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ESPN Classic - Home Of The Dead Good Sports |
| 22 July 2008, 10:35 am |
| ESPN Classic is a unique 24/7 channel offering a compelling mix of the greatest sporting moments from Europe and around the world, to cable and satellite subscribers in over 40 European countries. |
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French tourists continue to make their mark |
| 21 July 2008, 10:30 am |
| In the latest part of his tribute to France's historic trip to South Africa in 1958, John Palfrey recounts how the tourists continued to catch the eye. |
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Famous name returns to rugby ranks |
| 21 July 2008, 7:46 am |
| "Rugby has no shortage of famous names of its own, but is now about to acquire another one with different sporting associations. Real Madrid." Huw Richards writes |
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What goes on tour will never stay on tour again |
| 16 July 2008, 8:31 pm |
| "Never do anything that compromises your main job...Never put yourself in a compromising position - because the spin-off affects everybody else...and, most important of all, never get caught." John Taylor delivers his latest verdict |
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Premiership dates and kick off times confirmed |
| 16 July 2008, 12:10 pm |
| The Guinness Premiership fixture dates and kick off times for the 2008-09 season have now been agreed by the clubs. |
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French tourists begin in style |
| 14 July 2008, 4:11 pm |
| In the second part of his tribute to France's historic trip to South Africa in 1958, John Palfrey recounts the first game of the tour. |
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Sackey relishing challenge of new season |
| 13 July 2008, 2:16 pm |
| "I'm looking forward to working with Martin Johnson. He's like Lawrence, a giant of the game with real presence who has always brought the best out of English rugby." Wasps and England winger Paul Sackey talks to Scrum.com |
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Wallabies prepare for Tri Nations assault |
| 11 July 2008, 9:34 am |
| "Giteau continues to grow in stature, with 47 points to his name in the Wallabies' three clashes so far this year, but more importantly his play-making skills filling the void of the influential Larkham." Graham Jenkins writes |
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France emerge as a major force in world rugby |
| 7 July 2008, 8:27 pm |
| Fifty years ago this week France embarked on what would turn out to be an historic tour first tour of South Africa, one that underlined their emergence as major rugby power. John Palfrey celebrates the 'birth of Les Bleus'. |
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Openside or blindside for French rugby hotseat? |
| 4 July 2008, 2:54 pm |
| "This election isn't just a simple case of musical chairs, with the country's leading rugby officials divvying up responsibilities and the advantages that go with these." John Palfrey asks who'll succeed Bernard Lapasset. |
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Premiership fixtures for new season announced |
| 4 July 2008, 10:14 am |
| The fixtures for the new Guinness Premiership season have been released today with a potential clash between the season finale and the opening match of next year's Lions tour averted. Click here for full details! |
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Johnson wastes no time in making his mark |
| 3 July 2008, 10:52 am |
| "There was a time when you would not have called Johnson assured but he appears to have added that quality to his armoury as well and it was very much in evidence as he held his first press conference." John Taylor writes |
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It takes three to tango |
| 2 July 2008, 8:37 am |
| One team coming off World Cup glory and two with points to prove after freezing on rugby's grandest stage -- this a Tri-Nations truly worthy of the name. NZPA's Daniel Gilhooly reports |
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All Blacks ready for Tri Nations assault |
| 29 June 2008, 9:26 pm |
| "Vulnerability is the key word of choice among keen observers who have watched the nucleus of the side depart for greener pastures and then Richie McCaw suffer an ankle injury" Jenni Rutherford reports |
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Crunch weekend for Coventry |
| 28 June 2008, 3:18 pm |
| One of the biggest names in the history of English club rugby is in danger of disappearing. But the players and supporters of Coventry have united for one last-ditch effort to save their club. John Chambers reports. |
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Springboks confident of securing Tri Nations glory |
| 24 June 2008, 9:20 pm |
| "The Boks have spoken optimistically about South Africa's chances of beating the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time since 1998." Stephen Nell reports |
