Articles by Sandra McDonnell

About Sandra McDonnell

As an Englishwoman married to a Scot, Sandra experiences some tension at home during Six Nations tournaments. Her enthusiasm for rugby was acquired through early visits to Fylde club matches with her father and her proud boast is that she has missed only two England home games at Twickenham since 1995. Sandra has three grown-up children, none of whom follow rugby. More Posts

English Premiership in a strange place at the moment

This morning I read with interest Tom Hollingworth’s excellent review of his weekend of sports-watching and venture with some nervousness a comment or two upon the Premiership rugby match between Bath and Saracens yesterday which I also happened to watch on television. Many rugby union fans hold [...]

October 18, 2021 // 0 Comments

An issue that sport ignores at its peril

At one point during our dinner party earlier this week my better half and his mates raised the topic of the current state of rugby union – a subject in which I have a not inconsiderable interest – and it didn’t make for comfortable listening. Someone mentioned the situation in the world [...]

October 7, 2021 // 0 Comments

The dawn of a new (rugby) season

English rugby’s Premiership 2021/2022 kicked off last night at Ashton Gate, the home ground of Bristol Bears, last year’s “winners” of the regular (league) season and favourites to win the Final who then suffered a Devon Loch-like failure in their semi-final play-off against the Harlequins. [...]

September 18, 2021 // 0 Comments

And another thing …

At the risk of appearing to “suck up” to our sports editor Tom Hollingworth, I was interested to read his fascinating piece in the Rust yesterday on the illusionary “devil’s pact” between those who organise global sports, those who participate in them and the paying public – [...]

September 1, 2021 // 0 Comments

Oh – so that was it, was it?

For my sins – to be honest, it felt as much a duty as an imperative – I duly watched the live Sky Sports TV coverage of the Third Test between the Springboks and the British & Irish Lions in Capetown yesterday (kick-off 5.00pm UK time) which ended in a 19-16 victory, and thereby an [...]

August 8, 2021 // 0 Comments

One-all … and one to go

Family events conspired to prevent me watching the entirety of the rugby union Second Test match yesterday between South Africa and the British & Irish Lions in Capetown as I had originally planned. I did not reach the sanctuary of home until just before half-time last night and made an [...]

August 1, 2021 // 0 Comments

A famous victory

Your author watched last night’s rugby First Test between South Africa and the British & Irish Lions at home with the family including my “other half”, who was slightly less delighted than I was to see Scotland’s Stuart Hogg make his first Lions Test debut at last. As it [...]

July 25, 2021 // 0 Comments

Six days to the Lions first Test match against South Africa

I find myself in broad agreement with Tom Hollingworth’s view that the greatest elite-level sports, tournaments and games are severely diminished when they take place in stadia devoid of fans and spectators. The Covid pandemic has been (and still will be for some time into the future) extremely [...]

July 18, 2021 // 0 Comments

Rugby mayhem as the crowds return

With the Bank Holiday in full swing and rugby union joining other sports in letting crowds back in – well, in rugby’s case only home fans to 25% of ground capacity – yesterday, with the English Premiership’s league season approaching its climax, I chose to tune in to watch BT Sport’s [...]

May 30, 2021 // 0 Comments

The 2021 women’s Six Nations begins

This weekend the new slimmed-down version of the Women’s Six Nations rugby union tournament began – the nations split into two groups of three and then the winners of each group to contest the final – with as much of a publicity splash as it could muster, featuring the theory that [...]

April 4, 2021 // 0 Comments

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Poor Solskjaer

October 26, 2021 // 0 Comments

Whisper it softly but I feel sorry for the under-pressure Manchester United boss. I’m no particular fan of the Reds – and indeed rather enjoy seeing a club big on [...]
The Tanner Report: Nottingham Forest 0 Fulham 4

October 25, 2021 // 0 Comments

Although this was an emphatic win against an in form , resurgent team before a crowd of 27,400 it was not a vintage Fulham performance. All 4 goals had a measure of luck and [...]
Brighton 1 Manchester City 4

October 24, 2021 // 0 Comments

Before this match I jotted down the City midfield : Phil Foden Kevin De Bruyne Mahrez Gundoyan Fernandinho Silva Jack Grealish I must have left someone out. It was Rodri. So [...]
My art week

October 23, 2021 // 0 Comments

No exhibitions nor art on telly this week but two fascinating lessons in our art course. In the first – on British art and visual culture 1950 to the present – we [...]
A la Colthard/Rockwater

October 22, 2021 // 0 Comments

Readers will recall my wariness of restaurants with great views. The Rockwater is one such and where I lunched yesterday. It is situated on the esplanade at Hove and from our [...]