Rugby News, Analysis, History, Schedule, Rumours
Taine Plumtree was announced as a Scarlets signing last week and now, he’s been called to Wales’ men’s World Cup training squad by Warren Gatland. The former Under 20 New Zealand international has spent all of his rugby career in New Zealand; despite being born in Swansea, Taine is the son of former Swansea and […] READ MORE
French rugby’s showpiece event, the Top 14 final will take place at the Stade de France on Saturday, June 17 as Toulouse goes up against European champions La Rochelle. Ronan O’Gara’s side will be looking to avoid a repeat of the 2020/21 season where they lost the final in this fixture after losing the Champions […] READ MORE
It has been an interesting few weeks if you’re a follower of Welsh rugby, A first ever defeat to Georgia followed by throwing a 34-13 lead in the final quarter against Australia. Those losses saw the end of head coach Wayne Pivac, who had been under pressure since March after Italy conquered Cardiff for the […] READ MORE
After a mixed Rugby Championship tournament; which saw New Zealand lift the title -despite a defeat to South Africa and a first home loss to Argentina – this weekend’s Cardiff Autumn International fixture continues to demand the very best of the All Blacks 2022 team. After the All Blacks kicked off their northern hemisphere tour […] READ MORE
On Tuesday, Wales head coach Wayne Pivac named his 35-man squad ahead of the Autumn series. With senior players like Dan Biggar, Liam Williams and Josh Navidi all unavailable through injury, there were going to be some new faces; Joe Hawkins being one of them. Scarlets pair Dane Blacker and Sam Costelow receive their first […] READ MORE
Despite Keira Bevan’s late penalty to ensure victory for the Wales women’s rugby team in their opening 2021 Rugby World Cup match against Scotland, it wasn’t the best performance from Ioan Cunningham’s side who led 15-5 at the break. Last weekend, they flew out of the blocks with an early try from flanker Alisha Butchers, with […] READ MORE
As he takes the Welsh national side to his third campaign, what were Wales Six Nations tactics in 2021 and is there a chance of a change by Wayne Pivac 12 months later? Ever since Warren Gatland left the Wales job on the first of November 2019, there has always been a mixed response regarding […] READ MORE
Wayne Pivac named his Six Nations squad earlier on this week and it did include a couple of uncapped players and a particular player that should interest supporters will be hooker Dewi Lake. It has been a very interesting career for Lake who started player rugby at Valley Ravens as a youngster before moving on […] READ MORE
The Welsh rugby regions are falling behind in regional competitions. New correspondent Iestyn Rhys Thomas tracks the changes through the years. Every time during international Test windows in Wales, all you hear about is rugby, rugby and the odd splash of rugby. Yet after the Six Nations has been decided or another autumn campaign comes to […] READ MORE
For the last seven seasons in the Champions Cup, Racing 92 have reached the knockout stages in Europe’s elite competition. Unfortunately, they have never won any European silverware despite losing in three finals to Saracens, Leinster and Exeter. Although last season’s run was underwhelming after a quarter-final defeat against Bordeaux Bègles at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, […] READ MORE
Rugby journalist, mainly focusing on Welsh rugby, United Rugby Championship and sometimes a venture in to the French leagues. Published my own blog called ‘the openside blog’ and contributing to the Welsh Premiership Podcast.
You can find me tweeting about any form of rugby on Twitter @ iestyn_thomas21