Rugby News Round-up No.5
This edition of the rugby news round-up features a story about Welsh Rugby's salary cap, Anthony Allen's possible move back to Kingsholm, Ian Gough's citing and Northampton's new signings.
Preview: The Big Game 4 - Harlequins v Saracens
The fourth Big
Game is upon us and this year it will see Aviva Premiership table toppers
and London rivals, Harlequins and Saracens, go head-to-head.
Once again, X
Factor finalists will sing at the Big
Game which will take place on Tuesday 27th December at
Twickenham. Over 70,000 tickets have already been sold and the game is set to
be a cracker.
Heineken Cup Week 4 Round-up
Round 4 of the Heineken Cup saw return fixtures offering plenty of surprises. Leicester held off Clermont, Gloucester narrowly beat Connacht at Kingsholm whilst Leinster thrashed Bath in a seven try thriller.
One of the biggest shocks of the weekend was Northampton's 45-0 thrashing of Castres, a side they lost to the previous week and Harlequins managed to beat four-time Heineken Cup champions, Toulouse, a side they had also lost to the previous week.
One of the biggest shocks of the weekend was Northampton's 45-0 thrashing of Castres, a side they lost to the previous week and Harlequins managed to beat four-time Heineken Cup champions, Toulouse, a side they had also lost to the previous week.
Post-match reaction: Leicester 23-19 Clermont
Tries from Manu Tuilagi and Salvi sent Leicester to victory in the return fixture against a side who they had lost to the previous week. Clermont's single try from Sivivatu along with a host a penalties and two drop goals were not enough to overthrow the Aviva Premiership giants.
Russell Hargreaves from the RFU.com podcast was at Welford Road and spoke to Richard Cockerill, Tom Croft and Thomas Waldrom after the match. Waldrom and Croft also looked ahead to 2012 and Christmas.
Player Focus: Matt Hopper
He joined the Londoners in the summer from Championship club Cornish Pirates and had previously represented Plymouth. Hopper spent a year perfecting his rugby in Australia playing in the Sydney Premiership with Manley.
Interview with Harlequins' Mike Brown
In a recent interview with Nick Heath, Harlequins' and England Saxons full-back Mike Brown spoke about player awards, England, Toulouse and of course, Christmas. At the age of just 26, Brown has been playing at the Twickenham Stoop with Harlequins since 2006. In that time he has made over 100 appearances for his club and has gained 3 England caps.During his Quins career, Mike Brown has scored a total of 189 points, consisting of 37 tries. In the interview he discusses the growing amount of talented English full-backs and understands it will be hard to get into the England squad with the likes of the more experienced Delon Armitage and Ben Foden. Click 'more' to watch the interview.
Conor O'Shea: "He won't make that mistake again"
After Danny Care was arrested following Harlequins' Round 3 loss to Toulouse, he was fined by the club and was punished by Stuart Lancaster on the phone. In an interview with Nick Heath, O'Shea assured that Care "won't make that mistake again." Click play on the video below to see what Conor O'Shea had to say:
Credit: Rugby Media/Nick Heath
Credit: Rugby Media/Nick Heath
Rugby News Round-up No.4
This edition of Scrum Five's rugby news round-up includes some stories about the RFU, including the appointment of a new CEO and the retirement of an English Rugby legend. We also have another story about Danny Care included in this edition...
Interview: Richard Hill pays tribute to Wilkinson
England legend, Richard Hill, was one of the players who won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 with Jonny Wilkinson. Hill, now 38, appeared 71 times for England between 1997 and 2005. The former England flanker paid tribute to Wilkinson after the announcement of his International rugby retirement earlier in the week.