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Today News

04

How Michael Cheika's kit trick helped get the Leicester Tigers roaring - and why the Premiership club will do anything to keep their inspirational coach, writes CHRIS FOY

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CHRIS FOY: Michael Cheika intends to spend Christmas Day helping out in a Leicester soup kitchen, before resolving a dilemma about his future.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: The spineless RFU are so out of touch - here's what I would do if I was at the very top of English rugby

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SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Tom Ilube, who stepped down as RFU chairman on Friday, has been thrown under the bus by his fellow English rugby big wigs.

Friday, Dec 20

18

Warren Gatland WILL stay on as Wales head coach for 2025 Six Nations after surviving review into his performance - as he

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ALEX BYWATER: Gatland and Wales failed to win an international in 2024, prompting the Welsh Rugby Union to undertake a detailed review into the performance of the men's national side.

17

Henry Arundell set to reignite his England career after signing for Bath - as 22-year-old prepares to end his international exile in major boost for Steve Borthwick

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ALEX BYWATER: Henry Arundell, 22, will reignite his England career from next season after signing with Gallagher Premiership leaders Bath in a deal that will see him leave French giants Racing 92.

12

RFU chairman Tom Ilube resigns from his position following emergency meeting amid bonus pay row that has rocked English rugby's governing body

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ALEX BYWATER: The RFU chairman, Tom Ilube, has stepped down from his position at the top of the organisation in the wake of the bonus scandal that has hit English rugby's governing body.

01

Sir Bill Beaumont in line to take over as interim chairman of RFU... with Tom Ilube set to quit over chief executive Bill Sweeney's eye-watering bonus

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CHRIS FOY: In the aftermath of a meeting at on Wednesday attended by the union's council members, it emerged that Ilube is ready to step down - having occupied the role since 2021.

Thursday, Dec 19

20

Saracens star Liam Williams opens up on his return to the club, injury problems and getting back into the Wales squad

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ALEX BYWATER: Williams, 33, certainly has plenty to celebrate this festive period. On the field, he is back after injury and off it, he has recently become a father for the first time.

19

RYAN WILSON: Hampden won't be a leveller on Sunday... because Glasgow are already on a different level to their derby rivals

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I always loved the 1872 Cup games as a player - and this one will be a derby with a difference on Sunday.

Wednesday, Dec 18

RUGBY CONFIDENTIAL: The latest rift causing friction among nations, the ineligible future England star wanted by Premiership side and how Ilona Maher is already creating history

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RUGBY CONFIDENTIAL: Coaches in Wales have expressed concerns that amendments to Regulation 8 has opened the door to a talent drain through expensive English public schools.

01

England hit with a huge injury blow ahead of their Six Nations campaign... with broken arm confirmed for Northampton star George Furbank

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The 28-year-old full-back was helped off during the first half of his club's epic Champions Cup victory over the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday. He awaits advice on whether or not he will require surgery.

Monday, Dec 16

21

All Blacks legend Andrew Mehrtens outlines his ownership plans as he, F1 entrepreneur Eddie Jordan and former Springboks star Bobby Skinstad look to create rugby's answer to the Man City model

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY ALEX BYWATER: On the day we meet, the now 51-year-old former fly-half has just arrived from Paris via Eurostar following meetings with French rugby officials.

20

England captain Jamie George predicts a Premiership side to 'do very well' in this year's Champions Cup and upset the odds against richer French and Irish teams

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After helping three-time European champions Saracens to within touching distance of this season's knock-out stages, George believes a repeat of success four years ago is possible.

04

With rugby players being treated like robots and fans like fools, here's how to save the sadly broken Champions Cup, writes CHRIS FOY

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CHRIS FOY - WORLD OF RUGBY: There are too many hollow fixtures and walkovers. What was once the showpiece of European club rugby is a desperate, unwieldy, near-invisible mess.

Friday, Dec 13

19

PHIL VICKERY: Bankruptcy and divorce made me question my purpose in the world - then I put on budgy smugglers and bodybuilding gave me new life

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NIK SIMON: It is an 80-mile drive from his home in Somerset but Vickery's personal journey to the show stage has been less straightforward. Queen's Honours, delight, divorce, bankruptcy.

14

DAN BIGGAR: Players have had enough and this is what European rugby must do to fix its South Africa problem - 32 hours on a plane in a lightning storm was the last straw

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Last weekend, along with my Toulon team-mates, I spent 32 hours on flights just to get myself to South Africa for our first game of this season's Champions Cup.

