The business end of the Heineken Cup is upon us and as ever there are some mouth-watering fixtures to look forward to. It seems a life time since the final pool games were staged – in fact it’s 10 weeks. While this is a long hiatus, it may in fact add to the anticipation ahead of the weekend.

Topic: News & Opinions

Ireland’s World Cup loss to Wales and poor Six Nations must raise doubts about Declan Kidney’s abilties to build a top Ireland team on top of a strong provincial base.

Topic: News & Opinions

Stuart Lancaster has restored respect and England’s commercial reputation, but they will need more than discipline if they are to win the 2015 World Cup.

Topic: News & Opinions

Predicting who will fill the play-off spots in Super Rugby is more difficult than ever this year. The competition has become a marathon with the grand final not due to take place until early August.

Topic: News & Opinions

The Brumbies and Hurricanes face daunting prospects with new and inexperienced squads facing the established aristocracy of Super Rugby.

Topic: News & Opinions

A rugby league style “on report” system is being trialled by SANZAR for this year’s Super XV. One of the reasons given for the changes is the rather questionable goal of making life easier for referees on the field. The more sensible and, one would hope, primary objective is to achieve greater fairness and consistency in the treatment of foul play. A referee will be able to place a player “on report” if he suspects foul play or if a player makes an allegation against an opponent which the referee feels warrants investigation by the judiciary.

Topic: News & Opinions

The sudden retirement from international rugby of Dan Parks has come as a surprise to most. The timing of the announcement and the comments made by Andy Robinson suggest that Parks has been told his international days are over. Admittedly, he had a shocker against England but most players have games where everything they attempt goes wrong. He has been held responsible for Scotland’s inability to score tries.

Topic: News & Opinions

This Welsh side came of age on Sunday at the Aviva stadium. True, their RWC adventures placed them firmly on the radar screen of world rugby. But there were the doubters who claimed they had seen it all before only for the dragons to revert to type before long. There were those who said that Wales had in fact underperformed at the World Cup. How could the hype and excitement be justified when they won 4 games, but managed to lose 3?

Topic: News & Opinions

Each year rugby people endlessly compare the game in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. They argue about who would win a hypothetical Grand Final between the Heineken Cup and Super Rugby champions. Similar comparisons are made between Six Nations and Tri Nations (from this year to be known as The Rugby Championship). As ever in rugby debates, objectivity is in short supply!

Topic: News & Opinions

With the quarter finalists having been decided for the Heineken Cup,the European focus can now shift to the 6 Nations. National coaches will have keenly observed their charges in club and provincial colours as they prepare for the the next 2 months of international championship rugby.

Topic: News & Opinions