Whole New Ball Game

Worcester have pulled off a major coup by signing New Zealand wing Rico Gear on a three-year deal, report The Telegraph.
Gear has played in the Super 14 for the Highlanders, Auckland and Canterbury, and has scored 10 tries in 18 New Zealand appearances. At 29, he is of an age whereby Worcester could still benefit […]

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Toulouse forward Trevor Brennan’s life ban from playing rugby has been reduced to a five-year suspension.
In March, the European Rugby Cup (ERC) found Brennan guilty of assaulting an Ulster fan at a Heineken Cup game and he was handed the life ban.
However an independent appeals panel has ruled that the initial maximum penalty was “disproportionate”.
Brennan’s […]

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[engage Super League; Twickenham Stoop Stadium:
Harlequins (8) 18 - (4) 8 Wigan]
Quins further upset the odds in Super League by taking the prized scalp of Wigan Warriors.
In fact, this was Quins fourth victory in five games of egg-chasing.
They are now level with Wigan in joint fourth place with 16 points. St Helens are […]

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[Second Test; Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria:
South Africa (17) 55 - (19) 22 England]
Brian Ashton’s England were on the end of another hiding from the South Africans as more pressure was heaped upon the coach.
Despite a spirited display and a half-time lead the tourists were unable to live with the home side after the break.
Still, at […]

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When most of the team has got the serious sh*ts, the last thing you want is the rest of the team to suffer…right?
Wrong. Step forward England.
They were laid low by a virus, then laid to rest by a rampant South Africa and now the remainder of the squad have been laid out by the same […]

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[First Test, Bloemfontein; South Africa 58 (30) - 10 (3) England]
As predicted on this very website England were given an absolute lesson by South Africa.
If it wasn’t bad enough that the England camp had been hit by a virus they were then hit by 15 bloody huge South Africans who didn’t take many […]

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[Date: Saturday, May 26; Kick-off: 1100 BST; Venue: Telstra Stadium, Sydney]
Gareth Thomas will lead out Wales team in the first Test against Australia and become a record breaker.
In winning his 93rd cap the wing will overtake Gareth Llewellyn as Wales’ most-capped player.
Mrs Charlotte Church [Gavin Henson] is on the bench and is expected to play […]

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Australian duo John Lang and Shaun McRae have been linked with the vacant head coach job at piss-poor Salford City Reds.
The Reds, currently bottom of the Super League table, dismissed Karl Harrison after the embarassing 66-6 loss to Catalans Dragons last weekend.
McRae, who has coached St Helens, Gateshead and Hull, is out of work after […]

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England coach Brian Ashton will give debuts-to-forget to full-back Mike Brown, prop Nick Wood and lock Dean Schofield after naming his side to face South Africa.
Fly-half wonder boy Jonny Wilkinson and centre Andy Farrell return to the starting line-up for this utter debacle in which most of England’s top players are missing.
Sale prop Stuart Turner […]

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