back row forwards in the northern hemisphere. With Stade in disarray, both on the pitch and off, the number eight may look to leave the club he’s been with since 2005 and The Rugby Paper is reporting that Gloucester are now seriously interested …

Fullback is one of the most contested positions in the England set-up at the moment, with head coach Eddie Jones having many different and brilliant options to fill the 15 jersey. Here we take a look at the five main contenders: _________ 5. Mike Brown Over the last few years, Mike Brown has been the go-to man at the back, but …