At the LV= Cup Launch at Sandy Park on Tuesday, I took the opportunity to catch up with former England captain and LV= Cup ambassador Lewis Moody. The last time I interviewed Lewis was at last year's final for the LV= Young Reporter competition so it was great to catch up with him and hear his thoughts on this season's competition as well as his verdict on England's win over Australia...

LV= Cup Final 2012/13

Anglo-Welsh rugby returns this weekend and the LV= Cup Media Launch on Tuesday at Sandy Park in Exeter set the scene very nicely for the competition we can expect in the coming months.

360 view of Sandy Park

Normally players are used for the official photoshoot but to emphasise the new idea of the ‘Rugby Family’, one fan from each club was selected to appear in their team’s shirt for the photos. The fans were of all ages and I took the opportunity to have a chat with Pete, a London Irish fan who runs his club’s #rugbyunited fan page @RugbyLI.

By South Stand Choir

This summer Newcastle Falcons became the seventh (eighth if we include Rotherham’s aborted attempt in 2002) team to bounce straight back into the Premiership since it was founded in 1997 following relegation.

The question now on every Geordie rugby fan’s lips is whether the Falcons can avoid going straight back down again. History is on their side – London Welsh were the first side since Leeds in 2008 to survive just one season back in the big time.

The breakdown is one of the most complex areas of modern rugby. In this expert video, QBE ambassadors Chris Robshaw and Conor O'Shea, alongside referee Luke Pearce, dissect and simplify the key areas of the breakdown.

BT Sport's Rugby Tonight were treated to a spectacular rendition of Frank Sinatra's Mack The Knife by England and Saracens player Matt Stevens. Check out the video below!

Canterbury recently ran a Facebook campaign for their fans to create the ultimate rugby Dream Team!


There were no restrictions - fans could select any players from any era... anyone really! The result was a fantastic line-up and Canterbury created a brilliant infographic showing the team plus an array of statistics and facts about the players selected.

Having attended Gloucester v Sale Sharks this weekend, it seemed unclear as to whether the new scrum call sequence was actually having an effect. Some scrummages were reset a few times, some went down but on a handful of occasions there was a clear pushing battle which is what everybody is striving towards.


It's not about who can hit the hardest - it should be about, as a collective, which pack is stronger and who can push the hardest.

This means the hookers will actually have to hook and the scrum should become a valuable set-piece tool.

Tweets by @ScrumFiveRugby

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The RAF Spitfires Rugby 7s team have visited the iconic Derwent Valley Reservoirs and Dam to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the famous Dambusters story.

The rugby 7s team, who take their name from the iconic Royal Air Force Spitfire aircraft used in World War II, made a special stop at the Derwent Valley reservoirs and dam as part of a gruelling 500mile charity cycle.

The team rode from Glasgow to Twickenham, to coincide with the final two legs of the IRB World Sevens Series, and planned the visit to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Dambusters’ Operation Chastise, on Thursday 16th May.

Former Lion and now forwards coach Graham Rowntree discusses how some of the selections came to pass.



Credit: Nick Heath/Rugby Media

England and Leicester Tigers flanker Tom Croft on the thrill of being selected for the British & Irish Lions squad, and the difficulties facing the tourists in Australia this summer.

By Issy Ronald

After the recent transfer of George North to Northampton Saints, questions have been raised about the ability of the WRU to keep key players in Wales. Many would argue that Northampton signing North shows that it isn’t just the French who the Welsh can’t compete with but also the English clubs.

This is a huge blow for the WRU and caused the recent argument with the regions. This public argument exposed the non-existent relationship between the two unions and once again reinforced the fact that the regions don’t work.

By Rowan Birch

With the Lions squad announcement on the horizon, one of the main talking points and competitive areas are the halfbacks. The tour will be won or lost in these two positions, and Warren Gatland must have 100% confidence in whatever pairing he selects for the Barbarians game.

World Cup winner Will Greenwood, an ambassador for the JP Morgan Premiership Rugby Sevens Series, looks ahead to the 2013 competition.

The last time we gave you an update on the fast-moving world of #rugbyunited was back in August. Five months later, the quickly developing brand is getting bigger and bigger and they’ve got exciting plans for the future.

The strong link between Scrum Five and #rugbyunited was once again tightened as our editor caught up with Trevor Large, the founder of #rugbyunited, for an hour and a half discussion about what’s ahead for the brand. So, without further ado, here’s what unfolded…

Harlequins back rowers Luke Wallace and Joe Trayfoot have each been nominated for the 2012/13 LV=Breakthrough Player Award. Nick Heath spoke to them in the lead up to their LV=Cup semi-final against Bath on March 9th.



Credit: Rugby Media/Nick Heath

By Morgan Cerrone

It was always going to be a difficult day for Italy facing Wales in the Stadio Olympico without Sergio Parisse, but it would be the scrum that proved to be the Achilles’ heel of the home side, allowing Wales to continue to build their confidence after winning in Paris. After a promising start to the Six Nations beating France, Italy will need to regroup after two defeats on the bounce while Wales will be playing with the knowledge that the hope of defending their title is still very much alive.

Early on in the game Italy looked to defend well, keeping a good number of players back to counter the Halfpenny threat as due to conditions the bombs were sure to rain down all afternoon and the kicking game to be as vital as ever. However it would be Italy’s own indiscipline that would gift Wales their first 3 points. Italy were never really in the game yet a poor Welsh scrum allowed Italy to level up when Jenkins was penalised for pulling down the scrum.

By Tim Cronin

Now that the first full round of Super XV is out of the way and we’ve had a look at all of the teams in action (except the Crusaders, who had the bye last weekend) it’s a good time to ponder who could be the key players across the competition, and what could be the determining factors in deciding the outcome of this year’s tournament. Today I’m looking at the New Zealand conference.

World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio admits he was proud of England's performance in winning a Six Nations match in Ireland for the first time since 2003, but has warned the Red Rose not to become too 'fixated' on claiming the Grand Slam.