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Southern hemisphere sides boss northern counterparts |
| 17 June 2008, 2:42 pm |
| "His brilliance kept Wales in the game just as it did at crucial times in the Grand Slam campaign but this time it was not enough to cover the glaring weaknesses." John Taylor delivers his latest verdict |
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Second place but still not good to watch |
| 7 June 2008, 10:34 pm |
| "The dreary brand of rugby with seemingly endless kicking away of possession and the "pick and drive" becoming an art form meant fans got little entertainment." Rollo Manning reviews the Australian Super 14 challenge. |
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New Zealand under pressure to raise its game |
| 5 June 2008, 4:20 pm |
| "The building site that used to be Lancaster Park, being reconstructed in advance of the 2011 World Cup, served as an uncomfortable metaphor for the state of the game in these parts." Huw Turner writes |
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Dust settles on another exciting season |
| 4 June 2008, 6:26 pm |
| "For those who love the unexpected this was a bumper season proving all over again that rugby is the greatest game in the world when it comes to overturning the form book." John Taylor draws a line under the European season |
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England fail to impress against Baabaas |
| 1 June 2008, 5:36 pm |
| "Mapasua always plays with a smile and looks as though he is having fun. Just as well somebody did." Huw Richards reports from England's victory over the Barbarians. |
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Stormers are the real SA success story |
| 1 June 2008, 2:10 pm |
| "Springbok coach Peter de Villiers's bold statement that three South African sides were capable of making the Super14-semifinals ended up being pie in the sky." Stephen Nell analyses South Africa's Super 14 season. |
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Wasps crowned as worthy champions |
| 1 June 2008, 9:27 am |
| "There was, as there has never been before, a sense of this as truly English club rugby's big day." Huw Richards reports from the English season finale at Twickenham. |
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Dallaglio and Hignell in heroes' farewell |
| 29 May 2008, 3:26 pm |
| Two inspiring figures will call it quits in different ways at Twickenham on Saturday, writes PA's Andrew Baldock. |
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Band of Brothers - Lions of '71 roar one more time |
| 28 May 2008, 8:23 pm |
| "The hair was grey or sparse but the faces were still recognisable. This was a rare reunion of the 1971 Lions, still the only Lions to beat New Zealand in a Test Series." John Taylor meets some old friends to reminisce |
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Season ends on a high note at Kingsholm |
| 27 May 2008, 10:47 pm |
| "With the Barbarians inevitably disjointed, it was the Irish who played most of the Baabaa style rugby." Huw Richards reports from Ireland's victory over the Barbarians. |
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Cardiff finale provides fitting conclusion |
| 25 May 2008, 7:43 am |
| "Munster simply shut them out...if rugby's rulers really want to create a more attractive game they need to find some way to stop teams running down the clock in this manner." Huw Richards reports from Cardiff |
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Munster clinch Europe's biggest prize |
| 24 May 2008, 8:22 pm |
| "A thrilling finale? Maybe not. Tense? Without doubt. Dramatic? Of course. Memorable? You bet." Graham Jenkins reports from the Heineken Cup finale in Cardiff |
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Premiership delivers dazzling display |
| 22 May 2008, 4:15 pm |
| A degree in rocket science is not required to appreciate the pyrotechnics of this season's Guinness Premiership campaign. PA Sport's Andrew Baldock writes |
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'Ultimate' Premiership player unveiled |
| 22 May 2008, 3:22 pm |
| The 'ultimate' Premiership player, as voted for by a panel of rugby experts, has been unveiled by tournament sponsors Guinness. |
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Heineken Cup - Did you know? |
| 19 May 2008, 2:16 pm |
| Check out some Heineken Cup facts ahead of this season's tournament finale. |
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European Challenge Cup - Did you know... |
| 19 May 2008, 12:20 pm |
| Check out some European Challenge Cup facts and figures ahead of this year's season finale with Worcester Warriors and Bath set to go head to head at Kingsholm on May 25. |
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Geech back where he belongs |
| 15 May 2008, 3:36 pm |
| Some things in life are just meant to be - such as Ian McGeechan's continued association with the British and Irish Lions. |
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Lions are in safe hands for latest challenge |
| 15 May 2008, 3:28 pm |
