rugby union – Page 2

Great Matches: Wales vs Scotland, RBS Six Nations Championship, 13th February 2010

“What a game! I cannot believe it!”- Jonathan Davies, Wales 1985-1997, commentating for the BBC in 2010 The Six Nations is the best annual rugby competition in the world. When England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Wales and Italy come together every February and March, you are guaranteed (on paper) to watch the best that northern hemisphereContinue reading “Great Matches: Wales vs Scotland, RBS Six Nations Championship, 13th February 2010”

The First Heineken Cup Final

Cardiff and Toulouse do battle at the Cardiff Arms Park in rugby’s first European Cup final… On 26th August 1995, the International Rugby Board (now known as World Rugby) declared rugby union an “open game”. With this message, rugby union attained professional status, bringing to an end 124 years of amateurism. Just two months afterContinue reading “The First Heineken Cup Final”

The First: British and Irish Lions Tour, 1888

A 35-match tour that featured no test matches played by a team calling themselves the ‘English Footballers’… The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union institution. Every four years, a squad comprised of international players from the home nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland goes on a tour of one of the threeContinue reading “The First: British and Irish Lions Tour, 1888”

Revisiting ‘Bloodgate’

Rugby’s bloodiest scandal… On 5th November 2019, the rugby world was shocked when it was announced that Saracens, the reigning English and European champions and winners of four of the previous five Premiership titles and three of the previous four Heineken Champions Cups, had been found guilty of making illegal payments to the club’s playersContinue reading “Revisiting ‘Bloodgate’”

A Penalty Shootout- In Rugby Union?

Cardiff Blues and Leicester Tigers make history in 2009… When people think of the concept of a penalty shootout deciding a sporting event, their minds will immediately turn to football, and that is completely understandable. Football is the stage where penalty shoot-outs are most commonly witnessed, being used in knockout competitions to decide a winnerContinue reading “A Penalty Shootout- In Rugby Union?”