English Rugby -- News

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Sale boss insists ladder-leaders are ‘nowhere near the finished product’

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Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson admitted his side were still far from their best despite going top of the Gallagher Premiership following Friday night’s 40-22 comeback win over bottom side Newcastle.

Arron Reed scored two of six tries for the hosts but it was far from plain sailing for last season’s runners-up, with the winless Falcons coming within four points at one stage, thanks to a second-half fightback.

Bryan Byrne and Iwan Stephens both crossed after the break to reduce the score to 26-22 but late tries from Sam James and Tom Roebuck sealed victory and Sanderson insisted there was still plenty of room for improvement from his side.

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Rugby union players’ legal action over head injuries to be heard in high court

Claim is by 234 players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, including six women

Dozens of England and Wales rugby union internationals are among more than 200 players taking the game’s governing authorities to the high court next month over the devastating effects of repetitive head injuries amid what their lawyer described as “an existential crisis” for the sport.

The former England hooker Steve Thompson and Michael Lipman, who played for England from 2004 to 2008, are among 234 bringing a claim against the Rugby Football Union, World Rugby and the Welsh Rugby Union in a class action.

The case began this summer, but a hearing on 1 December is likely to decide on which players should go forward as test cases after the players’ lawyers submitted 5,000 pages of medical records detailing brain injuries.

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Owen Farrell voices concern over Six Nations being taken off free-to-air TV

• England captain discusses impact if BBC and ITV lose rights
• ‘If it is significant in terms of viewers … that’s a real challenge’

Owen Farrell fears the prospect of losing the Six Nations on free-to-air television would be a “real challenge” for the sport to maintain its audience if the championship went behind a paywall.

The England captain expressed his concern the day after the BBC’s head of sport, Barbara Slater, warned the culture, media and sport select committee that the corporation may not be able to afford the rights to televise matches in the future.

“This is the first I’ve heard about it, but I’ve obviously heard about it in the past when it has come up before,” Farrell said at the launch of the 2023-24 Champions Cup. “I don’t claim to understand what it would do for rugby, what it would do for the tournament or for the nations involved, in terms of the knock-on effect for how many viewers it has, but if it is significant in terms of viewers then yes, that’s going to be a real challenge.”

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England hopeful back for Harlequins at Northampton while Luke Cowan-Dickie makes first Sale Sharks start

There’s two matches taking place on Friday in Round Seven of the Premiership as Northampton Saints host Harlequins while Sale Sharks take on Bath.

Northampton Saints v Harlequins
Northampton Saints boss Phil Dowson has made four changes to his side as the men in Black, Green and Gold clash with Harlequins under the lights on Friday.

Ethan Waller, Sam Matavesi, Courtney Lawes and Ollie Sleightholme all return to the starting line-up this week, with the latter set to make his first start in a Saints shirt since February as Quins come to town for the Round Seven clash.

Saints have won their last two matches on home soil – defeating Bath and Exeter Chiefs in Rounds Four and Five – but come into Friday’s clash off the back of a 26-17 loss to East Midlands rivals Leicester Tigers, and look to get back to winning ways in Northampton as they go in search of their fourth league win of the season.

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ENGLISH RUGBY​

 

[MODMAN]

Glasgow go top of the URC after bonus-point win over Ulster

Glasgow made it five wins from six to go top of the United Rugby Championship table after recovering from a 14-0 deficit to win 33-20 and inflict a second defeat of the season on Ulster.

Ulster raced into a commanding lead after just 11 minutes but the Warriors responded with five tries to secure a bonus-point victory at Scotstoun.

The visitors dominated the opening exchanges and took a sixth-minute lead from a lineout after sending a penalty to touch on the left. The initial drive on the line was held up, but a second effort saw hooker Tom Stewart peel off the right-hand side and force his way over.

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