04

I'll start a war and take everyone down: Meet England's 6ft 8in trash-talking teen sensation who's monstering the world's best ...and why he wants to 'beat up' his brothers

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CHRIS FOY IN PARIS: The 6ft 8in giant, who can operate at lock or blindside flanker, is making a name for himself so rapidly that he is regarded as the subject of a cross-Channel tussle for his services.

Thursday, Dec 12

00

Marcus Smith signs new deal with boyhood club Harlequins - in a major boost for England and head coach Steve Borthwick

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ALEX BYWATER: The 25-year-old has in the past attracted interest from French giants Racing 92. But he will now stay with Harlequins on a 'long-term' deal until at least 2028.

11

Rugby fans blast world-famous US special forces soldier John McPhee for making up a claim about his footy skills on Joe Rogan's podcast

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Retired US Army Special Operations Sergeant Major, John McPhee, also known as 'The Sheriff of Baghdad', recounted his time playing the sport while he lived in California.

Wednesday, Dec 11

19

RUGBY CONFIDENTIAL: Why England are bracing to spend big on new coach with world's top gurus stuck in limbo

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NIK SIMON: Jones remains on the RFU's books as an expensive, protectionist measure, with a clause in his 12-month notice period that prevents him from joining a tier one Test rival.

15

Lawrence Dallaglio reveals how Tom Voyce's disappearance has brought up agonising memories of his own family tragedy as England

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Dallaglio was just 17 when his sister Francesca was the youngest of the fatalities in the Marchioness disaster on the River Thames in 1989.

13

Who is Tom Voyce's wife Anna? Meet entrepreneur whose number one priority in life is her son - amid fears former England rugby star died in Storm Darragh

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The rugby world has rallied around the loved ones of former England rugby union international Tom Voyce, who is feared dead after Storm Darragh flood.

11

Rugby world sends prayers for Tom Voyce with ex-England star presumed dead after going missing in Storm Darragh floods

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Northumbria Police said the 43-year-old is believed to have gone into the River Aln near Alnwick, Northumberland. Officers are searching for Voyce, who has not been seen since Saturday.

Who is Tom Voyce? Everything you need to know about ex-England rugby international star after he went missing in Storm Daragh floods

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Former England rugby international Tom Voyce is feared dead after his car was swept away during Storm Darragh, Voyce played professional rugby for 13 years and had nine international appearances

Tuesday, Dec 10

07

Rugby boss reveals ambitious Bledisloe and World Cup plans: 'I think that we're well positioned'

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Rejuvenated after claiming two wins on the Spring Tour of the UK, the Wallabies have set themselves highly ambitious goals involving the Bledisloe and World Cups

04

TV rights shambles is damaging rugby with fans forking out up to £1,000 a year, writes CHRIS FOY

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COMMENT BY CHRIS FOY: It makes for a decent quiz question: name the TV channels where you can watch each professional rugby competition.

Monday, Dec 9

20

Ireland legend Ronan O'Gara puts England on red alert as he makes clear his coaching ambitions - with Steve Borthwick feeling the heat after five defeats in six

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Ronan O'Gara has put England and Ireland on alert after he admitted he has ambitions to work at international level with one of both countries, or France, in the future.

04

Why we MUST move rugby to the summer and how a new calendar could look, writes CHRIS FOY

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CHRIS FOY - WORLD OF RUGBY: Following a wet, wild weekend, it is high time to consider aligning the hemispheres, for the greater good of the game. Doing so would create a more user-friendly playing.

Sunday, Dec 8

14

Meet the rugby league star whose uncle is a football cult hero: Wigan Warriors' Junior Nsemba reveals how he overcame racism and bullying as a child to become the face of the Super League

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EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Born in Wigan to Cameroonian parents, the towering 6ft 5in back-rower grew up in Marsh Green, statistically the town's most deprived area.

Saturday, Dec 7

00

Ellis Genge on giving back to Bristol amid the 'frightening' statistic over the city's disadvantaged youth - as England star dons a hard hat to launch his foundation £11million community project

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A muddy building site next to a retail park on a grey, wet Thursday is not the place you'd expect to find one of English rugby's most high-profile players. But Ellis Genge is no ordinary sportsman.

01

La Rochelle boss Ronan O'Gara apologises for using strong language after Irish icon was confronted by angry Bath fans following his side's 24-20 Champions Cup win

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ALEX BYWATER AT THE REC: Ronan O'Gara apologised for any offence caused by his strong language after he was confronted by angry Bath fans at the end of this Champions Cup clash.