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Rugby World Cup: Quarter Final preview

WALES v ARGENTINA Wales are as overrated as much as Argentina are understated, but I still take the Principality to win narrowly. In Rees-Zammit they have one of the most lethal wings around but Beffelli of Argentina runs  him close. IRELAND v NEW ZEALAND The tie of the round, if not the [...]

October 14, 2023 // 0 Comments

England 18 Samoa 17 (Rugby World Cup)

As befits my standing as a sports editor I am inherently interested in most games and sports and regard the “thrill” of watching them in their various elite forms as one of the greatest joys that human beings can experience, not least because of the special atmosphere that great stadia filled [...]

October 8, 2023 // 0 Comments

Harlequins assessed

On Sunday, whilst most of us were glued to the TV to see the Ryder Cup unfurl, Harlequins were beating their North London rivals Saracens 36-29 in the Premiership Rugby Cup. It was a pleasing victory but one must bear in mind the absentees on World Cup duty. There were some grounds for optimism for [...]

October 3, 2023 // 0 Comments

The joys of Sussex

The other day a colleague on the Rust wanted a head’s up on the Wiston Wine Estate. I had never visited it though Wiston is a highly-rated vineyard but the enquiry set me thinking how much Sussex has to offer. There are vineyards at Ridgeview, Rathfinny and Nye Timber and, although each [...]

September 26, 2023 // 0 Comments

Ireland 13 South Africa 8

This epic match more than matched the billing and hype and I share my colleague Derek Williams’ viewpoint that the Boks should be beaten. Their bomb squad of 7 forwards attracted a lot of attention though few pointed out that – in the absence of Malcolm Marx – they did not have a [...]

September 24, 2023 // 0 Comments

Gloucester Rugby 25 Harlequins 17

I was initially excited by last night’s visit to the atmospheric Kingsholm until I realised how many Quins players would be absent on World Cup duty: Joe Marler, Jack Walker, Joe Marchant, Marcus Smith, Danny Care, Andre Esterhuizen, Tommaso Allan and Gloucester could not call on wingers [...]

September 23, 2023 // 0 Comments

Wales 32 Fiji 26

Wales’s victory over Fiji was the best World Cup game so far. I had watched South Africa beat Scotland but I find the Boks to be a boring bunch of behemoths. Scotland play attractively but are over-reliant on the mercurial Finn Russell and frankly it was a pea-shooter against a Panzer tank. [...]

September 11, 2023 // 0 Comments

Thoughts on a great England victory

In the Great Debate of Farrell v Smith George Ford was marginalised. He was not yesterday: with some glorious kicking he personally amassed 27 points.  The drop kick is an effective but underused weapon. I was there in the Stade de France when the South African fly half Jamie de Beer  destroyed [...]

September 10, 2023 // 0 Comments

Rugby World Cup Preview

The first observation to make about the Rugby World Cup is that the four best Rugby nations (France, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa) are all in the lower section. Whilst France v New Zealand is a tasty opener I’m looking forward more to the Pool B encounter between world number one Ireland [...]

September 8, 2023 // 0 Comments

South Africa 35 New Zealand 7

This match at Twickenham between the current World Champions and one of the forthcoming tournament’s favourites ended with a resounding victory for the Boks. They overpowered the All Blacks with the power of their pack and some highly effective players behind the scrum – notably full back [...]

August 26, 2023 // 0 Comments

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