RFU Podcast: inside the England and Scotland camps

Posted on Sep 30, 2011 in England, English Rugby, RFU Podcast, Rugby World Cup, Scotland, Scottish Rugby

This weeks podcast is inside the England and the Scotland camps in Auckland as the sides prepare for a crunch clash in their final match of the World Cup’s pool stages.

Martin Johnson talks through England’s team selection for the big game and we preview the match with full back Ben Foden and number eight James Haskell.

We’re also with former England boss Andy Robinson, who sizes up the task facing his men on Saturday at Eden Park.

Elsewhere our roving reporter Nick Heath catches up with England’s travelling fans in the aftermath of the 67-3 win over Romania.

There’s an England v Scotland flavour back home, where Josh Lewsey and Kenny Logan announce their participation in December’s Heroes Rugby Challenge at Twickenham Stadium.

And we meet Gavin Cattle, the captain of the Cornish Pirates side who lead the race at the top of the RFU Championship after last weekend’s big win over Leeds Carnegie.

Joe Marler and Will James cited

Posted on Sep 8, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Joe Marler (Harlequins) has been cited for striking an opponent in the Aviva Premiership match against London Irish at Twickenham Stadium on September 3.

Will James (Gloucester Rugby) has been cited for striking an opponent in the Aviva Premiership match against Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens on September 4.

Both cases will be heard by an RFU disciplinary panel at the Reading South Holiday Inn on Tuesday, September 13.

The panel is comprised of John Doubleday (chairman), Dan White and Mike Curling.

Watson added to England squad

Posted on Mar 30, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Marcus Watson has been added to the England squad for this weekend’s International Rugby Sevens Adelaide.

The London Irish wing, who makes his first appearance at this level, will replace Greg Barden, who returns home to play for the Royal Navy.

Watson, 19, has played for England’s Under 20 side and appeared at last year’s IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina.

He should be suited to this weekend’s playing surface at the Adelaide Oval, which is regarded as the quickest pitch on the HSBC Sevens World Series circuit.

"Marcus has fitted in really well and looked very sharp in training," said England head coach Ben Ryan.

"He makes his debut for us on a pitch that should really suit him and adds to the options among our outside backs alongside the likes of Dan Caprice, Dan Norton and Mathew Turner."

England have been edged into second place in the HSBC Sevens World Series after being beaten 29-17 by New Zealand in the final of last weekend’s Cathay Pacific Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens.

But there are three tournaments remaining in which they can regain top spot and a first ever title with Adelaide followed bythe Emirates Airline London Sevens (May 21-22) and the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens (May 28-29).

England face Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Argentina on Saturday in Adelaide with the group winners likely to play Kenya or Wales in Sunday’s quarter finals.

You can watch the England Sevens team in action and join the beach party on May 21 and 22 at Twickenham Stadium in the Emirates Airline London Sevens, the penultimate leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series. Tickets are available from £15 via rfu.com/londonsevens

England Squad: John Brake England Sevens), Dan Caprice (England Sevens), Chris Cracknell (England Sevens), Ben Gollings (England Sevens), Ollie Lindsay-Hague (Harlequins), Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby), Mark Odejobi (Esher and Brunel Univ), Tom Powell (England Sevens), James Rodwell (England Sevens), Nick Royle (England Sevens), Mathew Turner (England Sevens), Marcus Watson (London Irish).

HSBC Sevens World Series rankings: 1 New Zealand 110pts, 2 England 105, 3 Fiji 84, 4 Samoa 84, 5 South Africa 72, 6 Australia 46.

Sheridan returns to face France

Posted on Feb 24, 2011 in Rugby News

England have made one change to the starting line-up for the RBS 6 Nations match against France at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday, February 26 (5pm).

Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks) returns at loose head prop in place of Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), who reverts to the bench in place of David Wilson (Bath Rugby).

England
15 Ben Foden (Northampton Saints)
14 Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
13 Mike Tindall (Gloucester Rugby, captain)
12 Shontayne Hape (Bath Rugby)
11 Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks)
10 Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers) 
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers) 
1 Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks)
2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
4 Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers)    
5 Tom Palmer (Stade Francais)
6 Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
7 James Haskell (Stade Francais)
8 Nick Easter (Harlequins)

Replacements
16 Steve Thompson (Leeds Carnegie)
17 Alex Corbisiero (London Irish)        
18 Simon Shaw (London Wasps)
19 Hendre Fourie (Leeds Carnegie)
20 Danny Care (Harlequins)
21 Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon)
22 Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby)

Man of steele at the top of the RFU

Posted on Sep 9, 2010 in English Rugby, RFU

John Steele took up the top job in English rugby this week as the RFU’s new Chief Executive and spelled out his vision for the long-term future of the game.

The former Northampton Saints fly half and Heineken Cup winning coach joins from UK Sport after overseeing the development of Britain’s Olympic teams and will bring that know-how back into rugby.

At the core is how England will exploit the opportunities generated by hosting Rugby World Cup 2015.

“There are some clear parallels from the Olympics. First how do we put on a great show and how is the investment we put into the event going to help our sport and our game,” said Steele. “The Rugby World Cup in 2015 presents a real opportunity for us to grow the game in all sorts of areas. It’s an event that can really drive positive change.”