Rugby News, Analysis, History, Schedule, Rumours
Much like Dorothy and Toto, England head coach Eddie Jones must find his way again and stick to the yellow brick road after being diverted by various distractions along the way, writes Alistair Stokes. We flashback to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, where Eddie Jones is an outsider to the England camp. The Australian spoke […] READ MORE
The goal is clear now. Stay unbeaten, but not ‘just unbeaten’. To be unbeatable. And if you were to accomplish that, then the prize is Grand indeed. For Ireland Rugby, this weekend Operation Grand Slam is on! Immediately after last weekends triumph over Scotland, the Ireland team captain Rory Best, and his head coach Joe […] READ MORE
A brace of tries from George North and a man of the match performance from Hadleigh Parkes places Wales second behind Ireland in the 6 Nations race. After the Irish have already wrapped up the Natwest Six Nations title, second place is 'up for grabs' between four other teams. READ MORE
England’s poor execution, and a tactical ineptitude resulted in a 22 – 16 loss at the Stade de France this weekend. And crushed any hope of retaining their 2017 Six Nations title. Ireland set the Bar Many in England’s camp had earlier watched the result come in from Dublin. Not only had Ireland beaten Scotland, they […] READ MORE
If anything can depict the excitement in sport, it is the joy of winning. No matter the sport, it infects the sports person. Their emotions are present, and the team dynamic exhibits it fantastically. On Saturday, Scotland Rugby wrote another chapter in their proud history. This morning, Last Word on Rugby asks “how is the […] READ MORE
Two pulsating rounds of 6 Nations action has whetted the appetite. A rest week has created the anticipation. Like boxers who have set sat on their stool for too long, the teams are ready for Round Three. Now we find out who will become contenders and who can be discounted. The pre-tournament consensus read that […] READ MORE
All the indicators were there. The weather, the selections and the pre-game discussions. This was going to be a tight game and a return of old school England for a 6 Nations test match. Eddie Jones has taken his England side to the hard grounds of Australia and Argentina and won. The Tasmanian has also […] READ MORE
While the Six Nations is still active, it can often spell ‘danger’ for Mark McCall and the Saracens rugby club. In Round 14 of the Aviva Premiership, and with so many of their stars away on international duty, it is crunch time for the London team. A blip per year can be tolerated; two though […] READ MORE
Johnny Sexton’s drop goal will be the lasting Irish memory, from the Stade de France last weekend. Whilst they got the win, the failure of the Ireland attack to score any tries will be the most concerning aspect for Joe Schmidt ahead of the match against Italy this Saturday. The Story is in the Statistics […] READ MORE
The last few minutes of the Six Nations match at the Stade de France had tension, controversy, and heroism in equal measure as both France and Ireland sought to get their campaigns off to ideal starts. Jonny Sexton’s magnificent 83rd minute drop goal deservedly won the game for the visitors, but its the actions of […] READ MORE
Scott MacLean is an active rugby referee in Wellington (NZ), and writes for Last Word On Rugby predominantly from the ‘match officials’ viewpoint.