Steve Borthwick can allocate 25 contracts worth £150,000 a year Saracens chief says stalemate may impact club’s recruitment Leading English clubs are urging the Rugby Football Union to accelerate its plans to introduce hybrid central contracts for a limited number of key men’s international players. Saracens are one of several sides keen to know exactly how many of their squad will be offered deals and precisely how the new system will operate. Sarries’ director of rugby, Mark McCall, who works closely with a number of England players including the national captain, Jamie George, and the loc ..read more

The sport’s appeal is not just the shiny and new. It is also about tradition, fellowship and memories forged on small stages Some of us went back in time at the weekend. There was no Doctor Who-style Tardis involved, just an easyJet flight (beware their petty hand luggage regulations) to Scotland for a reunion of old student friends. It was good fun and, certain hairlines aside, reassuring to find out how little people had changed in the 40-odd years since we first encountered each other in the stylish salons – OK, the saloon bars and Spud-U-Like shops – of Edinburgh in the 1980s. And because ..read more

Sale 37-31 Harlequins Arron Reed marks century of appearances with two tries “It was squeaky bum time wasn’t it?” observed a mightily relieved Alex Sanderson after his Sale side had clung to win a thrillingly open game which keeps them firmly in the playoff mix. Sir Alex Ferguson famously coined the phrase when his Manchester United side battled with Arsenal for the Premier League title in 2003. Here, a short drive from Old Trafford on the outskirts of Salford, Sale’s top-four hopes were given a huge boost with this bonus-point success ..read more

Northampton 40-17 Leicester Five-try victory over rivals maintains Saints’ excellent form Another week, another thumping win for Northampton, who could afford to leave out a handful of their star names and still put arch-rivals Leicester to the sword with plenty to spare. This was their fourth home match in a row and with the scrum-half Alex Mitchell in fine fettle, their fourth resounding victory to continue their two-pronged assault on silverware this season. It was a painful afternoon for Leicester, who huffed and puffed on Dan Cole’s 235th club record appearance in the league and stayed ..read more

Abby Dow and Ellie Kildunne scored hat-tricks in a crushing 14-try win for England in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Twickenham “We had an unbelievable scrum against Wales and that allowed us in the backs to do our thing in a bit of space,” Ireland’s Dannah O’Brien told the official Women’s Six Nations website this week. “While the penalties that the forwards earned also allowed us to gain good field position and stay on the front foot … “It’s going to be really exciting, I don’t think many players in our team will have ever experienced a crowd like what will be at Twickenham before so we just ..read more

England 88-10 Ireland Jones and Breach also add two tries each in dominant win There will come a day when England’s dominance in the Women’s Six Nations ends. Their run of consecutive wins, standing at 28, in the tournament will be broken. But Ireland could not stop England on a windy day. The Red Roses’ stranglehold has long been talked about and it was evident as to why with a 14-try performance when they gained the bonus-point before 20 minutes ..read more

One of Premiership’s most vaunted coaches is earning rave reviews for swashbuckling style – to rivals’ dismay Look back through the archives and it becomes clear what kind of a player Sam Vesty was. “Probably not the most fashionable,” according to his former Leicester head coach Richard Cockerill, but as the Australian Matt O’Connor, who would later occupy the top job at Welford Road, adds: “He understands the game so well that he makes guys around him play ­better rugby.” Vesty, for his part, saw himself as an attacking fly-half and someone “who likes to put some width on the game” but just ..read more

Lock hopes for a repeat of deafening support at Twickenham as favourites England take on Ireland in Women’s Six Nations The England lock Zoe Aldcroft calls for the ball as soon as she sees Sarah Beckett has punctured the France defence. The forward offloads to Aldcroft, who beats Émilie Boulard to weave her way to the line for England’s fifth try in the first half in their grand slam‑winning match at Twickenham 12 months ago. The subsequent wall of crowd noise is what Aldcroft remembers most on a day that broke the world attendance record for a women’s rugby game. The score went on to be nomin ..read more

Former Wales captain, 37, failed to recover from back problem ‘We will miss his presence on the pitch and in changing rooms’ Former Wales captain Ken Owens has announced his retirement from the game after failing to recover from a back problem. The 37-year-old hooker, who also played five Tests for the British and Irish Lions, has been sidelined for almost a year because of the injury, last playing for the Scarlets in April 2023 ..read more

Of all the myriad campaigns to save the sport we love, not one has come up with a solution to the inherent risk of brain injury Governing bodies the world over can be certain of one thing only – they will be the subject of endless criticism. No half-serious journalist will write for long without taking the authorities to task over something, and journalists are the sensible ones. The public do the same but – how to put this – with extra feeling. All the time. World Rugby is as assailed as any governing body. Its own players are taking it to court, after all, with the not insignificant claim Wo ..read more