| "It comes to few to be compared to Carwyn James and Alec Ferguson - two vastly different men linked by a genius for constructing winning sports teams - in the space of a few minutes, but then the outlandish is becoming almost commonplace for Ian McGeechan." Huw Richards writes |
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Johnson era begins for England |
| 14 May 2008, 8:02 am |
| "Unspecified medical reasons were proferred as the explanation for Vainikolo, a development project if ever there was one, not joining the Churchill Cup squad." Huw Richards reports from Twickenham |
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Pride of the Lions |
| 12 May 2008, 1:11 pm |
| His Lions record speaks for itself and that is why John Taylor believes there is only one man to lead the class of 2009 to South Africa. |
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Coherent selection imperative for England |
| 11 May 2008, 5:32 pm |
| "So who will be boarding the plane for the foreboding 24 hour flight to the Land of the Long White Cloud?" Chris Marais runs down the options for Martin Johnson. |
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Final curtain nears for Hill |
| 8 May 2008, 5:16 pm |
| Richard Hill has never hogged the limelight - so it seems appropriate he has been packed off to Milton Keynes for his rugby farewell. |
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Dallaglio set for last hurrah |
| 5 May 2008, 8:28 am |
| Lawrence Dallaglio's glittering rugby career will come to an end this month when he finally hangs up his boots after 15 years in the spotlight. |
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Meehan hits the right notes at Bath |
| 1 May 2008, 4:18 pm |
| Steve Meehan is an American acoustic guitarist who belts out Sting and Eric Clapton covers for a living on the Chesapeake Bay circuit in Maryland, USA. |
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World Cup dreams begin in Caribbean sun |
| 1 May 2008, 3:03 pm |
| Barely six months after South Africa clinched the sport's biggest prize at RWC'07 in France the Webb Ellis Cup was inspiring dreams once again as the qualification for the sport's next global showpiece got underway. |
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EXCLUSIVE! Bernard Lapasset talks to scrum.com! |
| 30 April 2008, 12:48 pm |
| John Taylor catches up with IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset in Paris for his first major interview in English since taking up his new position in which he outlines his aims and ambitions as the head of world rugby. |
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Heineken refreshes the parts others cannot reach |
| 27 April 2008, 7:02 pm |
| "This tournament always delivers. Munster's narrow victory over Saracens was just the latest example of why this tournament is the envy of the rugby-playing world." Graham Jenkins writes |
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Two cracking semis a credit to the competition |
| 27 April 2008, 6:49 pm |
| "So in the end it wasn't the all-Premiership clash, or the Hibernian cultural festival that emerged as the possible Heineken finals, but the meeting of the old lags." Huw Richards with his take on the action. |
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Munster magic makes fans of all of us |
| 24 April 2008, 6:34 pm |
| "They have always had a world-class pack and they have always had Ronan O'Gara - on his day is there a better fly-half tactician on the planet? - but they've now got flair behind the scrum." PA Sport's Andrew Baldock reports |
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Stage set for latest chapter in Lions history |
| 23 April 2008, 1:45 pm |
| "Any doubts as to whether the Lions would survive into the professional era were firmly quelled by the successful visit to South Africa in 1997" Huw Richards writes |
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Johnson era dawns over Twickenham |
| 18 April 2008, 4:24 pm |
| "We can take it as read that he has guarantees of a free hand, an unlimited budget and almost absolute power. Effectively, he has leapfrogged Rob Andrew." John Taylor delivers his verdict on Johnson's arrival. |
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No nonsense Johnson the right choice |
| 18 April 2008, 3:50 pm |
| "There was nothing Churchillian about Martin Johnson's first press conference as England rugby team manager." PA Sport's Frank Malley reports |
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Hollow words mark Ashton's sad demise |
| 17 April 2008, 3:36 pm |
| "Ashton being offered the national academy job after 22 Tests in charge of England is like Francis Baron being brushed aside and encouraged to become the RFU's new janitor." PA Sport's Andrew Baldock writes |
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World Cup body exhumed but no knives out |
| 17 April 2008, 8:26 am |
| "Results from the autopsy of New Zealand's rugby World Cup failure are in at last. The result? No heads will roll." NZPA's Daniel Gilhooly reports |
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